USA > New Hampshire > Hillsborough County > Amherst > Celebration of the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the incorporation of Amherst, New Hampshire June 17, 1910, including the proceedings of the committee, addresses and other exercises of the occasion > Part 5
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8
A time comes when childish things must be put away; and do you say assume the fullness of an adult? Oh no! not so fast; the next step is a condition the like of which is seen aud felt no more during our lives. Youth must be reckoned with. The pent up forces in him must break forth - the fiery impetuosity of youth carries everything before it. The maddening fury of a cavalry charge (not excepting the Light Brigade) was never more spectacular than unsuppressed youth. Suppress him utterly, and you have an extinct volcano; guide him, and you have a thorough- bred whose sublime movements are the admiration of all.
What more enjoyable time in life is there, than its spring-time, before the cares, burdens, and responsibilities come trooping up; a period when we are clothed, and fed, and housed, and have recreation at the hands of others.
We felt that of course "tomorrow was to be as this day and much more abundant." That our wisdom was superior to any the world had yet seen, for did we not have the latest of the world's accumulated wisdom, in all matters pertaining to life laid before us as an open book? The accumulated records of man's experience of the ages were our heritage. Indeed were we not the heirs of all the ages? Was it not a glorious inheritance ? Much more progress there could not be, for the limit of human capabilities seemed to have been attained in the time of our youth; therefore, there could be no problems for the morrow to solve, and so, logically enough, we knew the sum of human wisdom, past, present and future.
72
ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY
Gladly we praised the Fates for bringing us into action in the "golden age" of all time! Long since these illusions have van- ished, and are memories.
We had other ideas also. Our elders in speech, dress and in thinking and acting were "old fashioned"; we were up to date. Our elders praised us when we did a meritorious thing, and told ns what bright and shining lights we were sure to become, and that brought satisfaction to our heart and a flush to our cheek. Sometimes we did unmeritorious things and that brought dis- satisfaction and a flush elsewhere than to the cheek! We were filled with joy because we were so soon to occupy the places of those whose freedom we envied. Did not our parents and guar- dians come and go and control everything by their own sweet will? Was not that just the one thing more in life to attain? Would not very shortly all our ambitions be gratified? Among the ambitions, we longed for power to rule in the affairs of state, and did not know that even if we ruled in wisdom and love, there would be many to criticise adversely and harshly; and if we ruled unwisely, curses long, loud, and deep would be our portion; neither did we realize that even if our slightest wish were in- stantly obeyed, the king of Death might at any moment wrest the scepter from our hand. Perhaps We had a thirst for knowledge, a laudable ambition indeed; but, we were not aware what an empty thing it really is; the more we know, the more we find what is to be known; we stand in a circle of light, and as knowledge increases the darkness recedes, the charmed circle enlarges; the agony comes when we tread where the light and the darkness meet at the circle's rim, and peer into the gloom beyond until our strength is all gone, and then realize that even the alphabet is not yet learned! The finite cannot grasp the Infinite. Youth sometimes asks for wealth, for wealth's sake; as well might they ask for a millstone to be hanged about their necks, and then be cast into the sea. The idle rich have furnished tragedies enough to make the world stand aghast. The bright, sweet lassie that walked by our side also had an ambition; she greatly desired personal beauty in a crown of rich tresses, sparkling eyes, lips of coral, teeth of pearls, and snowy whiteness of a shapely, jewel ornamented hand. She, too, in her innocence did not know that soul beauty is the only beauty that fades not.
Meteor-like childhood and youth passed, and we stood face to face with life sure enough, with its make-up of comedy and tragedy. The sensation to most of us at that time I am per- suaded, was as though we stood on a lonely beach, and watched the ripples of the mighty ocean; they rippled on, and on, but our vision caught no shore on which they could ever break. In that trying hour had not blessed hope whispered that someway and somehow, we would somewhere make port, utter discouragement would have ruined all.
We may not have realized it at the outset, but the most of us have of necessity been plodders in life with few climaxes to enliven and goad us on; be that as it may, there is comfort in the thought that the crowning glory of a successful life is this: that each individual resolves to be, and is, of service to mankind; a life lived for and within itself is a failure; yea, worse than : failure; he who possesses it is a cumberer of the ground.
While rendering our services to the world we might regard it as a great privilege if all of us could have remained from begin- ning to end amid the scenes, and among the companionships we
73
ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY
first knew, whether this be practical or not, it is a fact that many of us perform life's duties far and wide from home, and with strangers, and amid strange scenes.
What is the lure that takes us from so beautiful a section as this - our early home? Ah! it is not allurement at all; it is the spirit of unrest. For six thousand years, the more men have the more they crave; the more they achieve the more they desire achievement. The "unknown" with its mysteries stirs us to action, and keeps the imagination busy and working overtime. suggesting that something just beyond is easy of accomplishment. and more lovely than present environment; and so we are led hither and yon, and back and forth, with weary steps and aching hearts, that we may perchance somewhere find that which is satisfying.
If the spirit of unrest is given to man by the Ruler of us all. to enforce the Divine command, "Be fruitful and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it," then ought we to move forward with brave spirits happy in the thought that struggle gives strength.
After all, have we who have gone from among you rendered more or better service for those and the eternal years than you who have stood steadfastly to your tasks here? The record does not always show; but speaking for myself I shall be happy indeed if you will graciously allow me to claim equal honors with you. During the period of separation we have constantly thought of you lovingly, tenderly. Have you thought of us? While you have enjoyed the familiar scenes here, and friendships tried and true, and felt their sustaining influence, have you had sympathetic thought of us, amid unfamiliar scenes bending wearily to our tasks, that we prove ourselves worthy of new friendships which we might chance to make? If yon have not done this in love, you are in debt to us.
Once more - we need and ought to have your good thought of us, for we in our toil have been separated not only from our early friends mnch beloved, but from our kindred as well. Speaking once again for myself - when departing from this goodly town forty and one years since, I left nearly a score of kinspeople; today as I return there is one here, and one only, to greet me.
We see friend after friend pass with time into the unseen. I hope it will not appear out of place for me to refer, in a word, to a new made grave that has touched all hearts alike in sorrow.
That Milton Wilkins loved mankind, we know. We are equally sure that he was in full sympathy and hearty accord with the Man of Gallilee, whose teachings are changing matters from the jargon, con- fusion, and strife that prevailed at the Tower of Babel, and is draw- ing all mankind together in sympathy, love and happiness, at the foot of the Cross. To those that are dear to him, who now sit in the shadows, let us in sympathy say, rejoice that such a life was given to you for a season. I fancy that I hear his voice from out the deep, deep silence saying to his dear ones here : "Inasmuch as ye wrought faithfully and well while I was with you in the Hesh, fail not to yet keep steadily, patiently and persistently to the work of your mission and let your feet not stray from the road that leads to the Eternal City."
It is the human and the divine in us that forces the expression with Tennyson :
"But oh for the touch of a vanish'd hand,
And the sound of a voice that is still!"
74
ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY
We may have had lack of sympathy from you, but the Father Almighty is loving and wise; and He has arranged that we have less of sorrow than of joy, else we could not bear the burden. We are thrice glad that the rainbow of promise has never deserted onr sky; then it matters not very much where men may be. when precious thoughts of other years pass athwart the mind's vision, we involuntarily exclaim "Buena Vista!"
Recollections of home is the lure, and mingled emotions the impelling force that calls men from all the walks of life, back to the place of their nativity. The call comes to him who each morning begs of his rich neighbor leave to toil; it presents itself by the bench of the mechanic, and lurks among his tools; it con- fronts the manufacturer busy with plans for turning out the best products to supply the needs of his race; it whispers in the ear of the merchant in his office; it softens the heart of the banker in his counting room; and the men of the cloth, who declare the message of "Peace on earth, and good will to men," bow their heads in reverence when come to them visions of their childhood and youth.
Friends of my youth, fifty years ago and today have met; the honr in which they have kissed each other has struck. We of 1860 have our records almost finished. I have in the brief moment allotted to me in these exercises merely attempted to awaken in you thoughts of the past which are always profitable. At three score and more years life is nearly all memory; we do not at that age attempt many new enterprises. The taking of stock and the summing up of assets and liabilities in mercantile affairs show the results; you and I have reached in on career the sum- ming up stage. A well managed business usually gives good results; a well managed life brings fragrant memories. Memory is generous; it is like the lily which graciously gives back to the sun from whence it receives it, all the coloring, which if retained would make the lily appear gorgeous; however, it stands immaen- late on the stem, emblematic of purity and unselfishness; so memory gives back to us this day all the colors of the experience of half a century.
AMHERST MEN AND AMHERST AFFAIRS
Address by George W. Putnam of Lowell, Mass.
Having heard the superb, scholarly, historical addresses just finished, and having learned so much about this good old town, 1 am pronder than ever that I am a son of Amherst.
The part that Amherst men took in the War of the Revolution and in the Battle of Bunker Hill has already been mentioned, but permit me to describe that historical battle.
One hundred and thirty-five years ago this morning, the Colo- nial Dames of Boston, the aristocratie Loyalists and the American Patriots, such as there were in the town, were all rudely awakened from their dreams by the roar of the six-gun battery on Copp's llill and by the more distant canonading from the British ships of war in the harbor.
Tumbling from their beds and hastily dressing, they sent ser- vants and messengers to inquire the cause of this disturbance. Soon it was reported that the American troops had seized Breed's Hill in Charlestown and that there was to be a battle.
It was a beautiful, warm June morning. The birds had been singing and flitting through the tree tops on the Common. The sun came up out of the ocean clear and hot. Everything in nature seemed as far from battle and bloodshed as it is in this quiet village this morning. But before the sun had fairly risen, the town rang with the rattling of artillery carriages, the shouts of officers, the roll of drums and the shrill yelling of fifes.
Early in the day a great company of all classes gathered on Beacon Hill and on Fort Hill to see the fight. There were in that company the elite of Boston, many of whom sympathized with the British, and there were patriotic Americans who prayed un- ceasingly in their loyal hearts for the safety of their kinsmen and friends, who were working so desperately on that distant hillside.
They chose view points as best they could on roofs, fences and stoops, and waited for the unusual spectacle.
After a long delay they saw, moving slowly out over the shim- mering water of the harbor, several barges, packed with solid masses of scarlet, between which occasionally flashed the reflection of the sun on a musket or brass field-piece. One by one these barges unloaded its red-coated cargo on Moulton's Point, and returned for more troops. Gradually, out of the confusion, the red masses formed into regular lines and waited for their companions.
Meanwhile on the slopes of Breed's Hill nothing was to be seen except the unceasing toil with shovel and pick in spite of the constant and terrific thunder of the land and water batteries against those patriots on the hill.
About three o'clock in the afternoon, three red lines were seen moving slowly forward toward the hill. Steadily up, unchallenged. unmolested, nnafraid, rolled those companies of King George the
76
ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY
Third, until some of the watchers said, "The rebels are going to surrender without a shot. There will be no battle."
Then, from all along the breastworks, burst a sheet of flame as if it hungered to scorch the very faces of its foes. The line staggered, writhed, reformed, fired one volley and sullenly crept back down the hill. And the magnificently trained King's Army had learned that they had a foeman worthy of their greatest skill.
Just before the movement up the hill, a dark, somewhat irregu- lar mass of men was seeu passing steadily over Charlestown Neck in the face of a furious fire from the ships on the river. They finally lost their formation but not their legs and on they ran, recklessly and bravely, till they reached the hill.
This was the regiment of trained Indian fighters from New Hampshire, the regiment of Col. John Stark. This was the regiment that was one of the last to leave the battlefield, having fired their last charge of powder, and used their muskets as clubs, they retreated, turning frequently with only musket barrels in their hands, to challenge the British to come on.
But why all this description? Because in that regiment that crossed Charlestown Neck and fought to the end, were seventy-one Amherst men, and for one hundred and fifty years wherever and whenever there has been a call for true, loyal hearts, whether in peace or war, Amherst men have answered the call.
Is it any wouder that we, who have the blood of such men iu our veins, are proud of our ancestry? We have good reason to be, and may we ever be as loyal to our heritage as they were to their country.
Just to give you an idea of what sturdy stuff Amherst men were made and what they endured, permit me to tell you the story of one of them. He was just an ordinary man, not distinguished, and probably many of you never heard his name. It was Thomas Maxwell. When only fifteen years old, he was in the Ranger service, and for nine years suffered the terrible dangers of that brave band, part of the time under the command of Rogers and Stark.
He was one of Roger's company on that almost superhuman march from Crown Point, through hundreds of miles of unbroken wilderness, to the Indian village of St. Francis, followed by a large band of French and Indians, close on their heels. He crept. with others, into that Indian village in the night and helped to kill 200 Indian warriors. He accomplished that wonderful return to the Ammonusue, during which journey men ate their belts, their moccasins and even their soaked up powder horns, to keep alive; all this when only a boy of seventeen.
He came to Amherst in 1764, and began driving an ox team to Boston, carrying produce and returning with various supplies. After one of these long and arduous journeys, he arrived in Boston in December, 1773. He did considerable business with John Hancock, who knew of him as a ranger. On this occasion. after some conversation about his load, Hancock said: "Do you want to see some sport tonight? If you do, put up your team in my stable and come to this warehouse after dark." Maxwell. always ready for an adventure, did as he was told, and, later in the evening painted and be-feathered as an Indian, helped to unload that famous cargo of tea into Boston Harbor.
On another visit to Boston, in April, 1775, he had returned as
77
ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY
THE AMHERST STATION ROAD
far as his sister's in Bedford, where he was spending the night. Ilis sister's husband was Capt. Jonathan Wilson, in command of the Bedford Minute-Men.
During the night they heard "A hurry of hoofs in the village street."
They saw
"A shape in the moonlight, a bulk in the dark,"
And knew
"That the fate of a nation was riding that night."
He was asked to accompany the Bedford men, gladly accepted, went "well armed' 'and you may be sure that more than one "red-coat" rolled in the dust as the result of this ranger's marksmanship.
In the fight Captain Wilson was killed. Maxwell returned to Bedford, hired a man to take home his team, and repaired to Cambridge where the Amherst Company, of which he was second lieutenant, shortly arrived. On June 17, 1775, he was one of the brave men who crossed Charlestown Neck under fire, as already mentioned. In that fight, history says that he lost "one fine shirt and one powder horn."
After the evacuation of Boston by the British, in 1776, Maxwell marched with the army to Providence and New York and from thence to Canada and back to Crown Point and Ticonderoga. In December, 1776, he with his regiment joined the army under
78
ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY
General Washington an dhe was in those famous battles at Tren- ton .and Princton. In 1777, he was in the battle at Hubbardston, Vt., where the British so badly whipped the Americans. He alsuo took part in the battles of Bennington, Bemis Heights and Saratoga. In 1778, he was employed in the ranger service in Central New York and was in the battle of Stony Arabia. . A year later, 1779, he was with General Sullivan in his expedition against the hostile Indians in Central New York. For a few years Mr. Maxwell turned to ways of peace and resided with his family at Buckland, Mass., whither they had removed. During this time he was chosen a member of the convention that framed the Constitution of Massachusetts. In 1787, the war spirit was again aroused and he became captain of a company to suppress Shay's Rebellion in western Massachusetts.
The tireless energy of the old pioneer possessed him and in 1800, at the age of fifty-eight, he moved to Ohio and engaged in farming. Twelve years later, at the age of seventy, when it seemed as though he had given enough for his country, he again shouldered a musket and joining the army under General Hull, marched to Detroit where he was taken prisoner. After his release upon parole he returned home, then his house was burned by a mob that accused him of having advised the surrender of Hull. This would have soured the patriotism of most men, but in 1813, he again joined the army under Harrison, and in 1814. seventy-two years old, served under General Miller at Chippewa, Lundy's Lane and Fort Erie. Near the latter place he was once more taken prisoner by the British, who treated him with great severity. He was exchanged in March, 1814, and returned to his home, where he died at the good old age of ninety-two.
This is the story of only one Amherst pioneer. Probably it differs in detail only from that of Peabody, Crosby, Wilkins, Towne and a dozen others, because when the War of the Revolu- tion called for men, one man in every three in Amherst, between the ages of 16 and 80, answered the call and were just as ready as Thompson Maxwell to endure what he did had the same oppor- tunity offered.
In 1861, Amherst men were again ready to give their lives for their country, as yonder bronze tablet ever stands ready to testify. But, if there were no monnment, there are those present today who could tell us all about it, and when they too have passed out of sight, their names should be so graven on the tablets of our memory that nothing will efface them so long as life lasts.
Amherst may well be proud of the record of her sons in the past, but what of the present and the future? That question may safely be answered by the fact that "like begets like" and some of the same families, with the same blood flowing in their veins, are in Amherst today, that were here one hundred and fifty years ago. It is reasonable to believe then, that, should a similar crisis arise as that of 1776, or that of 1861, Amherst men would be just as patriotic and just as ready to lay down their lives for a principle as were their ancestors.
Ex-President Tucker of Dartmouth College says: "The constant and honorable boast of New Hampshire has been of the quality of the men whom she could furnish to the nation." And it may well be said that the constant and honorable boast of Amherst has been and ever will be, of the quality of the men whom she has furnished and can furnish to the nation.
1
79
ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY
THE ROBERT MEANS RESIDENCE Where President Pierce Was Married.
But some one says that times have changed; that Amherst men are quiet, peace loving people; that Amherst has lost all of her former greatness as the county seat; her court house and jail; her lawyers; her bank; her hotels; all of her business interests and even her newspaper.
All of the items set forth in this indictment may be true, but let me say a few things for your consolation.
First, as to your occupation as farmers, do you remember-
"By the rude bridge that arched the flood, Their flag to April's breeze unfurled, Here once the embattled farmers stood And fired the shot heard round the world."
Do you remember in 1861 that it was the boys from the quiet New England farms and villages who first answered the call for troops? So it will always be, that the nation must turn to the country in a crisis when she needs men or votes of the kind that are true to her interests.
It is true that you have lost your court house and jail and the lawyers that go with them, or in them, but with all due respect to legal fraternity present, these are some of the things that never should be missed in a town like Amherst. If any man here desires litigation he ought to be compelled to drive to Nashua or Manchester for it, because by the time he reaches either city he amy be sufficiently cooled to let his wiser judgment prevail and decide to settle his case out of court.
80
ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY
It is true that you have no large shops or mills or so-called "big enterprises," but business and bustle are not the best things a town can have, because with them must inevitably come, sooner or later, foreign populations, and the wretchedness and wicked- ness of poorly paid, intemperate laborers.
No! Let Amherst remain just as she is,- a clean, beautiful, respectable Yankee town. She is just the kind of a town about which we dwellers in the cities dream and build, not "Castles in Spain," but little bungalows and cottages, which we hope may sometime materialize, and to which We may retire from the noise and smoke and filth and jargon of the city, to enjoy the quiet peace, the clear sweet air, the songs of birds and the sound of Yankee tongues.
While Amherst may never be a "business town," this is what she may be, if all of you who live within her boundaries, will work together in harmony for her best interests; she may be a town famous for her thrifty, prosperous people; famous for her well educated children; famous for her good roads and beautiful drives; famous for her neat, well-kept, quiet village; famous for the good work done by her churches; and famous for her public spirited, large-hearted fellowship. These are the things that invite good people to come here and live here as one of you. It cannot all be accomplished by one man, but it can be accomplished if every one of you does his or her share.
These things being done, you and your children will have written on the pages of history a record to which posterity can turn with as much pride one hundred and fifty years from today as we now look back over the record of the one hundred and fifty years just finished.
Home Life in Amherst Fifty Years Ago.
By Warren Upham, D. Sc., of St. Paul, Minn.
This anniversary, completing a hundred and fifty years from the founding of Amherst, is filled with memories of the past, gratitude and joy for the present, and hope for the future. Half a century is
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.