USA > New Hampshire > Cheshire County > Jaffrey > History of the town of Jaffrey, New Hampshire, from the date of the Masonian charter to the present time, 1749-1880 : with a genealogical register of the Jaffrey families, and an appendix containing the proceedings of the centennial celebration in 1873 > Part 41
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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 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45
There is nothing, either in the reasons given for the act, or in the purposes of the expedition as recited, or in the agree- ment actually executed, which indicates that it was derived from the church organization,-or which, in any way, refers to the Congregational polity, or to any particular administra- tion of church government; and this, taken with the state- ments which are contained in it, tends to show that the town organization in Plymouth, which arose from it, was not even suggested by the clerical.
Quite consistently with this origin of the town organization, there might have been a different church polity previously, and any church polity which the signers pleased might have been adopted afterwards. The church polity of the same people had, as a matter of course, a similar foundation,-that of self- government ; but that fact did not, of itself, originate or give rise to the civil polity. It only accompanied it, each acting within its own sphere.
This organization of Plymouth became substantially a state as well as a town. But the state was for the purpose of gen- eral government, and did not derive its ideal from the church ; and when, by reason of the extension of the settlements, other towns were organized, it was for the purpose of ordering and managing their local affairs ; the support of religious teachers, along with the making and mending of highways ; the support of schools ; the preservation of the peace, through the instru- mentality of the constable ; and the prevention of trespass by cattle, through the institution of pounds.
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The principle of self-government upon which the original settlement was founded, and upon which, in reference to their local affairs, the towns were afterwards organized, was not only a fundamental principle with the emigrants, but was a necessity under the circumstances attending the emigration. No one had authority to rule ; there were no means of govern- ment except by agreement or force ;- and they agreed upon a government for themselves, to be administered by themselves. It must have been the same if no church had then been organ- ized among them. The same principle operated in regard to the church. When the people broke from the authority of the bishops, there was no authority in ecclesiastical matters except their own, and thus Congregationalism came into existence.
It may be said (and it seems to be the only argument which can be used in favor of the position) that the principles of the churches " led to this form of government ; " that the church organization was first, and that the town, coming after, adopt- ed the same principle of self-government. To this " Post hoc, sed non propter hoc,"-after but not by reason of the church organization, is a sufficient reply. There must be something more than this to sustain the assertion that " it was a Congre- gational church meeting that first suggested the idea of a New England town-meeting."
Meetings of subscribers to the compact made on board the Mayflower grew out of the compact itself. ]
[NOTE 3-See p. 570. Attempts to manufacture cotton by machinery were made in this country as early as 1787, and in subsequent years in that century. The machinery was imper- fect, and the results, of course, unsatisfactory. The first mill in New Hampshire was established in 1804, in New Ipswich. The first cotton-mill in Peterborough was incorporated in IS08. It spun and sold yarn, but for years manufactured no cloth. For these dates I am indebted to a small volume entitled " Intro- duction and Early Progress of the Cotton Manufacture in the United States," written by Samuel Batchelder, Esq., a native of Jaffrey, and published in 1863. Prior to the manufacture of cloth here, the cheaper cotton cloth in the market was a sleazy fabric, manufactured in India and in England,-the latter heavily starched, to conceal its flimsy texture.
Inquiries in several directions enable me to add some infor- mation respecting the manufacture of Woollens.
It appears that a mill (a fulling-mill, I presume) was erected at Rowley, Mass., as early as 1643 ; but machinery for carding, spinning, and weaving was of a much later date. Carding- machines were introduced into this country about 1794, into New Ipswich in ISo1, and probably soon after into this town.
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They had then been known in England twenty or thirty years. Some of the first carding machinery used in this country was shipped from England as hardware, being exported contrary to the laws in force there .- See Bulletin of Wool Manufacturers, April-June, 1873, page 193. Article by S. B.
T. Clapp, Agent Pontoosuc Woollen Mill, Pittsfield, Mass., writes, under date of October 9, that Arthur Schofield started his first carding-machine 'there in ISO1 ; that the first broad- cloth made in this country was made by him, in that town, in 1804 ; and that " in 1808 Schofield manufactured thirteen yards of black broadcloth, which was presented to President Madison, from which his inaugural suit was made. Fine Merino sheep were introduced about this time into this town, and Schofield was able to select wool enough to make this single piece ; and President Madison was the first president who was inaugurated in American broadcloth."
An extended and very interesting article on the subject ap- pears in the Boston Commercial Bulletin of Nov. 15 (as these sheets are passing through the press), which states that Arthur and John Schofield came to this country from England in 1793, and took up their residence in Charlestown ; that after looking around a few weeks, they determined to make a start in the manufacture of wollen cloth by hand ; that John built the first machinery himself, and, having completed "a hand loom, spinning jenny, &c., on the 28th of October he sold the first product of this loom,-243 yards of broadcloth (?),-for £16 16s., and 20 yards of mixed broadcloth for £12 ;" that they re- moved to Newburyport in that year for the purpose of starting a factory with improved machinery, and built a carding-ma- chine, which was first put together in a room in Lord Timothy Dexter's stable, and then operated by hand for the purpose of showing its operation. "This was in the year 1794, and was the first carding-machine for wool made in the United States ; and at this place were made the first spinning-rolls carded by machinery."
A factory was started by them and others, in Byfield, in 1795. A single carding-machine and two double ones were placed in it. "A coarse kind of flannel called baize" was woven1. What other cloth was manufactured is not stated.
They established a factory at Montville, in Connecticut, about 1798.
It appears further, that in ISO1, Arthur, having removed to Pittsfield, had a carding-machine there, advertised for wool to card, and built carding-machines for other persons.
It is then stated,-" The first broadcloth made by Arthur Schofield after his arrival in Pittsfield was in 1804. The cloth
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was a gray mixed, and, when finished. was shown to different merchants, and offered for sale, but could find no purchasers in the village. A few weeks subsequently, Josiah Bissell, a lead- ing merchant in town, made a voyage to New York for the purpose of buying goods, and brought home two pieces of Schofield's cloths, which were purchased for the foreign arti- cle. Schofield was sent for to test the quality, and soon exhib- ited to the merchant his private marks on the same cloth which he had before rejected."
Then comes the statement respecting the manufacture of broadcloth in ISOS, which President Madison wore when inau- gurated.
Considering all these statements, the reasonable conclusion appears to be, that the first broadcloth manufactured in this country was made in 1804 by Arthur Schofield, as stated by Mr. Clapp. It seems improbable that the cloth manufactured in Charlestown in 1794 could have been broadcloth.
At the period of which I speak, wool was carded partly by hand, but the carding-machines generally turned out the rolls, which were spun upon the domestic great wheel, and woven in the loom, like the cotton, and then fulled and dressed by the clothier.
The great wheel and the loom have disappeared before their gigantic competitors, and the linen wheel, which spun the flax, -humble little machine,-has gone along with its larger com- panions, although large linen manufactures have not succeeded in establishing themselves here to any great extent. The prep- aration of the ground, the seeding and the sowing, the pulling, rotting, breaking, swingling, and hatchelling of the flax, with the spinning and weaving superadded, involved too great an amount of labor for a successful competition with the foreign manufacturer, as soon as the profit from other branches ena- bled the farmer to purchase the foreign article, manufactured where labor is so much cheaper. Besides, the manufacture of cotton cloth by machinery reduced the cost of that, so that it superseded the use of linen in a very great degree. ]
Resonant cheers were given as Boston "men of high degree " filed in at 11.30 A. M., and took seats upon the plat- form, after a pertinent introduction by President Cutter. The party included Mayor Henry L. Pierce, Aldermen L. R. Cutter (chairman of the board who bore the visitors' expenses), Gibson, Brown, and Sayward; John A. Haven,
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president, and Nathaniel J. Bradlee, ex-president, of Cochit- uate Water Board ; Alfred T. Turner, auditor of accounts ; Joseph Davis, city surveyor ; H. A. Blood, superintendent of the Boston, Clinton & Fitchburg Railroad; President Howe, of the Bedford & Taunton Railroad ; and four com- panionable reporters, representing the Boston Post, News, Globe, and Advertiser.
The president then said, "The breezes that play around old Monadnock, so like the elixir of life to the weary wan- derer, have called to us, among many others, a lady noted for her vocal powers. She has kindly consented to favor us with a song. I now introduce to this audience the sweet songstress from the "Old Bay State,"
MRS. ANNA GRANGER DOW.
Mrs. Dow then sang "The Heavens are Telling," with telling effect.
The president then introduced the Rev. Rufus Case, who read
A POEM,
BY MISS MARY BELLE FOX, OF JAFFREY, N. H.
A hundred times has Autumn seen His forest branches stripped and bare ;
A hundred times, when winds blew keen, White Winter's snows have filled the air ;
A hundred times Spring's magic wiles Have clothed with green the hillsides brown :
And now the last fair Summer smiles That rounds the century of our town.
Yon mountain calls to us to-day, And draws us with persuasive voice :
" This is your town's memorial day; My children, keep it, and rejoice,- While waving tree, and rock, and hill, With silent voices manifold,
Greet those who dwell among them still,
And those who knew them well of old.
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"Come! stand, as on my breezy height, And view the backward-sweeping past, Then read your own deeds in the light The lives of others on them cast ; And let old memories stir your hearts, Like breezes whispering through my pines, Till the unbidden tear-drop starts, To read Time's half-effacéd lines."
And gladly we that call obey, And gladly do we gather here, Turning our faces toward that way Whence shall the past's dim forms appear. But who can lift with steady hand That misty curtain hanging low, Shrouding the half-forgotten land, That far, dim land of long ago?
Not one among us here can see So far adown the winding way, And say, " I do remember me What was on our town's natal day ; When people cried, 'God save the King!' Though freedom's pulses stirred their breast ; Though swelled the seed about to spring Of our great nation of the West."
A stalwart band of men were they, The early settlers of our town : Loud rang their axes day by day, That hewed the forest monarchs down. Men not afraid of honest toil, They sought the wilds a home to win, And gladly from the virgin soil Gathered their harvest treasures in.
They built them houses large and plain, Where clustered their life's richest joys ; Where round them rose a numerous train Of healthy, happy girls and boys That children's minds have need of food, That they may grow, full well they knew,- And built the district school-house rude, Wherein rich fruits of knowledge grew.
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They felt the goodness of the Lord, Whose hand had led them all their days, And gladly built, with one accord, A house where they his name might praise. Here still that ancient building stands, Scarce changed in outward form appears, Unharmed by the destructive hands Of near a century's changeful years.
'T was when they raised that framework strong, One fair June morning, calm and still, They heard-or fancy led them wrong- The far-off guns at Bunker Hill,- Whence rose that patriotic wave That o'er the land impetuous swept, Waking in hearts of all the brave The love of freedom that had slept.
Quickly our fathers stirred them then ; They left their homes and took the gun, And bore their part, as valiant men, In that long strife that freedom won. Then with " clear shining after rain," The sun of peace dispersed their fears, And in their quiet homes again, Passed on their uneventful years.
Where are they now? The bell that swings In yon old tower the tale doth tell, Whene'er with solemn tone it rings Some parted soul a funeral knell. Each to the grave has journeyed on, There each in lasting quiet sleeps, The while his white memorial stone The door of his low dwelling keeps.
In yonder " city on the hill," The blooming sod above their breasts, Where all is peaceful, calm, and still, Their pastor with his people rests. Life held him here a hundred years, And kept him from his heavenly crown, Till, weary with its griefs and fears, He laid the heavy burden down.
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O friends ! who seek in vain to-day, Some long-remembered, well-known face, Perchance ye on yon marbles may An answer to your questions trace. For sleep our fathers not alone : Full many of their children, too, Have crossed life's boundary, one by one, And paid the debt to nature due.
There rest our sons in hallowed graves, Who fell 'neath war's red, cruel hand ; Who gave their brave young lives to save From traitors' foul designs our land. O honored sires ! O household dead ! O soldiers true ! sleep calm and sound : Life bears us on with steady tread. On to the rest that ye have found.
Full well we know that this, our town, Has little worth in strangers' eyes ; We love it, for it is our own, And holds us by a thousand ties. Here peace and plenty mark our lot, Now, e'en as in the "good old time ;" And Change and Progress question not To lay on us their hands sublime.
Ne'er entered in our fathers' dreams Some changes that the years have wrought : Our locomotives' rush and scream, A fearsome thing they would have thought. No prophecy the housewife's wheel Sung to them of the jarring looms. That ply their giant frames of steel In our tall factory's many rooms.
Our merry streams, that down the hills Go leaping on their seaward way, Are caught and held by busy mills, Whom, willing subjects, they obey. There great stones crush the yellow corn, There clanging saws harsh tumult make, Where trees put off their forest form, And shapes for our convenience take.
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Here nature's ever-open book Displays its pictured pages too, Showing to all who choose to look, Many a goodly, pleasant view. No lack of beauty, rugged hill And rock-strewn field have need to own, When o'er them Summer's hand of skill A drapery of green has thrown.
Sweet is the blooming orchard's breath, Rich glow their boughs through Autumn's care ; Pleasant their shadowy trees ; beneath, The dwellings, scattered here and there. Sunny the pastures, sloping down To grassy meadows, cool and low; Grand the old woods, whose columns brown The golden sunshine sets aglow.
Our winding river brightly gleams 'Mid green; low banks its waters lave ; And one clear flowing mountain stream Holds gifts of healing in its wave. Our ponds, like fretted silver shields Dropped by some fabled gods of old When worsted on celestial fields, The woods, with leafy arms, enfold.
There the sweet water-lily lies, And in the wave her beauty sees ; There many a timid wild bird flies, And sings in the encircling trees. Near them the pink azalea breathes Her sweetness on June's balmy air ; And there the glossy laurel wreathes Her virgin blossoms, pale and fair.
But what, Monadnock ! shall we say Of thee. thou dear to every heart That knew thee in its childhood's day, Ere life from nature grew apart? Thy silent eloquence is fraught With meanings deep, and grandly true ; Unconsciously our young hearts caught And held them, better than we knew.
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For always, in our later years, However far our footsteps roam, Our mountain clear to sight appears, When fancy paints our early home. Grand mayst thou seem to strangers' eyes, And strangers' tongues thy praises sing : We hold thee in our memories, And love thee like a human thing.
God of our fathers ! unto Thee, With humble gratitude to-day, We bow the reverential knee, And at Thy throne our homage pay. We pray Thee, bless our native town From henceforth, as Thou hast of old ; And shower upon her children down, Thy mercies, great and manifold.
Though, when the coming century's years Have passed, a swift and changeful train, Not one of all who gather here, Shall on the shores of time remain,- May we, in Thine own blessed land, Where life and joy shall never cease,
Beneath Thy trees of healing stand, And walk upon Thy hills of peace.
HYMN OF GRATITUDE.
BY MISS ERMINA C. CAMPBELL.
Sung by the Choir.
We come, O God ! a happy throng, Our grateful hearts to raise, With glad accord, in swelling song, In sweetest notes of praise.
From out thy boundless store, O God ! An hundred years have shed Their gifts on us who breathe to-day, And on the sleeping dead.
How countless are the fragrant thoughts Which cluster round those years!
39
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What toiling hosts have shared their joys,- Their thronging hopes and fears !
With hearts that thrill with solemn awe, We pause upon our way, To view once more the shrouded past, And greet the new-born day.
The pæan of an hundred years Is echoing in each heart ; Its grandly sweet and solemn strain Will nevermore depart.
We come, O God ! to render thanks, Our greatful hearts to raise, With fervent homage and with awe, In sweetest songs of praise.
President Cutter "took the floor" for a moment and said,-
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN : As our friends from Boston can remain with us only a short time, we propose to defer din- ner until half past one; therefore I now introduce to you C. A. Parks, Esq., of East Jaffrey, as toast-master of the day.
TOAST-MASTER PARKS'S REMARKS.
MR. PRESIDENT, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, FELLOW-CIT- IZENS OF JAFFREY : I am grateful for the honor you have conferred upon me in your selection of a master for your " centennial feast." It is an office the duties of which will afford me much pleasure, and impose upon me little labor, for I regard it as my special province not to attempt any speech myself to-day, but simply to re-introduce to you some of your old friends and acquaintances whose voices were familiar in the years past, and whose countenances you welcome here, where you have gathered in one common brotherhood, to celebrate the one hundredth natal day of your mother town.
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I am glad that I am privileged, through a right of adop- tion by Jaffrey, to be present on this occasion, and to par- ticipate in these exercises by proposing a few sentiments of an appropriate character for your consideration ; and I hope from the responses to which we may listen we shall be able to gather much of profitable entertainment, and that, in the words of those whom Jaffrey is happy to remember and honor on this day, there will come to us all many fruitful lessons respecting the reminiscences of the past, and many golden hopes for the future.
We are honored to-day by Boston, in the presence here of her mayor and her board of aldermen, a body of gentle- men whose position distinguishes them as Boston's most worthy representatives. A sentiment has been selected for the Honorable Mayor, suggestive not only of the geograph- ical proximity of New Hampshire to the city over which he presides, but also of that honest gratitude and pride over Boston's high rank and increasing greatness as a metropolis, in which Jaffrey may be permitted to share through those of her sons she has given the great city to enroll among her honored names. It is this: "Jaffrey enjoys the honor of not being entirely outside that circle of which Boston is the centre and the 'Hub.' And she is justly proud of the dis- tinction which New England's largest city has in the past given to many of her sons." I have the honor of presenting to you the Honorable Henry L. Pierce, mayor of Boston.
MAYOR PIERCE'S RESPONSE.
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN : I did not come up here to-day to address you, or, indeed, with any desire to do so. In fact, I shrink from making an address; but I came on the invita- tion of my friend Alderman Cutter, whom Boston knows and respects, to meet with you on this day so interesting to you and all of us. The close of a century in the history of the world-the close of the present century is one of the
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most interesting and among the most eventful of any that have marked the progress of the race. When we look back and see what has been accomplished in the world, and even in this country, and see that during that time we have sep- arated from the British crown, and observe the improve- ments that have been made and which affect the welfare of the world at large, we must look back upon it with the greatest satisfaction. But we must also look forward, and hope that the century to come will be crowned with equal results. Boston is proud of being considered the metropolis of New England, and she desires to express her hearty thanks for the many good, sound men who have been sent to her from New Hampshire, and who have helped increase her prosperity. She hopes she is worthy of what New England has made her in the past, and she hopes to be worthy of the support of New England in the future ;- and now, ladies and gentlemen, I will only say I thank you all, and thank my friend, the son of Jaffrey, the alderman, for the pleasure he has given me in inviting us to be present on this occasion.
Sentiment No. 2: "We welcome those who, having gone from us, have aided in sustaining the character of the noble sons of New Hampshire for integrity, enterprise, and success in business, in every part of our land." Having read the above sentiment, the toast-master introduced the next speaker : I have the pleasure of presenting to you, as a respondent to this sentiment, a gentleman of whom noth- ing need be said by me. He is known to you all. His native town is Jaffrey, where he is always warmly welcomed. In Boston, where he has resided for a number of years, he is noted as a gentleman eminently successful in business, and one whom his adopted city has delighted to honor for his superior ability and sterling integrity. I refer to the Honorable Leonard R. Cutter, chairman of the board of aldermen of Boston.
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ALDERMAN CUTTER'S RESPONSE.
You do me great honor, Mr. President, in asking me to respond to the sentiment just read. I sincerely regret that I am not better qualified to do justice to the subject. I can truly say that whatever success has attended the efforts of those sons of New Hampshire who have sought fame or fortune in other states and other countries has been largely due to the honorable distinction in which their birth-place is held. The old-fashioned standard of morality and integ- rity has been so nobly maintained by those who have remained at home, that the wanderers carry with them a certificate of good character in the name of the state from which they hail, and that goes a great way toward assuring them success, even among the Philistines. While our state has not, for obvious reasons, increased so rapidly in wealth and population during the last fifty years as some other sections of the country, it certainly has not fallen behind any section in those things which tend to a higher state of civilization, good government, and right living ; and in the mean time it has been furnishing, in larger proportions, I believe, than any other New England state, the intelligent enterprise which has, as it were, annihilated time and dis- tance, and enabled us to do our missionary work in the far West, and at the same time keep good hours at home. There is one advantage, Mr. President, which we who go away from home have over those who stay, and that is the pleasure of returning ; and we also acquire a keener appre- ciation of the natural beauties of our native place. Although I spent my youth here in the shadow of Old Monadnock, I I never knew or imagined the grandeur of the scenery I was daily looking upon until I had an opportunity of comparing it with other places. There is something ennobling in the presence of this scenery beyond the power of any works of man. And, living in these Pacific Railroad times, it is a sort of satisfaction to reflect that the works of nature here
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