USA > New Hampshire > Merrimack County > Biographical review containing life sketches of leading citizens of Merrimack and Sullivan counties, New Hampshire > Part 50
USA > New Hampshire > Sullivan County > Biographical review containing life sketches of leading citizens of Merrimack and Sullivan counties, New Hampshire > Part 50
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This step from the farm into the wide world in 1850 was taken in response to. a letter from an uncle in Buffalo, proposing his coming to that city for three years as an ap-, prentice in the undertaking business, his fare out to be paid and his board, and fifty dollars, one hundred and fifty dollars, and one hundred and seventy-five dollars for the whole time. By rail and stage and canal packet-boat the city was reached. The family met him kindly, the new life opened rapidly, and in business and social life he met excellent people in ways to gain insight of their real life and character. For five years, as appren- tice and then assistant, he was with that uncle, E. Farwell, whom he prized as being largely the counterpart of his beloved father. Meantime his two older brothers had left the farm; and his father wrote, urging, even com- manding, his return. He declined, in view of opening advantages; and in a few years the father gladly acknowledged the better judg- ment of his son.
Twenty-one years of age, energetic, capable, and enterprising, in September, 1855, he landed from the steamer "Plymouth Rock " at ten o'clock p.M., in Detroit. The next morning he met Marcus Stevens and Samuel Zugg, both strangers, and before noon laid the foundation for a five years' partnership, they to offset two thousand dollars against his whole time and skill, and he to have one-third
of the profits, as undertakers. This went on for twelve years; and in 1867 he became con- nected with a company of paving contractors, controlling the patent for the Nicholson pave- ment. On their dissolution in 1873, Mr. Farwell, in connection with E. Robinson, continued the business, and operated exten- sively in street paving in Detroit and other Michigan cities up to 1885. For eight years from 1872 he was connected with the Clough & Warren Organ Company of Detroit; and he was also President and leading owner for some years of the Dominion Organ and Piano Com- pany of Bowmanville, Ont., both of which concerns during these years rose from small beginnings to the front rank in such enter- prises.
'He is President of the Farwell Transporta- tion Company, which has during its existence owned and controlled a fleet of some twenty vessels, among which are some of the largest and best steamers and sailing craft on the Lakes.
He was first President of the Detroit Even- ing Journal Company, then an independent paper. Mr. and Mrs. Farwell are separate owners of real estate in the city. To wait and watch with quiet sagacity until the time was ripe, and then to enter into enterprises, old or new, with prompt vigor, has been his method in business; and thus his enlarging operations have usually been safe from the start.
A Democrat in politics, he holds fast to his party with sincere fidelity. He favors woman suffrage as based on justice and therefore sure to bring benefit. Of the liberal school in religion, he has been a Trustee of the De- troit Unitarian Society and President of the .State Association, and in later years a sup- porter of the Universalist Society in the city. Unpretending in manner, he is quietly social and friendly, with a cheery humor as spar-
Engraved byd & Campbell. N. Y.
Emery. Harwell.
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kling and fine as the babbling brooks among his native hills.
April 24, 1859, Mr. Farwell married Emma J. Godfrey, of Detroit, a woman whose frank and honest eyes tell an eloquent story of kindly sincerity. Their home life has been happy. Their two sons, George and Jerry G., are in business. A daughter, Emma, just be- yond that mystic verge where childhood and womanhood meet, makes up the trio.
The story of the building and dedication of the Farwell School-house, North Charles- town, N. H., 1889-90, is a twice-told tale well worth reading. During the visits of Mr. Farwell and his family to his birthplace the ruinous condition of the district school-house had become a subject of discussion, until their daughter Emma, in an inspired and inspiring moment, proposed that they should build a . new one. This plan ripened. Mrs. Farwell wished to pay half the cost. The house, the finest country school-house in the State, had its corner-stone laid July 4, 1889; and a year after the completed building was passed over to the town, these occasions being gala days to hundreds. Extracts from the addresses of Mr. Farwell, and a glimpse of the exercises, will show the spirit in which the good work was done and accepted.
Emma Farwell, who first suggested the building, fitly laid the corner-stone. The Hon. George S. Smith presided. The Rev. T. D. Howard said: "There rises in my memory an address by Dean Stanley to an English audience on the restoration of an ancient church. He spoke of the influence upon those who daily were in sight of the revered and noble building whose walls had been repaired. An atmosphere distinct from that which commonly prevails envelopes a building dedicated to high public service. Above this corner-stone is to be erected a
beautiful building. The passing traveller will pause to hear the story of local attach- ment, affectionate memory, and open-handed generosity, which caused these walls to rise. He may be led to think of the blessings of knowledge and refinement which thence may reach future generations, while every resident near by may well draw inspiration to kindly deeds from this proof of abiding love.
"I am glad, for one, that the friendly rain has led us from floor outside into this church. The cause of education may here fitly receive its rightful sanction. Here we may well affirm that good knowledge is the handmaid of religion, and hope and pray that the instruc- tion given young minds may lead toward that 'fear of the Lord which is the beginning of wisdom.' "
Only the opening sentence of Mr. Far- well's speech is quoted : -
"With a view of giving added interest to the cause of education in country schools, and with a sincere regard for the place of my na- tivity, childhood, and early boyhood, and in affectionate remembrance of my parents, George and Aurilla Farwell, my grand-parents, Jesse and Abigail Farwell, and my great-grand- parents, William and Bethiah Farwell, all now deceased, and with a desire to perpetuate the memory of their modest worth as parents and citizens, I have been led to construct this building, the corner-stone of which is this day to be laid, with the purpose, when fully com- pleted, to present the same to my native town. In depositing this declaration beneath the corner-stone, I desire that there may go with it an acknowledgment of my appreciation of the worth of the several teachers by whom it was my good fortune to be instructed during my school-boy days."
Others spoke briefly ; and the people went to their homes in happy mood, to meet again in
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larger numbers, July 4, 1890, to see the build- ing dedicated and passed over to the town. When multitudes from near and far gathered beneath a spacious canopy on the grounds, the building stood complete before them. The front door of heavy oak opens into a hall, around which are school and cabinet and library rooms. Its front is eastward, and its broad windows open a fine view down the valley toward the Connecticut River a. few miles west and the Vermont mountains be- yond. Healthfulness, comfort, and the latest and best school apparatus have been sought for; and further plans for library and cabinets are being laid.
Music by choir and band, brief talks by the Rev. Calvin Stebbins, of Worcester, formerly of Detroit, the Hon. H. W. Parker, of Clare- mont, A. Wait, of Newport, the Rev. D. E. Croft, of Charlestown, an address by the Hon. Justin Dartt, reading of letters, a flag deliv- ery (the flag presented by Dr. Byron G. Clark, of New York City), a presentation of mineral- ogical cabinet by John Hancock Lock, Esq., of North Charlestown, a deluge of mountain flowers poured upon Mrs. Farwell by the ladies and school children, filled the time enjoyably, the speaking being all fit and valuable.
From Mr. Farwell's address, passing over the school-house to the town, extracts are given as follows : -
"Mr. Chairman, - Agreeably to promise heretofore made, I now deliver the deed of this house and lot from myself and wife, who joins with me in this conveyance, and who has vol- untarily and cheerfully contributed from her own estate the one-half of the cost of this gift to my native town.
"Among the conditions attached to this gift are that it shall be used for a general school and library, and when not in use for those purposes shall be free to all religious organiza-
tions which may make application for its use, the purpose being to have it entirely unsecta- rian and free to all who may choose to use it, reversing in this respect the rule enjoined by the benefactor, and steadily enforced in one of the great educational and industrial insti- tutions of the city of Philadelphia, whereby no minister is to pass within its walls. There is no better way to abolish religious prejudice and bigotry than a free and full presentation of the various doctrines pertaining to the Christian and other religions of the world. In the language of one of the eminent scholars of New England, now deceased, 'the right to read and construe the sacred writings of the Christian and other religions belongs exclu- sively to no class or set of men, but to the individual who is to rise or fall by his own acts and his own faith, and not by those of another."
"It is the sincere wish of Mrs. Farwell, myself, and our daughter, who, with your aid, laid so strong, and we trust enduringly, the corner-stone of this building on the Fourth of July last, that the management of the affairs of this school district by those whose duty it now becomes to care for it, coupled with the efforts of the teachers who from time to time may be intrusted with the education of the children who may here attend, together with the efforts of the children themselves, may be successful in making this school a pride to the community, an ornament to the township, and the model rural school of New Hampshire and New England.
"There is much in the historic memories of this community, town and State, to stimulate the rising generation to noble effort; and with well-directed effort there is sure to follow worthy achievement.
"In the early hours and engagements of the Revolution, when this neighborhood was little
Engraved by &' K. Campbell. N'Y.
Engraved for the Tyler Family History
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more than an unbroken wilderness, it was rep- resented ably and heroically by its full share of active men.
"Although of remote lineage, the gallant record of Captain Farwell, who was from this immediate neighborhood at the battle of Bun- ker Hill, the second engagement of the Revo- lution, has been and will ever be a proud recollection to myself and family.
"Within sight of where we now are, on yonder mountain range, is to be seen the first camping-ground of the intrepid Stark and his band of Granite patriots, while on their hur- ried march to the field of Bennington, made historic by their heroism a few days later.
"'Going back to earlier days, long prior to the Revolution, during the distressing years of French and Indian wars, we find the little fort in this town the extreme northerly fortified point in the valley of the Connecticut. From the headquarters of their allies at Montreal and Quebec the Indians made their way by water transit up the St. Lawrence, through its connecting waters to Lake Champlain, thence by trail across the mountain regions of Ver- mont, reaching the Connecticut abreast of this town where they too often found a rich har- vest of scalps and prisoners among the sur- prised and ambushed settlers. of those early days. The market for the Indians' booty of human scalps and half-starved prisoners was as clearly established and more steady at Mon- treal and Quebec in those days than are the markets of to-day for the ordinary items of commerce.
"Many of us forget, in reading of far-off heroic deeds, the equal heroism which has been displayed nearer home and at our very doors. The heroic determination to defend, to the last drop of blood, all which they held nearest and dearest, which animated Captain Stevens and a mere handful of men, women,
and children, in the defence of the fort at Charlestown, No. 4, during the French and Indian wars, against nearly a thousand Indian warriors, is not surpassed by the Grecian de- fence at the Pass of Thermopyla or the Texan patriots at the gate of the Alamo.
"Allusion was made to the profile of the 'Old Man of the Mountain' by the distin- guished orator at the laying of the corner- stone of this building, as being an emblem or sign of one of the occupations of the people of this State - namely, the rearing of men. The allusion was a beautiful and fitting one. However we may speculate as to whether that colossal image of the human face, placed on its lofty pedestal midst the clouds, the White Mountains its fitting base, silent witness of the ever-changing forms of creation and the steady growth of man, was created as a type of the great men who were to be reared in the Granite State, one thing is certain : that there is an influence radiating from that majestic image, with all its attendant and surrounding grandeur, which is directly traceable in the moulding of mind and character of all who are so fortunate as to be born and reared within its influence. .
"To the young I would say in conclusion : Place high your ideals, and work steadily toward them. Emulate as near as may be the distinguished examples the history of your State affords. Cultivate a wholesome and kindly rivalry for intellectual, moral, and physical advancement. Let the girls vie with each other and with the boys, and the boys with the girls, in efforts to care for this prop- erty and in ornamentation of its grounds. Keep frequently in mind the stirring incidents of the past, consider your prospects and your duties, think of the rich inheritance acquired by generations of ancestors, and recollect al- ways that it was they who founded the fabric
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of your prosperity in a severe and robust morality, having intelligence for its cement, and religion for its groundwork. Continue to build on the same foundation and by the same principles."
. The following is the address by the Hon. Justin Dartt, the leading orator of the day : - "This is a day of gladness. It is a happy occasion that has called us here. I see it in your faces. Who here is not happy? Who does not rejoice in the great fortune that has fallen to this community? Who has not a stronger faith in humanity and more hope and more courage for the future, as he looks at this beautiful structure, grown from the generous philanthropy of a man whom your State gave to the West, and who is now giving back to the East ? Some people know how to build monu- ments that shall endure. Such are your bene- factors.
"Some months ago I was beside that won- derful mausoleum in my native State where a man expended a fortune of nearly one hundred thousand to entomb the remains of his wife and daughter, and set up before its portal a statue of himself. This was some satisfaction, some pleasure to him, no doubt, but no benefit to others, save as a work of skill and art which they may admire. And then a little later I stood in the shadow of Brigham Academy, and read over its entrance, 'Erected by Peter Brig- ham.' Here, I thought, is a monument worth the building. That mausoleum with its statue and its mirrors and its landscapes, shall con- sume away and crumble into dust with the bodies of the dead, and the builder will be for- gotten ; but Peter Brigham will live on and on in the lives of those he helped to a better man- hood and of those influenced by them. Yes, we are learning to build monuments more last- ing than the granite and the marble. We build them in human hearts.
"This school building is intrusted to your care, people of this district. You have accepted the trust, guard it well. Let no idle hand deface its walls or mar its beauty. Keep in your hearts the spirit of the donor, and suffer no neglect to lessen your interest in its preservation. Permit no teacher to preside in these rooms who has not a love for and a sympathy with childhood, and may the influ- ence of this school ever be as clean and chaste as the edifice now before us. We dedicate it to the children of this district, those who are here and those who are to come after them in the years of the future. Happy are those children whose parents and the people among whom they live never grow old, never forget that they have been children, and who can appreciate the value of the beautiful in the surroundings of child life.
"Wordsworth wrote, 'The child is father to the man'; and Milton said that 'childhood shows the man as morning shows the day.' Experience proves that they knew whereof they spoke; and, as we hope for true men and noble women in the future, so we build for them to-day, and this beautiful structure, unique in its design, elegant in all its appointments, shall stand for learning and culture, for dis- cipline of life and worth of character, in those who are trained within it. How well the ar- chitect has made it represent the thought for which it stands! Varied and diversified in its material, it shall give its privileges to all. No sectarianism here, no party divisions in its favors, no distinction in those to whom its benefits are given ; but it is free to all, a grand representative of the common-school system of which it forms a part. Other men have built academies, colleges, halls, and libraries almost without number ; and we honor their deeds and their memories. The donors of this building have built better than they because they have
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FARHELL SCHOOL CHARLESTOWN.N.H.
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built for the children, for the common school, the foundation of our educational system.
"I believe this to be the first instance where a house of such rare beauty and ele- gance has been devoted to the elementary schools of the country, a house that has no equal among the district-school buildings of the land.
"Standing here in this representative com- munity of the State, this house is also dedicated to the future stability of the Commonwealth. Carved from the granite of her hills, it shall be the support of her honor and the guardian of her virtue and patriotism by means of its influence upon her citizenship, for,
" The riches of the Commonwealth Are free, strong minds and hearts of health ; And more to her than gold and gain The cunning hand and cultured brain.'
"But more than this. Planted here in this lovely valley of a sovereign State of the nation, a part of a great system of education that reaches from ocean to ocean, from the Gulf to the Great Lakes, this little gem, more valuable than the diamond, is consecrated to national liberty, to the further and larger de- velopment of that idea which landed with the Pilgrims, to the principle that was born in the cabin of the 'Mayflower,' a principle destined to permeate all nations and draw the alle- giance of the world.
"It is said by the great generals of the past that in every decisive battle there is a moment of crisis on which the fortune of the day turns, and he who seizes and holds that ridge of destiny wins the victory. There are crises in the course of nations as well as in the tide of war, and in this crisis of our coun- try - for I believe we are even now fast ap- proaching one - education and her allies must hold the part. She will hold it, and win for
truth and righteousness. The mightiest fac- tors in human progress are unseen. They come not with the noise and wrangle of polit- ical debate, they are not on the surface of strikes and labor agitations; but, like the sun- shine and the rain, they move the latent powers of a world's philanthropy, and give an abundant harvest of blessings.
"Such a power are the schools of America. The lines that lead out from our New England civilization have touched every village and hamlet of the national domain. The school teachers are touching the wires that are to reach every home and child in the land. Grand as have been the successes of the past, they are to pale and grow dim before the results of the near future. We are not to fail. We'll meet the incomer from every nation with the common school for his children. We'll send its currents through and through the great surging mass of ignorance in that South land. Even now the rays are breaking out through the dark cloud like electric lights in the blackness of a storm.
"When cities rivalling the magnificence of every other age, shall stand on the borders of the Pacific, the public school will be there. When the commerce of the Eastern nations shall crowd the gates of those cities, we'll send back to the worn-out civilizations of the Old World the bearers of a Christian education, before which ignorance shall be ashamed and superstition hide from the sight of man."
The question of deep water ways from lakes to ocean and other matters of moment, in com- merce and transportation especially, have al- ways commanded Mr. Farwell's attention, whether he had direct personal interest in them or not. A new site for a new post-office building, for instance, was an impersonal affair, but enlisted his hearty interest.
Whether the railroads should bridge the
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river at Detroit, and thus, as he and others claimed, obstruct navigation, or whether a tunnel should or could be built under water fifty feet deep, he held of great importance to the people of the whole North-west. When the question came up in 1888, he addressed public meetings and wrote terse and strong letters in favor of a tunnel. In one of these letters is quoted a statement of General Poe, the eminent engineer then in government charge of harbors, canals, etc., on the Great Lakes, that the annual saving in freight from Lake Superior alone, by water rather than rail, was over ten million dollars, and that, but for water routes, the total like extra cost would exceed forty million dollars, saying that the freight passing through the Suez Canal is less than half what passes through the river at Detroit, "which speculators are trying to ob- struct by piers and bridges." His brief para- graphs made a strong impression. The advo- cates of a bridge about that time made an estimate of its cost as about six million dol- lars, along with an effort to show that a tunnel was impracticable.
It was soon known that he was ready, with others, to guarantee the completion of a tunnel for three million five hundred thousand dol- lars, and from the leading Lake cities came protests against bridges. During the ten years since, one tunnel has been built, and is in safe and constant use at Port Huron, but not a bridge at Detroit or elsewhere. When navigation through the "Soo" and the St. Clair Canals was obstructed by accidents in 1888, Mr. Farwell telegraphed President Cleveland, who promptly cut all "red tape," and had needed help given at once. He after- ward addressed him a letter favoring the Nica- ragua Canal.
In deep water ways -twenty-foot channels and canals from Chicago and Duluth to the
seaboard - he took strong interest. On these subjects he spoke at Buffalo, Detroit, St. Louis, Tacoma, and elsewhere, usually in con- ventions. His resolutions and remarks at St. Louis are given in full : -
"At the Nicaragua Canal Convention held at St. Louis, Mo., on June 1, 1892, Mr. Jesse H. Farwell, representing the State of Michi- gan, offered the appended resolutions and addressed the convention as follows : -
" Whereas the construction of a canal uniting the waters of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans by way of Lake Nicaragua is now the imperative demand of the commercial world, and will be the equal benefactor of all maritime nations; and
" Whereas the distinguishing feature of the generation in which we live is the growth of the sentiment of universal brotherhood and by virtue thereof the fraternity of nations ; there- fore
"Resolved that the President of the United States be and he is hereby requested to invite to a conference representatives from all nations with whom this nation has had diplomatic rela- tions, to the end that the Nicaragua Canal may be built by joint effort of nations, that, as its beneficence is universal, so the protection and care of it may be the bounden obligation of the maritime world, that, uninterrupted by inter- necine strife, it may continue for all time the peaceful pathway of a world's commerce."
Mr. Farwell spoke as follows: "Coming uninstructed from a State which stands promi- nent in successful efforts for the development of the internal commerce of the country ; a Commonwealth which has by far the longest coast line washed by navigable waters of any of our forty-four States; a State, every foot of whose borders of two thousand miles is con- stantly washed by the ebb and flow created by the innumerable steam and sail craft whose
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