USA > New Hampshire > Hillsborough County > Peterborough > An address delivered at the centennial celebration, in Peterborough, N.H., Oct. 24, 1839 > Part 7
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Fellow Citizens - Citizen soldiers : - When our country with all her noble institutions, shall cry Defend - Are we Ready ? Aye, Ready.
Mr. President-Permit me to offer the following sentiment-
The Fair .- It is but fair, that the Fair partake of our fare on the present occasion.
MUSIC, " Gen. Washington's March." By the Band.
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7th. Our Absent Sons, - We gladden at your prosperity, we mourn if you attempt to do evil,-though we grow old we do not forget you.
EXETER OCT. 22, 1839.
Gentlemen, - I regret that it is not in my power to accept your invitation to attend your Centennial Celebration on Thurs- day. Nothing, I assure you, could give me more pleasure. I am sure none of the sons of old Peterborough would enter more into the joyous feelings of the day. I have known her nearly as long as any of her children still alive, and yield to none in attach- ment. I have experienced nothing but kindness and confidence from her ever since I was capable of knowing good from evil ; and I pray Heaven to reward her for all her goodness to me. Allow me to offer this sentiment :-
Peterborough, - May she be as distinguished in the next century for moral worth, as she has been for intellectual superiority and business enterprise in this.
I am, gentlemen, with much regard, your obedient servant, JEREMIAH SMITH.
NEW YORK, OCT. 17, 1839.
Gentlemen,-I assure you, with the most perfect truth and sincerity, that I received the invitation with heart-felt satisfaction, considering the place whence this gratifying testimony pro- ceeds. It being the place of my early and late associations, it demands the expression of my profound and grateful acknowl- edgments. It occasions me painful regret not to be able to ac- cept the invitation, and I cannot conclude without tendering to you and those whom you represent, my respectful thanks for the honor done me on this occasion. Permit me, Gentlemen, to propose the following sentiment -
Peterborough, - What was she a century ago - what was she half a century ago - and what is she now ? May her industry, enterprise, improvements, prosperity and happiness continue to advance onward for centuries yet to come.
Your Obedient Servant, DANIEL ABBOTT.
BOSTON, OCT. 17, 1839.
Dear Sirs, - Accept my hearty thanks for your invitation to the Centennial Celebration at Peterborough. I should most certainly attend, were I not denied that pleasure, by ill health. But, gentlemen, I shall not be unmindful of so interesting an
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event: for I intend to celebrate the day at my own residence in Boston. I shall be with you then, though not actually in my native town.
Your kind letter brought to my mind many pleasing reminis- cences of days gone by - of the scenes, the times, the associates and friends of my youth. The Wilsons, Steeles, Mitchells, and Smiths, - the Morisons, Stuarts and Moores - the Millers, Whites, and many other worthy citizens, whose names are fami- liar to you, appeared before me. They had a rugged path to walk ; but they were industrious and persevering. They were open- hearted, public spirited and independent men; and it is gratify- ing for me, a native, though non-resident of Peterborough, to know, that the present inhabitants are the true representatives of such predecessors.
On the 24th inst., and while you are publicly rejoicing, I shall fill my glass with wine in honor of the day, in remembrance of the first settlers, and my old comrades and friends, and to the health of their descendants, and the present inhabitants of the town; giving this sentiment :
The Pioneers of Peterborough, -Let us cherish their memories, and teach our children to emulate the labors and virtues of the first settlers of the town.
Renewing to you, Gentlemen of the Committee, and through you, to the citizens, my regret that " though with you, I shall not be there," on the occasion in question, I remain an ardent friend of my native town, and
Most respectfully your obedient servant, SAMUEL GRAGG.
BELFAST, OCT. 15, 1839.
Gentlemen, - A short absence prevented the receipt of your letter a day or two. But the first occasion is embraced to say, that the pleasure of attending your Centennial Celebration would overcome all objections as to distance, if it were not that the Court of Common Pleas sits in this County on the first Tues- day of next month, and that will prevent attendance.
With leave, the following sentiment is offered.
The Town of Peterborough, - May her prosperity be as rapid and last- ing as her streams.
Yours, with sentiments of high respect, JOHN WILSON.
CINCINNATI, OCT. 18, 1839. Gentlemen - I am much obliged by your kind invitation to be
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present at the Centennial Celebration at Peterborough. It would give me a peculiar pleasure to be there on an occasion so interesting, and especially as I should find myself among many old friends, but it will be wholly impracticable. If there were time, (I received the letter yesterday) I could not come. Our lecture term is at hand, and I must be on the ground.
Be pleased to present my affectionate regards to the Rev. Mr. Morison, if he be the same gentleman who was once my patient ; and my sincere respects to my old friends, the recollection of whose kindness years and years agone, I fondly cherish.
Very respectfully, your friend,
R. D. MUZZEY.
BOSTON, OCT. 16, 1839.
Gentlemen, - Your kind letter of the 7th instant, inviting me to join the citizens of Peterborough in the celebration of the approaching Centennial Anniversary of the town, on Thursday the 24th inst., was received in due course of mail. I feel highly gratified with being remembered on this occasion by the inhab- itants of my native town; the town where I spent the pleasant hours of my early childhood ; where the remains of my beloved parents, now long since mingled with its dust, were deposited. But I should feel a much higher gratification, if my daily engage- ments would permit me to meet with my brethren, the sons of the town, and interchange with them the feelings which belong to such a relation, and respond, in such manner as I might be able, at the moment, to sentiments suitable to such an occasion. Since this gratification is denied me, I take pleasure in saying, that I feel proud in numbering myself, here in Boston, among those who hail from the "Granite State," the birth-place of a Statesman, who has acquired for himself the exalted appellation of " The Defender of the Constitution ;" and more especially among the sons of the town of Peterborough, the nativity of many in- dustrious, frugal, enterprising agriculturalists, the " bone and sinews of our country," and other men, who have eminently ex- celled in the manufacturing art, at the bar, and upon the bench, in the senate and on the field. That the town of Peterborough may flourish in the coming century, as she has during the past, and continue to send forth her sons with the spirits of their fathers to excel in all the useful occupations of life, is the sincere sentiment of one of her sons, and gentlemen, your brother,
I. P. OSGOOD.
FRANKLIN, OCT. 21, 1839.
Gentlemen, - When I received your kind invitation to attend the Celebration, I was determined to do so; but circumstances
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have occurred since, which render it impossible for me to at- tend.
Although I cannot be present on the occasion, my heart and soul will be with you. I claim to be a native son of Peterborough, and feel proud of my maternal home. The occasion brings to my mind many pleasing recollections of bygone days, the days of my childhood, when seated with others of my father's family around the winter evening fire, listening to the traditionary tales of the first settlement of the town.
I will conclude this communication by proposing the following sentiment.
The adopted sons of Peterborough. - However distinguished or exalted may have been many of her native sons, may her adopted sons be equally distinguished.
Yours, in the bonds of affectionate brotherhood,
JOHN ANNAN.
NEWPORT, OCT. 22, 1839.
Gentlemen, - It would have given me great satisfaction to meet my early associates, and join with them in the festivities of that occasion.
Peterborough is dear to me, and I feel proud of being recorded among her sons, of whom so many have distinguished themselves in the different professions and departments of active life. She has within my own short recollections sent forth four or five respecta- ble Clergymen, and fifteen or sixteen Lawyers, four members of Congress, and four or five respectable Physicians. She can point to the Hon. Jeremiah Smith, for a long time Chief Justice of the Superior Court of Judicature, truly a sage of the law, and a for- mer Governor of this State, as one of her sons; and to Doctor Muzzey, now of Cincinnati, as not less distinguished in the medi- cal department ; and to Gen. Jas. Miller, not less distinguished in our military annals.
Suffer me, in conclusion, to offer the following sentiment :-
The citizens of Peterborough,- May they continue to cherish literature, and the arts and sciences - may they be distinguished for their morals, and those virtues which elevate and ennoble man ; and may she send forth men who shall protect and defend the rights of our country, and perpetuate our free and liberal institutions.
With sentiments of respect and high consideration,
Yours truly,
AMASA EDES.
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BATH, OCT. 19, 1839.
Gentlemen, - I received your invitation a few days since to at- tend the Centennial Anniversary Celebration of the settlement of the town of Peterborough, on the 24th inst.
My attachments to my native place are strong, and though I have spent a large portion of my life elsewhere, those attachments have not diminished, nor has a link of the chain that bound me there ever been severed.
It would give me great pleasure to be present with you and participate in the Celebration, but it is otherwise ordered : and though I may never again see the place of my birth, or again mingle with my fellow-citizens there, for whom I have such strong sympathies and attachments, I may be present with you in spirit on this occasion.
I was early taught to entertain high respect for that hardy and enterprising band, who in 1739 and the ten following years, es- tablished the settlement of our native town. They possessed certain traits of character of high excellence, (doubtless mingled with faults of as strong a character,) yet those of excellence so far predominated as to give a marked and distinctive character of excellence to the people of the town.
I trust some one of her many talented sons will be found ready, on this occasion, to do justice to their memory and character. Permit me, gentlemen, to offer you the following sentiment :-
May the generation that now is, exhibit all the excellencies of character, without any of the faults, of the generation that is past, for the instruction of those who are to come ; that the town may continue to have a name and a praise, for the worth of her citizens, when those present are gone from the stage and rest with their fathers.
I am, gentlemen, very truly yours, JONATHAN SMITH.
NEW YORK, OCT. 19, 1839.
Gentlemen,- Your kind invitation of the 8th instant came duly to hand. I have delayed replying, hoping to do it in person ; but I very much regret my engagements are such as I cannot remove, and will consequently prevent my attendance.
That you will have a gratifying Celebration I have no doubt, and that you may, is the sincere wish of
Yours, very truly, JEREMIAH SMITH.
BOSTON, OCT. 22, 1839.
Gentlemen,- I have delayed giving you an answer, in hopes of being able to be present on the interesting occasion, and now I
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am truly sorry to find myself unable to leave my business affairs at this time ; otherwise it would afford me the greatest pleasure to be present.
It is pleasant to visit the home of our childhood at any and all times, but especially on such an occasion as the present.
Your ob't servant.
DAVID CARTER.
BALTIMORE, OCT. 15, 1839.
Gentlemen,-Nothing could give me greater pleasure, than to be present at your celebration, but circumstances will necessa- rily prevent. Allow me therefore, to express myself, though now adopted elsewhere, still a son of my native town, good and true to the core in feeling, and every wish for her prosperity, and to propose the following sentiment, as my representative among you : -
Our native town, - Her intelligence, the boast ; her success, the joy ; her hills, memory's dearest shrine ; her all, the pride of her absent sons.
With great respect, I am your's, &c. HORACE MORISON
BALTIMORE, OCT. 15, 1839.
Gentlemen,-Your letter of the 9th instant was received, in- viting me to attend a Centennial Celebration in Peterborough on Thursday the 24th of Oct. Nothing could give me more pleasure than meeting on that occasion my townsmen, the inhab- itants of Peterborough, and her many distinguished sons from abroad ; but circumstances beyond my control render it impossi- ble. I trust, however, I shall be there in spirit, and, like a true- hearted son, enjoy in imagination the festivities in which I can take no part. I hope my native town will accept in my ab- sence, the following lyric * from one of the humblest of her bards, as a fit offering on such an occasion.
Accept for yourselves personally my warmest regards, and be- lieve me truly your fellow townsman.
NATHANIEL H. MORISON.
MUSIC, " The Winding Way,"-Sung by Messrs. Carter and Dunbar.
8th. Non-resident owners in our Manufacturing establishments, -For their liberality in aiding the public and private institutions of Peterborough, we return them our sincere thanks.
BOSTON, OCT. 22, 1839.
Gentlemen, - I have received your letter of the 16th inst., with a polite invitation to attend the celebration of the First
* Inserted on p. 64.
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Centennial Anniversary of the town of Peterborough, on the 24th inst. I much regret that it will not be in my power to attend said celebration, as it would afford me much pleasure to meet my friends and acquaintances at that place.
I have known Peterborough for about sixty years, and observed with pleasure its rapid growth in population, agriculture, manu- factures, arts, sciences, literature, &c. &c.
My first visit to Peterborough I will relate, merely to show some of the changes that have taken place since my recollection. Fifty-nine years ago last April, a man with a drove of cattle passed my father's house in New Ipswich, on his way to a pas- ture for his cattle in the town of Hancock. Being in want of assistance to drive his cattle, and seeing a flaxen haired boy at the door, he bargained with my father that I should assist him on his way as far as the mills in Peterborough, distance ten miles ; for this service to be performed by me, my father received ninepence, lawful money ; we arrived at the mills - a rickety saw and grist mill, standing on the site where the Peterborough Factory now stands, about four o'clock. The man of cattle then offered me half as much as he had paid my father, and a night's lodging, if I would go on with him through the woods three miles to Tay- lor's Tavern. I readily consented, and pocketed the cash. At that time there was only one house (Doctor Young's) between the mills and the tavern. All the rest of the way was a dreary wil- derness. But enough of my first visit to Peterborough .- I pro- pose, with your permission, Gentlemen, the following toast : -
The first Settlers of the town of Peterborough, - The Smiths, the Wil- sons, the Steeles, the Morisons, and many others ; celebrated for their industry, perseverance, prudence and honesty. Also their sons and grand-sons whether at home or abroad ; they have done honor to themselves, to their native town, and to their country. Their virtues and talents have shed a lustre on every profession, political, judicial, ecclesiastical, medical, military and scientific .*
I have the honor to be, most respectfully, gentlemen, your obedient, humble servant.
SAMUEL APPLETON.
P. S. Gentlemen, if you have not on hand more toasts than time, I beg leave to propose the following : -
The first Matrons of Peterborough, - Who, like the matrons of King Solomon's time, laid their hands to the spindle and distaff, made fine linen and sold it to the merchants,t and looked well to the ways of their household.
* Among my acquaintances may be reckoned Judge Smith, General Wil- son, Doct. Smith of Cincinnati, Rev. Mr. Morison, General Miller, &c. &c.
t Fifty years ago the writer of this kept a small store at New Ipswich, and exchanged tea, sugar, coffee, pins, needles, &c., for home spun fine linen, made by the matrons and fair daughters of Peterborough.
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Also, their fair daughters, of the third and fourth generation, who without handling the distaff, by the almost magical use of the spinning jenny and the shuttle, can clothe themselves in silks and fare sumptuously every day.
BOSTON, OCT. 19, 1839.
Gentlemen, - Your favor of the 16th inst. came duly to my hands, and I accept and thank you for the invitation to attend the Centennial Anniversary of your Town on Thursday next.
I fear that it may be impracticable for me to be absent from Boston at that time, and shall much regret if such shall prove to be the fact. In any event, my sympathies and feelings will be with you ; for I have witnessed with lively interest the growth and improvement of Peterborough, and find it my pride and plea- sure to associate with her sons. Very respectfully, yours, SAMUEL MAY.
Should I be prevented being with you, on the interesting occa- sion, allow me to offer through you as a sentiment : -
The Town of Peterborough, - Forward in the ranks of Agriculture and Manufactures; high in the scale of education, morals and religion ; she has sent forth her full quota of eminent and excellent laborers in Church and in State. May she go on " prospering and to prosper."
BOSTON, OCT. 23, 1839.
Gentlemen, - This will be handed you by my son. I regret very much that I cannot be with you to-morrow, but having only within a few minutes returned from a journey of some fifteen or sixteen days, it is impossible that I can have that pleasure. I have many pleasant reminiscences connected with Peterborough. Born, as it were, upon the borders of the town, her brooks and rivers were familiar to me, for I was in the habit of fishing from them the wily trout, before factories were hardly thought of, other than the then common ones for manufacturing meal and boards. I should there find myself surrounded by many old friends and acquaintances, and might perhaps point out in the assembly, the man who used to purchase of me the skins of the muskrat,* which I entrapped to supply myself with change, for election and training days - and I trust I should then meet my much re- spected and ever valued friend + - Peterborough's most enter- prising son - who, when I became of age, and was about to leave New England, to seek my fortune and business in western wilds, unsolicited, took me by the hand and established me in business with himself in Keene; a change which no doubt has
* Jonas Loring ; for a long time the only hatter in town.
t Samuel Smith, Esq.
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much promoted my prosperity and happiness, and for which I trust I shall ever feel grateful.
With manufacturing in Peterborough I can claim an early connexion, as well as one of more recent date. More than forty years ago I was an operative, and used to set card teeth by hand, for one of her citizens, for which I was paid fourpence a pair, not in cash, but " store pay." By close application in my leisure hours, I could set about one and a half or two pairs in a week. I was an owner in the Peterborough Factory, and was present at the commencement of its operations in 1810, and that I believe was the Second Cotton Factory in the State; since then I have been interested in most of the factories established there, and have done business to a considerable extent, for them all.
In many towns, where manufactories have been established within the last twenty years, the inhabitants have looked upon them, and especially upon the proprietors who were non-residents, with jealousy and distrust; but it has not been so with the citizens of Peterborough. They have been governed by more enlight- ened and liberal views, and with few, very few exceptions, they have fostered and aided the corporations by all the means in their power ; and from them the proprietors abroad have ever received the most kind and courteous consideration and support, for which they are entitled to, and through you I would most re- spectfully present to them, my sincere acknowledgments. To you, Gentlemen, personally, for your kind invitation to be pre. sent on this interesting occasion of the Centennial Celebration, I tender my thanks, and offer the annexed sentiment to be used as you may deem proper.
Very respectfully, your obedient servant,
ISAAC PARKER.
Peterborough .- Prosperity to her people, to her manufactories, her fur trade and her fisheries.
MUSIC, " Hill of Zion." Sung by the Choir.
9th. Our adopted Citizens. - May we never in action or in word say to any one of them, - thou art the son of a stranger.
JOHN H. STEELE, Esq., rose and said, -
Mr. President, - Had I the ability to do justice to my own feelings, or to the feelings of many others who like myself are adopted citizens of Peterborough, the present occasion would have been eagerly sought. No minor considerations could have prevented me from embracing this opportunity, to return thanks in the warmest language of the heart, for the many proofs we have received, not only of your kindness and open handed hospi- tality, but for the free, warm-hearted welcome invariably extended
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to every stranger whose fortune it is to make his residence among you.
No diversity of opinions has at any time prevented that cordial interchange of sentiment or free discussion, which is the parent of every improvement. All here meet as men should meet. No fancied distinctions or differences of opinions, are suffered to de- stroy that sociability, which is at once the pride and boast of Peterborough.
The stranger, as well as native, share alike the honors and pleasures of society. No wonder then that your sons, where- e're they roam, in whatsoever situation they may be placed, whether on the tented field, in the senate, on the bench, in the pulpit, at the bar, following the plough, or hammering on the anvil,-all cheerfully own their native home, all proudly hail from Peterborough.
Mr. President, - if the sentiment which has brought me forward, is to be considered as a call now made on the native citizens of this town, never, in action or in word, to say to any one of their adopted citizens, " thou art the son of a stranger," it will not convey a reproach either now, or in times gone by, No, Sir, nearly thirty years' residence among you enables me to say, that for the past you can have no reflections to cast ; - the stranger is here sure to find a resting-place, a Home.
To those who have never wandered far from their paternal fire- sides, I would say ; you know not the feelings of the immigrant, the longing desires of the homeless stranger. No one who has wandered far from the home of his youth, but must have felt a lone- liness, a depression of spirits, a yearning after his native land, an almost irresistible impulse to return to the place that gave him birth, - it is of little consequence where that place may be, - whether on the borders of the burning desert, amid the chilling blasts of the frozen North, or the yet more fatal stagnant swamps of the South. Let him be a forced or willing exile ; let him have received the kindest, or the most cruel treatment that the inge- nuity of man can inflict ; all, all, cannot, will not, and let me add, should not, wean him from his native land. He that can forget the land that gave him birth, must be unworthy to be called an adopted citizen of any other. Such a man deserves not the sympathy of others. On such a being the kind and generous greetings of his adopted home is lost. He careth not whether you say to him thou art welcome, stranger, or, that " thou art the son of a stranger." Far different are the feelings of him who never hears the name of his native land without emotion. Although alive to the interests of the home of his childhood, he will not neglect or forget the interests of his adopted home. By such a man a cheerful, hearty welcome will be duly appreciated ; it will cheer him on, and bring forth whatever there may be of
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the man in him; while a different reception, if it did not destroy, would paralyze his future efforts, and perhaps extinguish forever all the energy of his character. His usefulness would be im- paired, his previous acquirements lost, and all his future pros- pects blasted ; the home of his adoption would only be able to number one more human being among them, who would proba- bly live a life of wretchedness instead of one of usefulness, and die a neglected, forgotten stranger.
Yes, fellow-citizens, on you in a great measure depends the usefulness of every stranger who may permanently settle among you. It is true you cannot give youth to the aged, neither can you make the stupid active, nor yet entirely wean the sluggard from his slothful ways ; but you have, time and again, by your open-heartedness, not only encouraged all who were disposed to help themselves, but have effectually rebuked, both by precept and example, the vicious and evil inclined. Many a youth, who from previous associations had acquired a thoughtless, if not a ruinous habit of extravagance, has been by the example of your industry reclaimed, and made to bless the day that led him to choose this as his abiding place.
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