USA > New Hampshire > Grafton County > Lebanon > History of Lebanon, N.H., 1761-1887 > Part 32
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40
6. "The Clergymen of Lebanon." Responded to by Rev. Mr. Case of West Lebanon, who said :
"This at least merits large notice. The subject is an extensive one, for the clergymen were many; it is at least a lofty subject, for the first three ministers of the town taken together measured some inches over eighteen feet. They were high priests. I men- tion it as a significant fact, that the clergymen of Lebanon were ever devoted to temperance. Considering the customs of former times, it is wonderful that no more ministers fell into intemper- ance. The records of another town show that in a population of six hundred and forty, forty barrels of rum were used in a year, besides other liquors. Every man in old times would think him- self wanting in hospitality if he did not place a bottle before the minister when he called. Considering their temptations, they escaped wonderfully. Of the ministers of Lebanon, it may be said of them, that they have ever been loyal. The first of them all set a good example to the rest. For when the country was struggling for independence, he went out to encourage and com-
357
THE TOWN IN THE REBELLION.
fort her troops as a chaplain. He was a strong man. A little story will show this. Passing through the camp one day, he saw two men trying to lift a cannon. Taking hold of it alone, he easily lifted it to its place. One of the men, in his astonish- ment, let slip an oath, when the other silenced him by telling that he was a chaplain, when he hastened after him and begged par- don for his profanity.
"It is a significant fact that in the first records of the town we trace their anxiety for a ministry among them. It shows the love of our fathers for these institutions which have so much to do with our prosperity. Lebanon ranks high in the number and quality of the ministers she has raised up. About thirty have gone forth from her. Among them have been doctors of divinity who have made their mark in the world. Others have found and filled worthy places in colleges and theological seminaries. One is buried in a foreign land, who went forth as a missionary to the heathen. Let the next one hundred years equal the past."
7. "The Lawyers of Lebanon." Lebanon has not been very fruitful in this class, and none were found to respond.
8. "Dr. Phineas Parkhurst and the Physicians of Lebanon." Responded to by Dr. Dixi Crosby, who said :
"Dr. Parkhurst was born in Plainfield, Conn. Early in life he removed to Royalton. Like other young men he went a-courting, and stayed on one occasion to breakfast. During the meal he saw Indians approaching. He immediately went out and caught the Narragansett mare, and helping his lady-love and her mother to mount, got up behind them and set out for the Connecticut River. The Indians followed and fired upon them, wounding Parkhurst, the ball passing through from behind and lodging in the skin before. He seized it in his fingers and held it till he arrived in West Lebanon, when it was extracted by Dr. Hall. This inci- dent first turned the thoughts of Parkhurst to the practice of medicine. He became an apprentice of Dr. Hall, for so they termed students in those days. In due time he began to prac- tise, his first case being in a department in which he was after- wards very successful-obstetrics. More than three thousand received their introduction into the world by him. In due time
358
HISTORY OF LEBANON.
he married-for money it is supposed-the portion of his wife consisting of one cow, three cups and three knives. He first lived in West Lebanon and knew what it was to be poor-often with but two shirts, and one white cravat, to which he was very partial, which was washed over night. But success and pros- perity came in due season.
"As a physician Dr. Parkhurst was not learned, but skillful by experience. After listening on one occasion to the learned talk of some of his brethren, he said: 'I am much gratified with all I have heard; I can't talk, but, by Judas, I can practise with the best of you!' As a physician he was skillful, prompt, self- denying, always ready at call, night or day, in cold or heat. He was noted for his unbounded hospitality; the string was ever hanging out at his door. He was the father of a large family- two sons and nine daughters. He exemplified the great precept of religion-beneficence towards his fellow-men. Those who have succeeded him have been worthy and skillful members of his profession."
9. "Dartmouth College became the Alma Mater of fifty-four sons of Lebanon." Responded to by President Lord of Dart- mouth College, who said:
"A respectable clergyman of Hanover was asked to give a short extempore address. He replied that it was impossible; 'I must write everything. Why, if I should find that I had forgot- ten to write "Amen" at the close of my sermon, I should faint away.' I am very much like him. Absurd and ridiculous as it may appear (pulling out his manuscript), I must resort to my notes.
"Mr. President, I acknowledge the great courtesy which gives me this occasion to commemorate a remarkable fact in the history of Lebanon, viz .: That there have been raised up fifty-four sturdy men, each of whom was born of two mothers. I am still more glad to say that these two prolific mothers are yet in their bloom, and their offspring is likely to be indefinitely increased, till I know not but they will be sufficient to found a nation ; par- ticularly as these remarkable children are all sons who are very apt to marry in the family. At least the sisters find Swains without going abroad to visit.
.
359
THE TOWN IN THE REBELLION.
"But, Mr. President, I better like your courtesy, because it proves that Lebanon is not disposed to appropriate all the honor of sending out into the world such a noble company of educated men. The natural mother divides credit with the foster mother. This is well, and speaks well-so let it be. What Lebanon has brought forth Dartmouth has nourished, to become an ornament to both and a blessing to the world.
"Mr. President, I cannot speak from the book, but I think that your good town of Lebanon must have produced a larger number of educated men than any other town of our educating state. I will not even except the larger commercial, political and manufacturing towns. But, however, it must have exceeded other towns of the same age and population. She deserves to bear the banner, and I trust the banner will be flung here to the breeze, at your next centennial, July 4, 1961-in a time of peace and glory, inscribed to learning, wisdom and virtue-the guide and safety of the state. Sir, I am aware that every man who happens to be born in Lebanon and educated at Dartmouth does not thereby necessarily gain for himself, his town, or college, a true honor.
"I cannot deem that Lebanon or Dartmouth, or any other town or college would choose, in all cases, to recognize the parental relation. I remember what happened at a time when I was a boy. A young man from a neighboring town was sent to Har- vard. No matter what his name-let us call him Simplon. He proved to be what students frequently make a subject of their good-natured, but sometimes extravagant sport. His father's house was on the line of Kittery and York, and that line bi- sected it. It was a problem at college in which end of the house Simplon was born, and hence some lively classmate gave out the following epigram :
"Kittery and York, 'tis said, For Simplon's birth contest ;
The strife is sharp, and Kittery wins, But York comes off the best."
"Now it is not my opinion that Lebanon or Dartmouth has ever given occasion for quite such pleasantry as this. Or, if it were so, I should not choose to speak of it in such a company. I
360
HISTORY OF LEBANON.
have to say what is to better purpose, viz: That your list of graduates is one of which any town or college may be proud. It were impossible to speak of them now in detail. But they would bear the criticism of the world; from those old schoolmen, dead, the Woods and Harrises, who have left a shining mark in the his- tory of their times, down to the Medieval period of her Young, and the living men so well represented by the honored and be- loved orator of the day. Had Lebanon and Dartmouth done no more than to send out such a company, that alone would make them worthy of record among the true benefactors of mankind.
Mr. President, we joyfully this day cement the fellowship and friendship of Lebanon and Dartmouth. I speak for Dartmouth. Send us still your young men and we will nourish them. That kind of patronage is not all we want, but it tells most upon the world. It is better even than wild lands-though possibly not better than would be the confidence and rational patronage of the state. But let what will betide, Dartmouth will be for the state, and the whole of it; not for sect or party, but mankind."
10. "The Farmers and Mechanics of Lebanon-none better." Responded to, in behalf of the farmers, by Daniel Richardson, Esq., who said :
"Now you will see the difference between knowledge and ignor- ance"-alluding to the learned gentleman who preceded him. "I have been a farmer all my life, and have not had the advantages of education. I cannot make a speech. I may say in behalf of the farmers, that we are under great obligations to them. They have cleared away the forests, subdued the wild soil, and brought it into the service of man-made room for these many pleasant homes. It is the ambition of farmers to raise the largest ox, the best horse, the fattest hog, or largest crop. In old times they took pride in one other thing-in raising up the largest and best families. Let their posterity imitate them."
For the mechanics, Mr. L. F. Brooks-one of them-briefly responded with a handsome tribute to their skill.
11. "The President of the United States." In response to this toast, Hon. A. H. Cragin spoke as follows :
"The President of the United States is the legal and consti- tutional head of the government. He is the agent of the people
361
THE TOWN IN THE REBELLION.
-the executive of the Constitution and laws, and as such, is en- titled to respect. The present Chief Magistrate was elected by a constitutional vote, in due form of law, and is therefore as justly entitled to administer the government as ever was Wash- ington or Jackson. He has his commission from the same au- thority, and is alike responsible. He is clothed with all the pow- ers conferred by the Constitution, and is under the most solemn oath to preserve, protect and defend that Constitution. It is manifestly the duty of those whose agent he is, at all times to aid the President in the discharge of his proper duties, and to strengthen and uphold his hands in support of the government which he is called upon to administer.
"The present occupant of the presidential chair entered upon the discharge of his duties under the most extraordinary and try- ing circumstances. Dissatisfied with the result of the late presi- dential election, a portion of the people in the Southern States, regardless of their constitutional obligations, defied the will of the majority, and were conspiring to destroy the government. They had boldly raised the flag of rebellion and resistance. Men were in arms against the government that had so long afforded them protection. Treason was doing its work. Forts had been captured, arsenals had been plundered of arms and munitions of war; national ships had been seized and employed by the insur- gents ; treasuries and mints with vast sums of money had been embezzled and appropriated for the support of rebellion; the national flag had been insulted, and the Union pronounced a curse. Such was the state of things, and worse than this, when Abraham Lincoln was inaugurated President of the United States.
"He appealed to the reason and patriotism of the misguided people, and by the memories of the past, the hopes of the future, and the graves of the patriotic dead, called upon all true citizens to rally in support of the Union and the laws of the land. His patriotic and paternal appeal was derided by the traitors. The government paused, while the work of destroying the Union went on. The gallant little band in Fort Sumter, hemmed in by a wall of iron batteries, were on the point of starvation. The government at the last moment resolved to supply the fort with provisions. When this purpose became known, ten thousand
362
HISTORY OF LEBANON.
rebels opened deadly fire upon less than one hundred starving defenders of the Union. The fort surrendered, but instantly the country was aroused. The war for the Union began. The Presi- dent called for 75,000 volunteers, and forthwith they were ready. More were called for, and today 300,000 men are under arms for the defence of the Union. The spectacle of the uprising of the people is truly magnificent. The North is nearly a unit in their patriotic efforts to support the President in his determination to preserve the Union. Party lines are obliterated and all classes vie with each other in their zeal to maintain the government. There is but one voice heard, and that is, that the Union 'must and shall be preserved.'
"This government was formed after great sacrifice, and at a very great cost. We have been accustomed to applaud its found- ers, as wise and patriotic men, and to cherish the inheritance which they left us, as of priceless value. It has already per- formed a great mission, but its work is only begun. To the union of these States, the nation owes its unprecedented increase in population, its surprising development of material resources, its rapid augmentation of wealth, its happiness at home and its honor abroad. The light of our example has illumined the whole earth, and today the hopes of the world for the preservation of liberty and free government center in the preservation of this Union. God helping us, we will preserve it.
"If this Union perish now, it will be the most stupendous fail- ure that the world ever saw; and it must be inferred that our national sins have become so great in the eyes of heaven, that God can no longer withhold his vengeance.
"Trusting that the same wise Providence which sanctioned the work of our fathers in the Revolution, has much to accomplish for his own glory and the benefit of mankind through the instru- mentality of this government, I believe the Union will be pre- served.
"I am inclined to believe that the purposes of God are visible in this causeless rebellion. There is no accounting for it from the usual motives for human actions. 'Whom the gods destroy they first make mad,' is a familiar adage. I accept the fact as the manifest work of Providence, and fully believe it portends no ultimate evil to our country, or the inalienable rights of man."
COL. HENRY L. KENDRICK.
-
363
THE TOWN IN THE REBELLION.
12. "The Stars and Stripes." "They have floated over our cradles-let it be our prayer and our endeavor that they shall float over our graves." Song by Messrs. Ingalls and Alden, Mrs. Davis and Miss Porter-"Star Spangled Banner."
13. "The staple products of New England :
Land-hard to till, and piled with granite gray, Men-hard to kill, harder to drive away."
VOLUNTEER TOASTS.
By Robert Kimball, Esq. "The memory of Stephen A. Douglas."
"Brief and eventful was his bold career, An iron will, a soul devoid of fear ; Wrong-he perchance has been in time now past ; Right-minds like his will surely prove at last."
"Lebanon and Hartford chartered the same day; settled by liberty-loving pioneers from the same town in Connecticut, sit- . uated side by side in the same charming valley ; may their united devotion to the great interests of religion and constitutional free- dom be as constant as the flow of the noble river which beautifies their banks." Responded to by D. B. Dudley of Hartford, Vt.
Letters were received from many gentlemen, natives of the town, expressing their interest in the celebration, and regretting their inability to share in the occasion. From Rev. E. L. Ma- goon, of Albany ; from Maj. Henry L. Kendrick of West Point, offering the following sentiment: "My native town. Her chil- dren rise up to do her honor and reverence." From John Potter, Esq., of Augusta, Me., with the sentiment: "The land where our venerated forefathers sleep, and the cherished birthplace of their descendants. Let liberty and union be forever inscribed upon her annals, and preserved as a precious inheritance to the latest generation by her sons." From Mr. J. A. Durkee, Esq., of New York: "The Star-Spangled Banner and the next Centen- nial Anniversary. May the rays of the sun which rises on the next centennial anniversary, shine upon that banner with its stripes unsullied and stars undimmed; waving over a happy peo-
364
HISTORY OF LEBANON.
ple, bound by no chain but the silken cord of brotherly affection, and no bond but peace, no creed but love to God and goodwill to men." Also letters from H. R. Stevens, Esq., and William D. Ticknor, of Boston, and Capt. James Benton of the U. S. Army. At a late hour the company broke up after singing "Old Hun- dred."
Committee of arrangements: E. P. Liscomb, C. C. Benton, John Clough, Rufus Case; Samuel Wood, 2d, William S. Ela, Solon A. Peck, selectmen; Oliver L. Stearns; Charles A. Downs, George W. Bailey, Secretaries.
MEMORIAL BUILDING.
The men and women of Lebanon never faltered in times of war, and the records of both state and nation give evidence that in no place have the people shown greater patriotism.
When the great struggle for the maintenance of the Union was ended, there was early discussion as to what form a fitting memorial to the town's heroes should take, it being admitted that some lasting monument to the memory of heroic deeds must be provided. During the period immediately following the war for the Union, memorials took the form of granite or marble shafts, as a general rule, and monuments of this type were erected by towns and cities throughout the country, and such a monu- ment to be erected on the Common (Colburn Park) was talked of, and by many considered the most appropriate.
The first tangible movement towards the erection of a monu- ment of any particular kind, was started by Elisha P. Liscomb, then postmaster at the center village. Mr. Liscomb had served as commissioner to look after the welfare of the soldiers in the field, and had himself lost a gallant son at the front, and being moreover an ardent patriot, he was aggressive in having public sentiment aroused to the point that needed funds would be forth- coming. He proposed a metallic or zinc shaft on the common, and secured contributions of one dollar each from about one hun- dred persons, which sum was afterwards turned over to the Memorial Building Fund. It will be observed that the amount mentioned was small, which is accounted for from the fact that the people generally believed some other memorial would be more suitable. While discussion of the subject was carried on inter-
LAYING CORNER STONE MEMORIAL BUILDING.
SERGT. JESSE E. DEWEY.
365
THE TOWN IN THE REBELLION.
mittently for some years following Mr. Liscomb's efforts, the matter was not forgotten, and finally crystallized into a well- defined plan, suggested by Capt. Nathan H. Randlett and Sergt. Jesse E. Dewey, both of whom were literally men of '61 and in actual service at the very beginning of the war. These gentle- men presented their proposal to have a Memorial Building, to a group of their comrades, who had casually met at the postoffice in August, 1881. The plan met with the universal endorsement of those present, and the following agreement was then and there signed :
Lebanon, N. H., August 25, 1881.
We, the undersigned, veterans of the late war, earnestly desiring the erection of some suitable memorial to perpetuate the memory of volun- tary sacrifices, by our Citizen Soldiery, to the grand idea, that govern- ments are made for the people, and which may be of benefit not only to ourselves, but to our posterity, do hereby agree to give the sum set opposite our names, for the erection of a memorial building, within the village of Lebanon, which shall include a Memorial Hall, where may be gathered, such relics of the late war, as may be voluntarily contrib- uted, and tablets which shall contain the names of those of our com- rades who participated with honor in achieving a final victory for the Union, and in which shall be a suitable library free to all, under such restrictions, as the town of Lebanon or its duly authorized agents may from time to time deem it expedient to make. Provided a sum sufficient for the erection and completion of said building shall be raised, either by subscription or vote of the town.
N. H. Randlett. $20.00
Ferdinand Davis. 20.00
Alpheus W. Baker 20.00
Jesse E. Dewey 20.00
O. W. Baldwin 20.00
O. J. Muchmore. 20.00
A. W. Shapleigh 20.00
W. S. Carter 20.00
The signers of this agreement were all influential citizens, and the Memorial Building idea was at once accepted as the solution of the long-deferred problem. Young and old at once set out to provide ways and means to carry out the project, and it was not long before the people were aroused to the needs of the hour, albeit there were some who found excuse for declining to help on
366
HISTORY OF LEBANON.
the ground that a monument on the common would cost less to maintain ; then it was that the influence and labors of those inter- ested in having a public library made their efforts felt, and it was clearly shown that something besides a memorial to the sol- diers was to be realized by the plans of its projectors.
A Building Association was organized with the following of- ficers : President, Rev. Charles A. Downs; Vice-President, J. D. Hosley ; Treasurer, J. E. Dewey ; Secretary, A. W. Baker; Board of Trustees, A. M. Shaw, D. W. Marston, O. W. Baldwin, C. B. Plastridge, Frank C. Churchill and Ferdinand Davis, and later a building committee consisting of Frank C. Churchill, Alpheus W. Baker and Ferdinand Davis was chosen. Ferdinand Davis was selected as architect, and he presented several plans, the most desirable one being reluctantly rejected by the trustees for want of funds to carry the same into effect.
During the early struggles to erect the building no one dared hope with the then prevailing sentiment outside the village, that the town would appropriate funds towards the building, but this was, however, brought about later, and the town voted in all the sum of $3,580. The Tenney house and lot on the north side of the common was bought for $3,200, and the buildings thereon and a part of the land was sold by the trustees for $1,400, so the real cost of the lot used for the building was $1,800.
Were it possible to do so, probably it is not altogether best that a full list of donors be published at this time. Many contrib- uted liberally in cash, numerous persons giving one hundred dollars each, while others gave but little in money, but by their. energy and helpful suggestions aided greatly, as did others who gave freely of their time and their skill; all these things being needed, it may be said that each did his part. As showing some- thing of the spirit of the times it is worthy of record that the very first cash contribution came from a fair held by the two grand- children of Mrs. Joseph W. Gerrish, viz: Joseph W. Gerrish, 2d, and his sister, Helen M. Gerrish, neither of whom could have been over five or six years old, but their fair raised the sum of one dol- lar which went towards the building. Other young people also gave the proceeds of entertainments, one being the Appollo Club, which gave $6.20; Granite Hook and Ladder Co. gave $25, and the Acrasian Skating Club gave $55.05, with a stipulation that it
367
THE TOWN IN THE REBELLION.
could be "used for Memorial Building only." The ladies gifted in music-and Lebanon has always had many-gave a grand con- cert in Lebanon and another at the College Church in Hanover, from which they secured $270.05, following which the men, not wishing to be wholly outdone, also gave a concert and realized $126.82. These concerts were in 1884 and the entire receipts given in aid of the building, the men gracefully acknowledging that the ladies had outdone them after all. The largest contri- bution came from the profits of a grand fair held for several days in the town hall, in the winter of 1884, from which $944.15 was raised, and it may be said that almost everybody in town contrib- uted something to this fair, either directly or indirectly, as the attendance was large.
In the spring of 1886 a sufficient sum of money had been pledged to warrant the building committee to begin operations, and by vote of the trustees the Grand Lodge of Free and Ac- cepted Masons were invited to lay the corner-stone, which was graciously accepted, and the ceremonies took place on May 30 of that year in the presence of thousands of interested spectators. The superstructure was completed during that year, when for want of funds the work ceased. At last there was a decided change in sentiment, and the town voted the necessary money, already referred to, to complete the building. In the summer of 1890 the officers of the New Hampshire Department, Grand Army of the Republic, kindly consented to perform the dedicatory ser- vice of that fraternity, by invitation of the trustees, and the occa- sion was celebrated July 4, 1890, when the whole town took part in making the event a success. In addition to the ceremonies of the G. A. R. ritual, appropriate exercises were conducted in the town hall, where Capt. J. E. Dewey presided and Rev. C. A. Downs delivered an oration. A dinner was served and numerous distinguished guests were present. As a part of the dedication program, Hon. Frank C. Churchill, chairman, and in behalf of the building committee, addressed the chairman of the board of selectmen in the following language:
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.