USA > New Hampshire > Sullivan County > Acworth > History of Acworth, with the proceedings of the centennial anniversary, genealogical records, and register of farms > Part 9
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REMARKS BY GEORGE R. BROWN, ESQ.
as they now do, without the aid of our schools ? Are they more important ? and do they do more for education ?
In our highest institutions four years complete a course ; in our academies three years ; while a course in our common schools involves many years of hard study and patient drilling. Without the one, the others, as now con- ducted, would be of no value whatever, for it is impossible in ascending the " Hill of Science," to leap upon some towering cliff at a single bound ; the ascent must be slow and gradual. The pupil goes to school, at first unlet- tered. He is a mass of mind and matter united-the material or block from which the intelligent man is to be hewn. The form is wanting, but the teacher, like the sculptor plying his chisel faithfully, carves that form, a living statue, the figure of a man, clad in the costly habiliments of learning. Though well clad, he is not yet robed in the gold embroidered, royal purple, for our colleges claim only to weave the texture whereon the ornaments are wrought, in other words, claim only to help the student to make a good preparation to educate himself.
In literature there is a maxim, often quoted to encourage scholars, that the " beginning is half the work." Admitting this truth, our common schools, being the beginning, are equal in importance to the academics and colleges, where one is fortunate enough to receive the benefit of all. But to the mil- lions who receive no advantages additional to those afforded by our common schools, the benefit is incomparable. Wheresoever persons migrating from these wind swept hills have located, they are the " bone and muscle of society." Educated, by the discipline of our schools, with their native genius and their characteristic resolute will, they are enabled to take a leading part in any community. Then, hail to our common schools. Let us echo the sentiment in thunder tones throughout the town, " may it be their good future to continue to grow in excellence, till none but model ones are to be found."
The following sentiment was responded to by Thomas Clark, Lieutenant-Colonel of the Fifty-Seventh Regiment of Ohio Vol- unteers, but a report of his remarks has not been received by the compiler :
" The Soldiers of the Late War-For the honor of the Nation, the supremacy of the Constitution, and the integrity of the Union, they left their quiet homes, endured the privations of the camp, and with heroic courage laid down their lives. May the flag they fought to save, forever float with ne'er a star obliterated from its folds."
The following "Parting Invocation," composed by Mrs. M. L. Silsby Johnson, was now sung :
PARTING INVOCATION. TUNE-" Old Hundred."
Lead us O Lord; Thou art Divine : Lead us who bear the kindred sign,
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Which gathers us with joy to trace Thy blessings on our native place.
Lead us to homes of earthly love ; Lead us, to that best home above, Where centuries bear each kindred throng, To celebrate Thy praise in song.
" Praise God from whom all blessings flow ; Praise him all creatures liere below ;
Praise him above, ye heavenly host ;
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost."
The exercises at the table were interspersed, and closed with music by the bands in attendance. The sun which had hid his face through the day, now looked out pleasantly upon the depart- ing multitude.
Several sentiments were not responded to for want of time, but the "responses" have been sent in, by request, for publication.
" The Native Dentists-Pre-eminent in this profession, they have taken away many of the aches of decaying nature, and added beauty to the human face."
Dr. E. G. Cummings of Concord, has responded to this senti- ment as follows:
Mr. President and Friends :- It is a source of great satisfaction and pleasure to me, to meet so many of my old acquaintances and friends here to-day, and as I look upon their smiling faces, my mind reverts to the time when the cares, struggles and issues of human life were unknown to many of us. It must be gratifying indeed to the people of Acworth to meet so many of her sons and daughters, who have come from the East and the West, the North and the South, to congratulate them upon this occasion.
I am proud to stand here to-day upon the soil of my native town, a repre- sentative of that great profession, which but a few years ago was weak and small, but now has become mighty and strong among the professions of the land. I think Acworth has given more of her sons to the dental profession than any other town in the State, and I know she gave the first student to a Dental College from the State of New Hampshire.
Six sons of Aeworth have given themselves to this profession, viz : D. A. Cummings, Horace Parker, W. Milton Smith, John Dickey and Ers- kine Dickey. It is not necessary for me to speak of them individually, as time will not permit, but they have all been successful in their profession, and I am proud to say they have honored their native town.
I should not feel that I had fulfilled my duty at this time, if I did not say one word to the memory of one of our number, who has left this world of
Oben G. Bunnnings
THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY
ASTOR, LENOX TILDEN FOUNDATION
2
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REMARKS BY DR. E. G. CUMMINGS AND REV. II. HOUSTON.
trial and care. I refer to Dr. John Dickey, son of T. M. Dickey. He studied his profession in New York city ; was a young man whom we looked upon as eminently fitted for the profession which he had chosen. His dispo- sition was mild and genial, and he was endowed with great mechanical powers, and we doubt not that, had he lived, he would have ranked high in his pro- fession. But God " who seeth not as man secth," hath taken him to his resting-place.
Mr. President, you say we have removed many of the aches and pains of decaying nature, and have added beauty and symmetry to the human face. We claim that we have done all this, and even more. We have hid from view that organ within the oral cavity, which, in a toothless mouth, looks more like a toad striving to relieve himself from the jaws of an enemy.
By the aid of dentures and other appliances, we have also prevented in the mouth of many an old maid and old bachelor, many a collision of the under jaw with the proboscis, which might have created serious disturbances in their lonely life.
Rev. Hiram Houston of Deer Island, Maine, responded as follows to this sentiment :
" The several Churches and Religious Societies of Acworth-Beacon lights on the ocean of life ; they cheer the weary pilgrim on life's troubled sea, and guide him to the harbor of rest."
Mr. President :- I suppose it is the purpose of every church and religious seciety to do all it can to relieve the sorrows of this life, and as much as possible to prepare man for a better life in the world to come. This being the case, every church and religious society occupies an important place in the history of towns and communities. Not less in Acworth than in other places. For a hundred years, pilgrims in their journey to another world, have been cheered on by the Christian hope. The early settlers of the town knew that the preached Gospel, sustained by religious societies, was the grand instrument in the needed work of preparing men for the better world. And that all might enjoy this means of grace, they laid the foundation of the church at the center of the town. No sandy foundation here. The winds and the floods beat upon the house, yet still it stands on its lofty eminence. Many weary travelers to the Celestial City have turned their steps to this hill of Zion. They have found it good to "sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus," and then they have gone on their way rejoicing until they entered the pearly gates, and mingled in the songs of angel minstrels.
Though this central church has been the principal beacon light, and has done good service in guiding multitudes to the haven of rest, and the watch- men on the walls have been faithful men, yet some of the pilgrims who passed this way, thought it advisable to pass through deep waters, in order to
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obey the Divine command. This new light shone for awhile on the hill, and blessed many who might otherwise have made shipwreck of their faith. But the troubled waters and a clear conscience before God helped them on their way. And now, like John the Baptist, they are doing their good work by the river side, because there is much water there.
Another beacon light shone for awhile on the hill beside the old one, and for a time it was thought the new light would eclipse the old one and render it useless. Its fires were kindled with great zeal, and many pilgrims warmed themselves by this fire, and felt new life kindled in their desponding hearts. Then they shouted for joy because they felt sure they were on their journey home.
But the old light had been shining too long to be easily eclipsed by a new one, and as the great mass of pilgrims looked at the old light, and felt safe in steering by that, the new light was removed to a more favorable locality in the valley, where the Wesleys could sing and pray with none to molest or make them afraid.
What could old Acworth do without these lights ? No light on the hill ! Would not weary pilgrims stumble upon the dark mountains ? No light in the valley ! Would not Apollyon be the terror of all who should pass that way ? There is enough of sin and wickedness, where the best churches are found. What then must be the condition of that community where no light comes to the people through the word of God, none through religious so- cieties.
Had no Sabbath bells been heard over these hills and through these valleys during the past hundred years, and had no people observed the weekly Sabbath, as returns this holy day, it would require no prophet to tell of shipwrecks, where all on board perished, because no beacon light revealed to them their danger and their peril. But when the members of these churches, who are the light of the world, let their light shine, then the voy- agers upon the sea of life, will have no excuse if they fail of entering the harbor of rest. For forty years I have watched these pilgrims toiling up Zion's hill. The youthful and the aged alike finding sweet peace as they neared the land of rest. Their conquest, their victory, and their triumph came through Him who is the Light of the world. So when these pilgrims have passed out of our sight, we have said, "Blessed are the dead, who die in the Lord."
But no such blessedness, and peace, have I known, where persons have despised the church, and neglected the ordinances of religion.
A hundred years hence, and many more pilgrims will have passed this way. Who shall give them light on their journey? Shall not these churches stand as beacon lights, when the fathers and mothers and the children, now on the stage, shall all have passed away ? Then " Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father which is in Heaven."
.
Yours truly Hl. Houston.
THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY
ASTOR, LENOX TILDEN FOUNDATION
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REMARKS BY J. DAVIS.
The next sentiment was responded to by J. Davis of Hancock, New Hampshire :
" The Farmers of Acworth, Resident and Abroad-Their herds and flocks manifest their kindness and skill; their well cultivated fields and full granaries, their industry ; their greenbacks and bank stock, their economy ; their open doors, their hospitality ; and their maple sugar, their excellent good taste."
Mr. President :- In responding to the sentiment just aunounced, there is nothing that gives me more pleasure than to speak of this class of men, whether resident or abroad, who have acted their part so nobly in the dis- charge of their duties in cultivating and tilling the soil.
No class of people on the face of the earth are more independent than the farmers of this goodly town. They know their support depends upon their strict economy and persevering industry, upon the cultivation of their broad and fertile fields, warmed by the refulgent and genial sun, nourished by the gentle showers of rain, and upon the flocks and herds that graze upon your hills. No town stands higher than this in raising fine horses, cattle and sheep, of which the sons, who are residents in the old homesteads of their fathers, may justly feel proud. You manifest your kindness and skill in the man- agement and protection of your flocks and herds, in constructing warm aud convenient buildings to protect them from the cold and bleak winds of a New England winter. You derive an income from your flocks as well as from your bank stock and greenbacks, which you have secured by the prudent hand of toil and by striet economy.
These beautiful hills and gentle slopes yield their grain and fruit to the in- dustrious hand of labor, and fill granaries as a reward for your patient in- dustry.
The early teachings of your fathers were not in vain, and the influence which they exerted on the youthful character, was propitious and salutary. It was felt and realized in every community throughout Christendom, where they lived.
The seeds of morality, kindness, benevolence and industry were implanted in the youthful mind ere they left the parental roof, by the teachings of a kind and affectionate parent. Those who have left their native soil, and have gone to the far West, or settled in some of the more enterprising and flour- ishing towns of New England which gave greater scope to their energies and . a wider field for their enterprise, or easier facilities for the discharge of Agri- cultural or mechanical pursuits, have not forgotten the instruction they re- ceived in their early days, that industry and economy give peace and happi- ness to the mind, health to the body and greenbacks to the pocket.
'All useful pursuits are noble and ennobling, but if any distinction is to be made, that is most dignified which is most useful.
For this, and many other reasons, agriculture has been placed at the head of all employments. It is the foundation on which all other pursuits rest, and without it they could not stand a day. The whole human family are 13
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dependent upon the toil and industry of the husbandman for their sustenance. The rich and the poor, the high and the low, the beasts that roam over your hills, as well as the insect that crawls at your feet, all must draw their sup- port from Mother Earth.
The cultivation of the earth brings us into closer communion with nature and her operations than any other employment. It was the employment of our first parents, who were placed by the hand of their Creator in the garden of Eden, to dress it and keep it. It has ever been, still is, and must ever be the employment of multitudes of the human race.
Aside from the labor of your farms, but intimately connected with it, is the manufacture of maple sugar, which is a laborious and fatiguing task, but the purity and good quality of your sugar, showing that in its production you have manifested skill and ingenuity, repays you for your hard work.
You, who have remained upon your native soil, are generally more pros- perous, better contented and happier than those who have led a more adven- turous life. Still, there are some who have gone to other climes, who have been fortunate and successful in accumulating a large amount of this world's goods, by persevering industry and a close application to their business, but after all they do not possess that spirit of independence which characterizes the lords of the soil. It is upon the yeomanry of a land that the wealth and prosperity of a nation depends. It is this that has made your goodly town to prosper and become what it now is. It has built your churches and school- houses, the recipients of your fostering care. It converted the wilderness into fruitful fields, and made them to bud and blossom like the rose. It built your houses that stand by the way-side and in your villages, where you now dwell, enjoying all the comforts which nature and your own industry has given you, for your prosperity and happiness. You realize it, you feel joy and thankfulness that a kind Providence has showered these blessings upon you. Your generosity speaks of your kind hearts. Your hospitable man- sions, whose doors are ever open to the poor and needy as well as to the stranger, are an index to your charity and benevolence.
Mr. President, the sons and daughters of the resident farmers, who left these beautiful fields and green hills and fertile valleys, where once they sported in all the innocence of childhood, have now come home,-home did I say ; how sweet the sound ! how dear to the heart of those, who have en- joyed its sweet influence ! have come to join in the celebration of the anni- versary of Acworth, to spend a short time in fraternal salutations-in happy greetings-in pleasant and cheerful intercourse-to recall innocent sports, and delightful scenes-to revive old friendships, and meet old friends-to in- quire after each other's welfare and how it has fared with us during the many years of our separation-what successes and reverses, what lights and shad- ows have checkered our lives.
But, sir, the man who stands upon his own native soil, who feels that by the laws of the land, by the laws of civilized nations, he is the rightful and
. THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY
ASTOR, LENOX TILDEN FOUNDATION
Lyman Brooks
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REMARKS BY E. P. BREED, ESQ.
exclusive owner of the land he tills, is by the constitution of his nature, un- der a wholesome influence, not easily imbibed from any other source. He feels, other things being equal, more strongly than another the position of man, as the lord of an inanimate world,-of this great and wonderful sphere, which, fashioned by the hand of God, and upheld by his power, is rolling through the heavens, a part of his, from the center to the sky.
Perchance his farm has come down to him from his fathers, but time, in his silent and noiseless tread, has completed his work, and they have gone to their final repose, but he can trace their footsteps as he pursues his daily labor. Perhaps the very roof which shelters him was reared by those to whom he owes his being-some interesting tradition is generally connected with every enclosure. The favorite fruit-tree planted by his father's hand- the brook which winds through the meadow giving beauty and verdure to its fertile banks, where he sported in childhood, where lay the path to the vil- lage in earlier days. He still hears the sound of the church-going bell, from the window, which called his father to the house of God, and, near at hand, is the spot where his parents are laid down to their final rest, and where, when his time shall come, he will be laid beside them. These are some of the feelings of the owners of their native soil. Language cannot paint them -- they flow from the deepest fountains of the heart-they are the life springs of a fresh, healthy and generous national character.
The next sentiment, " To the memory of the late Dr. Lyman Brooks," was responded to by E. P. Breed, Esq., of New York City :
Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen :- While this day so long expected is made the season of festivity, it, of necessity, calls us to review, with more or less of satisfaction, the record of the past.
This vast throng of men and women and children coming together to-day for the revival of old associations and the interchange of friendly greetings, reminds us that in the bosoms of the sons and daughters of Acworth there still fondly lingers a filial love for their early Eastern homes.
Since first the sound of the settler's axe was heard in the grand, old for- ests which crowned these now cultivated hills-since first the pale face pitched his habitation on this frontier where now repose the emblems of civilization; the grave has gathered within its icy arms more than three generations of men.
Meet it is that to-day-and to-day of all days-we strew the colorless flowers of our love over their graves. Meet it is that to-day we offer to the memory of their virtues the tribute of our respect and affection-that to-day we recall the history of their devotion to humanity and religion, their fidelity to the fundamental principles whereon is built the structure of liberal govern- ment, whereou repose the solid walls of the Temple of God.
From the charnel-house they speak to us and bid us imitate the excellencies of their lives; bid us revere them as sturdy laborers for the good of mankind.
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In yonder burying-ground stand the sculptured monuments which tell us their brief history-they were born-they died. And if we search among these mementos of the departed, we shall find few whose memory is more worthy of our regard than that of him who is so fitly recalled to our recollec. tion by the sentiment to which I now respond.
Lyman Brooks was born in the neighboring town of Alstead, where he remained until he was eleven years of age when his father removed to Ver- mont, to a farm in the County of Caledonia, the name of which is a kindly memento of that land of mountain and lake, of battle and of song, to which many of you with just pride trace your origin. Partaking of the common lot of the sons of New England, he labored on his father's farm until he was twenty-one years of age ; and afterwards during the intervals of study gained the means of his support and education. He pursued his professional studies with Dr. Dewey of Lancaster, and Dr. Adams of Keene, and in the year 1821, at the age of twenty-four years, he graduated at the Medical School of Dartmouth College.
The first two years of his professional life-years of trial to the physician- were passed in the adjoining town of Marlow, and in the year 1823 he re- moved to this town, where, with eminent success, he practiced his profession until his decease in May, 1865.
In the life of a physician, whose practice is among the inhabitants of a rural district, there is usually little to attract the attention of the historian or the eulogist. He is not ealled to address listening Senates, nor may he engage in the strifes of the business mart. The very nature of his inter- course with his fellow-men shuts out of view his words and his deeds.
The confidential adviser in regard to the ills of those who require his services, he may not proclaim his acts in the ears of a curious community ; he quietly passes from house to house, from bedside to bedside, the minister of healing to the suffering and the bearer of comfort to the sorrowing. He listens to the griefs of his anxious fellows and seatters, if it may be, the af- flictions that smother their hearts. In the heat of your midsummer, in the fierce, way-blocking storms of your winter, the doctor's daily round must be made-nay, he must make the " night joint laborer with the day," and, as the suffering children of men know no Sabbath of rest from their pain, so he knows not the repose which men of other pursuits enjoy. To the alleviation of human suffering he has made a solemn dedication of the energies of his life, and he must not forget his vows. But while there is little opportunity for physical comfort, there is ample room and verge enough for that peaceful satisfaction which the eonseiousness of faithful service must ever produce. It will not require an effort of your faney to present before the minds of many of you the constant, unwearying labors of Dr. Brooks for nearly half of that century the completion of which you so appropriately celebrate to-day. Many of you will remember how earnestly you watched the expression of his face, as he stood by the bedside of various members of your families and gave
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REMARKS BY E. P. BREED, ESQ.
you words of cheer-told you by the kindling eye, even before his gentle, sympathizing voice was heard, that the crisis was passed-that the skill of healing had prevailed, and that your loved ones would yet be restored to health: or, it may be, (for it is written " All men must die,") your worst fears assumed the form of fact and he found no word or hope to whisper in your ear, but rather, that the summons hence must be obeyed-told you in few and kindly words that the mortal must put on immortality-that you must prepare to see your dear one pass
" beneath the low green tent Whose curtain never outward swings."
Front many a scene like this the faithful physician must depart ; the privacy of domestic grief may not be disturbed by one even so confidential as the family physician. He may take your hand in the warm grasp of friendship -he may say to you " good-bye " and but little more, he turns his face from you and is gone.
The breaking heart must rest-must find for itself that healing which cometh not from human ageney-must, in its loneliness, look to that fountain of pure beneficence which faileth not. I should do injustice to the subject of these remarks, if I should omit to speak of him as a citizen and as a friend. In whatever seemed to be for the public weal he was always an active and vigilant promoter, ever realizing the fact that there is no subject of greater interest to the citizen of a free country than that of the mental and moral training of the young ; that within its compass are gathered the hopes of all the future ; and I think you will join me in asserting the truth of the remark that in his decease education lost an earnest and a faithful advocate.
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