USA > New Hampshire > Cheshire County > Marlborough > History of the town of Marlborough, Cheshire County, New Hampshire > Part 28
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As we contrast the present prosperous condition of Marl- borough with what it was one hundred years ago, we can but feel progress indeed has been made. Happy homes are now all around us. How was it when Mr. Robert Worsley paid his first visit to the town prior to the Revolution? In his own words, he says: "I passed up the middle branch * of the Ashuelot River to the hill between the branch and Robbins Brook, where I discovered a deserted log-house on Cooper's Hill. But I continued my journey till I came to another elcared spot, which was afterwards called Ball's Hill, where I found a most splendid growth of hard wood, with some pine, spruce, and hemlock. Here, I felt, was the place for me to settle; for soil must be good to produce such timber."
* Now called Minnewawa,
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So he put up his log buildings in the wilderness, and began to live. Wild animals then were common. One night, when Mr. Worsley was away from home, a bear took a hog weighing three hundred and twenty pounds from the pen, and, bearing it some distance off, killed it. The next day, the neighbors caught old bruin himself; and he weighed four hundred and twenty pounds.
Mr. Worsley speaks of a huge ash-tree, from which they split rails enough to last them for ten years in fencing their extensive lots. Also mention is made of a pine cut down by Silas Rhodes, out of which he split thirty thousand shingles and sawed several thousand feet of boards. These trees must have been similar to those growing in Oregon, which are said to be so tall that one must look three times before he can see their tops.
Our ancestors were very social, it would seem, and fond of fun. The English mirth, the Scotch humor, and Irish wit, were sure to express themselves at huskings, trainings, apple-parings, raisings, and night-mowing-bees, where gen- erous hearts and active hands would do their best to bring up the rears of some delinquent farmer. Oh, how the fire would fly, as they swept over the stony fields! Oh, what stifled laughter at the end of the swaths! And, when the job was done, oh, the jokes, the plays, and the frolics of merriment which were sure to follow! Those were hale, happy old times, which can never be enjoyed in their hearti- ness again. It is right, however, that recollection should review them, and our hearts be refreshed by -
"Conning them o'er and o'er."
Of course, as our fathers came to this country, they neces- sarily brought with them some of the faults and foibles of their native lands. The haughtiness of the English made them overbearing; the rigidness of the Scotch caused them to be dogmatical; the disposition of the Irish to wit ren- dered them hilarious and sometimes riotous : but their faults were usually only virtues carried too far. They were posi- tive and substantial in character. They were social and fraternal in their feelings, polite in their manners, and faith-
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ful to their duties. They sowed good seed in the church and home. They laid a solid foundation on which future generations might securely build.
The success of a town depends not so much on great ex- ternal wealth as on the virtues planted in the hearts of the young and cherished in the bosoms of the old. The young grow strong by the hearth-stone consecrated by their fathers' good counsels and their mothers' prayers. All honor should be paid to our noble sires.
A century has gone since the wilderness here was first disturbed by the ring of the axe. The last hundred years are full of history. Within that time, five wars have caused these hills and valleys to echo with the blasts of the trum- pet and the roll of the drum, calling men to arms. Within that time, the Indian has left his once favorite hunting and fishing grounds; the yoke of Great Britain has been lifted from our land; the foot of the French monarch has been forced from our borders ; the Spanish flag within our domin- ion has been trampled in the dust; and the feeble thirteen colonies have grown into thirty-seven States and ten Terri- tories, netted over with railroads and telegraphs, dotted with cities and towns, having seas and rivers whitened with the sails of commerce from every clime.
Here in our own country within the past century, the first steamboat was set in motion; the first railroad of any considerable length was constructed; the first telegram was sent ; the first mower was made; and the first sewing-machine was patented. A hundred years ago there were but four small newspapers published in the country, and less than seventy-five post-offices. The last ten decades have witnessed surely many and great changes. Minds have invented and hands have wrought out wonderful improvements.
But there have been other changes in this town, which have been felt more than any to which reference has been made. The first generation of settlers in Marlborough has gone; only a few of the second remain, who are waiting with us, soon to be called to their fathers. A few more suns will roll round, and they will all be gone,-a noble ancestry,
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bold as the summit of yonder mountain, determined as your roaring Minnewawa, gentle as the brooks purling through your meadows, and as tender as the air that kisses your hills. But the fathers are not wholly gone: their deeds are around us. We know of their thanksgivings to God when their rude homes were lighted up with children fresh from the hand of God; we know of their deep sorrows as their hearths were darkened and fond ones passed from their sight. For in their homes were altars of love around which bridal joys were wreathed, and shrines, too, which were often draped with bitterest affliction. But, as we visit their graves, the graves of our kindred, how significant the past !
Thanks be to God, they live! The stone has been rolled from the door of the sepulchre, and the fathers are clothed with life immortal. Let the influence of the sainted dead rest upon us. May they continue to teach us of their forti- tude in the wilderness, on the field of battle, and in their struggles for liberty ; of their devotion to their homes, their schools, their church and country. Their inheritance is worth all it cost. Their bestowals upon us are beyond the price of rubies. As the grass shall grow green over their graves and the pine sing its requiem above their peaceful ashes, may their lives blossom perennially in the memories of the living, making New Hampshire our Canaan, Marlbor- ough our New Jerusalem, Monadnock our Pisgah, and Minnewawa our Kedron !
A hundred years have gone. A century hence, and the living here will be sleeping with the fathers. But may the precious inheritance which we have received, of freedom, truth, virtue, and faith, be so improved by our diligence, that our children's children at the second centennial celebra- tion of the settlement of our native town, shall be blest with a hundred-fold greater inheritance than we enjoy to-day, and the sons will continue to call the fathers blessed !
Come, Patrick Henry, the eloquent vindicator of liberty ; come, Franklin, the patriot and philosopher; come, Wash- ington, the great general and wise man; come, Jefferson, the judicious counsellor and statesman; come, Hancock, from
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the Continental Congress ; come, Adams, from Faneuil Hall, with thy memory laden with the wisdom of the past and the present; come, Lincoln, the liberator of the slave and the preserver of human rights,-come, all ye national heroes, and teach us anew the worth of national freedom and State government.
Come, ye Pilgrims from Plymouth Rock; come, ye Revo- lutionary heroes, who fought for the rights of State and Nation; come, ye early settlers of our native town, who wrought so grandly for school and church,-come, all ye departed and honored fathers, and baptize us afresh with love and devotion to the mother of our nativity, leading us and our descendants in the ways of faithfulness to her future wants and prosperity, thus adding to her natural charms and glory all the shades and touching beauties of cultured Chris- tian characters.
At the conclusion of the address, the speaker acknowl- edged his many obligations to Mr. Charles A. Bemis, Marl- borough's historian, who had furnished him with many historical facts for his address. He also expressed his thanks to Mr. Thomas White, who, unsolicited, favored him with several important reminiscences, and to Mr. Charles K. Mason, who had been untiring in his efforts to lend him all possible aid.
10. Original hymn by Mrs. S. D. Osborne of Keene, read by Rev. E. Davis, sung to the tune of Italian Hymn.
HYMN.
Composed on the One Hundredth Birthday of the Town of Marlborough.
One hundred years ago ! Swift has thy silent flow, Old Time, rolled on ; Then forests crown these hills, These rocks no hammer thrills, No sound of busy mills To man is borne.
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But strong young hearts are there, With wills " to do and dare "; Trusting in God, They send the fiat forth, That things of real worth Shall have a noble birth On stream and sod.
Forests before them fled ; Treasures, from rocky bed, Were brought to light ; The dashing stream was stayed,
Swift wheel and spindle played, Each artisan of trade Wrought with his might.
The house of God was reared; The school, 'mid shops, appeared To bless the land. Soon from their halls went forth
Women and men of worth
To every clime on earth, A noble band.
We gather here to-day, To gaze back o'er the way, One hundred years ;
Each one, with blessings fraught,
Teach us "what God hath wrought,"
And to us all have brought More joy than tears.
And when these vales and hills Have crumbled, and these rills Are hushed for aye, Then we, our earthly lays
Exchange, for heavenly praise
Will loud hosannas raise At Home on high.
11. Benediction by Rev. P. Wallingford of Claremont, a native of Marlborough.
AT TABLE.
Blessing invoked by Rev. Moses G. Grosvenor of Troy, Ohio, formerly pastor of the Congregational Church.
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HISTORY OF MARLBOROUGH.
Ample justice was done to the repast by the multitude present, and much food was left unconsumed.
AFTERNOON.
Order being restored, the exercises were as follows, namely : -
Music by the band, "Marlborough Centennial Quick- step," composed by F. C. Hayes.
The President then called for the first sentiment, which was as follows : -
The Day we celebrate, our Country's Natal Day, the First Centennial of Marlborough,- An occasion of friendly greeting to all, of welcome home to our friends from abroad, of solemn reflections for the past, and of hopeful anticipations for the future.
Jairus Collins, Esq., responded to this sentiment as fol- lows: -
Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen, - By the invitation of your centennial committee, I am called upon to respond to the sentiment just read: The day we celebrate, our coun- try's natal day, the first centennial of Marlborough,- An occasion of friendly greeting to all, of welcome home to our friends from abroad, of solemn reflections for the past, and of hopeful anticipations for the future.
The day we celebrate, our country's natal day. It is well, my friends, in our journey over the sea of life, that we have stand-points on our passage, that we may take a retrospec- tive view.
And this is a day eminently befitting such an occasion. It is well that we meet and greet each other with a cordial look and shake of the hand on this our double centennial day, review the past and contrast it with the present. Let us look where we see our national flag proudly waving be- fore us, and read the meaning of those stars and stripes. One hundred years ago, a piece of coarse bunting was flung to the breeze, containing thirteen stars and stripes,-an emblem of a Nation's independence, the signal of the rights of man, a declaration that those thirteen States ought to be,
Jairus Collins
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and of right should and must be, independent of the British crown. This was a time that tried the spirit, the manhood of our forefathers. Though destitute of the comforts, and much more the luxuries, of life, they were equal to the occa- sion ; and by their valor, patriotism, and perseverance, we are here to-day, enjoying the fruits of their labors, being protected in our social, intellectual, civil, political, moral, and religious rights and privileges by a government which their sacrifices, hardships, and sacred devotion to principle achieved,-yea, the best government the bright sun in the heavens ever shone upon. May we ever emulate their devo- tion, their self-sacrificing devotion to principle ; and, while their names may pass into oblivion, let us, on this our coun- try's natal day, commemorate their deeds of valor, and with joy and gratitude in our hearts entreat our heavenly Father, by well-ordered and virtuous lives, that he will continue to rule in and preside over the destinies of this our beloved country !
This is our first centennial of Marlborough. One hun- dred years ago, the hardy men and women who commenced the settlement of this town, where are they? Echo answers, Where? Their names are obscured by the lapse of time. Yet in the dim and faded records of the past may be found the pioneer names of the first settlers of our town. Some ten or more years before its incorporation, the names of William Barker, Isaac McAllester, Daniel Goodenough, Benjamin Tucker, Abel Woodward, and Joseph Collins head the list of pioneers in its settlement. From that time to the present day, what changes have been wrought! To recall some of these, we meet on this occasion. We extend the hand of welcome to all. We greet you, kind friends, with a thrice hearty welcome. We welcome home our friends from abroad. It is proper that we should welcome you here, to the old homesteads of former days and years long gone by. Although the old familiar farm-houses, fields, and yards, may be dilapidated and tenantless, or occu- pied by unfamiliar forms and faces, still past reminiscences will be revived, and solemn reflections will occupy the mind,
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when we visit the scenes of childhood and youth, about which so many tender recollections cluster, that we are prone to recall the language of the poet when he says: -
" How dear to my heart are the scenes of my childhood, When fond recollection presents them to view,- The orchard, the meadow, the deep-tangled wildwood, And every loved spot which my infancy knew ;
" The wide-spreading pond, and the mill that stood by it, The bridge, and the rock where the cataract fell, The cot of my father, the dairy-house nigh it, And e'en the rude bucket that hung in the well."
We welcome you, friends, to our hillsides, valleys, glens, streams, and old Monadnock's splendid view. We welcome you to our mills, shops, schools, churches, to our homes and hearts. We thank you for leaving your work and homes, to meet with us on this festal occasion, in this beautiful grove, where the spirit of cheerfulness and friendship may mingle, and gladness glow from heart to heart. We welcome the children from our Sabbath schools, and from abroad, to see and hear and partake of the joys and spirit of the occasion. It is proper that the celebration of this day be enjoyed by them, that they should hear from those that speak of some of the hardships, privations, and sacred devotion to princi- ples of the first or early settlers of Marlborough, when in a state of primeval, unbroken forest. It is well for you to know and all of us to think of those hardy men and women coming into this unbroken, dense forest, following their bold leader, William Barker, and felling the first trees, and com- meneing the settlement; building for themselves rude log- huts to protect them from the inclemency of the weather and the depredations of wild beasts and wild men of the forests. You, of to-day, might deem this rather an uninvit- ing home. Then view them in later times, in many cases without the necessaries of life. They came here to make a home, to build houses, to clear up and cultivate fields, and raise, by the labors of their hands, something on which to live,- here to labor and endure, with a perseverance worthy of our imitation. Here they built, as they progressed,
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houses, felled the trees, established schools, organized churches, passed over our hills and through our valleys without highways, travelling by marked trees from place to place, building mills, and thereby improving our water powers, and amid all the trials and hardships improving their mental, moral, and religious powers. And soon we see the fruit of their labors becoming more and more visible. Gradually their encroachments upon the forest show us broader fields, with waving harvests ministering to their wants. We look upon the bending, venerable forms of our fathers and mothers in their rural simplicity of character, with a just and manly pride of admiration, and we and com- ing generations will bespeak the gratitude toward them as public benefactors of our race. If we properly contemplate the great disadvantages which they encountered, and con- trast them with the present state of things, we can scarcely fail to thank God in our hearts that our lot has been cast in more favored times, and that we, enjoying the necessaries, the conveniences, and even luxuries of life, may fail fully to conceive of the hardships and privations of those hardy pioneers. These venerable men and women, without roads, carriages, or even beasts of burden, bore upon their broad shoulders their grain to the distant mills, guided by marked trees through the dark, thick forest, with a perseverance equal to their task.
One hundred years ago,- how changed! The same sun in the heavens still shines benignantly upon us, but the face of Nature a different aspect wears. Our fathers and moth- ers, where are they? Echo answers, Where? View that venerable village of graves (too little cared for) on yonder hill, and those other villages of the dead on our eastern and western hillsides, and the more lately populated cemetery near by, with its three hundred and fifteen silent inhabitants of mother earth, and we have the answer, -Dust to dust returneth, while their disembodied spirits are with Him who breathed the breath of life into man, and he became a living soul. Their primitive habits, manners, and customs have passed away, and given place to others more in harmony
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with our times and the progressive spirit of the present age. One hundred years mark the hand of progress in the arts and sciences,-oh, how rapid! Science has directed the labors of art, until results seem almost miraculous. Steam instead of beasts of burden propels our carriages as on wings, on the iron rail instead of over rocks and gravel and through mud and sand. The broad Atlantie's wide expanse is almost annihilated, and the forked lightning is tamed into subserviency to man, and wades through the briny deep, annihilating time and space, to carry messages of friendship and love to the most distant civilized countries. The means of civilization have progressed with equal strides of develop- ment. The rude log hut is exchanged for the modern im- provements of labor and art. The schoolmaster has been among us. But, friends, the great question is, Have the intelligence and virtues of the people kept pace with the visible progress of the arts and sciences? Have the ten talents committed to our keeping been fully utilized, so that it can be said of us, Well done, good and faithful servants, when the future shall look back upon the past ?
One hundred years,- what changes have occurred in the nations and governments of the world! Thrones have tottered and kingdoms fallen, kings crowned and dethroned. Our national government has arisen through its incipient stages of infancy, childhood, and youth, and passed onward and upward into mature manhood; and, by the labors and persevering patriotism, under a benignant Providence, our forefathers have bearded the British lion through a bloody war of eight years, maintained their manhood in 1812, crushed out the late Rebellion, maintained the liberty and rights of man, and shed a halo of glory for the emulation of the whole civilized world.
The second sentiment was read :-
Our Forefathers,- Austere in their manners, strict in the execution of the laws and the observance of the Sabbath and all religious duties, primitive in their habits and customs, would it not be well for young America to imitate many of their examples,-practise their economy, have the same regard for law and order, and their high sense of honor ?
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Song,-" Landing of the Pilgrim Fathers."
The following letter from Sumner Frost, Esq., of Derby, Vt., was then read : -
DERBY, June 23, 1876. To CHARLES K. MASON AND OTHERS :
Gents,- Your very kind and flattering invitation to be present at the centennial celebration of the good old town of Marlborough on the 4th of July next,-the town where first dawned the light of day upon me, and where are many of my earliest and most pleasant recollections,- and assist in commemorating the day with appropriate ceremonies, is this day received.
I can assure you that it would be a great pleasure to me to be present with you on that occasion. My engagements are such that it will be wholly impracticable. With my best wishes for a complete success, and my kind regards to you and the many kind and loved friends of my native town, I remain,
Yours truly, SUMNER FROST.
Third sentiment : -
The Church,- The great nursery of truth, virtue, and practical Chris- tianity.
COMMUNICATION FROM REV. LUTHER WISWALL OF WIND- HAM, MAINE.
TO THE COMMITTEE OF INVITATION :
Gentlemen,-I thank you for the kind invitation to be present and take some part in the celebration of the centen- nial anniversary of the organization of the town. It is a source of gratification to know that I am remembered after an absence of more than forty years. But, while I should be very glad to be with you on that occasion, the various calls for service nearer home will most likely make it virtu- ally impossible.
The sentiment to which you invited me to respond is one very near my heart; namely, "The Church, - The great nursery of truth, virtue, and practical Christianity." In re- gard to the true Church of Christ, of whatever name or in whatever clime, I would say :-
" One family we dwell in him, One Church above, beneath, Though now divided by the stream, The narrow stream of death."
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HISTORY OF MARLBOROUGH.
Most of those members of the great family when I became a member, now, I trust, belong to the family above. But to confine myself, as you suggested, to the history of the Church in Marlborough. I must premise that, with the exception of a few historical dates, I must depend on per- sonal recollections previous to 1834, in which year I left my native town. For while I have occasionally visited my early home and have known something of the progress of its civil and religious concerns, yet not so as to enable me to speak of them, among those who understand them much better than I can be supposed to do.
Aside from the Congregational Church, there was a Methodist society organized, as I have understood, about the year 1800. It was composed of members living in Marlbor- ough and in the neighboring towns of Dublin and Nelson. Their meetings were held in the eastern part of the town. I recollect of occasionally attending their meetings at the house of Mr. Herrick.
There were several Baptists in town, but I am not aware of any organized church of that denomination previous to 1834. Some of them were connected with the Baptist Church in Dublin, of which Elder Willard was pastor.
There was occasional preaching by ministers of the Uni- versalist persuasion, previous to 1820 ; * but I do not know that there was any organized church or society in those early years, or while I resided in town. Usually, as I recollect, their meetings, which I sometimes attended, were held in the school-house, then standing on the opposite side of the road from the present residence of Mrs. Davis.
The first preaching by Unitarian ministers was in 1823 or 1824, and occasionally for some years afterwards. The preachers were graduates of Harvard College. I think a Unitarian Church of a few members was organized during those years. I do not know any thing of its subsequent history. The above imperfect sketch of different denomi- nations will of course be supplemented by those now living among you.
* There was a society formed March 29, 1806.
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In addition to these, there was another voluntary but informal institution, which exerted a great influence in a religious point of view. I refer to a social conference and prayer-meeting held on Sabbath evenings at the school-house before mentioned. I cannot tell when it began as a regular meeting, but it was previous to 1820, and continued, with occasional interruptions, as long as I resided in town. Usu- ally, no minister was present, and Christian brethren of dif- ferent denominations by turns took the lead of the meeting, in which all who were disposed took part in the exercises of prayer, exhortation, or singing.
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