USA > New Hampshire > Hillsborough County > New Boston > History of New Boston, New Hampshire > Part 23
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
Class No. 7 consisted of 16 girls, from 5 to 10 : - Mary Cristy, Eloisa Dodge, Augusta Kelso, Nancy Eliot, Anna Hooper, Han- nah Hooper, Rachel Smith, Annis Cochran, Ann Clark, Fran- ces Moor. Elizabeth Peabody, Mercy Cochran, Jane Wilson, Mary E. Cochran, Clarissa W. Collom, Mary Emily Cochran. Their teacher was Miss Frances Cochran, assisted by Sally Gregg and Harriet Cochran. The highest number of verses recited was 864, by Annis Cochran ; and the next, 801, by Au- gusta Kelso. The whole number recited by the class was 7,198.
Class No. 8 consisted of 24 girls, from 4 to 8 : - Nancy Rich- ards, Sarah Hooper, Anstis Bradford, Nancy Cristy, Emily Whiting, Lucy Adams, Lydia Adams, Ellis Hooper, Phebe Pat- terson, Mary Jane Wilson, Ruhamah Cochran, Elizabeth Ann Peabody, AAbigail Fairfield, Mchitable G. Marden, Clarissa W. McIntosh, Almena Dane, Dolly George, Clarinda Smith, Betsey Dane, Margaret Cochran, Elizabeth Dodge, Mary Patterson, Mary Whiting. Their teacher was Roxanna Whiting, assisted by Jane Cochran and Lydia Cochran. The highest number of verses recited was 511, by Sarah Hooper ; and the next highest was 449, by Anstis Bradford. The whole number recited by the class was 4,731.
The whole number of verses recited by the school was 39,780.
This school continued seventeeen weeks ; and the premiums were trifles, - cheap books or tracts, no one exceeding in value twenty-two cents, few exceeding ten cents. These were given as rewards not anticipated, for the meeting referred to was held near the close of the school, and Rev. Ephraim P. Brad- ford was authorized to obtain the books, and deliver them to
328
the teachers, to be given to the pupils. And, true to their generous character, before the meeting closed they voted, unanimously, "That the thanks of this meeting be presented to the instructors and instructresses for the ability, fidelity, and impartiality they have manifested in the discharge of their duties, in instructing the youth and children composing the Sabbath school in this town, the present season."
This mode of sustaining the Sabbath school continued for some years, with slight modifications. At length, catechisms and question-books were gradually introduced, and for years past the school has extended through the entire year, receiving a large infusion of the adult portion of the congregation. Though the congregation has diminished, the Sabbath school has increased in numbers ; to-day, June 20, it numbers 207 pu- pils, with 22 teachers, and as many classes, while an increased interest is felt to have more of the Bible committed to memory than during the few past years.
Knowing the men and women who have been trained in this Sabbath school, who yet remain on the old homesteads or have gone to other localities, it is not easy to close our eyes to the fact that this institution has proved an incalculable benefit to at least two generations, and promises benefits equally great to yet other generations. The smiling faces and sparkling eyes affirm the pleasure which children feel in attending. It is here that the intellect is quickened, as well as the heart improved. It is here that self-respect is inspired, and noble resolutions are made, which give direction to conduct and form the character for subsequent life. It is here that jewels of the church as well as of the household are burnished, and from those here disciplined will come forth the brightest ornaments of the church and the greatest blessings of the State.
Although the introduction of the Sabbath school into the Baptist congregation transpired at a later date than into the Presbyterian, still it has been no less a blessing to that portion of the community.
During the past two years, through the efforts of the pastor. of the Presbyterian Church, three schools have been organized and sustained by the citizens in as many different parts of the
329
town remote from the meeting-houses. Much interest has ex- isted in these, and no little good has been done. That in the west part of the town, under the superintendence of Dea. Marshall Adams, has liad nearly a hundred scholars, including children and adults. The interest in this school has been greatly heightened, and its benefits multiplied, by a good library of one hundred volumes the first year, and the addi- tion of seventy-five the second ; - the generous gift of Mr. Marshall C. Adams, of Jaffrey, the worthy son of the superin- tendent, who has not forgotten the home of his childhood, nor lost his interest in an institution that blessed his youth. This thoughtfulness of Mr. Adams deserves special commendation, as being the first and only gift, of any note, received from her many and prospered absent children, by the town. It strikes us as a little remarkable that, of the two generations of men whom New Boston has sent forth, most of them nurtured in her churches and trained in her Sabbath schools, not one of them - good men and highly prospered abroad - has ever made a thank-offering to the Sabbath school in which he was taught, the church in which he was nurtured, or the town in which he was reared, except Mr. Marshall Adams, the first- born of a family of thirteen children, all of whom are now living, and having hope towards God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Has it been the result of thoughtlessness, or have other places made imperious demands upon all their charities ? Or have they ceased to feel a lively interest in the place of their young life's activities and advantages ? Or do they still think of the town with its population of 1820, and the large crowded assembly on the hill of mighty men and noble wo- men, with ample means of obtaining all they need, forgetting that the population of the town has been sadly changed and reduced by the exodus of her sons and daughters, - that the churches where they worshipped are no longer thronged as in days of yore ? Are they ignorant that, while the virtuous and God-fearing are diminished by their going forth, the ungodly, who glory in their shame, reject all religious instruction, and, gyrating in the slime of moral corruption, are not diminished ? No debt is more obvious than that which absent children owe
42
330
to the place of their birth ; to remember it affectionately, and sympathize with its struggles to hold fast the things that remain. And every absent son is honored or dishonored as the reputation of the old homestead is sustained or lowered. Nor should it be forgotten that any efforts to uphold or en- hance the honor of the place of one's nativity reflects most glory on him who makes the endeavor.
SUMMER RESIDENCE OF GERRY W. COCHRANE. Methuen Mass
Bufferds Lithography Proste
HON. GERRY WHITING COCHRANE.
Mr. Cochrane was born near Joe English, March 22, 1808, being the son of Mr. John Cochrane. His early youth was spent on the farm and in the district school, afterwards at Pinkerton Academy in Derry, and Bradford Academy, Massa- chusetts, and in teaching. In 1829 he entered the store of Jacob Howe, Esq., of Haverhill, Mass., and after a service of four or five years entered upon business for himself in that place, subsequently removing to Boston, where he now resides and where he is prosecuting a large and lucrative business. For many years he has been director in several insurance companies, and in one of the largest banks in Boston. He was eight years a member of the State Committee ; was chosen Presidential elector in 1860; and in 1862 and 1863 was elected executive councillor for the Essex Second District.
Mr. Cochrane married Miss Mary Jane, daughter of Rev. William Batchelder, and has three sons, - William B., Henry F., and Frederick, - all of whom have been liberally educated.
Mr. Cochrane's father was a native of Windham, and has been dead many years ; his venerated mother, an estimable Christian lady, is now living in Chester, aged ninety, enjoying remarkable vigor of body and mind, waiting cheerfully her appointed time.
Mr. Cochrane has two brothers, - Hon. Robert Boyd, of this town, and Hon. Clark B., of Albany ; and five sisters, - Mary B., who married Mr. Moses Hall, of Chester, whose children are Luther W., William Atwood, Mercy H., Abigail S., Nason, Clark B., Adeline, and Elizabeth ; Mary J., who married Wil- liam Hazelton, of Chester, whose children are William, Har- riet T., Gerry W. (a lawyer in Columbus, Wisconsin), George C. (a lawyer in Wisconsin), John Franklin (a lawyer, now
332
Brigade Quartermaster in the Army of the Potomac), Sophia P., living in New Boston, Marinda living in Chester, an in- valid, and Abba S., who married Mr. Jonathan Pressey, and lives in Chester.
Mr. Cochrane is a man of large charities, with a heart for every good enterprise ; alive to the interests of education, the country, and of religion.
IK.Bnfford's Lith.
Gerry Maghrund
RESPONSE OF HON. GERRY W. COCHRANE.
THE RELIGIOUS CHARACTER OF THE EARLY SETTLERS OF NEW BOSTON. - " First pure, then peaceable, gentle and easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy."
MR. PRESIDENT, -
There is no truth more apparent in the history of our race than this, that everywhere and always men are laboring for the future ; struggling forward to a good more or less remote, on which hangs some glittering prize, whose attainment is to fill the measure of their happiness. Whether this be one of man's mistakes or not, it is surely one of his most universal characteristics, that lie is about to live. He has ever some un- fulfilled desire, some unaccomplished plan, some deficiency to be supplied in his means of enjoyment, before he can dismiss his corroding care, quiet the burning fever of desire, and relax his soul into the sweet and placid consciousness of happiness. We may infer, therefore, that the tendency to live for the future, to regulate our present course of life with a primary · reference to our future well-being, however abused, is emi- nently consonant with the nature of man ; it harmonizes with those high powers of reason and reflection, which exalt him immeasurably above the brutes, and enable him, though phys- ically confined within a narrow sphere of activity, to live in spirit throughout the entire circle of creation and the entire duration of time. In so living, man displays the high endow- ments, the mighty capacities, of his nature.
Society, government, institutions of learning and religion, are matters of formation and growth. They are the result of earnest thought, practical wisdom, and experience. God de- sires that man shall be happy ; but under the arrangements of a wise Providence he must labor for it. For the production of a result so devoutly to be wished, he must cooperate with the
334
laws of nature and of grace. Progress has been, is, and must be, the law of our race, until earth shall be redeemed from the thraldom of sin, and converted into another paradise. If one nation has lost the line of advancement, another has seized it, and so the world has gone forward.
It must be remembered, however, that no nation is truly progressing where the Bible is not recognized as containing the great fundamental principles upon which all our hopes must rest, both for success in this world, and a glorious immortality beyond. Hence the importance given by our fathers to the influence of the Gospel, the pure teachings of God's blessed word ; hence the necessity that every people should magnify the truth, and seek earnestly to know him who is " The way, the truth, and the life."
Perhaps no race of men ever recognized this more than did our Puritan fathers, who, turning their backs upon the graves of their ancestors, left home and country, coming to this western world for " freedom to worship God." As we look over the history of the past three centuries, and read of the intolerance of those times, we are filled with wonder and admiration in contemplation of those noble characteristics, displayed by the long succession of Christian heroes who went to prison and death to maintain their faith. From their retreats we hear the prayer and the psalm swelling and rising from the hearts of indomitable Covenanters, driven from their homes, and suffer- ing the loss of all things, for truth and conscience's sake. Well may we, the sons and daughters of the earlier settlers of this our native town, thank God and take courage, even in these dark and troublous times, that we have descended from an an- cestry whose inflexible purpose ever was to do right and oppose the wrong; whose sincere, patriotic, Christian devotion to the principles of eternal truth, set forth in our declaration and bill of rights, is worthy of the profound gratitude of our lıcarts.
Most of the early settlers of New Boston were of Scotch origin, hence their firm purpose and decision in all matters of conscience ; their iron will in surmounting every obstacle to the fulfilment of their purposes and plans, whether of a temporal or spiritual nature, never forgetting the Divine injunction, " In-
335
asmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my disciples, ye have done it unto me." While we have been searching for facts, and studying the religious character of those men and women who, one hundred years ago, exercised a con- trolling influence in this town, imparting a high moral tone to the sentiments of this community, our heart has been cheered with the fact so fully established of their fidelity to Christian principles. We see them laboring to establish and perpetuate in the mind and hearts of their descendants that reverence for God and his sanctuary ; that striet observance of the holy Sabbath, with all its hallowed associations and delightful duties which they themselves so fondly cherished.
No words of ours can convey to the mind the true spirit of dependence upon Divine guidance, the firm personal adherence to truth, that vigorous faith in the power of the gospel which pervaded the hearts of our fathers, so well as those embraced in their call to the Rev. Solomon Moor, to become their pastor, in the year 1767. This paper was signed by forty-four men, whose names have been so intimately associated together, and closely indentified with the early history and prosperity of New Boston, that they will be heard with thrilling interest as they are now enunciated. The following are the exact words of that call, as found among our carly records, bearing the signatures of some we have seen, with whitened locks and venerable forms, gathering around the communion table to celebrate the suffer- ings and death of a crucified Redeemer. Sentiments like these deserve to be engrared in letters of living light upon the door- post of every family in the town : -
NEW BOSTON, August 25, 1767.
We the inhabitants of the Town of New Boston as sensible of the repeated instances of the goodness of our Kind benefactor, particularly in smiling upon our new Settlement, so that, from a very small, in a few Years we are in- creased to a considerable number and the wilderness by God's Kind influences is, in many places amongst us become a fruitful field affording us a comfort- able maintainance. We acknowledge that we are not proprietors of our estates in the sight of God, but stewards, and therefore they are to be improved for his honor, the spreading and establishment of his interest, and being destitute of a fixed Pastor, and having longing and earnest inclination to have one. established amongst us, that we may have the Gospel mysteries unfolded, Or- dinances administered amongst us, the appointed means of God's House below.
336
that we and our seed may be disciplined, and trained up for his House of glory above, as a Kind providence of God has opened such a door by, Sir, your coming amongst us, we are cheerfully led to embrace the happy opor- tunity, being well assured Rev. Sir, by unexceptional credentials as to your ministerial abilities to Preach the Gospel ; and likewise as to your exemplary life which gives force to what is preached, as also the suitableness and agree- ableness of what you Preach to our capacities. We therefore, earnestly im- ploring direction from the being that alone can effectually direct us in such a weighty and soul concerning matter, we with hearts full of well gratified affection, do in the most hearty manner, invite, call, and entreat you, the Rev. Solomon Moor to undertake the office of a pastor amongst us, and the charge of our souls forced upon your accepting this our call, as we hope the Lord will incline and move you so to do, we in a most solemn manner, prom- ise you all dutiful respect, encouragement, and obedience in the Lord's order. As the laborer is worthy of his hire, and he that serves at the altar, should live by it, and as we have nothing but what we have received, we are willing to improve part of our portion in this life, that we may be made par- takers of everlasting portion in the life to come, by the blessing of God under your ministry, and for your encouragement and temporary reward, we prom- ise you yearly forty pounds sterling per annum for the first five years after your instalment, and after that the addition of five pounds sterling more per annum." *
The deep religious feeling that controlled the action of these men is apparent in almost every sentence of the foregoing paper. We can have no surer test of the devoutly pious character of the early settlers of New Boston than is here given us.
How significant the words, " We are not the proprictors of our estates in the sight of God, but stewards; therefore they are to be improved for his honor " ! Here is a free and frank confession of entire dependence upon God, coupled with a strong desire to do his will, -a practical illustration of the parable of the talents, with the command given, " Occupy till I come,"- a full recognition of the doctrine taught by Christ and his apostles. These were the men that desired, as they here express it, not only to have their own minds and hearts disciplined, and trained for heaven, but that their children and children's children should be educated for higher and nobler duties, and become heirs of immortal glory. Some of their . descendants are here to-day, witnesses for God, saved as by fire,
* See names on page 110.
337
in answer to their prayers, and their faithful instruction in the blessed Word of life.
Who can estimate the undying nature and the priceless value of a religion founded upon the eternal principles of truth, set forth in this "call"! Three generations have passed away since that document was signed and put upon record.
Changes, many and terrible, have come over us, and our dear native land ; but our fathers' God is our God to-day, and wher- ever men lean upon him, and not upon their own understand- ing, they become an element for good, which no earthly power can overthrow. No, never ! Such a community, covenanted in one bond of union to do his will, are sure to possess that practical wisdom and true conception of duty, which a devoted heart and a vigorous faith cannot fail to inspire. Their lives will everywhere and always be a never-failing attestation to the blessedness of the religion of Jesus Christ. Let us follow those men after they had settled the question of duty, in reference to devoting a part of what God had given them, to the support of the gospel ministry. . Mark their language in stating their feel- ings and purposes to one whom they expected soon to become their religious instructor and spiritual guide : - " We, there- fore, earnestly imploring direction from the Being who alone can effectually direct us in such a weighty and soul-concerning matter." How comprehensive the prayer ! how full of mean- ing is every word ! - the very embodiment of all spiritual life, - the sure evidence of a true gospel hope, - a petition that could never come from any other than a humble Christian heart, uttering its sincere desire from a sense of its wants and obligations to Him whose mighty arm upholds the world. The fruits of this connection between minister and people prove to ns, who know them, that this short prayer, so accord- ant with the teachings of the gospel, secured the Saviour's blessing.
The charge of illiberality is often made against those men who first came into this vast wilderness to secure for them- selves and their children a permanent Christian home. They are often quoted as the very personfication of sectarianism in its most hateful form : enforcing a church and family government particularly severe : tending to create and foster in the minds
43
338
and hearts of their descendants a strong aversion to everything systematized and made permanent in the pastoral relation and in the administration of the gospel ordinances, so beautifully referred to and set forth in the " call."
We take peculiar pleasure, in the privilege afforded us at this time, to give our testimony on this point, and to repel these charges, which we sincerely believe to be false. If a sect or community of persons, for being tenacious of their opinions of right and wrong, - for being strict in their observance of the Christian Sabbath, and for enforcing wholesome rules in the church and family,-are to be stigmatized as bigots, then we will admit that they were guilty of the charge, and pray that God will make every son and daughter of Adam "not almost," but altogether, such as they were. For if any people ever suffered for want of just such men to stand by the minister, and give character and efficiency to the church of Christ, we who live in the middle of the nineteenth century are that people.
Look over any region, and you find it dotted with men (or rather the physical forms of men) marked and ticketed as not belonging to themselves, but to others from whom they derive their opinions, both in politics and religion. Such persons are never to be trusted. They have no decision, nor firmness of purpose in standing by the right and opposing the wrong ; no seizing an object with a grasp of mind not easily relaxed. A proper decision, such as our fathers possessed, is not a preju- diced wilfulness, that dares act without investigation ; but, when convinced of the right, they stood immovable as the mountain base. The grand characteristics of the early settlers of this town were integrity and moral courage, which gave them executive force, and raised them above all defeat, and gave them an overwhelming advantage over the faint-hearted and fickle. In a world like ours, such characteristics are indispen- sable to success in right. The unstable man is as the waves of the sea, tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine. Without fixedness of purpose, a firm and consistent course of reasoning, he will be likely to sacrifice his conscience at the shrine of a short- sighted and time-serving policy. By this class of men every- thing is resolved into natural law and human agency. The power of God is not recognized, and he is virtually shut out of
339
his own creation. But to our Christian fathers, the element of influence and power was their constant recognition of ALMIGHTY GOD, to them a sure pledge of success.
Let us look, for a moment, at the every-day lives of those men who cleared these forests, erected many of the dwellings that now stand as landmarks, to remind us of the simplicity and rigid economy of those fathers and mothers, who constituted the first Christian church in New Boston, and solemnly cov- enanted with each other, before God, to sustain a gospel minis- try ; who toiled incessantly, six days in the week, and walked from one to four miles on the Sabbath, taking their children with them, to attend on the public worship of the sanctuary, sitting during a two hours' service, without fire on a cold win- ter's day.
Does this not prove their firm and devoted love for the teach- ings of God's Word, and the ordinances of his house ? We have a strong and full affirmative answer, not only in their lives, but in their own language, as we quote their exact words on this point : - That we might have the gospel mysteries un- folded, - the appointed means of God's house below, that we and our seed may be disciplined and trained up for his house of glory above." The excellency, dignity, and power of such language are seldom equalled. These were the men who insti- tuted and sustained a systematic family government, a Christian family discipline, teaching their children to reverence God, and hallow his sanctuary, and to keep his statutes, calling them morning and evening, day by day, around the family altar, from which ascended the humble petition and the heart-felt thanksgiving. Well do we remember more than one such altar where, when a small boy, we bowed with our little associates, and listened to the carnest words of some of those holy men, whose memory still lingers with many present to-day. We can never forget such men as Dea. Thomas Cochran, Deacon Wil- liam McNeil, Dea. Robert Patterson, and many others, who long since were gathered into the Redeemer's fold on high. Here, too, were the Christian mothers. Oh, how the heart swells with tenderest emotion as we write the word, mother ! Who can estimate the value of a Christian mother ! See her by the bedside of her little ones, teaching them, as soon as they
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.