USA > New Hampshire > Hillsborough County > Antrim > History of the town of Antrim, New Hampshire, from its earliest settlement to June 27, 1877, with a brief genealogical record of all the Antrim families > Part 18
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character and color, till it pours forth from the lower extremity of the lake, the same clear and sparkling stream which entered it far above, - still pursuing its way, beautifying the landscape, fertilizing the meadows and vineyards, imparting wealth and utility throughout its course, till it reaches the blue sea, where it contributes its share in floating the com- merce and navies of the world. So our ancestors, originating and nur- tured among the mists and heath-covered mountains of Argyle, induced by the hope of an improved temporal condition, but more by the hope of escaping from persecution and enjoying a greater religious freedom, began the western stream of emigration, landing in the north of Ireland, where they and their immediate descendants sojourned; and, after resist- ing and repelling, for more than a century, the adverse influences and uncongenial elements by which they were environed, and which crowded and oppressed them on every side in that land, they emerged from it the same indomitable race, retaining the same characteristics with which they entered it more than a century before, and, resuming their west- ward course, landed on these American shores. Here they settled, founding communities which were models of moral, religious, and mate- rial strength, sending out numerous colonies of the same character, - their sons worthily and honorably filling the highest positions in the nation ; their daughters exemplary in every relation of life, and orna- menting every station in society to which they are called. From these settlements the race has spread, by emigration, to every part of the land, until, at the present time, there is not a State in the Union which has not more or less of the Scotch-Irish element, the descendants of this Lon- donderry immigration; and it may safely be asserted that they have con- tributed much more than their mere numerical proportion in forming the institutions and wielding the destinies of this great republic.
Our ancestors inherited the traditional characteristic of the Scotch, of attachment to their religious belief, and a zealous defense of every theological point of doctrine involved in it. They seemed so sure that a correct life would result from a correct belief, that they depreciated and undervalued all sermons of a mere practical character, and some- times stigmatized ministers who preached them as unsound, -" daubers with untempered mortar." On hearing a sermon of this character, a lady of the congregation angrily said of the minister, " If there's an ill text in a' the Bible that creature's sure to tak it."
They were always distinguished by a strict observance of the Sabbath; never failing to attend church the whole day, unless something very serious prevented. In their homes, no levity, nor conversation on ordi- nary topics, was tolerated on that day. Reading the Scriptures, studying and teaching the catechism, with family devotions, occupied the rest of the time. The Presbyterians in Scotland and elsewhere formerly had a great prejudice against the use of organs and other musical instruments in churches; and that prejudice was inherited by the same denomination in this country, and to some extent exists to-day. In reading the history of the Presbyterian churches, I find some very ludicrous incidents con- nected with instrumental music in church choirs. I am indebted to Dean Ramsay for an anecdote or two in illustration: An Episcopal lady
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took a favorite Presbyterian servant to church, and, on returning, asked her how she liked the organ music. "Oh," she replied, "it's very bon- nie; but oh, my lady, it's an awfu' way of spending the Sabbath!"
A lady, in speaking of an Episcopal minister, who, of course, had an organ in his church, without intending the least disrespect, described him as a " Whistle-Kirk minister."
A most worthy Scotch family came to the town of my residence, and, attending church for the first time where an orchestra was connected with the choir, their little boy, who had only heard instrumental music in the streets of Edinburgh in connection with the exhibition of a mon- key, on hearing the instruments commence a prelude, pulled his mother by the sleeve, and earnestly inquired, " Mother ! mother ! where's the monkey?"
There has been a great change since those early days, in relation to the use of musical instruments in churches, and also in the manner of observing the Sabbath generally.
They are proverbially cautious in their statement of facts; reticent, almost to a fault, in committing themselves by an unwary answer to the most undesigning question. This trait is illustrated by the reply of the non-committal old lady, who, while being examined for admission to the church, when asked if she loved the Saviour, replied that she didn't know as she had anything against him.
Our Scotch-Irish ancestors were firm believers in witches and witch- craft. This was a legitimate inheritance from Scotland, where it was heresy to reject such belief. The whole day might be consumed in the relation of strange incidents, honestly, religiously believed in by our grandmothers and their contemporaries; but time will not permit, nor would it be profitable.
They were a well-educated people. The standard of education among the common people in Scotland, at the time of the emigration from there, was much higher than in any other part of Great Britain; and that it was more than maintained while they remained in Ireland, is shown by the fact, that, of the three hundred and nineteen petitioners to Gov. Shute for a grant of land in Massachusetts (but which, on running the line, was found to be in New Hampshire), there were but thirteen who did not write their names. It is also shown by the class of men who subse- quently came over and settled in this vicinity. The poverty of many, and the necessity for all to labor in clearing and settling a new country, were sufficient reasons why so few obtained a college education here; but the common school was early established and efficiently maintained, and it was very rare, even in the early days of these settlements, to find a person who could not both read and write.
Although Sidney Smith has said that " It requires a surgical operation to get a joke into a Scotch understanding," I think it merely shows a prejudice on his part, or an unwillingness to admit in a Scotchman a trait said to be so eminent in himself. If I know what wit and humor are, they are found to a pre-eminent degree in the writings of Scott, Burns, Wilson, and other Scotchmen; and of all the acquaintances I have formed, I should mark the Scotch and Scotch-Irish as distinguished 10
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above all others for humor, wit, and repartee. To be sure, they are an upright, downright, matter-of-fact class; but under all this you are sure to find a substratum of keen, dry, and, to use a Scottish adjective, pawky humor. That our immediate Scotch-Irish ancestors inherited a full share of the wit of their progenitors, is the testimony of all traditional and written biography.
Much more might be said, and much better said, upon the character- istics of our Scotch-Irish progenitors, but I have already extended these remarks to an unreasonable length, and will close them by a concise summary of their characteristic traits, in the language of another: -
" They have always been characterized by a staid and solid cast of thought, uprightness of personal deportment, an honest industry in the pursuits of life, and, pervading all, a deep-seated sense of religion, which, if it has sometimes merged into severity, and darkened, as it were, with a cloud, although only in detached patches, the fair landscape of the social picture, - has, nevertheless, on the whole and in its grand results, been favorable to virtue and to the maturing of those principles and feel- ings which have conduced to a quiet, peaceful, contented, and happy life and frugal habits, the desire of independence, a submissive obedience to civil rule withal, but not incompatible, also, when circumstances have required, with a vigorous resistance to oppression, and the exhibition of heroism in defense of civil and religious liberty."
So much, Mr. President, for the "grit and grace " of Scotch-Irish char- acter, as illustrated in the lives of our ancestors.
May their descendants avoid their failings, and emulate their virtues!
RESPONSE OF PROF. CYRUS BALDWIN, OF MERIDEN, N. H.
"Rev. John M. Whiton, D. D., - his life a gospel of peace."
LADIES, GENTLEMEN, AND FRIENDS OF MY NATIVE TOWN, -The occasion which has called us together is one of deep interest to every lover of home and native land. I rejoice to be present at this centenary festivity, and, though addressing public assemblies has not been in my way, yet I must speak. I have occasion for gratitude that so copious a subject has been presented to me. So fruitful does it seem that no one could fail to speak on it. The only apparent difficulty is to find a suita- ble place to close. But great subjects require great ability in those that treat them; and to do justice to great men, requires, not only ability, but a familiar and intimate acquaintance with their whole life. Such acquaintance does not come in childhood and youth; yet that was the period, in my life, when nearly all the observations were made from which I must now draw. A casual intercourse, indeed, existed to the close of his long and useful career; for, in my visits to my native town, I always felt that, next to my mother, I must visit the venerable and much-esteemed Dr. Whiton. Those interviews were always most grati- fying, and served to keep fresh the earlier observations, while maturing years and experience served, in some measure, to correct the crudities of my youthful imagination. Childhood and youth look upon mature and noble manhood as distant, grand, unapproachable. They can have no
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proper sympathy with it. But, as we advance in life, this distance and grandness somewhat abate, though we can never quite dispel the feel- ings of reverence and awe with which our youthful imagination had invested them. Hence the constant cry, " What shall we do when the present generation of great men shall have passed away ?" as if every succeeding age did not furnish accumulated material and equal occasion for greatness, in the various departments of life.
Was the theme of our remarks, the Rev. John Milton Whiton, D. D., a great man? Probably he was never conscious of greatness, and few, if any, who were conversant with him, suspected it of him. But, measured by the true test, I think this quality cannot be denied to him.
Greatness does not consist in illustrious descent, size, physical force, commanding presence, brilliancy of address, nor in great attainments. It is the ability to do, with ease, what is very difficult, or impossible, for others to do at all. It is simple, unpretending, unconscious. The high- est greatness is not inconsistent with the deepest humility ; indeed, humility is its necessary concomitant.
Dr. Whiton was eminently fitted, by nature and acquirements, for the position which he filled. He had a clear apprehension of his field of labor, and of the duties to be performed in it. When he spoke, it was never for display. Self was put out of sight, and only his subject appeared. His language was chosen with remarkable taste and judg- ment. He never overshot his audience. His style was lucid and pure. In his sermons he seemed ever aware that he had for hearers the mature and immature, and adapted his words and reasonings to the comprehen- sion of both. He never diverted the attention of his hearers from the subject-matter of his discourse, by the introduction of new and strange words, expressions, or pronunciations. He was plain, direct, and intel- ligible in his preaching, but never striking. He treated little of meta- physical or abstruse questions. He labored to indoctrinate his church and people in a pure faith and a corresponding practice, to teach all to love and be at peace with one another, enforcing his teaching by his life. He was, himself, " A living epistle, known and read of all men." He was respected, even to veneration, by those who affected to disbelieve his teachings. Though few suspected it, and himself least of all, he was truly eloquent, if eloquence is the power of convincing and persuading, and not, as some think, the utterance of high-sounding words, accompa- nied by a brilliant display of gestures. The art of pleasing stands first among the essential qualities of the orator; and of this art Dr. Whiton was truly a master.
Those who are to be affected by eloquence, must be satisfied of the honesty and sincerity of the orator. In these respects, also, Dr. Whiton was above all suspicion. Only intelligence and good sense are wanting to complete the list of qualities that go to make up true greatness, and these were accorded to him with great unanimity. He was not only a good preacher, but an admirable pastor. Until near the last of my resi- dence here, the township was his parish; and it was his practice to visit every family, at least once in a year, and the people, old and young, gladly welcomed him. Nor, when he had preached his Sabbath dis-
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courses, attended his meetings for lectures, conference, and prayer, and made his pastoral visits, did he regard his duties done. The schools of the town were his special care, and regularly did he visit them, without particular invitation, or pay. He was a thorough scholar, and kept him- self posted in all the branches taught. So kindly and genial was his manner in the school-room, that, judging others by myself, his visits were ever welcome and inspiring. He also gratuitously examined, as to their qualifications, such as were desirous of teaching, and, if he deemed them qualified, gave them letters of recommendation. But, on no considera- tion, would he recommend a low or vile character. In all disputed grammatical points, he was ultimate court of appeal. So great was the confidence of all in the accuracy of his knowledge, that his decisions were accepted without question; and, if rumor speaks truth, this confi- dence in his intelligence and judgment was not confined to this town- ship. As moderator in church councils, his knowledge of the rules by which such bodies are governed is said to have been so extensive and accurate, that rarely did any question arise for which he was not pre- pared, or any appeal taken from his rulings. Ecclesiastical bodies regarded it an auspicious omen, in all questions of difficulty, if the ser- vices of Dr. Whiton could be secured as moderator. And yet, the duties, public and private, so many and varied, he performed with such apparent ease, as always to appear comparatively at leisure. Though simple, unpretending, and humble, beyond most men, he was still a man of great dignity. Though he was never austere, never assumed author- ity, yet his very presence would keep in abeyance the most turbulent elements. His goodness overcame the spirit of disorder. He never seemed to say, by word or act, to the youngest, poorest, or worst of the people, that he was happy to lay aside his dignity, for a time, and conde- scend to treat them kindly. His courtesy was inherent, spontaneous. It welled up and overflowed from a living, perennial spring in his heart. He knew, and could call by name, every person, old and young, in the township, and never passed any one without a cordial greeting, nor did he ever omit or misapply titles of respect. If he made any distinction in his treatment of rich and poor, high and low, it favored the latter. . He was not only modest, courteous, genial and kind, and easy of access, but he seemed to be endowed with a kind of centripetal force which drew, and bound to him, all who came within the sphere of his influence. All were made to feel entirely at ease in his presence. There was no tyranny in his courtesy, no oppression in his condescension. The bash- ful and timid he would so lead on and draw out, that they were com- pelled to feel that they were giving him both pleasure and profit, and that he regarded himself their debtor. In short, he made them pleased with themselves and him. He was a true and ardent friend, and no man's enemy. He was cordial and wise in counsel, and a safe depositary of confidence. Neither slander nor detraction could be laid at his door. His truthfulness was proverbial. But, with all his excellencies, he still bore the impress of humanity, so we were not left in doubt whether he were an angel. His extreme caution and timidity would provoke an occasional smile. Though he knew well the value of things, he was not
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made to get rich by traffic. He could not appreciate his own and depre- ciate his neighbor's goods. He could not quite see the point of honesty in the man who could dispose of a cow, somewhat too nimble and spite- ful of foot, for a quiet, gentle animal. In short, he was not what the trading world calls sharp and shrewd. But of his honesty and honor there was no question. Though we are too apt to judge others by our- selves (and such judgment is termed "righteous "), yet even the dishon- est had full confidence in his integrity.
If, in our attempt to prove that our hero was a great man, there should seem to be a missing link, it may be supplied by the estimation in which he was held by his parishioners. If the question of changing ministers had ever arisen, there was not a man in all the region who would, for a moment, have been thought of to fill his place. Thus his greatness was unconsciously conceded, even though no one had thought him great. But this question of change never arose.
A true courage is never boastful: so true greatness is never obtrusive. It may be in the midst of us, and we not know it. "The kingdom of God cometh not with observation." In all my life the example of Dr. Whiton has been " A light to my path." No character has been more constantly before my mind. Though my youth precluded the possibility of forming an intimate acquaintance with him in the more tender and delicate relations of friendship, yet this I can truly say, that, of all men with whom it has been my privilege to hold acquaintance, I have never met a more perfect Christian gentleman.
May the mantle of this remarkable man fall on his successors in the sacred office, and, as we insensibly become like the heroes of our contem- plation, may his life and character be so constantly exhibited that his virtues may ever characterize the sons and daughters of this, our native town!
The reading by Mrs. Emma M. Huntley, of Milford, was of a high order. She was the daughter of an Antrim woman, Harriet J. Chapin. (See Chapin family.) The piece rendered was "The Rising of 1776,", and elicited much applause. Mrs. Huntley has fairly achieved success as a reader, and is highly appreciated by the most cultivated audiences.
RESPONSE OF REV. J. M. WHITON, PH. D., OF EASTHAMPTON, MASS.
"Influence of hill-towns on the destiny of our country."
The subject which is proposed to me is, "The influence of the hill- towns upon the destiny of the republic." As I begin to think of this, I am reminded how the thought has come to me, when I have stood upon the bridge at Lawrence, fronting the fall, where the Merrimack makes its last plunge in its path to the sea, that the waters of our Great Brook mingle with that flood, and bring their pressure to bear upon those mill- wheels. And as I have stood by our brook, and listened to the dash of its cascades from the pond to the river, I have thought of the work which those waters are waiting to do in the great manufacturing towns. Thus
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is presented to us an image of that living stream, which, in the country, we see working its way to the city, and which, as we see it turning the wheels of trade and of progress, we love to trace to its source, among the hills. Were he unacquainted with the springs of our national life, a tourist from the European world, passing through these hill-towns, would not see all that makes them interesting to us, who know what they have contributed to the nation.
The lakes that sparkle like gems upon the earth's green mantle; the mountains that stand like sentinels, looking down upon the quiet villages; the variegated reaches of forest, and meadow, and upland pasture, which diversify the landscapes that open from many a turn and many a summit on the highway; the leaping streams that run by many a roadside, and fill many a shady glen with music, - would leave upon his memory many a charming photograph, combined with impressions of a rugged and ingenuous soil, requiring stout labor to wrest from nature a far less liberal return than might be obtained elsewhere. But we, who know what manner of men this rough soil develops, may well turn from con- templating those luxuriant lands, -
"Where every prospect pleases, And only man is vile,"-
to bestow a higher admiration on the soil, which, though so poor that grain must be imported, has made the nation, and the world, its debtor by the export of men. It is a phenomenon equally interesting to the historian and the philosopher, that the hill and the plain have ever recip- rocally acted on each other. " The strength of the hills " has descended to the plain, - the culture of the plain has ascended to the hills. The life of the plain has been invigorated by influx from the hills, - the life of the hills has been beautified by tribute from the plains. This current and counter current, in their perennial flow, have always exhibited a form appropriate to the spirit of the times.
In barbarian ages and lands, as often as the dwellers of the plain made advances in the arts, and acquisitions in the comforts of life, the hill popu- lations swarmed down like eagles on the spoil. Thus manly courage and martial strength were stimulated on the plain to resist the invaders, while the rude life of the hills was enriched by glimpses and tastes of better condition. And when the hill and the plain had learned to dwell together in peace, the mutual interchange of strength and beauty was none the less marked. When Rome had become the mistress of the nations, her greatest soldier, Marius, - her greatest orator, Cicero,- her greatest living poet, Horace, - her greatest scientist, Pliny, - came to her from the hill-towns. And, in return, the villas and country-seats of the wealthy pushed back upon the hills. The poems of Virgil were directed to the improvement of agriculture, and the culture of Pliny projected an academy for his native Comum. It is most interesting to notice, on another continent, and in ancient times, the same current and counter current between the highlands and the plains, which we may have imagined peculiar to our own land and times. When we find that the heads of great mercantile houses, whose lines of business extend over
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the cities of Europe and Asia; that the managers of railways control- ling the transit from ocean to ocean; that the preachers who guide and inspire our metropolitan churches; that the statesmen whose words flash on electric wires to the ends of the earth, - came down originally from hill-side farms, and drew from springs that bubble out of mountain gran- ite the deep, full life which they infuse into the world's movement, we merely meet modern instances of a phenomenon old as mankind, and likely to manifest itself in time to come, so long as hills hold water- springs and make the source of rivers. The influence, then, of hill-towns on the destiny of our country, is to be perpetual. Though the streams are all the while flowing from the hills, the hills will never empty their springs, so long as the clouds hang over them. If, here and there, we see deserted farms on back roads; if, occasionally, a settlement like West Antrim, or our neighboring Windsor, seems likely to be given back to the encroaching forest, - these are but like those slight subsidences in the coast-line, from which we can never infer that the continents are to be submerged.
The monotonous flat of the prairie, however fertile in wheat, (and ague !) the pent-up lodgings of a city boarding-house, however conven- ient to shops and concert-halls, will never compete to any preponderat- ing and permanent advantage with the life of these hill-side homes, - free from city nuisances, if not furnished with every city convenience ; sure of a subsistence, that depends on no great man's favor, but on the rain- drops and the sunbeams that God gives; in constant view of a majestic panorama of nature's changing wonders; accessible to all fresh thought that is worth the reading; near enough the world's rush to hear it, and to feel a lively human interest in the struggle, and yet, as in a quiet eddy of the stream, to be at peace and independence, - the likeliest of all sit- uations in the world, if only controlled by a wise appreciation of what God deems best for man, to secure a life of content and dignity, send- ing forth a vigorous offspring, and reaching a green old age. Such life is to characterize the hill-towns in the future, as in the past. From farm- houses are to graduate new defenders of the constitution, as eloquent as Daniel Webster, of Franklin; preachers as magnetic as Charles G. Fin- ney, of Warren ; other inventors as skillful as Elias Howe, of Spencer; world-embracing missionaries, as influential as Mary Christie, of Antrim. For, just as the streams, which the hills send to the sea, are brought back by cloud chariots, so the quickening influences and impulses which these farm-houses are ever giving to the world's movement, are continually brought back to feed the upland springs of thought and life.
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