USA > New Hampshire > Coos County > Lancaster > History of Lancaster, New Hampshire > Part 64
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I have this to say for the citizen soldiers, however, as a general remark : No better soldiers ever lived, no braver men ever went forth to battle, than the men who have been sent forth by your state and by other states,-men who, from the counting-house and the plough, all unskilled in the art of war, sprang to arms
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when their country was threatened, and went forth, as I said before, to the field. They have done all that is vested in human power to do; they have combatted an enemy as fearless, as determined, as persistent, as ever an enemy was, and have failed to overcome him, simply because they have met him-as a general thing -at great disadvantage, and frequently, too frequently, with overpowering numbers opposed to them. During the last campaign, we attacked him in his fortified positions, and everywhere we found him ready to receive us, and in force equal to our own. You wonder, perhaps, why Richmond has not been taken. If you had been with me, if you had passed through the scenes I have passed through, you would know why Richmond has not been taken, and you would know that you have got more to do at home before Richmond can be taken. You must make further sacrifices; more men must go forth to battle. I would it were not so. But let us rest where the old Roman rested, on whose sword was inscribed, " Draw me not without cause; sheath me not without redress "-on patriotism and valor. You have drawn the sword in the most sacred cause in which man was ever engaged - the preservation of your liberties. I beg you not to sheath that sword until the work is accomplished ; until the power of the rebel- lion is crushed, and the country is restored to peace.
I hope you do not think I am making a political speech. I am no partisan; I have given up party, and I know but one principle, and that is, to stand by the country at all times, at all hazards, and under all circumstances. (Applause. ) When the chairman told me I was to say something to-day, I felt as I have told you- utterly unprepared to give voice to the feelings that crowd upon my soul. I feel so now. Instead of offering a sentiment to call up some one individual, I will conclude with a sentiment which addresses itself to all, which I have pre- pared since I was invited to speak, and you will excuse me from saying more now. I would say, however, that there is no individual among you who experiences a higher pleasure or a sincerer gratitude to God that he is permitted to mingle with you to-day than I do. A few years ago, in Milwaukee, I met the gentleman who has addressed you (Mr. Holton), and we had some conversation in regard to a reunion of Lancaster people; but the war broke out soon after that, and these things were forgotten. But in spite of the war, you determined to bring about such a reunion, and I rejoice that you have been so successful in drawing together Lancaster people from all parts of the country, and have given occasion to every one to rejoice in the embrace of old friends.
Once again the blooming valley Offers up its grateful charms, And the circling hills securely Fold you in their shielding arms.
Lo, the mountains ! famous ever In the architectural plan, - Thus it is that God, the Father, Here reveals himself to man.
In these wondrous works behold him, See his image, hear his voice, Who hath made the hills to blossom, And the mountains to rejoice.
Reared within these classic borders, Edged and tempered for the strife, Ye have probed the world's disorders, Leading men to better life.
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Art and science, manifestations Of the Infinite and True, Ye have spread among the nations, Foremost where there's work to do.
Bring your laurel branches hither, Lay them on the altar's hearth ; They will keep your memory greener In the land that gave you birth.
The second regular toast was then read :
The Day We Celebrate.
THE PRESIDENT .- Some years ago, I happened to be traveling through the Western country, and came to the city of Milwaukee. It presented a New England appearance. I always find that I can trace New England people by the New England houses and scenes around them. Take a New England man and cast him into the wilderness, and he will sow, as far as he can reach, New England principles and habits. On inquiry, I found in that city a New Eng- land man, whom they told me was one of the fathers of the place ; having lived through its entire history. I remember that only thirty years ago Wisconsin was made a territory, and it has been a state but fifteen years. I find that it is six times as large as the state of New Hampshire, and has 150,000 children in the public schools. Who could stand with such prosperity? Who could lead and direct it; who create it? Well, my friends, I will show you the man who contributed to it largely ; one of my old schoolmates, Edward D. Holton. And now, if he is here, I would like to know what he has to say about Wisconsin. There was one thing more that I saw in Milwaukee. I went down to the market, and found there a cart-load of salmon trout floundering about, that had not been out of the lake, apparently, more than half an hour. They were as large as calves! (Loud laughter.) It is the greatest country I ever saw, out there, and Milwaukee is one of the greatest places; and this gentleman (Hon. Edward D. Holton) is one of the greatest men in that place. (Renewed merriment.)
SPEECH OF HON. E. D. HOLTON.
I wonder if there is any justice of the peace here ? I want to have this young man indicted. (Laughter.) He has dealt most profusely in broad statements, which I think ought to expose him to a great deal of censure. I think he is in- dictable, though I am not much of a lawyer. Now about those salmon, big as calves ! That is a big story. Old Billy Ingerson never saw as big salmon as that in the Connecticut, in all his life, although he saw awful big salmon, as well as big bears. (Laughter.)
I heard the name of Milwaukee, the city where I have the honor to live, men- tioned by our excellent and esteemed president. Well, friends, it has been my
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fortune to see what, perhaps, falls to the lot of but few persons of my age to see. I have witnessed every brick raised in that city of now sixty thousand inhabitants. When I went to Milwaukee it was a hamlet, and there was but a single brick house-a one-story building. Now it is literally a city of bricks. One of the peculiarities of the town is, that there is an extraordinary deposit of clay, that makes a yellow or cream-colored brick. Those bricks are found all over the country. There is scarcely a city in the United States that has not now some handsome structure built of those bricks. They make a peculiarly handsome material for building. Milwaukee is a cream-colored city - the natural color of the bricks. Very superior bricks are these; they are equal to marble for endur- ance. It has been my privilege also to see that people grow. I have seen the people come trooping in until the state has reached a population of a million. Many of these people are Germans. I have seen a great deal of the Germans, and I have come to love them very much. At least twenty or twenty-five thou- sand of the inhabitants of Milwaukee are Germans. They are a noble people. They have some peculiarities. They are very fond of lager beer, and deal in it almost everywhere; but now and then a Yankee likes a little lager. But still, they are a most industrious, law-abiding people, and a people of great productive power. To illustrate the stability of the Germans, I will mention that I took a lad, twelve years old, from the street, who was indentured to me, in the old- fashioned way, for six or seven years. That was in 1842, twenty-five years ago, and that boy has remained with me from that time to this - that is, in the differ- ent stations I have occupied. He is now a bookkeeper in one of the banks, to which I introduced him, having brought him up to that business. This steadi- ness and tenacity in business are what we need, and we shall borrow them from the German character.
Another characteristic of the German is his love for home. Any Yankee will go to work and fix up a farm, and then sell it right out, without even asking per- mission of his wife, if he can get his price. Not so with the Germans, Mr. Chairman. I can take you to many a German who would not sell his farm if you covered it with gold. It is worth twenty dollars an acre, perhaps. You say to him, " I will give you twenty-one." "No." "I will give you twenty-two." "No." "I will give you twenty-five." "No; you can't buy it at all." " Why not? " " It is my house-my home." Well, this stability of character, united with the characteristics of our people, is really going to improve us. A good cross is an advantage. That boy to whom I have referred is now a young man, and is worth $25,000, which he has accumulated by little savings. I want to call the attention of young American men to this element of the German character - steadiness, perseverance, and economy. It is an element which we need to in- corporate into the American character. So, in Milwaukee, I congratulate myself at the new type of character that the German population will bring among us. They are peculiar in some things, as I said before. They have departed from the old faith of Luther to a considerable extent. They are a little degenerate in the matter of theology, but that we hope to remedy.
Our schools are open; the New England element comes in, and we hope to gather up all the children to meet together in our common schools. We hope to keep ourselves well up with the times in that regard. We have now nine school- houses, three stories high, which have cost from fifteen to forty thousand dollars apiece. I know of no public buildings around there that are so handsome and elegant as they are. Into those schools we introduce the best talent that can be got, as teachers. Our common schools will carry the young man or the young maiden up to the languages, and perfect them in everything they need. And we are spreading this education broadcast, as you do, to all those German and Irish and Scotch and Welch that come among us, and thus we will produce a homogeneous population, that shall spread out and produce, we hope, a higher order of char-
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acter than we have yet seen on the continent in that valley of the Mississippi. God, we trust, will bless the efforts that are being put forth, not only by Mil- waukee, but by other cities and towns in the West. The great city of Chicago might be instanced, in a far grander sense than Milwaukee, for they have done nobler and better in all those matters that stand related to the highest welfare of the community. By applying these instrumentalities, we hope finally to prepare a population that shall be, with you here, a sheet-anchor, that shall hold the nation against any force that may be brought against it.
THE PRESIDENT .- This is an occasion when the forms of men rise up before us swifter than thought. Of the oldest inhabitants, I cannot help mentioning the name of Barnard, whose white locks and venerable appearance I well recollect, for he was aged when I came to Lancaster. He was a man of extensive culture, a fine speaker, and an honorable gentleman. He has gone from among us, but his life and character will be valuable, now and always. I remember, too, Richard Eastman, one of the most honored and
honorable men in our town. He was a man without reproach. Fortunate is he who successfully follows his example. Henry Ward Beecher once said that he wanted to live among the hills, where there had been trouble; where there had been steam power which had thrown up, in some grand convulsion, great mountains. It was a very ancient engine that burst when these hills were blown up from their deep foundations. There is a gentleman here to-day who has always been familiar with steam power, and on the train of fortune. But he loves his mountain home. He is a son of Lancas- ter, who went out into the world alone, and has come back, bearing the record of an honorable and successful life. I mean Nathaniel White, Esq. He sends me this sentiment, being too modest to speak :
May our town always keep on the track of prosperity, and may her merchandise be transported as successfully as this occasion transports us.
The third regular toast was then read :
Our Friends from Abroad.
THE PRESIDENT .- The gentleman who was expected to respond to that toast was the first preceptor of the academy in this place, Nathaniel Wilson, and I know there are many of his old pupils here to-day who will be delighted to see and hear him. He claims not to have educated me wholly, but only half of me. I am sorry to say, however, that in that he is mistaken; it was her sister. (Laughter.) The value of the services that gentleman has ren- dered the town cannot be calculated. His pupils all speak of him with respect and affection. If present, I wish he would come for- ward and address them a moment.
[Mr. Wilson did not respond, and the president continued.]
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My friends, before any of you retire, there is a little business to be transacted. I propose that when we adjourn, it be to meet again at this place on the 14th of July, 1964 (laughter and applause), and I venture, in behalf of the committee of arrangements, to invite all of you to be present. (Renewed merriment.) The orator will by that time be ready to deliver his oration, and the governors of Mas- sachusetts and New Hampshire will be able to attend. If it is your wish, when we do adjourn, to adjourn for a hundred years, and to meet as proposed, you will say "Aye." ("Aye," "aye.") It is a unan- imous vote, therefore you will all be here. (Great merriment.)
The next regular toast was then read :
Our Honored Dead.
Responded to by Henry O. Kent, giving statistics of enlistments. mortality, and notable acts on the part of the town and natives of Lancaster in the service.
THE PRESIDENT .- I do not mean to say, ladies and gentlemen, that Lancaster has ever felt very materially any of its great losses, because its resources have been so unbounded. It has, however, been quite a custom in times past for inquiring young men, and also sometimes for sober, serious, and disconsolate older ones, to . make pilgrimages to our mountains, to recuperate their health and restore their spirits. They often came to Lancaster for relief, and for a spiritual medicine, carry off our daughters to adorn other homes in other states. I have seen here to-day one of these fortu- nate men from Massachusetts, a valued acquaintance and friend of mine for some years. If Mr. Ezra C. Hutchins is in the audience, I would like to ask him what sentiment he cherishes for the town of Lan- caster, the birthplace of his better half? I know he has very happy feelings and a most thankful disposition concerning us. I will venture to say he is a very fortunate man, and must know it. (Laughter.)
MR. HUTCHINS sent up the following toast: May the daughters of Lancaster be found as lovely in the future as they have been in the past.
Fourth regular toast :
Our Common Country.
THE PRESIDENT .- I have been requested to call upon Daniel C. Pinkham, Esq., to respond to this toast.
In the necessary absence of Mr. Pinkham, the next sentiment was announced :
The Ancient Fraternity.
COLONEL KENT .- I will call upon Sir Knight Jared I. Williams to respond to that sentiment. He was early connected with the
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revival of the order in this town, and it is as much indebted to him as to any person for its present flourishing condition.
SPEECH OF SIR KNIGHT J. I. WILLIAMS.
. I could wish, sir, that some older member of the fraternity, some one better versed in its history, and whose eloquence would do better justice to it than any words of mine, had been designated to respond to this sentiment ; but as I make it a rule never to shrink from trying, at least, to do my part, I will say a few words.
In 1797, I think, authority was given to Mr. John Weeks and associates to establish North Star lodge. From that time down to the Morgan excitement the lodge worked on, with that varying fortune that marks all human institutions ; sometimes meeting with a high degree of prosperity, and at other times sinking to a very low state. At that time, when unprincipled politicians - then, as always, ready to seize upon anything to accomplish their ends - grasped at the alleged abduction of a worthless citizen to raise an outcry against the order, the lodge languished, and finally the charter was returned to the grand lodge, where it remained until 1852, when Dr. Eliphalet Lyman procured its restoration. Since then it has prospered to a great degree, and now numbers some hundred and fifty members. What we have accomplished for the good of the town, how far our lessons of love and kindness taught in the lodge have gone toward uniting the people of this town, will only be known when the last records are made up and we all stand before our Master and wait his final inspection. This much we know, that the honored names of those who have presided over us, and who have assisted us in all our undertakings, are those of our most respected citizens - men of worth, whose names are sufficient vouchers that we have been engaged in noth- ing wrong, but that we have always wrought for the best interests of our native town. The names of Weeks and Savage and Wilson and Chapman, and others familiar to the older citizens of this town, are good sureties for our well meaning, and, I think, for our good conduct. To-day we have met together and carried before you the banner of the knights of old, the emblem of our order. With pleasure we have done it, and we hope it has reminded you, as it ever reminds us, that in our course of life the.cross of our blessed Saviour should be our only guide.
I would here remind my brother Masons that this is the first time that we have been called out on an occasion of festivity. Our meetings have been generally those of sorrow and mourning. Soon after the restoration of our lodge we were called to lay the remains of Dr. Lyman in the silent tomb, and pay to them the last sad honors which were denied by his kindred. We recorded his virtues upon our records, and threw over his frailties the mantle of Masonic charity. Since then we have been called upon to bury many of our most influential members. I was struck with the mention, by the marshal, of Colonel Cross, Lieutenant Lewis, and others, who have fallen in this Civil War, and whom we have laid in the grave.
But, citizens of Lancaster, as we joyously assist you on this occasion, so we ask you to assist us with your smiles and your encouragement, that our Masonic trowels may be more efficient in spreading the cement of love and Union; that our Masonic swords may be sharper to smite asunder the arrows of temptation, and that our armor may be proof against them.
The next regular toast was then read :
The Volunteer Army.
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HISTORY OF LANCASTER.
Seventh regular toast :
The Federal Navy.
COLONEL KENT .- I desire to call upon a son of Lancaster to respond to that toast; a young man whose bravery is only equaled by his modesty; who has gone through the several gradations in the navy, until he now holds the honorable position of lieutenant. I refer to Alfred T. Snell, late of the ship Lancaster.
THE PRESIDENT .- I happen to know something of the manner in which Lieutenant Snell has performed his duties, and it has been so creditable that I am sure his name will be written among the honored sons of the town.
Lieutenant Snell having left the bower, Colonel Kent said :
I desire to call for a toast from an old and respected citizen, whose long and honorable career has been without spot or blemish ; whose descendants have sprang up around him, and whom we all rejoice to see here to-day. I allude to Col. John H. White. Will he favor us with a sentiment, or some remarks?
Colonel White said he had no speech to make, but he would offer as a sentiment,-
Lancaster as it was one hundred years ago, a howling wilderness, now blossoming like the rose. Never need a son look beyond his own town to find anything surpassing the sublime beauty of its scenery.
Eighth regular toast :
The Churches and the Sabbath Schools.
To this toast there was no response, and the next was read, as follows :
The Early Settlers of Our Town.
SPEECH OF REV. WM. R. JOYSLIN OF BERLIN, VT.
Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen : I thank you for the invitation to respond to this toast. I am one of those who revere age, and it is exceedingly pleasant to me, when I come back here, to see so many reverend and revered men and women, who have given character to our town. The earliest settlers have passed off the stage. Stockwell, Bucknam, Spaulding - they have passed off, as indi- viduals, from the stage of action, but their descendants remain ; and this town, in the families of the Spauldings, the Savages, the Stockwells, the Weekses, and their descendants, directly and indirectly, with their comfortable homes, attests the character of those settlers. They were industrious, thrifty, sturdy men, and they gave character and life to this town. Their descendants are of the same class, and we know - as we look abroad over our community - that they are its bone and sinew. Our fathers endured stern hardships and privations. Mr. Edward Spaulding, who settled upon the hill, was brought here in the arms of his mother - the first infant brought to this town. Many came from Massachu- setts, as we have heard. They came into the wilderness and laid the foundations
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upon which our prosperity has been built up. Among other things - and it may become me to speak of it, my friends - they brought with them and established the Gospel and its institutions. The early settlers reared the old meeting-house. and there the families gathered in those pews - every pew representing a family ; and thus the people of this town were brought together in a bond of religious and spiritual union - a union that will outlast all other unions. Our stability, my friends, is in following the example that has been exhibited by the lives and the actions of the early settlers ; holding fast to the truth, building upon the founda- tions that they laid, and standing by the principles that have been committed to us by a Christian and pious ancestry. I believe that in this rests our strength, and that by this we shall conquer.
May we, my friends, be as faithful in our day and generation - those who are coming upon the stage and those who are now in middle life - as the early set- tlers of this town; and may the prosperity of this town henceforth be an honor to us, as it has been an honor to them. May we all stand in the principles that were left to us, and be a united and a happy people.
In this connection, a communication received from Judge Wood- ruff of Ohio, whose wife is the daughter of Hon. John H. White, was read.
COLONEL KENT continued : Several other toasts have been handed in by various parties during the day, to which no person has been assigned to respond. I will read them.
By Nathaniel Wilson, Esq., the first preceptor of the academy, of Orono, Me .:
Lancaster .- In the grandeur and beauty of her natural scenery unrivaled, but in her social relations more notable, more truly beau- tiful. As her generations in the past century were distinguished in all the elements that constitute an intelligent and virtuous commu- nity, may the present and the future rival the past.
By Rev. John Lovejoy, the chaplain designated for the occasion, who, much to our regret, is unable to be with us to-day :
Lancaster .- Beautiful for situation - the joy of all resident and absent citizens. Surrounded by the " Mountains of God," may her love for liberty, education, religion, and religious institutious be as permanent as the White Mountains.
The United States .- The most glorious, the happiest, " the most magnificent dwelling for men on earth." Its disunion is sought by worthless men. Let the language of every loyal heart be, "The Union MUST and SHALL be preserved." May the eternal God be its refuge, and underneath, the everlasting arms.
The Ladies .- No celebration is complete without the presence of the ladies. At this time we welcome them with peculiar pleas- ure. We attribute the present position of the town, in wealth, cul- ture, and influence, to the force of their example and the effect of their labors. While we cherish with the warmest affection the name
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of the town of our youth, we can never forget the dear ones that have made and still render it doubly dear.
The Committees of the Occasion .- Better labor was never more cheerfully rendered than that by our men, matrons, and maids, in preparing this enthusiastic welcome to the old home. May the efforts they have shown in our behalf bear abundant fruit in the harvest of pleasant recollections that will spring from the seed here planted.
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