History of Bedford, New Hampshire, from 1737 : being statistics compiled on the occasion of the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the incorporation of the town, May 15, 1900, Part 8

Author: Bedford (N.H. : Town)
Publication date: 1903
Publisher: Concord, N. H. : The Rumford Printing Co.
Number of Pages: 1202

USA > New Hampshire > Hillsborough County > Bedford > History of Bedford, New Hampshire, from 1737 : being statistics compiled on the occasion of the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the incorporation of the town, May 15, 1900 > Part 8

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I am, Gentlemen, with great respect for the inhabitants of Bed- ford, and for you, their Committee,

Your obedient servant,

C. H. ATHERTON.

DETROIT, May 16th, 1850.

Gentlemen : I regret exceedingly my inability to accept your kind invitation to be present at your Centennial Celebration of the settle- ment of the good old town of Bedford. It would have afforded me great pleasure to meet my old friends upon that occasion, but circum- stances beyond my own control will prevent. The ashes of the dead, as well as the loved faces of the living, attract me strongly to my native town, and that attachment I find increasing each day of my life. Permit me, in conclusion, to offer : "The Town of Bedford,- may her descendants (widely scattered through the land) never dis- honor their paternity."

Be pleased to accept, for yourselves and associates, my kind regards, and believe me, Truly yours,

Z. CHANDLER.

KEY WEST, May 7, 1850.

Gentlemen : On the 4th instant I received your kind letter of invi- tation to be present at the Centennial Celebration which the inhabit-

HISTORY OF BEDFORD.

ants of Bedford contemplate holding on the 22d of the present month. It would certainly give me great pleasure to be present on that interesting occasion, but business, as well as the great distance between us, will, I fear, prevent.

Having been absent from my native town for many years, I could not, were I personally present, contribute much to the interest of the occasion. As a son of Bedford, I shall always remember her with great interest, and rejoice in her prosperity and fame. I could do little more than give my early and youthful impressions of that noble race of men whom the American Revolution left in Bedford. That Revolution has been called " the times that tried men's souls." I would alter this to "the times that purified men's souls," for a sense of common danger destroyed their selfishness, and an ardent desire of liberty elevated and liberalized their minds. In those days men thought and acted from a common impulse, and rejoiced in a common victory.

Not a single Tory ever lived in Bedford. Almost all capable of bearing arms, at some period or other of the Revolution gave them- selves up to the service of their country. The strongest evidence of Toryism that was ever found in the town, as I have often heard the old patriots say, was the fact that old priest Houston, in his extreme age, did not omit from his formal prayer the mention of the king and queen quite as soon as the young and warm bloods desired. " There were giants in the land " in those days. The times made the men ; and the men were inspired to be ready and equal to the times. My earliest recollections are busy with the old Soldiers-the big and generous-hearted men who had seen and loved Washington. Does any one seek the cause why men were better in those days than at present? It may be found in the fact that in modern times the general desire of wealth makes men selfish, and selfishness is opposed to all excellence.

The limits of a common letter are wholly inadequate to discuss the traits of individual character; and yet, it was the happy blending of individual character that rendered the Revolutionary inhabitants of Bedford a race to be remembered and revered. There was a great similarity between the people of Bedford and Peterborough. They had a common origin, they were tried in the same school of afflic- tion, and rejoiced over the same deliverance. There was a rivalship among many of them in pleasantry, in wit, and in sententious say- ings. Their virtues bore a Roman stamp, and truth was inculcated among them as indeed one of the cardinal virtues.

Some characters doubtless shone more brightly than others, as they were contemplated from this or that particular point of view. But there were some traits common to the whole population. They nearly all possessed a severe virtue, a laborious industry, and cheer- ful and contented minds; they had received little or no advantages from schools ; they were self-taught. If they had not the polish of the Grecian marble, they possessed the strength and solidity of their

CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION.

native granite. I shall long remember, and who will ever forget, the vigorous intellect and Roman character of John Orr, the excellent hearts and gentlemanly deportment of the Chandlers, the Riddles, the Pattens, the Aikens, the Moors, the Walkers, the Wallaces, and others. Memory calls up the laborious and sterling French, the face- tious Mclaughlin, the kind William Parker, the feeling McQuestion, the venerable Major Goffe, and the talented and keen-witted Nathan Barnes. But I call on other memories to complete the list, for mine will not extend half through the catalogue. Among the excellent self-made men of that age, I cannot omit to mention one who admit- ted me early to his friendship and disclosed to me the treasures of his mind. There never was, perhaps, a more perfect character in the town-a man who more strictly observed the golden rule, more free from selfishness, or more full of the milk of human kindness-than David Patten, Esq. None ever heard censure from his lips, while he ever acted the peacemaker among those at variance; he was noble by nature, and a Christian by practice ; he abounded in charity, and the Christian graces adorned his life. Scarcely his inferior in any particular that constituted the good neighbor and the good man was the beloved Thomas Wallace, who was called to his reward in middle life. Others of a later generation have, I trust, filled the places of the choice ones who have all been summoned to their reward. When I revisit my native town I see but few faces, here and there, that remind me of my youth, while almost all are strange to my sight and admonish me that time has passed, and that I am growing old. I fear, gentlemen, you will think that this letter smacks of the garrulity of age. I close with the wish that the youth of Bedford may know what their ancestors have been, and imitate their virtues.

With great respect, gentlemen, I remain,

Your obedient servant, A. GORDON.

AMHERST, May 21, 1850.

Gentlemen : Your polite invitation to attend the Centennial Cele- bration of the inhabitants of Bedford on the 22d inst. was duly received, and until to-day I fully expected to be present on that very interesting occasion. With extreme regret I now find, however, that pressing duties will require my attention elsewhere at that time. It only remains to tender my sincere thanks for the honor of your kind remembrance, and may the day selected to welcome your returning kindred and friends prove as fair and beautiful as I am certain their greeting will be cordial and their entertainment brilliant and interesting.

With great respect,

Your obd't servant,

FRANCIS P. FITCHI.

HISTORY OF BEDFORD.

FRANKLIN, May 16, 1850.

Gentlemen : I acknowledge with grateful emotion the receipt of your invitation to be present at the Centennial Celebration of your town on the 22d instant, and have to express in reply, my regret that illness in my family does not allow me to entertain the hope of meeting you on that interesting occasion. Time tries all things. Results developed during the course of the past century must form a noble eulogy upon the characters and wisdom of the early settlers of your territory, and an instructive illustration of the power of re- ligious principle and free mind to bless a community and the world. May the sweetest influences rest upon the scenes and enjoyments of your festival.

Very respectfully yours, WM. T. SAVAGE.

NASHVILLE, May 16, 1850.

Gentlemen : I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your invitation to attend the Centennial Celebration at Bedford on the 22d inst. It would give me great pleasure to be present on so interest- ing an occasion, but I regret to say that imperative professional engagements compel me to forego that gratification.

I am, most respectfully, Your obedient servant, C. G. ATHERTON.

LOWELL, VT., May 15, 1850.

Gentlemen : Your invitation requesting my attendance at the Cen- tennial Celebration Wednesday, 22d May inst., is in hand, and I must say that nothing would give me more pleasure and satisfac- tion than to be present on such an occasion. That old and long- cherished town that gave me birth, and where I spent the first and most delightful part of my life ; the place where I first learned to lisp the endearing name of father, mother, brother, and sister; the place where my first, best, and purest impressions were made con- cerning the reality of another and better world, to which so many dear kindred and friends are gone, will ever be dear to my heart. As I cannot be present, I send my good wishes and prayers for all kindred and friends, for their present and eternal happiness. May union of brotherly love and fraternal affection fill every heart, and may all bosoms glow with gratitude to the Giver of all good.

Yours, &c., NATHAN WALKER.

18 WALL ST., NEW YORK, May 18, 1850.

Gentlemen : Your favor of the 15th of April, ultimo, inviting me to participate with you in your Centennial Celebration on the 22d

CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION.

instant has been duly received. I have delayed an answer until this late moment in the hope of being able to accept it. Present appear- ances indicate, however, that professional engagements here will prevent me from so doing.

I need not assure you that I feel the highest interest in your cele- bration, and although absent in person, my heart will be with you. The occasion is one well calculated to awaken in every son of old Bedford interesting reminiscences.

The township system of New England is one of the peculiar fea- tures of her well-marked character. It is a social as well as a politi- cal institution. It is conceded to be the most perfect model of an absolute democracy now extant. It might be added that a happy social equality nowhere finds so perfect a manifestation. Especially is this true of Bedford. Social as well as political equality has always reigned there. Overgrown wealth and squalid poverty are generally unknown. You, in a measure, realize that happy medium of condition which political philosophers have always described as the " condition precedent " of a model Republic in a golden age.

But every town gathering, of the kind you propose, has its own peculiar interest. Every town is more or less a community by itself, and as such has a distinctive character. My recollection of Bedford is that it is different from Merrimack, for instance, as New Hamp- shire from New Jersey. Each town, also, has its own town origin, its town history, its town biography, and its peculiar town institu- tions and politics, to lend distinctness and individuality to its town character.

I cannot imagine anything, Gentlemen, which would be more de- lightful than to participate with the assembled inhabitants of my native town in discussing and rescuing from oblivion her ancient story, her original settlement, her doings in the Revolution and in the War of 1812, her contributions to the Army in men and money, her prominent citizens now dead, her growth, her emigration, and everything worthy of note in her history. I know that the story would be one of which Old Bedford might well be proud. I feel it to be an honor that as one of her sons I am entitled to your invita- tion. The recollections which such an occasion suggests, the old localities, the streams, the woods, the green hills, the old Church and the adjoining burying-ground, where sleep my own kith and kin, and those well remembered faces which used to give vitality to those scenes, neither time or distance can ever obliterate from my mind. I cherish them as the sacred, golden links which tie me to youth and home, and I can truly say of my native town in the words of another,-

" Where'er I roam, whatever lands I see,

My heart untrammeled, fondly turns to thee."

With the sincerest good wishes for the success of your Celebration I remain,

Very truly yours,

P. T. WOODBURY.

HISTORY OF BEDFORD.

ELMIRA, N. Y., May 20, 1850.

Gentlemen : I had designed leaving this morning to attend the Centennial Celebration of the settlement of Bedford, to which I am invited by your kind note of the 15th ult., but owing to business engagements which I hoped to have been able to postpone, I find at this late hour that it will be entirely impracticable for me to leave home.

I need not not say that it would have afforded me great gratifica- tion to have met, on so interesting an occasion, the remnant of the fathers with whom I passed my earliest years, and to have taken by the hand those of my contemporaries in age, who remain to fill the places of many of those fathers long since gone down to the tomb. To the stern and uncompromising virtues which characterize the Scotch-Irish, who, I believe, were pioneers in the settlement of the town, is no doubt attributable the permanent prosperity of their descendants, and that large share of social happiness which pervades the homes of those who have staid beneath the paternal roof-tree, unseduced by the restless spirit of adventure which has lured abroad so many of the sons of New England.

Permit me, therefore, to give you the following sentiment : The Scotch-Irish-in war they can furnish a Stark,-in peace a Benja- min Orr.

I have the honor to be,

Very respectfully, your obed't servant, ARIEL S. THURSTON.

BOSTON, May 11, 1850.

Gentlemen : Your polite invitation to attend the Centennial Cele- bration of the town of Bedford, N. H., is as undeserved as it was unexpected to me. I regret that weighty reasons, not under my control, prevent my personal attendance on an occasion which will mark the improvement and record the physical and mental progress of your municipality. Having passed that way within a few years, I feel confident that the inhabitants of Bedford for these hundred years have been up and doing whatever their hands have found to be done ; and a long and intimate acquaintance with. their spiritual guide in these latter days assures me of their mental advancement. Such means and appliances continued for a hundred years to come will light a light which cannot be hid under a bushel or in the shad- ows of the hills, but must be set on a candlestick or on the mountain tops, enlightening all around, which is the sincere desire of a New Hampshire boy of the Hillsborough stamp.

Your invited guest, ISAAC P. OSGOOD.

WEST BUXTON, May 8, 1850.

Gentlemen : I have received your invitation to be present at your contemplated Centennial Celebration on the 22d inst. Few occasions

CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION.

would afford me greater pleasure than to be present with you on that day, but age and distance will prevent. I wish you, on that day, all the happiness and satisfaction such an occurrence is calcula- ted and designed to produce.

I am, gentlemen, respectfully,

Your friend and servant, CHARLES COFFIN.

ANN ARBOR, May 16, 1850.

Gentlemen : I received your polite invitation to attend your cele- bration of the 22d inst., and it is with no small degree of regret that I inform you that it will be impossible for me to be present on that occasion. Whether present or absent, in person, be assured my heart will be with you; for who can fail to feel an interest in the welfare of his native land-the home of his fathers-the happy scenes of his childhood ? Who can but wish himself present on such an occasion as the one you celebrate on the 22d inst.,-an occasion of intense interest to us all ?

As we look back on the last century, and cast a thought forward, we can but faintly imagine what changes and improvements may take place in even half that length of time. It is beyond the reach of human calculation. Only let the onward progress of the present day continue for the next half century, and what shall we become, or rather what shall we not become ? Had I time and talent to enlarge upon this thought much interest might be awakened on a subject of such importance. But I leave it to those better qualified to think and write than I can pretend to.

Yours, with great respect, GEO. S. MCALLASTER.

ANN ARBOR, May 3, 1850.

Gentlemen : Your note of the 15th ult., inviting me to attend the Centennial Celebration on the 22d inst., was duly received, and in reply I can only say that notwithstanding the good old town of Bed- ford is not the place of my nativity, yet it would afford me great pleasure to be present on that interesting occasion. Business about that time calls me in another direction, so that it will not be in my power to meet you on that day. But, Gentlemen, you will have my best wishes, and I remain,

Your obedient servant,

REUBEN P. GIBSON.

MANCHESTER, May 1, 1850.

Gentlemen : I have received your invitation to be present at the Centennial Celebration of the Town of Bedford, on the 22d inst. I very much regret that an unavoidable absence from my home, will

HISTORY OF BEDFORD.

probably deprive me of the pleasure of attending. The happy idea (original I think with you) of making this celebration the occasion of collecting and committing to the press, the history of your town and of its early inhabitants, will add permanent importance and value to the natural interest of such a meeting. I hope many of our towns may emulate the example of Bedford. You have my heartiest wishes that the day and all its incidents may be agreeable, and that they may afford to all interested, present and absent, the most pleas- ing recollections.

Very respectfully, Yours, &c., SAMUEL D. BELL.

WESTON, Vt., June 8, 1850.

Gentlemen : Your invitation to attend the Centennial Celebration at Bedford on the 22d ult., forwarded by my brother, I received a week previous. It was a matter of deep regret to me that I could not attend. Just at that period, my time and attention were so occupied in preparation to remove my family to this place, that I could not accept your invitation without very serious inconvenience. The address, with all the historical reminiscences you have collected, I expect will be published, and thus many interesting facts and cir- cumstances will be secured from oblivion. To every native of Bed- ferd this must be an interesting little volume. As a record of events from the earliest settlement of the town, it will no doubt be interest- ing to our successors at the close of another century. That the inhabitants of Bedford may seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and enjoy the promised consequent prosperity, is my earnest desire and prayer.

With high respect and esteem, Yours, JOHN WALKER.

HAVERHILL, May 13, 1850.

Gentlemen : Your invitation to be present at the Centennial Cele- bration to be holden on the 22d inst., is received, for which you will please accept my grateful acknowledgments. It would give me much pleasure to revisit the scenes of my boyhood on that occasion, but I regret to say that business of an urgent nature will prevent my attendance. It is long since I visited my native town, and doubtless many changes have occurred ; yet, although many once familiar faces would be no longer there to greet me, I would gladly receive the friendly grasp of the few who remain. My heart will ever cherish the memory of the early home, and be assured I shall be with you in spirit on your coming Festival.

In closing, permit me to offer one sentiment : The Tree of Liberty, which grew on my native soil.1 As that, although but a barren

1 Alluding to a tree on the Bell place, in the top of which was inserted, in the time of the Revolution, a liberty pole; and the old saying was, if the tree lives, American liberty will flourish. The tree did live until some late owner of the place cut it down, -Editor.

CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION.

trunk, put forth branches and expanded till it became a lofty and magnificent tree, so may the liberty of which that was the emblem continue to flourish and extend till all the nations of the earth shall be Free.

Yours, respectfully, JACOB BELL.

BELOIT, Wis., May 13, 1850.

Gentlemen : It would be in vain I should attempt to express the gratification derived from your invitation to meet with and make one of your number in celebrating the Centennial day of the town in which I was born, and in which I lived more than one half of that period of time. Inclination is strongly in favor of attending, and none could enjoy the occasion and the company we should expect to meet with, better than myself and family. But the pressure of busi- ness at this season will render it impossible.

Yours, truly, DANIEL GORDON.

The following notices of the occasion are extracted from the pub- lic journals of the day. The following is from the Boston Post :

Bedford is near Manchester, as near as the Merrimack river will permit it to be. It contains about 2,000 inhabitants, and boasts of fourteen district schools, one private academy, and but one organized church-the Presbyterian church, founded by the original settlers, who came here from Ulster in the North of Ireland, because the pudding-headed house of Guelph did not know enough to permit them to perform their preaching, praying, marrying, christening, and burying according to the Presbyterian forms, as carried over to Ireland from Scotland some century before. The present pastor, the Rev. Thomas Savage, is only the third who has presided over the ministrations of the church from its foundation, and judging from his well-knit frame and general appearance, and the activity and energy displayed by him to-day, I should say that there is still good twenty years of hard parochial work in him. There has been a Universalist, and is now a Baptist society, but, at present, the Pres- byterians alone sustain public worship. Agricultural pursuits are favorable to steadiness in religious principles, and there is very little business other than farming carried on in Bedford, except at a point or two on the line of the river, where marks of a new people and new notions are discoverable.

The celebration was a "town affair," provided for by the voters in town meeting assembled, and nearly every native resident able to move about took part in it, together with some hundreds who had gone forth to seek their fortunes elsewhere, but had returned on this appropriate occasion to see their relatives and exchange kindly greet- .

HISTORY OF BEDFORD.

ings with the friends and companions of their youth. Everything was conducted with decent simplicity, and serious yet social pro- priety.

At 11 o'clock, a procession was formed in front of the meeting- house, under the direction of Gen. William P. Riddle, as chief mar- shal. Full six hundred ladies, from blooming misses of fourteen to venerable grandmothers, led the van. Then came a good band, fol- lowed by about a thousand of the men and hardy lads of Bedford. A march of an eighth of a mile brought them to the spot prepared for the ceremonies of the day, where eight long and loaded tables gave notice of a substantial collation.

For the managers and distinguished guests, a platform, decorated with evergreens and other tasteful ornaments, had been erected, and there the main work of the jubilee was performed.

Dr. Peter P. Woodbury, president of the day, conducted the pro- ceedings with great tact in a most successful manner, putting things through by daylight, keeping the ball in motion, omitting nothing set down in the programme, nor hurrying or slightingly disposing of any part thereof. He had occasion to make several explanatory ad- dresses, and the pithy, courteous, and lively way in which he handled these incidental items contributed essentially to the good humor of the celebration, as well as to the despatch of business.

The New York Tribune thus speaks of the celebration :

CENTENARY OF BEDFORD, N. H. The people of Bedford, New Hampshire, celebrated the hundredth anniversary of the founding of their town, on Wednesday, 22d inst. The day was fair and bright -the only clear, warm, rainless day for some weeks-and the attend- ance of some two thousand citizens and ex-citizens gave a deep inter- est to the celebration. Several had traveled hundreds of miles to attend, though obliged by stress of business to start directly from the ground on their homeward journey.

Bedford was first settled something more than a hundred years ago by pioneers from the great central hive of Londonderry, N. H., which had been settled some twenty or thirty years before, by a col- ony of Scotch-Irish Presbyterians, who received grants of lands there in consideration of their signal services in the cause of Protestant ascendency in the memorable siege of Londonderry, the battle of Boyne Water, and other struggles in Ireland, between the adherents of William III and James II respectively. It was chartered in 1750 by George II, and named after the then duke of Bedford, a minister of state and ancestor of Lord John Russell, now Premier. Bedford lies on the west side of the Merrimack river, opposite old London- derry, now divided into three or four townships, one of which (Litch- field) intervenes between the present town of Londonderry and the river. With Nashua some fifteen miles south, and Manchester on the northeast-the two being the chief seats of manufactures in New Hampshire-Bedford remains constant to its primitive agricultural

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History of Bedford, New Hampshire, from 1737 : being statistics compiled on the occasion of the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the incorporation of the town, May 15, 1900, Part 8

Author: Bedford (N.H. : Town) Publication date: 1903 Publisher: Concord, N. H. : The Rumford Printing Co. Number of Pages: 1202

Author: Bedford (N.H. : Town)
Publication date: 1903
Publisher: Concord, N. H. : The Rumford Printing Co.
Number of Pages: 1202