USA > New Hampshire > Rockingham County > Windham > History and proceedings of the celebration of the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the incorporation of the settlement of Windham in New Hampshire held June 9, 1892 > Part 10
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My friend of the clarion voice which rises above the storm, ex-Sen- ator Patterson, has done us who happen to hail from Massachusetts the honor to address himself indirectly to us. He thinks, and I agree that the claim is not wholly without foundation, that Massachusetts has boasted perhaps a little too much of the Pilgrim and Puritan set- tlers of New England, forgetting that the Scotch, too, are entitled to share the credit of that great enterprise. But there is one circum- stance which he has omitted to mention, of which, in justice to our commonwealth, I beg leave to remind you. You Windham people really belong not to New Hampshire, but to us. If I read our friend Morrison's history correctly, the first grant of land in Windham was made by the Massachusetts legislature. Windham was a part of Massachusetts before it was part of New Hampshire, and if I were speaking to-day as a representative of Massachusetts, and not as a son (or grandson) of Windham, I should lay formal claim to you. As it is, I assure you that, if you can get the consent of Governor Tuttle and
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Address of Hon. Albert E. Pillsbury.
his legislature to come back to us, we shall be very glad to retake you, and we will receive you with open arms. [Applause.] I doubt, how- ever, if that consent is ever asked or given. On the contrary, instead of our retaking you, you are annually in the habit of retaking us. A considerable fraction of my neighbors in the city of Boston come wan- dering up here every summer, to breathe the mountain air of New Hampshire, to ramble over your hills and through your valleys, and to disturb your beautiful lakes with the oar and the angle ; and I am glad to be assured that the summer boarder is one of the most profitable crops ever cultivated in the state. I am sure that it takes less work to raise him than any crop known of when I was a boy on a New Hampshire farm. [Laughter.] You do not have to plough him, or mow him, or lay him down to grass every other year. [Laughter.] And you do not have to get up at four o'clock in the morning to milk him, for you can milk him all day, at your leisure. [Renewed laugh- ter.]
I have said nothing, as yet, of what it was my purpose to say, but most of that must be passed by. I came here to help celebrate this anniversary, but if I should begin on that theme, it would render me unable, I fear, to comply with your wholesome five-minute rule. If I were to undertake, at this hour, to say anything in behalf of the de- scendants of the natives or founders of Windham, for whom you have done me the honor to ask me to speak, I should say, first, that we re- gard the invitation which brings us here to-day as in the nature of a command. We do not feel at liberty to disregard this duty, which every descendant of Windham owes to his ancestry. It is no mere sentimental regard that we have for the men of the Scotch or Scotch- Irish race, I care not which you call it, who planted and built up this town and community. Their influence lives and moves in the traits which we fondly believe we have inherited from them, an influence which we feel every day of our lives. If their successors, who have gone in all directions over this land, helping to people the mighty val- leys of the Mississippi and Missouri, and to plant the seeds of a boundless harvest over the prairies of the great West,-if they have accomplished anything of success, if they have been able to do any- thing of service to their fellow-citizens, or to mankind, they owe much of it to the blood in their veins, and to the spirit and example of the fathers, the founders of Londonderry and Windham; the spirit which suffered for the covenant in the time of James, and fought through starvation and slaughter behind the walls of Londonderry.
You have shared this inheritance, and you inherit, also, the soil of
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Address of Hon. Frederick T. Greenhalge.
this beautiful town, the spot on which they helped to fight the battle for civilization, and liberty of conscience, and political liberty ; and I can only stay to say to you, my friends of Windham, that I trust you may live long in happiness and prosperity to appreciate and enjoy it. [Applause.] As one of your guests, let me add, too, a word of congratulation upon the public spirit, energy, and enterprise with which you have projected this celebration, and carried it to such a successful conclusion, an occasion which has been full of interest for us, and which you may well remember with pride and pleasure to the last day of your lives. [Loud applause.]
THE PRESIDENT :- The next sentiment is "The United States : Taken all in all, it is the fairest land on earth: Its government the best the ingenuity of man ever framed." I will introduce to you the Hon. Frederic T. Greenhalge, of Lowell, Mass., to respond to this toast.
ADDRESS OF HON. FREDERIC T. GREENHALGE.
My Friends of Windham :- I was not born here, but, at this mo- ment, I may declare with perfect truth that I was baptized here. [Laughter.] And the baptism was total immersion. [Renewed laughter.] I never respected the Scotch-Irish blood so much as when I saw this audience behave so nobly in the face of the storm, and when I heard Senator Patterson bid the storm defiance, I thought, "It is only a game of pitter-patter, let it pour." [Laughter and applause.]
They tell us about the experiments of a scientific character to make a downpour of rain. My fellow-citizen, William H. Anderson, has just explained the scientific method. He says it was his speech which brought down this terrible torrent of rain upon us at this moment. The experiments of Major Dryenfurth were failures. You want a Windham man to deliver a five minutes' speech, and all the rain of heaven is upon you in a moment. [Laughter.]
Now, I.come here without the ability to boast of having been born here, or having any ancestors who were born here. I feel very much like that historical character who was un-named by your orator to-day, a fat man in Londonderry.
I stand here as an outside barbarian, as a horrible example of what a man must be who was not born in Windham and has had no ances- tors born there. [Laughter.] But, as we might have said of this storm, in the epigrammatic spirit of Mr. Cutler's friend, "It might have been worse." [Laughter. ] So, I may say that, although greatly
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Address of Hon. Frederic T. Greenhalge.
interested in the event of my own birth, I had very little control over that event. [Laughter.] But, I may say that I have sought to make amends, so far as I could, for that perhaps infelicitous event. A man has much more to say and to do about marriage than he has about birth. I may, therefore, say that I am better than any recreant son of Windham who went away and married a girl descended from some other place and some other stock. [Laughter.]
I do not boast here without some right of my admiration of the noble qualities of that strong Scotch-Irish stock. Ah, I have proved my devotion ; I have proved my hearty approval in the full possession of my senses and after the most deliberate judgment. I may say that as Waverley, in Scott's novel, was, in anticipation of his marriage to the sister of the chief of the clan, permitted to march with the clan McIvar on the way to battle, so I am permitted to march with this goodly and noble clan in its triumphal celebration to-day. Arte- mus Ward said a man ought to receive great credit because he was willing that all his wife's able-bodied relations should render patriotic service in the war. [Laughter. ] I therefore, my friends of Wind- ham, may boast that, in a sort of vicarious way, I myself have had no small part in all your trials, in all your tribulations, in all your fail- ures, and in all your victories. By right of marriage I stand here as one of the clan, and, as I hear the splendid rehearsal of the victories of that stern, strong breed, I do not much care how my connection is brought about with such a noble, strong people. [Applause.] Ah, it makes the blood thrill to hear that grand old story of Londonderry ; and, as you hear of the spirit which animated the men of that starv- ing city, and how they manned the ramparts when death was inside and death was outside and the whisper went through the streets, "No surrender," I say that from the moment when you left the gates of Londonderry, down to to-day, in every stricken field of the Revolu- tion, and from Baltimore to Appomattox, the cry of the old London- derry breed has ever been, "No surrender, no surrender!" [Loud applause. ]
And what has Windham got to do with the United States of Amer- ica ? Everything. As Mr. Cutler said, it is not the great cities of America which work out the progress and salvation of the Republic. It is not the New York of to-day, it is not the Boston of to-day, it is not the Lowell of to-day, to which you look for the true type of American character now. I tell you, my friends, that it is in the country towns ; it is in the back country towns that the highest type of individual and national character is to be found to-day. Look at
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Address of Hon. Frederic T. Greenhalge.
the splendor of the United States, reaching from ocean to ocean, and from the gulf to the lakes ; look at its mighty commercial progress ; look at its teeming millions ; look at the millions who are applying for admission at its portals to-day. Yet, my friends, the keel of every one of the noble vessels of the white squadron was laid in your little Beaver brook. Yes, and every one of the sixty-five millions of this people drinks in, wittingly or unwittingly, inspiration from the clear pure air of Windham and towns like this. It is here where the in- spiration came from to build the factories of America. It is here upon your hills where the foundations of the great capitol at Wash- ington were laid; and, when I look around and see what has been done by these men of Londonderry, Derry, and Windham, I say I wonder how you could send so many strong men out and have so many strong men left behind.
Why, if they wanted a great journal established in the metropolis of the country, it was Horace Greeley who had to be sent for to do it. If it was necessary to lead an expedition to the North Pole and plant the banner of the United States on the highest latitude known to man, it was Adolphus W. Greely who had to do it. If it was to start man- ufactures, build a prosperous city here or there, in Massachusetts or in any state, it was the figure of John Nesmith that sprung to the front and did the work. [Applause. ] If it was necessary to have liberty and union, it was another New Hampshire man who was called to do it- Benjamin Franklin Butler. [Loud applause.] Why, the Home Guard that you have left here has maintained the old house in order. Everybody comes back and receives new inspiration from this air- merchant and lawyer, banker and tradesman. They all come here to renew their inspiration, got of old amongst these silent hills; and I tell you, my friends, it is becoming a very important matter in politi- cal action and in commercial action, that the true idea of American character shall maintain itself. I am not going to enter into any com- petition as to whether Massachusetts or New Hampshire or Maine or New York did more in this thing or in that. It makes not the slight- est difference that the men of Londonderry crossed the line, which they did not, to take part in the battle of Bunker Hill. It makes not the slightest difference that your strong sons and beautiful daughters are working in other states or in other territories. The great fact that comes home to me at this moment, speaking under the stars and stripes, is, that the work of each and all, Scotch-Irish, English, Welsh, or the millions who belong to that race which my friend here has described as belonging neither to Jew nor Angle, or to any known
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Address of Hon. J. G. Crawford.
race of men, it makes not the slightest difference ; they are all welded together in one splendid combination of true American progressive character. [Loud applause. ]
Their work and their triumphs are the triumphs of the United States just as long as the little, quiet, country town, with its library, with its beautiful individuality, with its deep, true notions of culture, with its lasting and ineradicable sentiment of religious liberty,-as long as those things survive the United States of America, in all its power, in all its glory, in all its prosperity, will live forever, a credit to the world, a model and an example, a refuge and a bulwark of strength to mankind for all generations forever and forever. [Loud applause.]
THE PRESIDENT :- Ladies and gentlemen, I now introduce to you Hon. John G. Crawford, of Manchester, N. H., a lawyer of Scotch descent, who will cheer us with his entertaining speech.
ADDRESS OF HON. J. G. CRAWFORD.
Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen :- I am one of the outsiders who have come here without any sentiment from the chairman,- neither have I any sentiment to present to you. I have to say, with a great deal of regret, that I was not descended from any one who lived in Windham, neither did I come to Windham to get a wife. [Laughter.] But I am proud to say, as you know by the name, that I belong to that same old Scotch stock that settled here. The first time I ever heard of Windham, it was not the name of this town, but way back in one of the old singing-books where they had the old tune of Windham. I understand it was named for this town, and the words were appropriate,-" Broad is the road which leads to death, and thousands walk therein." [Applause.]
I have always been anxious to come to Windham and see that road. [Laughter. ] I was told that it led straight from Windham down into Massachusetts. [Laughter.] And thousands have left this town and gone down to their death. [Laughter.] Why, sir, when they come back up here and undertake to claim credit that Windham once belonged to Massachusetts, they do not show the wisdom of their fathers when they concluded to separate themselves from that old Puritan state and become part and parcel of the Switzerland of America. I was born in Massachusetts. My forefathers came over with yours from Londonderry, and some of them were engaged in
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Address of Hon. J. G. Crawford.
that terrible siege of Londonderry for 105 days. Why, Mr. Chair- man, had they had the ladies of Windham to issue provisions, Lon- donderry would have held out until to-day. [Loud applause.]
The old Scotch-Irish never yet were conquered. They fought for the freedom of Scotland, and then they carried that freedom into England from the shores of northern Ireland. From that they came to America, and here you find them always fighting beneath the ban- ner of the free. Before the declaration of independence was made, when the Continental congress wished to know whether they were to be backed up by the American colonists, they sent forth a declaration of loyalty to the people that if they would declare the colonies inde- pendent they pledged their lives and their fortunes to maintain it. That resolution was submitted to every man in New Hampshire over twenty-one years of age, and in the town of Windham, with Samuel Morison, one of the selectmen, every man but three pledged him- self, his life, and his fortune, for the defence of the independence and liberty of this country. When came the terrible war, when it was attempted to overthrow our government and trail our banner in the dust, Windham men, the sons of those old Scotch heroes, rallied beneath that old banner which their fathers had given them, and marched forth to engage in that terrible war. And you never have known, history does not record the fact, of any Scotch-Irish man ever being a traitor to liberty. God bless you, when I thought of that broad road that led to death I thought that if the programme was fully carried out we need not worry about dying in any very imme- diate future ; we should have a long life extended to us if we got through the whole programme. [Laughter.]
Now, ladies and gentlemen, you have about concluded your exer- cises. The storm is over. The talking or eloquence you have heard, notwithstanding the downpour of the rain. I trust that you may all be spared to meet here again in 1942, and you will hear the same old speeches and the same old stories, but I trust you will not have the same old dinner, but one just as good. [Laughter and applause.]
Thanking you for your attention, being an outsider, lapped on to the end of this long programme, let me say, in conclusion, may your broad road be turned into a narrow one, and all walk in that to ever- lasting life. [Applause.]
William C. Harris, Esq., moved that when the meeting adjourn it be to June 9, 1942, and this motion was put and carried. .
The band played, and the assemblage united in singing "America."
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Closing Exercises.
CLOSING WORDS.
THE PRESIDENT :- Ladies and gentlemen, in a few moments this celebration will be ended. The settlement of this town, the names of its founders, the words uttered in their honor and memory, together with all the observances of this day, now belong to history. We com- mend them to our successors, who will meet June 9, 1942.
Looking into the future, far as human eye can see, I would say to them,-Citizens of Windham of 1942, when you celebrate this natal day we who now salute you will in our graves be sleeping. But guard well the precious heritage which is commended to your care. Honor the memory of the founders of this town, and transmit to your suc- cessors unimpaired the good things received from your predecessors, together with the garnered fruitage of all the years of your passing lives.
In obedience to your vote, I declare this celebration in honor of the 150th anniversary of the incorporation of Windham closed, and that it stands adjourned to the 9th day of June, 1942. So close the pub- lic exercises of this day, and the last official words of this celebration are spoken.
The band then struck up some very inspiring music, playing " Rec- ollections of the War," and other pieces.
After the close of the public exercises old friendships were renewed and they who had been long separated met in joy and gladness. It was a rare day, one of great enjoyment ; one which had been long anticipated with emotions of delight, and one which those who par- ticipated in its exercises will through all the coming years look back upon with supremest satisfaction and with joy.
And how can be better closed this portion of the day's exercises than by linking the far-away past of Windham's history with its active present; than by calling into our poetical service a lineal descendant of our first pastor and clergyman, Rev. William Johnston, an early settler in 1742. The following lines were written by his great-grandson, Hon. Benjamin L. Baxter, of Tecumseh, Mich., for another occasion. He never saw this home of his forefather, but these lines are applicable to this celebration :
"'Tis said no nobler thought nor kindly word, Nor deed of love, which once the heart hath stirred,
Can fail or die, but, strengthening day by day, While those who wrought, in silence pass away,
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Résumé.
Moves on from heart to heart, from shore to shore,
A blessing and a boon forevermore. And so, while we with deep-felt reverence turn Towards that sacred spot which doth inurn Our fathers' dust, and consecrate, with tears, Those hallowed memories of those earlier years, We, too, will make our own, where 'er we rove, Their high, heroic faith, and deeds of love, And gathering here, around their burial sod,
Revow their vows to freedom, and to God."
RÉSUMÉ.
In a remarkably well-written article on the celebration, by Prof. William S. Harris, of Northwood Academy, published in The News, Derry, N. H., he says, in relation to the celebration :
The event so long anticipated by the good people of this old town has passed into history. The citizens gave a royal welcome to former residents, and friends from abroad, who gladly responded to the invita- tion to unite in celebrating the birthday of the town. The town has had celebrations and reunions of interest before, but never any like this. Eighteen hundred persons gathered from all quarters of the country, to honor the past and renew its sacred associations.
The preparations by the Committee of Arrangements, and other will- ing workers, were on a scale such as the occasion demanded, while friends of the town, both at home and abroad, contributed liberally of their means, so that over $800 was easily raised, to defray expenses.
The exercises of the day were held at the Center, which, although not the first settled part of the town, has been, since 1798, when the old church, now the town hall, was erected, the center of the town's interest, and the place where its people have gathered for religious and municipal purposes. At the side of the town hall, a mammoth tent 130 feet long and 60 feet wide was erected, with seats capable of holding 1,200 or more people. At one side was the speakers' rostrum, and at the end the stage occupied by the band. The upper town hall.was used as a reception room for the guests as they arrived, while in the lower hall tables were set for dinner for 140 of the distinguished visitors.
The decorations were attractive and appropriate. The front of the hall bore in large gilt letters and figures the devices, "Welcome," "1720," " 1742," " 1892." The dining-hall was decorated with palms, hydran- geas, and other plants and flowers from the greenhouses of Horace. P. Dinsmoor. The tent and the upper hall were trimmed with flags and bunting, and the houses at the Center, and in other parts of the town, were also decorated for the occasion, many of the historic spots being designated by placards.
LETTERS.
Several hundred invitations were sent to individuals in all parts of the country, and some to friends across the water. Many whom the people of Windham would have gladly welcomed were unable to be present. The following include some of the letters received. None were publicly read, for lack of time. Letters of regret were also received from Mrs. Horace Fairbanks, St. Johnsbury, Vt .; Harry Ar- mour, Esq., Edinburgh, Scotland ; Mrs. M. Lizzie Park, Belfast, Me .; Rev. Charles Cutler, Talmadge, Ohio, and many others, not for pub- lication.
THE OLD PARISH OF OUR ANCESTORS IN IRELAND-THE LETTER OF REV. GILBERT ALEXANDER KENNEDY.
Aghadowey, county of Londonderry, Ireland, is, historically, most intimately connected with the Scotch settlement of Windham and Londonderry, New Hampshire. It is six miles from Coleraine, and is the parish from which emigrated, in 1718, Rev. James McGregor, and a portion of his pastoral charge, to Londonderry and Windham. Mr. McGregor was settled over that parish from 1701 to 1718, when he resigned, and came to America, and to Londonderry. Before leav- ing that place, he preached to his flock from Exodus 33:15 : " If Thy presence go not with me, carry us not up hence." As he preached to his people, our ancestors, in Aghadowey, on the eve of their depar- ture from their homes, in 1718, so, on the 23d of April, 1719, he spoke to our ancestors, a reunited flock, in this old Londonderry set- tlement. On the east side of Beaver pond, or Tsienneto lake, under the spreading branches of a great oak, he preached from Isaiah 32:2 : " And a man shall be as a hiding-place from the wind and a covert from the tempest, as rivers of water in a dry place, as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land." The voice of that speaker has become silent, and his long-ago listeners no longer hear words falling from
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Letter from Rev. Gilbert A. Kennedy.
human lips. The old pastor and the members of his flock in two hemispheres are sleeping side by side in the ancient cemetery "on the hill," in the east village of Derry, N. H.
The parish of Aghadowey is an interesting locality, and was first visited by the writer in 1884, and again in 1889. The roads are hard and solid, the fields surrounded with trees and walls, or hedges of scraggy hawthorn which line the highways. Many familiar family names are still there, in the old home of our fathers, and kindred blood flows in the veins of that people. Considering the intimate connection which our ancestors had with that place, and that they were members of the Presbyterian church there, before their coming to New Hampshire, words of greeting were sent to pastor and people of that church, and a cordial invitation was given Rev. Gilbert Alex- ander Kennedy to attend the Windham celebration. To this came the following words of greeting from over the ocean :
AGHADOWEY MANSE, BLACKHILL, COLERAINE,
12th May, 1892.
DEAR MR. MORRISON :- I thank you very much for your cordial invitation to your anniversary. I should like exceedingly to be with you, and give you, by the medium of the living voice, the greetings of our ancient church. We feel, naturally, proud of you, and take a deep interest in all that concerns you, but I am a young man, lately settled, and could not find it easy to afford the time and expense required to perform so long a journey. I shall, however, send in time for your celebration a letter containing in a small compass the message I would have conveyed in person. With kindest regard,
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