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 42
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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
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are upon such a gigantic scale that the profaning hands of railroad contractors are almost powerless against them. But, Mr. President, the occasion on which we have met brings up other scenes and other events than those which are merely amusing or ridiculous. We have, this day, to- gether turned our eyes back upon the places that knew us in our infancy and youth. To us New Hampshire presents something other than her granite hills ; yes, sir, and some- thing more interesting even than the grassy vales, or the pearly brooks, or the silvery water-sheets, that are associ- ated with the past time of our early days. Dearer to us still than the imagery of those bright scenes is the memory of the friends that we first loved,-those who nurtured us in infancy, who guided us in youth, who opened to us the ave- nues of knowledge, who warned us of the miseries of vice, and presented to us the inducements of virtue, and who made us what we are. Perhaps they still live to greet our occasional returns to the paternal home; or perhaps we have been called to commit them to the silent bosom of earth. Be that as it may, our relation to them is sacred ; and while the power of thought shall endure, the memory of their kindness will abide. In conclusion, Mr. President, I give you a sentiment (and I do not expect any one to respond to it unless the Old Man of the Mountain should happen to be present) : "The hills of New Hampshire. If Napoleon could incite his soldiers to greater deeds of valor by the thought that forty centuries looked down upon them from the pyramids, how much greater should be the inspi- ration and the achievement of the sons of New Hampshire from the thought that the centuries from the beginning of time look down upon them from their native hills."
Sentiment No. 3: "The Day we Celebrate."
Response by Rev. Moses T. Runnels, of Sanbornton, N. H.
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Mr. President, Sons, Daughters, and Citizens of Faffrey :
I confess to a strong, inherent partiality for centennial days like this. The centennial celebration of old Peter- borough awakened my childish enthusiasm at the age of nine years, and I have since labored hard, as a resident of those places, to secure similar centennials at Orford in 1865 and at Sanbornton in 1871. But this, Mr. Chairman, is the first centennial day I have ever really celebrated con amore. For I do love old Jaffrey, having claimed a resi- dence here for twenty-five years from infancy. I gazed upon that noble mountain, from under the old pine tree on the hill-top of my grandfather's farm, as one of my earliest remembered acts; and having found it the chief outward attraction of my home the last eight years, that I could there view this same Grand Monadnock from garden-walk or study-window at the distance of sixty miles, it is not strange that the promptings of my heart would not suffer me to be absent from this place to-day; that neither the most pressing engagements at home, nor yet the appalling announcement that I might be called upon for a speech, could deter me from this family gathering of the sons and daughters of Jaffrey.
As we have listened with so much interest to the able his- torical address, it has been your privilege and mine, brothers and sisters, almost to exclaim, with Virgil's hero, "Quorum pars fui !"-"of which I was a part"-our individual life,- our vivid remembrance sweeping back, as it does in my own case, over two fifths of the century now passed. And I can tell you, sir, from my experience here to-day as compared with that on other similar occasions, it makes a difference whether a man engages in a celebration like this as a mere spectator, or as an actor in the scene,-as a temporary resi- dent, or as a son of the town whose festivities he enjoys. And while these rare entertainments for mind and body (as I was about to say, expecting to speak after dinner) have been spread before us, and I have felt that I might turn to
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this presiding officer, or to others of the committee of arrangements, and say to each,-" You and I, sir, were play- mates together ;" or might add to many others in this vast assembly, " With you, your brothers, or your sons, I sported in artless childhood ;" "With you, your sisters, or your daughters, I attended school in the happy days of youth ;" "Your children I remember as among my favorite pupils in that old red school-house under the hill,"-I can assure you, Mr. President and gentlemen, that I have found myself all the more ready to rise, and at least repeat the sentiment you have so kindly given me, if I did not respond to it,-"The day we celebrate."
And what do we mean by " the day we celebrate" ?- the actual day of incorporation as it was, or this glorious day as it is? Perhaps we ought to claim that we are celebrating both days,-the day that was, and the day that is. What that day was we cannot know, beyond what the distin- guished orator of to-day has told us. It is like our birth- days in this regard, with the important difference that we were not any of us there at that time to see! Each one's imagination must help him to picture a scene in Jaffrey one hundred years ago; and as the beautiful banner we have seen borne before us to-day reminds us that Jaffrey was incorporated "August 17, 1773," I have thought that the few scattered settlers then in town might have come to- gether about three days afterwards, on the day exactly corresponding with this, to hold a sort of congratulatory meeting. The news of the "act" of incorporation has just reached them. They have gathered, in their rough suits of skins or homespun, from their scattered log-cabins, perhaps to some central cabin near this spot. From how different scenes, and in what dissimilar apparel, have we assembled, at our congratulatory meeting ! They came on foot or on horseback, at the rate of two miles an hour, through pathless forests, or guided by scarred, and jumping over fallen, trees. We have come in our light pleasure-
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wagons at the speed of six or eight miles an hour, or upon the wings of steam at the rate of five hundred miles per day !
Those strong-minded fathers, as they passed their hearty congratulations on the incorporation of their town, may also have spoken together of those ominous mutterings of an approaching revolution of which they were hearing, from week to week, from the then distant city of Boston,-per- haps of the late tea-party there. We, their descendants, if we think of any centennial besides our own, are perhaps letting our thoughts go forward to that grandest of all the days in our nation's history, if God permit,-the approaching hundredth anniversary of the declaration of her indepen- dence. And of what surprising changes are we thus re- minded as occurring between these "days we celebrate," in the nation, in the town, and in social life!
But on many other accounts is this "day we celebrate" interesting and valuable to us all.
It affords an opportunity for the renewal of old associa- tions, the fondest and dearest of our earthly lives, in those scenes and times of our earliest recollection when we could speak of joys unmingled with sorrow. Who of us does not hasten to recall the loves and friendships of those early days,-so pure, so productive of a happy state, so free from the alloy of selfishness !
For how many reunions of later friends, long separated from each other, does this day also afford the glad occasion. It would seem as if the orbits of our lives, having run for many years at a distance from and out of sight of each other, were now brought into a mutual and delightful juxta- position ; or, like vessels at sea, bound on the same voyage, after having, in separation, outridden many of the storms of life, we are to-day permitted to course for a few hours within " speaking " distance of each other, to compare notes on all the way in which a kind Providence has led us, each in our several spheres of duty, to rejoice in each others' prosperity, to sympathize with each others' griefs.
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And this reminds us, again, of the dear ones "not lost," as we fondly hope, "but gone before," with whom we for- merly " took sweet counsel together, and walked," it may be, "to the house of God in company." Does it not seem, my friends, as though their spirits, if aught on earth can afford them happiness, might even now be the unseen witnesses of this joyful reunion ? At least, are not their countenances, their loved or venerated forms, their win- ning voices, all fresh in our recollections to-day ? Is not our communion with them almost as palpable and as marked as that with one another ?
Once more : " the day we celebrate " bespeaks our great indebtedness to the ancestral fathers and guardians of the town in all previous years.
What this age is especially deficient in is a respect for the past. But the celebration of this day is a practical application of the noble sentiment of Burke,-" Those who do not treasure up the memory of their ancestors do not deserve to be remembered by posterity,"-though by no means exposing us to the quaint sarcasm of Sir Thomas Overbury, that "Those who rest their claim to consideration on the merit of their ancestry instead of their own individ- ual worth are like a hill of potatoes : the best portion is under ground."
And how, in this connection, did time permit, would I love to pay my humble tribute to the fathers of Jaffrey, whose very images are now so vividly before me, as having been upon the stage a third or half century ago! How many honored names do I recall! The Ainsworths, the Parkers, the Spauldings, the Gilmores, and the Howes ; the Cutters, the Baileys, the Lawrences, and the Emerys ; or, in the other part of the town, where I lived, the Prescotts, the Spoffords, and the Joslins; the Pierces, the Bacons, the Mowers, and many others all over town who might be men- tioned ; with others still who hardly yet have passed from our view, and especially that prince among New Hampshire
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farmers,* that prince among the benevolent benefactors of the town and the state at large, to whom you and I, Mr. Chairman, feel ourselves personally indebted for those habits of industry and that spirit of energy and enterprise which he early instilled within us, tempered ever with the most excellent counsels, and confirmed by a most laudable example.
In view of all these noble men-and women, too-who have given character to the Jaffrey of the past, moulding her institutions, establishing her educational and religious privi- leges, and adorning her homes, we can only exclaim, What a rich legacy is here! What cumulative influences and forces for good have come down to us from the record of the last century ! How should this stimulate our gratitude for what the fathers and the mothers were, and for what they accomplished in our behalf ! And how zealous should we be to transmit what we have received, unimpaired, to those who shall come after us !
For, while to the aged, and to those who review the past, " the day we celebrate" is so full of rich satisfaction, with how much of value is it also freighted to the young,-even to these little children, who have formed, in many respects, the most attractive part of our procession to-day. How much useful information may they gain from the day itself, its teachings, and its suggestions. How much, otherwise unknown, may they learn, even respecting the fathers them- selves. What insight will be afforded them into the habits of life and social ways of periods long past. And when they reflect upon the changes since effected-the new dis- coveries and inventions, the improvements in agricultural and mechanic arts and implements, the increase of books and other appliances for obtaining and diffusing knowledge, the improved facilities for travel and inter-communication,
The Honorable John Conant, who, from feeble health, was unable
* to be present.
4
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the bringing together of the nations, and the progress and elevation of mankind, all of which have been literally crowd- ed into the space of the hundred years now closing-let them be encouraged to graft upon the moral and religious principles the sterling virtues, the heroic qualities of mind and heart, which belonged to the fathers in the century past -to graft upon these, I say, all that is inspiring, hopeful, and healthfully progressive in the new century of our local history now commencing.
Which leads me to add very briefly, in conclusion, "The day we celebrate " is especially valuable to the town histo- rian. I rejoice that old Jaffrey has one, from whom we are to hear on this occasion. This day may well afford to him a fresh nucleus,-a new starting-point, as it were ; and the success of our historical orator to-day may give him new aid, impulse, and encouragement to press forward in his noble work. Many are the difficulties which beset the path of the town historian ; great the apathy which broods over many minds ;. surprising the indifference which many mani- fest as to all or aught that pertains to the past history of those localities-of those families, even-in which they themselves should naturally take the deepest interest. The dark clouds of mystery and uncertainty which are found hanging over the facts and records of the past are also quite disheartening at times ; but these will usually be found lifting and unveiling themselves before the patient, persevering historian as he plods along, and often from the most unexpected sources and in ways before unthought of. The satisfaction and reward (not pecuniary) of the local his- torian's work are therefore very great. Its importance can- not be over-estimated. It must be done quickly or it will never be accomplished ; and when once done and well done, it is done for ever. Let facts, therefore, respecting the men and the things which ever belonged to this good old town be industriously collected and properly arranged. Let the genealogies of the old families be traced out, even into
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other towns and other parts of the country, so far as possi- ble, for thus much may be learned throwing light upon the history of the town itself. It will thus be known what an aggregate amount of influence the town has really exerted in building up other communities and moulding society in other localities. The gratification of all concerned will be great, and ever increasing as years and generations in the future roll away ; posterity will approve the sayings and the doings of the faithful annalist. The stores of actual knowledge shall be increased ; different parts of our country shall be more effectually cemented together ; mankind shall be ele- vated ; and the great God who has "been our dwelling- place in all generations" shall himself be glorified.
Sentiment No. 4: " Jaffrey-Her Scenes and Her Scene- ry." Response by Rev. J. M. H. Smith, of East Jaffrey.
An hour having been spent in social intercourse, and dis- tributing among the many from the inexhaustible store of provisions until all were satisfied, the tent programme was resumed by the band's playing the " Ella Polka," after which Prof. George W. Foster sang a taking ballad,-
" Dinna forget your mother, Sandie,"
with brilliant success,-when toast-master Parks proceeded to say,-
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN : After having partaken of the material benefits so bountifully provided for the inner man on this occasion, it is proposed that we resume again that other feast, began before dinner, to wit, "The feast of rea- son and the flow of soul."
Sentiment No. 5 : "The Orator of the Day. We have hitherto been proud of his name and reputation as one of the great lights of the legal profession. He has to-day placed us under infinite obligation for his interesting and eloquent address." Hon. Joel Parker rose, and, expressing
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his gratitude for the honor bestowed upon him, said that another speech would not be expected from him to-day. He asked leave to place in the hands of the toast-master the following sentiment : "The inhabitants of Jaffrey,-stead- fast in their principles ; untiring in their industry."
Sentiment No. 6: "Our Common Schools."
Response by Rev. D. N. Goodrich, sup't school commit- tee, Jaffrey, who said, that, while he need not remind a New England audience how highly the fathers valued common school education ; how they built the school-house close by the meeting-house, to show that, in their opinion, religion and education should go hand in hand,-he would mention some facts which indicate that the people of this generation value these interests just as highly as their fathers did, and are disposed to guard them with a jealous care. Among other things, the speaker referred to the large number of schools in the town ; the amount of money expended for their support, the average expense for each scholar being $5.25, and in some districts $16.45,-the whole number of scholars being 360. He mentioned, also, the fact that the schools were so frequently visited by the people in the various districts; that so much pains is taken to procure good teachers ; that the teachers employed have generally been so well qualified; and that so many of them have received a large part of their instruction in our schools. In conclusion, the speaker thought the facts of the case and the views of the people might be expressed by offering the sentiments in the following form : "Our Common School System-a priceless legacy received from the fathers, per- fected by the wisdom and experience of successive genera- tions, and supported by the intelligent patriotism of our people ; Our Teachers-thoroughly competent, efficient, and devoted to their noble work; Our School Officers-assid- uously guarding the precious interests committed to their charge ; Our Scholars-the good material out of which
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intelligent, useful, and honorable members of society are to be made."
Sentiment No. 7 : "East Jaffrey Cornet Band-they may write ' Excelsior' on their escutcheons." Music : " Lepitit Polka."
Sentiment No. 8 : " The Mothers and the Daughters-the . joy and sunshine of our homes, and the pride of the cen tury." Response by A. S. Scott, Esq., of Peterborough, N. H.
MR. PRESIDENT, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN : When I ac- cidentally read the announcement in our village newspaper, by your Jaffrey correspondent, that I had been invited to respond on this occasion to a sentiment to the ladies of Jaffrey, and had accepted the invitation, it was to me a mat- ter of surprise, because it seemed to me more fitting that to one of the sons of these Jaffrey mothers, or one of the husbands or suitors of these fair Jaffrey daughters, should have been assigned the privilege to speak to a sentiment so suggestive of all the sweet and dear remembrances that cluster around your old family homes among your hills.
Then, I should be excused from speaking here to-day be- cause of the acknowledged ability of these ladies, if this assembly could be resolved into a tea-party and they should once get their tongues loose, to speak for themselves.
But, mothers and daughters of Jaffrey, discarding all empty compliments and flattery, so repugnant to your good sense, you will permit me to say that in these old family homes among these hills, presided over with such matronly dignity by the mothers, and made sunny and happy by the genial presence and affectionate smiles of the daughters, has been nurtured all that is good, and memorable, and great in the history of the century that has passed. For these New England homes, watched over by pious and de- voted mothers, are conceded to be the best manufactories
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of men. But there is now very serious danger that this work of growing and training men must cease for lack of material. No one can have failed to observe the difference in the size of the families of the early mothers, and the fam- ilies of the present day. The former numbered from six to sixteen, and the latter from one to four.
In your school-districts, which were formerly densely populated with scores of ruddy boys and girls, you now are indebted to the Irish emigrants for children enough to make a school.
One of your early settlers, who, on his bridal tour about a century ago, brought his wife to a log cabin in the wilder- ness in an ox-cart, with her spinning-wheel and other mar- riage outfit, raised, in this cabin, eleven children. And these large families were bee-hives of industry, and no drones were allowed in the hive. Father, mother, sons, and daughters worked, and sometimes more than ten hours each day.
There is not an honored descendant of these families here to-day who does not in all sincerity acknowledge him- self more indebted for such measure of honor and success as has attended him on life's battle-field, to the lessons and habits of industry and frugality inculcated in the old home, than to all other causes and influences combined.
John Conant, when, with matchless industry, persever- ance, and economy, he was laying the foundations of that wealth which has enabled him to endow your high school, a seminary, and an agricultural college so munificently, gaining for himself an honored and illustrious name among the benefactors of his race, was largely indebted to the in- dustry and frugality of his wife.
There is not a good thing that marks your progress dur- ing the century,-a school, a church, a library, or a reform,- that has not been largely fostered and helped onward by the labors and sacrifices of the mothers and daughters. Now, the school-masters having mostly gone abroad, almost the entire education of your children is committed to the
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daughters, and no one doubts that they will be faithful to their responsibility.
The mothers and daughters have not at any time in the century been wanting in the exhibition of an exalted pat- riotism.
In the Revolutionary war they bravely sent their hus- bands to the front, and remained at home faithful and de- voted to their families, adding often to the labors of the household the labors of the field.
In the war of the Rebellion the mother heroically sev- ered the tie that bound her to her son, and sent him forth to the service of his country with her prayers and benedic- tion, and side by side with the recruiting-station organized the Soldiers' Aid Societies, the springs of the Sanitary Commission, the Good Samaritan of the war.
There is not a son of Jaffrey, who has come up here from his home in another state to revisit the scenes of his child- hood and live over in imagination his boyhood days, who does not bring in his heart some tribute of gratitude and respect for the mother who bore him, who cradled him in her arms, taught his infant lips to lisp his morning and evening prayer, and, as he grew into boyhood, patched his trowsers, washed his face, combed his hair, and sent him to school on a week-day, and bade him "mind the master, learn his lesson, and bring home the medal;" and on Sun- day took him with her to church, and made him read the Bible and say the catechism ; and later, as he ripened into young manhood and manifested a love for learning, with gentle persuasion, influenced the paterfamilias to sell his cow or yoke of oxen to raise money to send him to college ; then, with assiduous toil, carded with her own hands the rolls, spun and dyed the thread, and on the old hand-loom, located up in the old attic to be out of the way of interrup- tion, wove the fabric, and then fashioned and sewed the suit in which her son entered the academy or college. And this is no fancy picture, for the man still lives, and will
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address you here to-day, who entered Dartmouth college in a suit of homespun manufactured entirely by his mother.
Many of these mothers still live to grace and honor this assembly with their presence, but many have passed away and been borne to their resting-places in your village ceme- tery ; and to many a son those beautiful lines of Cowper, addressed to his mother's picture, have come home with peculiar power :
"My mother ! when I learned that thou wast dead, Say, wast thou conscious of the tears I shed? Hovered thy spirit o'er thy sorrowing son, Wretch even then, life's journey just begun? I heard the bell tolled on thy burial day ; I saw the hearse that bore thee slow away ; And, turning from my nursery window, drew A long, long sigh, and wept a last adieu."
Many a son of Jaffrey has wept a last adieu at the grave of his mother, but her love and affection will hallow his latest as his earliest memory.
But I am admonished to close by the consciousness that the time of this occasion belongs to your own sons and not to me.
I give you as a sentiment in closing,-" The Mothers of Jaffrey-models of industry, piety, and frugality ; may their daughters emulate their mothers' virtues."
Sentiment No. 9-" The Clergy of Jaffrey." Response by Rev. E. S. Foster, of Winchester, N. H.
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