USA > New Hampshire > Strafford County > Dover > The first parish in Dover, New Hampshire : two hundred and fiftieth anniversary, October 28, 1883 > Part 12
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34. John Martin.
43. James Marshall.
47. Joseph A. Peirce.
49. Rufus B. Emery.
56. Franklin F. Dayis.
THE MEMORIAL ADDRESS. 109
It is, of course, difficult to trace descent, especially in female lines, through six, seven, or even eight and nine generations; but I can give a tolerably complete list of persons who, being members of this parish more than two hundred years ago, are represented by descendants in the male line now in this congregation, and an approximate account1 of such as are descendants by female lines and in other names. The list could be enlarged, if it included all descendants now resident in Dover ; but it is confined to this congregation : -
AUSTIN, JOSEPH. - Charles S. Cartland (treasurer of Strafford County); Mrs. Charles B. Shackford.
BICKFORD, JOHN. - Mrs. Elisha R. Brown.
CANNEY, THOMAS. - John N. Canney; John F. Tibbetts; George H. Tibbetts ; Charles S. Cartland.
CHESLEY, PHILIP. - Descendants of Dea. John Hall, as given below.
COFFIN, PETER. - Mrs. William Horne; Mrs. Charles H. Sawyer.
CROMWELL, PHILIP. - John B. Stevens, jr.
DAM, JOHN. - Joseph D. Guppey (late mayor of Dover) ; the children of Mrs. Lucy M. Whitehouse.
DAVIS, JOHN. - James H. Davis (now chairman of assessors of Dover) ; Franklin F. Davis; Mrs. Lonisa J. Thompson.
DREW, THOMAS (or WILLIAM ?). - Alfred P. Drew.
EMERY, ANTHONY. - John W. Emery ; Rufus B. Emery.
Foss, JOHN. - Rev. Alonzo H. Quint; Mrs., Andrew II. Young.
GERRISHI, JOHN. - Augustus Richardson ; Mrs. Washington Anderton.
HALL, Deacon JOHN. - Daniel Hall (late colonel U. S. Vols., now naval officer of
the port of Boston) ; Joshua G. IIall (late member of Congress from New Hampshire) ; Miss Ella Hall, daughter of Everett Hall; Rev. Alonzo Hall Quint, D. D. (late chaplain 2d Mass. Vols.) ; Solomon Hall Foye (late mayor of Dover) ; Alfred C. Clark; Charles A. Fairbanks, M. D. (city physician of Dover); Mrs. Joseph E. Kimball.
HALL, Lieut. RALPH. - Frank B. Williams.
HIAM, JOHN. - John R. Ham, M. D. (late surgeon U. S. Vols.); Joshua M. Ham ; the children of John F. Kelley.
HANSON, THOMAS. - Nathaniel E. Hanson; James V. Hanson ; John J. Ilanson ; Horatio G. Hanson ; William H. Hanson ; Misses Ida B. and Carrie S. Hanson, daughters of James W. Hanson; the children of the late John R. Varney ; Mrs. John H. Paul; Charles S. Cartland.
HAYES, JOHN. - Joseph Hayes ; Cyrus E. Hayes; Dr. William W. Hayes; Miss Nellie Hayes and Miss Laura S. Hayes, daughters of Charles Ilayes.
HEARD, Capt. JOHN. - John R. Ham, M. D. ; the children of the late John R. Varney. IIILL, VALENTINE. - Mrs. Henry Dow.
HORNE, WILLIAM. - William R. Tapley; Mrs. Joseph W. Welch; Horace
Kimball; Mrs. Henry C. Goodwin; Mrs. Alfred C. Clark; Mrs. Samuel Hussey.
HULL, Rev. JOSEPH. - The children of the late John R. Varney.
JONES, STEPHEN. - Joseph Jones.
1 The names in small capitals are those of members of this parish more than two hundred years ago ; the names following are those of their descendants now in this congregation.
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THE FIRST PARISH IN DOVER.
MATHES, FRANCIS. - Albert O. Mathes ; Samuel II. Mathes; Valentine Mathes.
NUTTER, Elder HATEVIL. - Descendants of John Wingate, whom see below.
OTIS, RICHARD. - James H. Wheeler, M. D .; Thomas M. Pray, son of Dr. T. J. W.
Pray ; Thomas B. Twombly ; Charles O. Baker ; Mrs. Lucy M. Whitehouse. Charles S. Cartland.
PINKHAM, RICHARD. - Charles W. Pinkham; Clarence I. Pinkham.
POMFRETT, WILLIAM. - Joseph D. Guppey ; the children of Mrs. Lucy M. White- house.
ROBERTS, THOMAS. - Mrs. Andrew T. Roberts and her children; Mrs. Andrew Tetherly; Charles S. Cartland; Mrs. Charles B. Shackford.
ROLLINS, JAMES. - Andrew Rollins; Edward H. Rollins (late senator of the United States).
SHACKFORD, WILLIAM. - The children of the late Charles B. Shackford (solicitor of Strafford County); Mrs. Dr. Levi G. Hill.
SMITH, JOSEPH. - Mrs. Dr. Alphonso Bickford; Mrs. Elisha R. Brown.
STARBUCK, Elder EDWARD. - The descendants of Humphrey Varney.
TASKER, WILLIAM. - Dr. Charles W. Tasker; Enoch O. Tasker ; Henry Tasker. TIBBETTS, HENRY. - George II. Tibbetts ; John F. Tibbetts.
TRICKEY, THOMAS. - Charles H. Trickey.
TUTTLE, JOHN. - Daniel Hall.
TWOMBLY, RALPH. - Reuben II. Twombly ; Thomas B. Twombly; Mrs. William Horne; Mrs. Lucy M. Whitehouse.
VARNEY, HUMPHREY. - Joshua Varney; the children of the late John R. Var- ney (late register of probate) ; Charles S. Cartland; Mrs. Charles B. Shack- ford.
WALDERNE, Major RICHARD. - Augustus Richardson ; Miss Mary Y. Hayes, daughter of Oliver P. Hayes.
WALDRON, JOHN. - Andrew Rollins; Horace Kimball ; James H. Wheeler, M. D. ; Thomas M. Pray.
WALTON, GEORGE. - Rev. Alonzo HI. Quint.
WATSON, JONATHAN. - Nathaniel Watson ; Horace P. Watson ; Mrs. Lucy M. Whitehouse ; Benjamin O. Reynolds.
WENTWORTHI, Elder WILLIAM. - George HI. Wentworth ; Martin V. B. Went- worth; William D. Wentworth; John R. Ham, M. D. ; James II. Wheeler, M. D .; Thomas M. Pray ; Thomas B. Twombly; Mrs. Lucy M. Whitehouse; the Wingates (whom see below) ; Henry C. Goodwin; Andrew Rollins ; Edward II. Rollins (late U. S. senator).
WHITEHOUSE, THOMAS. - The daughters of Mrs. Lucy M. Whitehouse.
WIGGIN, Capt. THOMAS, the leader of the Emigration of 1633. - Joseph Alonzo Wiggin.
WILLEY, THOMAS. - Jacob M. Willey ; Rev. Alonzo II. Quint.
WINGATE, JOHN. - Jeremiah Y. Wingate; Joseph W. Wingate; Mrs. William Horne ; Mrs. Charles II. Sawyer ; Mrs. Silas Moody.
WOODMAN, JOHN. - Theodore W. Woodman.
YORK, RICHARD. - Jeremiah York.
YOUNG, THOMAS. - Miss Roxanna P. Young, daughter of the late John Young.
It will be seen by this imperfect list that fifty of the men of this parish more than two hundred years ago are represented by de- scendants now members of this congregation, and that twenty-eight
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THE MEMORIAL ADDRESS.
of these are represented by descendants bearing the same names through male lines of descent.1
I congratulate you on the present prosperity of this parish. At no time in its history has it been stronger, or more united, or more at ease in its financial circumstances. These things are outward, it is true, but they are essential. They furnish the opportunity for spiritual work.
I have omitted much - it seems I have scarcely touched on the his- tory of this parish ; and. I have omitted in the reading much which I had written. How little is yet said of a life which covers the settle- ment of most of this continent, which has compassed the great wars of these centuries, the formation of the republic, and its redemp- tion ; the work which has grown so great, and by such methods, that a mere child, by gift and prayer, touches the keys of electric power in Asia or the Islands of the Sea!
And yet how few changes in two hundred and fifty years. To us, it seems wonderful. But the records of the earth's structure laugh at so slight an epoch. The prophecy of eternity scarce stops to reckon it. Men pass away, but how little else is altered. The same waves flow on for us as did for the keels our fathers sailed. The same rivers flow down on either side the gentle slopes where our fathers are buried in unknown graves. The same tides ebb and flow and wash the pebbly beach where the rivers meet. The same moon lights up the great and beautiful bay and the dark green woods. The same soils make the trees and the grass and the corn. They looked over the Newichawan- nock and saw Agamenticus peak, and across the westward and saw the blue hills. They drank of the waters of the spring under the western slope. There now are all these ; and you can see the hills and drink the water. The powers of God abide, the forces of God work on.
1 It would be interesting to know what descendants of that old Dover stock are or have been prominent in the world, but there are as yet few data. A few names may be mentioned : -
Theodoric Romeyn Beck, M. D., LL. D., illustrious in medical literature, was descended from Henry
Beck. Sir Isaac Coffin, Bart., admiral of the white in the British navy, from Peter Coffin. George W. Storer, rear-admiral in the U. S. navy, from William Storer. From Ralph Hall, - Tobias Lear, Washington's private secretary ; Gov. John Langdon, the first president of the U. S. Senate ; Judge Woodbury Langdon, member of the old Congress. From Deacon John Hall, - the writer John Neal; Gen. Neal Dow. From Elder William Wentworth, - the three governors, John Wentworth, Benning Wentworth, and Sir John Wentworth, Bart. ; Hon. John Wentworth, of Chicago; Mrs. Lydia H. Sigourney, distinguished in American poetry ; Mrs. Catherine F. Gore, the English novelist ; Thomas W. Peirce, the railway magnate of Texas and California. Edward Ashton Rollins, late U. S. commissioner of internal revenue, is descended from James Rollins and from Lider Wentworth. Rev. William Hayes Ward, D. D., editor of the Independent, is descended from John Hayes. From the "cruel constable" John Roberts, who whipped the Quaker women, is descended, by a peculiar fate, the beloved Quaker poet, John Greenleaf Whittier, who is descended also from Thomas Hanson, William Horne, and Robert Evans.
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THE FIRST PARISH IN DOVER.
We have spoken of a parish. It is but an outward shell, a form for the inward principle. It is to embody the spirit of Christ as a living power in the earth. Distinguish between the transient and the perma- nent. This body dwelt in a rude, log church, and now it dwells in these symmetrical and ornate walls ; but it is the same body.
Though men's forms of expression vary with the advancing ages, the faith is the same. All down these ages have the generations looked up to the Father in their same needs ; have lifted up psalms of the same spirit ; have loved the same revealed word, sweet and precious ; have trusted the same Divine Redeemer, and worshipped the same God : for He is the same yesterday, to-day, and forever.
ADDRESSES BY PRESENT MINISTERS OF DOVER.1
ASA TUTTLE,2 minister of the Society of Friends, spoke as follows :- I have been kindly assured on coming before you that no harm shall befall me by the inflicting of stripes or otherwise, so I may at once feel myself at home.
I could but gladly accept the invitation to participate in the celebra- tion of this noted anniversary, not so much in anticipation of any act- ive part I might take in the exercises as for the enjoyment of kindly greetings and pleasant rehearsals of the past in connection with the sacred spot of earth, - my old home on Dover Neck, - such as are so vividly brought to life by the law of association.
I perceive by the programme that the list of exercises, separately performed, will not admit of more than ten to fifteen minutes each, and for this reason I am compelled to condense what I feel to say on such an occasion without congratulations or apologies.
If I am here to represent the Society of Friends (commonly called Quakers), I can do no less than act in their defence, springing up as they did almost in conjunction with this mother church. I am thor- oughly conversant with the history of Dover and its wrongs. Of our sect, it may be said, they sprang up as out of the wilderness, were looked upon as an insignificant and "peculiar people," yet "zealous of good works," based upon the heaven-born doctrine so exultingly enunciated by the angelic host upon the plains of Bethlehem : "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good-will toward men." They accepted Christ as the head of his church, proclaiming him to be the " Life and the Light of men."
Independent of church or creed, and in spite of revilings and perse-
1 All ministers of churches now in Dover, without distinction of church, were invited to speak at the commemoration.
These addresses were given in the evening, Rev. Alonzo H. Quint, D. D., introducing the speak- ers, and Deacon James I1. Wheeler, M. D., reading letters sent on the occasion.
2 The speaker is a descendant of the emigrant JOHN TUTTLE, who was a resident of Dover and of this parish at least as early as 1642. The origin of the Friends' meeting here is given earlier in this publication.
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cutions, they persisted in seed sowing, leaving the result with Him who commanded them to sow. To this I feel that it is proper for me to refer. In doing so, I aim not to eulogize, but to do them honor.
Our aim as a people has been not so much to proselyte for the in- crease and enlargement of the organization as that of evangelizing the world, taking as our motto the golden rule, - that of doing unto others as-we would be done by, - leading quiet and peaceable lives in the sight of all men. Thus far covering two centuries have we labored in concert with other branches of the church for the spread of the gospel and the amelioration of mankind. In lieu of dissensions and a breach of faith in common with other sects, it may be safely said they help to people this American continent from the Atlantic to the Pacific, reaching out to Australia, West India, and New Mexico, leavening as they go the community into one common brotherhood. Godliness has been their watchword ; and this brings me to an experience during my mission work of late among the Indians of the far West, -the remnant of a people once sole proprietors of this spot of earth whereon we now celebrate, "a cruel and treacherous people," so often referred to to-day. I have almost trembled as I have been led forward and introduced to them as God's man, or one of God's men. Well might I query, and well may we query as pastors over the people, are we God's men, living Christ among men ? Are we worthy of the name we bear, and are we accomplishing the end of our calling, while so many around us are going down to destruction? Do we heed the admonition,
" Be what thou seemest ; live thy creed ; Hold up to earth the Life Divine : Be what thou prayest to be made. Let the great Master's steps be thine "?
I feel that I am one with you, and hope to act my part as a parcel of the community which makes up the place of my nativity. In the language of the reformed boys at their accustomed greetings, I can say, " I am glad to be here,"- rejoice in receiving a more powerful incentive to do good, and act the part of a true fellow-citizen.
Rev. JESSE M. DURRELL, pastor of the Methodist Episcopal Church, spoke as follows : -
No philosophy of history can be adequate that does not recognize an overruling Providence in the affairs of the race. The millions that have preceded us have sought to accomplish their varied purposes with more or less success. Yet He who is " the same yesterday and to-day and forever " has been weaving into the warp of the centuries the woof of human efforts. If I open an atlas to the map of the United States,
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ADDRESSES BY PRESENT MINISTERS OF DOVER.
put a strip of paper over the Mississippi River, hiding it from the eye, and call a child who has never seen such a map, he will fail to compre- hend the geographical unity of the Mississippi basin. The great tribu- taries will seem to be flowing in various and contrary directions, very puzzling to the child's mind. But when the strip is removed from the great stream into which all the rest flow, a unity is at once revealed, and the beauty of the vast river system appears to the young learner with very little explanation. When God is shut out of human history, we are lost in our efforts to solve its problems. We can follow, for a brief time, the life of this or that hero, and the work of this or that nation ; but no great purpose, no main stream appears till we take account of God's part in our affairs. Generations come and genera- tions go; but he lives on, turning into the channel of his own divine purpose the various trends of human thought and streams of human activities.
God has an ideal which he is trying to work out. From the time the first intelligent being recognized his Maker till now, God's great and absorbing purpose has been the ultimate production of a type of manhood exhibiting all that is best and purest in moral beings, - a type illustrating the beauty of willing and joyous worship.
The instrumentality by which God proposes to reach this result is "the church " built upon his "promises." The first family in the church was established on the promise that the woman's "seed " should bruise the serpent's head. From that day to this God has had a church on the earth. As occasions required, new promises were added to the original prophecy till the completion of the sacred canon. All so- cieties built upon this Word of God are branches of the true church. The Bible, therefore, becomes the book of books. Though the sacred canon is finished, it is full of spiritual life for the realization of the divine ideal in human society. True, some look upon the Scriptures as a mass of historic slag, -an extinct volcano, curious, but dead. Nevertheless, when men have least expected, light has, from time to time, broken forth from its depths. Even a Bible in chains may con- tain hidden fire. When Martin Luther opened the old volume in the monastery of Erfurth, ideas shot out from this furnace of truth like incandescent stars from a crucible of molten steel, that started the beacon lights of progress wherever they struck. The wave that in 1620 broke on the rocks of Plymouth, and that which followed soon after, on our New Hampshire coasts, were only the outer rings of that religious agitation by which Western Europe and England had been moved. These points in the outer circles, impinging on our shores, were destined in time to become the main sources of inspiration for a
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THE FIRST PARISH IN DOVER.
new set of religious influences which, we trust, are yet to sweep on over the globe.
In celebrating this evening the two hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the First Parish of Dover, we show to the world that we are carrying on the work begun by our fathers. As those early settlers gave their chief strength to the unfolding of the Word of God as they compre- hended-it, so we, following in their footsteps, purpose to do our part in carrying out the divine plan of developing a type of pure manhood on the basis of Revelation.
It is true that the Puritans and other bodies of those times did not fully understand, or measure up to the Scripture standard. But they had been educated in a hard school. Intolerance was the spirit of the times. It had come down from the Middle Ages, when the priest was made superior to the Word as interpreted by individual con- science. If the fathers brought bigotry such as impelled John Endi- cott to cut the cross from the military ensign, they also brought the remedy, - the Bible. As its precepts became better understood, a bet- ter spirit prevailed, and room was found for all of the Christian denomi- nations required in such a work as the Lord has contemplated. This evening we not only meet to congratulate this parish, but to honor the Bible, whose teachings have made and preserved us a free people.
We have but commenced the realization of the divine ideal ; better things are yet in store. From each century of the past, God has gathered the best souls, and welded the gold into a link of the great chain of his holy purpose. We may not be able to tell the exact relations we sustain to the past or to the future; but when the last link shall have been welded and the chain finished, it will constitute a glorious whole, reaching up to God's throne.
Rev. SULLIVAN H. M'COLLESTER, D. D., of the Universalest Church,1 spoke as follows : ---
Having enjoyed the able and timely address delivered here this afternoon, and having been cheered by the harmony of ancient songs, we can but feel this is a memorable and historic occasion. Memory and history, - the former a pensive Ruth gleaning the golden grain of the past, to sow afresh the fields of the present, in order that the future
1 The earliest date usually given to the beginning of services by this denomination in Dover is in 1825; but the N. H. Republican, of Dover, 6 April 1824, says: "The Rev. Edward Turner has ac- cepted the invitation of the Universalist Society in this town to become their minister."
ITiram Rollins, Benjamin Wiggin, James Wingate. John Moore, Jonathan Locke, and Jeremiah H. Curtis, for themselves and associates, gave public notice, 28 March 1825, that they had formed them- selves into a society called " The First Society of Universalists in Dover and Somersworth." The date of organization was 23 March 1825. - A. H. Q.
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ADDRESSES BY PRESENT MINISTERS OF DOVER.
may yield more abundant harvests ; the latter a grand temple, a Val- halla, embellished with the presence of sainted characters. These agents at once convert the present into the past or the past into the present. They introduce us to a Newton, who unfolds anew the glories of the heavens; they acquaint us with a Cuvier, who exhibits us to the wonders and intricacies of the animal creation; they present to us a Bacon, who is revealing the marvellous secrets of nature ; they make us disciples of Plato, that we may learn of his philosophy; they open the gates of the past, that we may walk the streets of Thebes, Palmyra, peerless Athens, and the city of the Cæsars; they make us familiar with sacred scenes, that we may become profoundly interested in the laws of Moses, the songs of David, the prophecies of Isaiah, the com- pleteness of Matthew, the brevity of Mark, the definiteness of Luke, the love of John, the submission of Mary, and the life and teachings of Jesus.
So these agents are sure to render spots and places, where men wrought, suggestive and notable. Plymouth Rock of itself presents nothing remarkable. It is like other ledges outwardly, and yet it is most significant. It has a peculiar individuality of its own, because the footsteps of the Pilgrims pressed it as they landed on our shores, ren- dering it attractive so long as stone shall endure and mind exist. Mars Hill is a rugged pile of rocks, quite uninviting to the casual eye ; still, as the considerate Christian now stands upon it, somehow it becomes illuminated, and is certain to captivate, because Paul once stood there in the presence of stoic philosophers, and discoursed upon Christ and the resurrection.
For the reason of memory and history, we are engaged in these eventful services. This parish to-day is two hundred and fifty years old. Its age verily warrants this celebration. Who is able to tell its wondrous story ? Who can estimate justly its external growth, its in- ternal life? Who can tell what has been its influence upon this town, county, and State ? Who can inform us how much it has accomplished in behalf of religion, education, and civilization ? Let the living and the departed poor come and rehearse its abundant charities; the sick, its countless blessings ; and the afflicted, its sweet consolations. Let yonder cities of the dead teach us how some seven generations have come and gone since this parish was first established. Let its ministers and laymen gather up from its noble past its good things, making glad the present and more glorious its future. Ah ! the money expended and the lives devoted to its welfare have not been in vain. May hearts still cleave to it and hands strive for it, that its coming experience may be more blessed than its past !
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THE FIRST PARISH IN DOVER.
A ship out at sea is largely dependent upon the force of circumstan- ces ; but not so with a steamer, which pushes out from port and presses on through wildest wave and severest storms to its destiny because of its internal force. The power within overcomes the might without, causing its voyages to be comparatively safe and sure. So with a parish and church having Christ for its inner power : it is certain to move successfully on through the years and centuries, achieving the happiest and grandest results.
Not long since I stood by the ruins of a temple on Attic soil, close down upon the Ægean Sea. Surveying stone and carving, it was evi- dent genius, skill, and industry had faithfully wrought there. But I was still more interested in the legend of that old structure, describing how it was built by the worshippers of Neptune, and that when it was dedicated it was presented to the sea-faring men of that land, with the request that, as they should go forth on distant voyages, they should collect precious stones, beautiful shells, and sacred keepsakes, and on their return they should have these united into wreaths and garlands, and hung upon the walls of the fair temple, that, in the course of time, it might become the most beautiful place of worship in all the earth. Thus, Christians of this First Parish and Church of Dover, having now a beautiful and commodious temple, the outcome of that first log meet- ing-house of this town and State, piled up two hundred and fifty years ago, may you so love, so bless, so do good daily, that you can come into this sacred place Sunday after Sunday to worship God and en- courage man, and this parish will still grow and prosper, producing saintly lives for the temple not made with hands !
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