USA > New Hampshire > Cheshire County > Dublin > The history of Dublin, N.H. : containing the address by Charles Mason, and the proceedings at the centennial celebration, June 17, 1852, with a register of families > Part 11
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
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 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97
But the moral and intellectual change has been most gratify- ing. For many years after I left the town, I was rather ashamed to acknowledge the place of my nativity. If I said I came from Dublin, the first remark was, "That is the town where Parson Sprague lives, is it not?" and then would follow some half a dozen of the stale jokes attributed to that old gentleman. But latterly a great change has been wrought in the public mind, and Dublin is no longer a by-word. Her praises are abroad, and her sons are no longer ashamed of their parentage. Now it is said that Dublin is the residence of Dr. Leonard, - Father Leonard, as some familiarly call him. They go on to say, that Dr. Leonard has done more to improve the moral and intellectual condition of those under his influence than any other clergyman within our knowledge. He has the best Sun- day-school in the country. The common schools and school- houses are a model for all others. The children of both sexes are well behaved and respectful, to a degree that attracts the notice and approbation of the passing stranger; and, of the numerous young men who, from time to time, have gone out into the world hardly one is known not to have done credit to his native town.
These are some of the blessed fruits of the well-directed efforts of a devoted minister, seconded, as they certainly have been, by the cooperation of many excellent men and women. It is true that a little excitement occasionally arises among the inhabitants about the location of a schoolhouse, a road, or a meetinghouse, or perhaps about the music in the church; but these soon subside, and things move on harmoniously as before.
Allusion has been made to the late Parson Sprague; and I cannot forbear to add one word. Mr. Sprague was a very peculiar man; and I cannot say he was instrumental in doing much good in his lifetime. But the noble bequests he made in the disposition of his property conferred a lasting blessing upon the town, and should be held in grateful remembrance.
Mr. President, I love my native town. Everything con- nected with it has a peculiar interest. The very mountains and hills, the rocks and the streams, are endeared to me by my earliest associations. Here were the scenes of my youthful
90
HISTORY OF DUBLIN
sports. It was here that the foundation of my future life and character was laid. It was here that my dearest relatives and friends have ever lived; and it is in yonder graveyard, between the mountain and that beautiful lake, that the ashes of my beloved parents and brothers and sisters repose. Nothing that relates to Dublin escapes my notice, or is without an in- terest; and I trust, that, as long as consciousness remains, the same feeling will reside in my breast.
Mr. President, I rejoice to see this day, and be able to par- ticipate in the festivities of the occasion. It is good for us to assemble on this anniversary, and look back to the day of small things, and survey the distance we have travelled; to erect a landmark for future generations to refer to. It is good for us, who have strayed from the land of our fathers, once more to return, and greet each other and those we have left behind at the old homestead; and I thank God we this day have the opportunity.
Dublin has a hard, stubborn soil, but, like the other parts of the Granite State, from which we are proud to hail, produces strong men and women. Mr. President, in conclusion, I would say to my brethren and friends, Go on and persevere in the good works you have so well begun. Continue to cherish and support your churches and schools; and let no root of bitter- ness spring up to retard or mar your progress.
Mr. President, I will conclude by offering the following sentiment: -
"THE INHABITANTS OF MY NATIVE TOWN. - May knowledge and virtue continue to increase and abound to the latest posterity."
19. Sixteenth sentiment: -
"THE AMERICAN FLAG: - A century ago, not thought of; three- fourths of a century ago, despised and derided as a 'piece of striped bunting;' now waving gloriously over thirty-one states at home, and invoked as a barrier against oppression and tyranny abroad. (Thanks to our friend who has kindly furnished one for the present occasion.") -
TUNE - "YANKEE DOODLE"
Captain HENRY C. PIPER responded: -
Mr. President, - The Flag of our Union, first raised in a humble village, has advanced in successive strides from the Atlantic to the Pacific, from Canada to Mexico, and now in
91
CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
triumph floats over the heads of more than twenty millions of the freest and happiest people of the earth. Nor have these mighty ocean barriers been sufficient to inclose it. The winds have lent their aid, and upon their ready pinions borne it to every accessible port between the polar oceans, whether in Europe, Asia, Africa, or the green islands of the far Pacific.
In the days of the Colonial Confederation in America, it was hailed as an emblem in the clouds of the union of thirteen sister, sovereign nations, to establish and maintain civil and religious liberty; in Europe as the sign of promise, as the dawn of a day, which, though long obscured by the clouds of ignor- ance and superstition and the gloom of despotism, will yet break forth in full perfection, illumined by the light of universal freedom. To the teeming millions of remoter regions, it has borne the gifts of civilization and Christian truth. Ay! it is a beacon fast becoming visible to all mankind; leading savage, barbarous, civilized, and enlightened humanity onward and upward to that elevation the Almighty intended they should occupy.
In the earlier days of the Union, its upholders and defenders were few in number, yet fearless and determined in their pur- pose, with a firm faith in the equity of their cause. Had their efforts resulted in a failure, their lives would have been sacri- ficed, their estates confiscated, and all their bright honors buried beneath the deepest ignominy their haughty captors could heap upon the names of vanquished rebels.
But not so. There stood Washington; great, good; the Father of American Independence, with manly bearing; the leader, military, afterwards both civil and military, of that patriot-band; - Jefferson and Adams, the author and defender of the Declaration of Independence; - Lafayette, who de- clared resistance to oppression one of the most sacred of duties, rendering indispensable service in the revolutionary contest, second in wisdom and true valor to none but the immortal Washington; - Hamilton, Arthur Lee, Richard Henry Lee, Franklin, Hancock, Green, Knox, and a few others, in all not too numerous to assemble in a town hall of ordinary dimen- sions, yet invincible.
In later days of our republic, as in 1812 and 1815, we find in the hour of danger a more numerous throng clustered around our standard, and upon the pages of our history new names, - a Clay, a Bayard, and another Adams; in the tented field a Scott, a Jackson, a Taylor; and on the ocean a Hull, a Decatur,
92
HISTORY OF DUBLIN
a Bainbridge, and a Perry; all bold and fearless, even unto death, when that sacred banner was assailed, their country in- vaded, and their firesides in danger.
And who now support our flagstaff, and uphold the union of these states? Ah! yes, men still are found of spotless patriot- ism, and, I had almost said, of godlike wisdom and mental greatness, ever ready to risk "life," "fortune," and "honor," that the great American example may not falter while they live. May our nation ever be favored with such men to guide us in the council chamber, and lead us in the battle-field!
But, sir, the sun of this last day of a hundred years since civilization marked these hills and vales is fast declining. Never again shall another morn, numbered and marked as this has been, unseal our eyelids, or cause our hearts to leap with joy, and our lips to move in celebration for the national, state, and town prosperity we have so long enjoyed. I will not trespass on so precious time.
"The Flag of our Union: long may it wave
O'er the land of the free, and the home of the brave,-"
as long as sustenance for man shall be produced from the earth, or drawn up from the sea; till all the sons of America be as plants grown up in their youth, and her daughters as corner- stones polished after the similitude of a palace.
20. Seventeenth sentiment: -
"OLD MONADNOCK. -
'And while a world of human pride, With all its grandeur melts away,
And spreads around the rocky side The broken fragments of decay; Oh! let us learn from thee to rise, All time and change and chance defying, Still pointing upward to the skies, And on the inward strength relying.'"
DANIEL ELLIOT, M.D., of Marlborough, N. Y., sent the following: -
MARLBORO', N. Y., June 10, 1852.
GENTLEMEN :
I have received your invitation to be present at the centennial cele- bration of the settlement of my native town on the 17th instant. I need not assure you of the great pleasure it would afford me to be
Dani Elliot
93
CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
among you on that interesting occasion; to exchange congratula- tions, recall reminiscences, and mingle sympathies, with such as remain from among the friends of my boyhood. But circumstances beyond my control will deprive me of that gratification. I pray you to accept my thanks for your kind and flattering invitation, and to offer to my brethren of the good old town of Dublin my hearty con- gratulations on their prosperous condition, and my earnest wishes for their onward and upward progress.
The committee will also accept my grateful acknowledgments for the part assigned me in the exercises of the day, - to speak to "Old Monadnock," my venerable and long-cherished friend! Nothing could be more congenial to my feelings. His image, in all its aspects, is ineffaceably impressed upon the tablets of my memory. His very name strikes a chord within me that vibrates as to the sound of grand and solenin music. His idea is part and parcel of my being; and to his influence on my young imagination do I owe much of the enjoy- ment I have derived from nature's varied works. I remember him when clothed with verdant foliage to the very summit. I saw, year after year, the devouring flames climbing his lofty sides, exhibiting him to the surrounding country as a dread volcano or a giant beacon, till half his leafy mantle disappeared. But I liked him best in naked majesty, - bald, hoary, stern, asserting his own fixed character. Many a toilsome pilgrimage have I made to his lofty summit, to feast upon the wide-spread banquet for the eye that stretches in all directions from his base. I have spread my blanket on the mossy rocks of his bleak and hoary brow, watching the brilliant stars through the solemn stillness of the night, to catch the first gleaming of the dawn, and hail the earliest beams of the rising sun, while all below was dim and misty; and richly did the glory of the scene repay the toil.
I have visited mountains more known to fame, - have stood on higher elevations; but from no point have I found the view so satis- factory - uniting so much of grandeur, beauty, variety, and extent - as from the brow of old Monadnock. I hail him King of Moun- tains! "May his shadow never be less!"
Thus far had I indulged in pleasant reminiscences of my exalted friend, seated in a dreamy mood, before his ample portraiture, that hangs upon my wall, when suddenly there seemed a strange commo- tion on the canvas. Clouds rolled up and covered his head, as with a turban; a mild, electric light played through them; and there was a heaving of his sides, as from strong internal throes. Across the view floated a mist, which gradually, and with more and more distinct- ness, assumed the "form and fashion of a man." I knew him for the Genius of the mountain, and bowed in silent reverence.
"Presuming mortal!" said the shadowy form, "how dare thou answer, when 't is mine to give response to the loyal greetings of my subjects? What canst thou, the insect of a day, know of me or my
94
HISTORY OF DUBLIN
history? Thou speakest of having seen me covered with green, as if it were in the olden time, - my very youth. Such is the littleness of man's conception! Couldst thou look back into the past with me, thou mightst learn to scorn the measure of what men call antiquity. A brief glance behind the veil is all I deign to give thee, in reward of thy tried loyalty. I will not reveal the mystery of my birth, - in what chaotic and far-distant period, - by what mighty force, - amid what earth-rending convulsions, my massive body was uphoven to the light of day. Barren ages passed, and my naked form was still standing solitary amid a waste of waters. Where the forests now girdle my sides, then gambolled the rude monsters of the deep. As time rolled on, I gladly hailed the companionship of peak after peak emerging to the view within my wide horizon. Other untold ages passed, and behold me clothed in waving foliage, - the waters gath- ered to their place, and the wide-spread earth below me rich in luxuri- ant verdure. Then was my holyday. Beast and bird coursed freely round my sides, drank at my clear fountains, and reposed beneath the shadow of my rocks. The winds played gaily through the forest; and, when the thunder-clouds approached, I lured them to me, and sported with the forked lightning. In time appeared before me a new class of beings in the form of man, rude and unsettled. They saw the earliest sunbeams ever salute my brow, and the clouds gather about me, as if obedient to my call, before the storm broke below. With superstitious awe they worshipped, and Monadnock, the Thunder- father, named me.
"Centuries moved on their course, fruitless of change, when a new era dawned. In all directions, I perceived large inroads on the for- ests. Towering smoke by day, and gleaming fires by night, attested that a new race of men had invaded my domains. Not without indig- nation did I note their sacrilegious warfare on the primeval forests at my feet. At length a new prospect lay before me, - lakes, rescued from obscurity, and gleaming in the sun; hills and valleys, clothed with the rich and varying tints of culture; the countless habitations of a stable race, with clustering villages and heaven-pointing spires. It was a goodly scene, and I forgave the rude disturbers of my soli- tude, - nay, hailed them friends.
"And first in my regards stand these, my faithful and long-cherished sons, who now, on their grand festival, forget not to invoke my name with reverence. They have sat beneath my shadow for a century; and more of my spirit has been shed upon them than on my other subjects. Three generations have passed before me, rich in granitic virtues. In yonder fields, near the pure waters of the quiet lake, lies many a venerable head, whose strength of intellect, unsoiled integrity, and unwavering sense of right, have done due honor to their pilgrim- sires. Bid their descendants emulate their fathers in all their manly virtues. Let them thank Heaven that light has been shed abroad among them by an untiring hand, whose mission was to purify and
95
CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
elevate the young. On the broad foundation thus secured, tell them to build with ever-upward view. From the pure region of my lofty seat, I breathe my blessing on them. May they stand firm in virtue, relying on the 'Rock of Ages'!"
THE VISION PASSED: you have the message, - and my duty ends.
DANL. ELLIOT.
To Messrs. J. K. SMITH, A. H. FISK, and R. N. PORTER,
Committee.
21. The following sentiment was offered by J. K. SMITH:
"THE LIBERTY OF THE PRESS: - Having been guarded for fifty years by a trusty 'Sentinel,' we consider it safe now, if he is relieved from his post."
Hon. JOHN PRENTISS, of Keene, for fifty years 1 editor of the "New Hampshire Sentinel," sent the following; he being obliged to leave before the close of the celebration: -
Mr. President, - I should have availed myself of the great occasion of this centennial celebration, had I not been honored by an invitation from your committee. Besides the pleasure anticipated from greeting many friends, other than the present residents, and natives who have come up from abroad, once more to visit the scenes of their youth, my forty-eight years of intercourse with so many of the fathers and the sons of Dublin, as contributors to the support of the press I established in the last century, imposed obligations to be present on this joyous occasion.
Before railroads, or even stages, were established, a large number of your most respectable men in Dublin, as well as in most of the other towns in the county, became voluntary post- riders, by clubbing and engaging to see the bundle of Sentinels deposited at the place assigned on the day of publication. In some of the smaller towns, twenty-six would unite, and go to Keene twice a year; in others larger, fifty-two, and so go only once a year; and, again, in others, even seventy-five and more. As it was my duty to notify, "Your turn next," - and many present doubtless remember these primitive times, - they could generally make other business, and so, by saving a regular post- rider's fee, did not think it a hardship. Each man also paid down, satisfied that the consideration was a little more valuable
1 Mr. Prentiss founded the Sentinel in 1799, and lived until 1873, having had a lit- erary connection with that paper for about seventy-four years, living to be the oldest, as he was one of the most highly honored journalists in America. - J. L. S.
96
HISTORY OF DUBLIN
than even the hard-earned money in their pockets; and this kept the ribs of the press well oiled.
Most subscribers, insulated at that period, depended on my press for their weekly history of occurring events, foreign and domestic; and this consideration imposed a bounden duty to present things truly, and live up to my motto, some twenty years at the head of the paper, viz .: "I will speak of the things I have seen, and touch upon those reported, that the people may consider the WHOLE MATTER."
The PRESS is a vast engine, in a free country, for good or evil, according as it is conducted, with honesty and intelligence, or by the unprincipled or ignorant. That I had the counte- nance of good men, aside from sectarian prejudice, for a series of years, I can only infer from constant support for so long a period, and from the fathers in Dublin in particular. I have an anecdote to relate in proof. One paper-morning, Mr. Hunting- ton, the proprietor and driver of the stage to Peterborough, started at the usual hour; and, after proceeding about a mile, he recollected that he had forgotten the Dublin and other bundles of papers. He wheeled about, and came driving up to the office. "What's the matter?" "Why, I left the papers, and I should not dare to drive through Dublin without them: they would kill me outright!"
I am glad that on this occasion justice has been done to the character of Dublin's great benefactor, the late Rev. Mr. Sprague. I knew him pretty well. Half a century ago this month, I dined at his hospitable mansion; and, afterwards, had with him frequent intercourse. He was eccentric, and often amused himself by questions and remarks, which gave rise to a hundred strange anecdotes, in which his language was often distorted, with additions to give it point. Thus I have heard that, once preaching upon the importance of faith, he said it could remove mountains, even Monadnock; but, looking up, that hillock being visible from the pulpit, he is said to have added, "hardly." The latter portion was probably added by some one else. About the time I first visited him, the late Rev. Mr. Dunbar was settled at Peterborough. He told me he was in Peterborough when Mr. Dunbar was preach- ing as a candidate, and several of the old Presbyterians (Scotch- Irish) came round him, and asked: "Mr. Sprague, what shall we do with this Mr. Dun-bar?" "What's the matter?" "Why, he preaches nothing but works, works, works." "Oh!" re- plied Mr. Sprague, "if that is all, you will never be hurt; it will do you good; for never did a people more need such preaching
97
CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
than those of Peterborough." The encounter of wits was the keenest with his brother Ainsworth, of Jaffrey, who often visited him. Mr. Sprague's religious views were decidedly anti-Calvinistic. One day, it is said, he took Mr. Ainsworth into his four-horse coach for a ride. On going down hill, the coachman whipped up the horses to a degree to alarm Mr. Ainsworth, who called out, "Mr. Sprague, we should certainly be smashed at this rate!" "What's the matter, brother Ains- worth? never fear. You know that, if it is decreed we are to be smashed, we can't help it; so we may as well be quiet!" In the pulpit, Mr. Sprague was solemn in his exhortations to attend to the great concern of the soul's welfare.
Though it doth not become us to say too much in praise of living benefactors, I cannot forbear, as it belongs to the history of Dublin, as well as that it is connected with the press, to say that, within the last ten or fifteen years, scarcely less than one hundred short essays - moral hints for the young, in aid of a higher standard for our common schools, and to promote the cause of temperance - have been the production of a citizen 1 of Dublin, high in your confidence, and highly respected where- ever known.
In one of these essays, the importance of Institutes, for the better qualification of common-school teachers, was dwelt upon with much earnestness. This was followed by the offer of $10 by one individual towards the expenses; and the next week brought the pledge of $10 more from Dublin. The sub- scription was speedily filled. After two or three years, the legislature authorized towns to raise money for the object, and now provision is made by law. The example of Cheshire was followed by several other counties; and, under the present efficient Board of County Commissioners, these excellent sub- stitutes for normal schools will, I trust, be continued.
I offer as a sentiment: --
"DUBLIN. - Elevated in its position by nature, it is not less so by the high ground it occupies in its moral and religious standing; its early action, in banishing from within its limits the sale of intoxicat- ing drinks; and as the pioneer, under the Oberlin 2 of our country, in promoting education, as manifested by the vast improvement of our common schools and schoolhouses."
1 Rev. Levi W. Leonard, D.D. - J. L. S.
98
HISTORY OF DUBLIN
22. The following sentiment was proposed by J. K. SMITH: -
"BEARD'S TELEGRAPH: - Transmitting intelligence with less rapid- ity than Morse's, but in a language that all can read and understand."
Mr. BEARD1 sent the following response: -
Mr. President, - When it was announced, sometime ago, that you were going to have a centennial celebration here, I formed the purpose, at once, to be present; but with no inten- tion of making, or expectation of being called upon to make, either a speech or a response to a sentiment which, by any process, could be made to appear as designed to involve me in any such duty; though a kind friend has suggested that I ought to say a word for Old Nelson.
Sir, it was my good fortune to be born, and to spend the years of early boyhood, in that most excellent town; but I have been a wanderer long from the old familiar haunts of my child- hood, and her good people will hardly recognize my right to speak for them. I take it that Nelson is here to speak for her- self, if there is any need, by a more fitting tongue than mine; and yet I would most gladly say a word for her myself, if there were need. Hers are my own native hills; and though my family name even exists there only in the record of the past, and I am almost literally a stranger there, - almost without kith or kin of any name, - I feel the strongest attachment to her rugged soil, and enjoy, more than any other of my wander- ings, my occasional visits - unknowing and unknown - to the now deserted homestead of my fathers, and the graves of the loved ones who sleep in the old church-yard. God bless her, and her hardy sons everywhere!
Undoubtedly, Nelson has some right to be heard here to- day. In the early history of your town, the twain were joined together for more purposes than one. I believe the father of the late Dr. Twitchell, of Keene, once represented the towns of Dublin and Nelson (then Packersfield and, after the name was changed, called, "for short" I suppose, Pecker-Nelson by the . "outside barbarians," sometimes) in the General Court; and the connection, for the purpose of representation, was kept up, I cannot tell how long.
But there was another way in which the two towns were as- sociated, which took a much stronger hold upon my mind than any mere civil union. I don't know, Mr. President, that you or
1 Albin Beard, Esq., editor of the Nashua Telegraph. - J. L. S.
99
CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
many of the present citizens of Dublin have a very vivid rec- ollection of the Old Nelson and Dublin "Troop." But I shall never forget it. To my boyish eyes, there was not in the whole wide world, to the best of my knowledge and belief, anything in the military line to compare with it. You had your own mili- tary pet here, whose acquaintance I afterwards made; and that may have helped somewhat to modify my extravagant ideas of the "Troop." I refer to the old "Dublin Grenadiers," long since gone the way of all the military portion of the earth in New Hampshire. But those "Troopers," with their scarlet coats and trousers, their big bear-skin caps and bobbing red feathers, their broad black sword-belts and glistening brass breastplates, their long bloody-looking swords and piratical- looking pistols, and their elaborately, if not gorgeously, capari- soned chargers, - was there ever anything more attractive? But these same pistols, and these "Troopers," - "distance lent enchantment to the view." I was mortally afraid of the one, and hardly dared venture on a close intimacy with the other. It will not do, Mr. President, for me to suggest here that you yourself might have been, for aught that I know, one of those same "Dublin Troopers" who used so terribly to frighten me from my propriety." But, if you do not remember, you must have heard of the military customs of that day. My father had the honor - and it was an honor then - to com- mand that company of "ostentatious dragoons"; and, when the parade was in Nelson, they used to come round that way, - these "Dublin Troopers." There are men here to-day who have stopped, more than once, down by the watering-trough, with the tops of their scarlet plumes in sight from the house, while they loaded those formidable pistols to the very muzzle, to give the Cap'n a waker. And when they rode up in single file, and each "delivered his fire" at the unoffending door-sill, I must confess that, for the instant, I lost a little of my ad- miration for their gaudy trappings. Aside from that, the days when the "Troop rode" in Nelson were days to be marked and remembered.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.