USA > New Hampshire > Hillsborough County > Hancock > The history of Hancock, New Hampshire, 1764-1889 > Part 7
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HANCOCK CENTENNIAL.
regret that the letter has been lost. He mentioned that "forty years ago" was, in some respects, a "golden age" for Hancock, as "Hancock Factory " was then rapidly growing up, and two flourish- ing seminaries were located here. The learned Judge also referred with pleasure to the church-going and moral character of its citi- zens at that date.
Music by the band.
" The Men and Women of 1788, who laid the foundation of the first Church of Hancock." Response by Dea. Henry Knight, of Peterboro'. A list of the founders of the church was read. The flame of religion which they lighted was still burning, as the return to-day of their descendants to the home of their childhood, with well-rounded Christian characters, amply testified.
"Bennington : The Mother Rejoices in the Prosperity of the Daughter." W. D. Woods, with an original poem, responded to this sentiment, and his sharp hits at things past and present, and his droll manner of delivery, kept the multitude in a roar of laughter during its recital.
ONE HUNDRED YEARS AGO.
Of Hancock one hundred years ago, Tell us, ye hoary heads, all ye know; Tell the thrilling tales your fathers told When you were young and they were old.
You and your fathers cleared these everlasting hills, These fruitful vales with never-failing rills;
Yes, consumed that lonely forest with your fires, Declared war with stumps, bushes, and briers;
On hills, in vales, reared many a peaceful home, Where years before the cruel savage roamed; Removed the rocks from fields we plough and sow; Planted the trees where red-cheeked apples grow; Built the granite walls, an everlasting chain, Fences once made never to be built again.
Farmers, lucky for us those stone walls; Without them we could not live at all. Where they stand we should build brush fences, Then how could we pay our awful expenses ?
Don't it take near an X to build a print dress ? That is my experience, and yours, too, I guess. Ten dollars for a bonnet that does them no good, Not worth half as much as an old-fashioned hood.
They give to the head not a whit of protection - You scarcely can see they have any connection. But you are right, ladies, we are the fools, We say "Go ahead !" we're willing to be tools.
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HISTORY OF HANCOCK, NEW HAMPSHIRE.
This is one channel in which flow our expenses, And we sure could not live and mend old brush fences.
Hoary heads, unborn thousands will bless you, I trust, When your worn-out cages have returned to the dust, And your souls, that God loves, have been long o'er the river, There to soar with his angels forever, forever.
WHY HANCOCK CLAIMS BENNINGTON AS HER DAUGHTER.
Hancock once owned, in her north-east corner, Down in the valley where the weather is warmer, Where the Contoocook river hurries on to the sea, One of the water-powers in this land of the free.
She built there a factory, a hotel, and store, A paper-mill, saw-mill, dwelling-houses a score. It was called Hancock Factory, and was known all around,
For it made the best shirting that then could be found.
Over this Mother Hancock was greatly elated; She owned half the cotton mills in this state, it is stated; That place was her daughter, her darling pet child, And grew prouder and prouder until she was wild.
As time rolled along this daughter begun To say to her mother, "I'm now twenty-one! You must let me go, for I'm bound to marry, Out of three towns, Tom, Dick, and Harry.
And when we're united, you, mother, we'll show A town in the valley that can hoe its own row." Mother H. shook her head and said, " My dear child, You surely are crazy, your ideas are wild.
The land that you'll marry isn't worth a corn-popper; One-half of that land would not keep a grass-hopper." In reply said the daughter, "My heart shall not quail; My ship may go down, but I surely shall sail."
'T was a family jar, but it had a short run, But that was the jar that jarred out Bennington, Of which Mother Hancock now says she is proud, But why she is so we submit to this crowd.
OUR PROSPERITY.
We've succeeded in getting extensively trusted - Sometimes we think we nearly are "busted"; Of that, Mother Hancock, you surely can't boast- You don't owe a dollar-not many, at most.
We've succeeded in getting about a railroad and a half; Farmers prize it as highly as a poor cow and calf. One runs straight through us and gives us no depot, The other is balky and we call it a "no go."
The dark side of success is the one I have cited; We trust in the future these things will be righted. Of our good success I'm not going to boast; Let Mother Hancock judge, she knows the most.
I'm going to say no more on this line, But I'm going back to " ye olden time."
- -
DANIEL GOODHUE.
AUTOGLYPH PRINT, W. P. ALLEN, GARDNER, MASS.
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HANCOCK CENTENNIAL.
I remember when our fathers came up here to vote; They thought this place was far too remote.
But up to March meeting they surely would go,
If they dug all the way through six feet of snow.
But when they were here they were all right, that's sure, Though a March-meeting journey was hard to endure.
But Mother Hancock was kind, and too kind, I think - She gave plenty to eat and too much to drink,
For when they came home they would be so excited 'Twould take forty-eight hours to get them all righted.
I remember the gingerbread my father would buy, It was 7x9 and tormenting dry;
But anything brought from the middle of the town Was sure to relish, and so it went down.
Well, we've come up here to see the old lady, From the oldest all the way down to the baby. We find Mother Hancock one hundred years old- She wears like a dollar made out of pure gold.
" The Schools of Hancock - Past and Present." Response by Rev. Daniel Goodhue, of Pembroke, who ably reviewed the condi- tion of Hancock schools during the past century, giving a graphic account of the old-time school-house, with its monster fireplace, hard and uncomfortable benches and rude furniture. The study of reading, spelling, and writing, was then considered sufficient for girls, while the boys had arithmetic added. The schools numbered from twenty-five to one hundred pupils, whose ages varied from four to twenty-three years. One of the first qualifications of a master, then, was to be able to handle the ferule and the rod in a vigorous manner. This was the state of the schools for the first fifty years.
In the last fifty years, a wonderful change has taken place. In- stead of the rude, cold school-houses, we have buildings of the highest style of architecture, supplied with every modern appliance for the comfort, health, and convenience of the pupils, and an abundance of books treating of every known science and all branches of human knowledge. As a result, our scholars are now farther advanced at the ages of ten to fourteen, than formerly at eighteen to twenty-three. Now a teacher is sought for instead of a master for our public schools, and the ladies largely employed as instructors. From the public schools has come the Hancock academy, of which he gave a brief history, showing that it was a credit and an ornament to the town.
Now, what have these schools accomplished ? They have reared up a more refined, intelligent, and useful class of citizens,
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HISTORY OF HANCOCK, NEW HAMPSHIRE.
men capable of doing their own business in town and state, and women who have stood on a par if not above the men. They have also educated men and women for other towns and states In the professions, directly and indirectly, twenty-seven have been edu- cated -seven lawyers, five physicians, and fifteen clergymen. These have mostly been reared up for other places, and have stood high in their several callings. And after man was created upon the face of the earth in the noble and pure image of his Maker, "God saw that it was not good for man to be alone." And Hancock is not to be outdone in rearing helpmeets in all the various circles of man's life. May it not be said of the sons and daughters of Hancock, as it was of Jacob of Israel, "What hath God wrought ?" Eternity alone can reveal the tale of good the schools of Hancock have done. May the same be said of them as they shall assemble here in one hundred years to come.
The multitude, with band accompaniment, then sang the following
HYMN.
Written for the Centennial Anniversary of the Incorporation of the Town of Hancock, N. H.
BY WALTER GATES, M. D. Tune - " AMERICA." Of thee, my native town, With name of high renown, - Of thee I sing : To none in all the land,
From lake to ocean strand,
Did God's creative hand Such beauty bring.
Where broad expansive views Of autumn forest hues Did please the eye; There fertile hill and dale, The fruitful field and vale, -- Doth every sense regale And need supply.
But now we honor thee, Review thy history, - Thy praise declare, - For through one hundred years, Thy worthiness appears, And this to all endears The name you bear.
Though far thy sons may roam, Their love for childhood's home Will never cease; But here and everywhere, To God ascends the prayer, That he will ever spare And give thee peace.
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HANCOCK CENTENNIAL.
Just before the assembley adjourned, it was voted, "That it is desirable that a history of Hancock be prepared and printed at an early day, and that any funds remaining in the hands of the centen- nial committee after all expenses are paid, be devoted to forward- ing this enterprise."
The president in closing the exercises congratulated the assem- bly on the general good order and good feeling of the day, and especially thanked the residents of the town for their noble response to the wishes of the centennial committee.
Benediction by Rev. J. W. Coolidge. A salute by the Artillery closed the exercises of the day.
Thus passed the centennial celebration of the good old town of Hancock, - an occasion which will long be remembered by all in attendance, and which reflected great credit on those who planned and so successfully carried it out. No accidents or disorderly con- luct, and there was absolutely no indication of liquor-drinking to disturb the kindly feeling that pervaded the multitude. The only nconvenience suffered was the slight scud of rain before mentioned, and the discomfort of a strong south-west wind, which blew a per- fect gale during a greater part of the day.
An interesting communication to the Peterboro' Transcript, commending the report of the proceedings from which we have drawn so freely, furnished by Mr. C. A. Whittaker, ends as follows: "Thus closes one hundred years of struggles and toils, hopes and fears, pleasures and pains, defeats and victories. And as the golden sun sunk behind the western hills, and the happy throng scattered for their homes, we could but rejoice at the glorious pros- pect that opens before us, as compared with that which greeted our fathers one hundred years ago. And standing now at the head of forty centuries of Greek and Roman and English civilization, and inheriting liberally of Scotch-Irish and English pluck, henceforth and forever there must be no such thing as defeat for the sons and daughters of the glorious old town of Hancock."
Dr. D. K. Boutelle, of Lake City, Minn., sent the following poem, which came too late to be read on the occasion : -
TO HANCOCK.
Old Hancock, town of honored'name! All hail thy hills and valleys green;
Thy rocks, thy rills, thy lakes and plain, Thy river, and each cool ravine.
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HISTORY OF HANCOCK, NEW HAMPSHIRE.
For now a hundred years have fed Since first our fathers broke thee gloom. The deep, dark forests o'er the spread, Then shutting out the light of noon.
And then beneath the sylvan shade, The treach'rous, stealthy Indian prowled, While bears and panthers fearless preyed, And the gaunt wolves here nightly howled. The swift-limbed elk and timid fawns Here browsed upon the birchen buds; The stately moose, with pond'rous borns, Strode monarch of th' umbrageous woods.
The fathers came, thy trees they felled ; With sinewy arms the logs they piled; Their watch o'er smold'ring fires they held, And changed to ash thy forests wild. With toilsome pains thy ground they tilled; With sweaty brows thy fields they reaped; Their barns with hay and grain they filled, And cellars with thy products heaped.
They builded homes where comfort dwelt, - Though void of luxuries such as ours, - Around their fireside hearths they knelt, And daily pledged to God their powers. Our mothers, too, "'bove rubies'" worth, Provided for their households' need; They spun, they wove their " home-spun " cloth, And food prepared " all hands " to feed.
They 'stablished schools, -and of the best; - Aye, Schools of Hancock, far renowned! Thy sons and daughters have been blessed With education's light profound. A library, too, did they provide, - I read its volumes when a boy ; - To-day it is thy chiefest pride, For all thy children to enjoy.
The church they formed, its house they built, In honest faith they worshiped God; In drinking rum they saw no guilt; Of Joseph Cook they never heard! And now, beneath those stones and trees, They sleep in yonder burial ground, Where whispering pines, to every breeze, Impart their saddening, pensive sound.
And now thy children of to-day, - The legatees of all thy past, - True homage to those fathers pay, Who, by their deeds, our state have cast; And may their sons and daughters still, For generations yet to come, The mission of true scions fill, ' And on the old stock improve some.
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HANCOCK CENTENNIAL.
Until another hundred years Have, in the course of time, rolled round, - Aye. in the march of true ideas, May th' out-do all their fathers found. May they help spread true reason's light, - The highest boon on man conferred, - And banish superstition's night, - The darkest night he e'er incurred.
Old Hancock, town of honored name! All hail thy hills and valleys green; Thy rocks, thy rills, thy lakes and plain; Thy river, and each cool ravine; For now a hundred years have fled Since first our fathers broke the gloom,
The deep, dark forests o'er thee spread, Then shutting out the light of noon.
Quite a number of interesting letters, containing responses to in- vitations, were received by the committee, and read at a subsequent meeting of citizens. It is to be regretted that many of these let- ters were lost. Of those remaining in the hands of the committee, we subjoin the following : -
FROM JUDGE IRVIN W. GATES.
SUPERIOR, WIS., SEPT. 11, 1879.
To ORLAND EATON, EsQ., the Citizens of the town of Hancock, and especially all old-time friends who may gather there on the 17th of the present month to celebrate the incorporation of the town :
I regret much that it will not be possible to be with you on that day. I am glad you are going to celebrate, and hope as many as possible who are the children of the old town will, on that occasion, go home to the place of their nativity, and have such a hearty reunion as will strengthen their brotherly love and affection for the old hills and scenes of their childhood. In spirit I shall be with you on that day, and shall often think of the many things, both sad and joyous, that will be brought to mind when you are gathered together. One of my sons is now in New England, and I hope he will be able to be with you. That the day may be one of joy, and also result in much good to the present citizens, as well as all others who may gather with them, is my most sincere and hearty desire. With a willing heart and ready hand to grasp all friendly hands presented, I remain most truly yours,
IRVIN W. GATES.
FROM REV. A. BOWERS.
HUNTINGTON, W. VA., Sept. 2, 1879.
MR. ORLAND EATON :
Dear old Schoolmate and Friend, - The circular postal of the Hancock Cen- tennial Committee is just at hand. I regret that distance and pressing duties
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HISTORY OF HANCOCK, NEW HAMPSHIRE.
here deprive me of the pleasure of joining you in the celebration of the 17th instant. My heart, however, is with you.
.
A grand time to you ; a thousand blessings on you all ! May each succeed- ing generation be more prolific than its predecessor in great and good men, and prosperity of every kind be the heritage of our dear old native town. Cordially yours, ALBERT BOWERS.
FROM W. A. NUTTING, ESQ.
BOSTON, Sept. 16, 1879.
ORLAND EATON, JOSHUA S. LAKIN, JOHN P. HILLS, Centennial Committee, Hancock, N. H. :
Gentlemen, -Your card of invitation to attend with you at the Centen- nial Celebration of the Town of Hancock, Sept. 17th, was received, and I re- turn my sincere thanks to you for it. I shall not be able to be with you, and I regret it very much, for it would bring to mind many old memories of the past good times I have had there, and I should meet many of my old friends whom I have not seen for years. My best wishes are for you all, and hope you will have a joyous time. Many times during the day I shall think of the good time you are having.
Saying again that I regret very much my inability to be present, I wish you God speed in your good works. Yours, very respectfully,
W. A. NUTTING.
FROM HON. J. A. CUMMINGS.
BOSTON, Sept. 1, 1879.
MR. ORLAND EATON :
Dear Sir, - Yours of the 30th ult. at hand. I shall be pleased to accept your kind invitation to be present at the Celebration of Hancock's Centennial on the 17th inst., and would cheerfully accept of the duty of replying for the lawyers of Hancock, if I was permitted to do so, particularly as you have given me all the ammunition needed for the occasion. My early education was received in the common schools of Hancock, but it did not ripen into a profession. Your letter, I think, is written under the impression that I am a lawyer. I am a printer and editor instead, but ready to perform any duty as occasion demands, as a live Yankee should be. The lawyers, however, might prefer that one of their own number should speak for them, in which case I should be satisfied with an exhibition of silent eloquence in behalf of the printers. Yours truly, J. A. CUMMINGS.
I sincerely hope old Hancock will celebrate the occasion as it deserves. The memories of a boyhood passed among her rugged hills make her name dear to every one whose lot in after life is cast in other scenes.1
1 Pressing private engagements on that day prevented the presence in person of Hon. Mr. Cummings.
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HANCOCK CENTENNIAL.
FROM HON. W. B. WASHBURN.
GREENFIELD, MASS., Sept. 8, 1879.
MESSRS. EATON, LAKIN, and HILLS, Centennial Committee of Hancock :
My Dear Sirs, - Your invitation is at hand to be present at your Celebra- tion on the 17th. I regret that my engagements are such that it will be im- possible for me to avail myself of your kindness. I recall, with pleasure, my early days spent in your good town, and if I can not truly claim to be a son of Hancock, my father was one, and hence it would seem that I ought to be a grandson. Wishing you success in your undertaking,
I remain most truly yours, W. B. WASHBURN.
FROM PLATOON B, Ist LIGHT BATTERY, N. H. N. G. HANCOCK, N. H., Sept. 6, 1879.
To the Centennial Committee :
Gentlemen, - At a meeting of the officers and soldiers of Platoon B, 1st Light Battery, N. H. N. G., it was voted to accept the invitation extended to them by you to do escort duty on the 17th inst.
Respectfully yours, ALVAH COPELAND, Company Clerk.
FROM MR. AND MRS. WASHBURN.
SAN ANDREAS, CAL., Sept. 5, 1879.
Gentlemen, - Many thanks for your kind remembrance and invitation. It would afford us the greatest pleasure to be with you at your Centennial, but " circumstances we can not control " will not allow us to be present in per- son. Rest assured our thoughts and best wishes are with you often, and will be, on the 17th of this month, doubly intensified.
Dear old Hancock! May she enjoy in her future centuries the peace and prosperity which have been hers during the one just closing.
Yours, with kindest regard,
MR. & MRS. FRANK WASHBURN.
FROM J. F. KEYES, ESQ.
ASHLAND, N. H., Sept. 11, 1879.
MESSRS. ORLAND EATON, JOSHUA S. LAKIN, and JOHN P. HILLS :
Gentlemen, - Your invitation to be present at your Centennial Celebration is received with thanks. I shall endeavor to be present, and hope to meet a large number of the natives of good old Hancock.
Respectfully, J. F. KEYES.
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HISTORY OF HANCOCK, NEW HAMPSHIRE.
FROM JAMES P. PEARSON, ESQ.
WASHINGTON, Sept. 15, 1879.
MESSRS. ORLAND EATON, JOSHUA S. LAKIN, and JOHN P. HILLS, Centen- nial Committee :
Your postal, extending to me an invitation to be present at the Celebration of the Centennial of the Incorporation of the Town of Hancock, received. Thanks for your kind remembrance. Having been East once this season, I regret, that I have not the time at my disposal to be present with you on the 17th inst. Trusting that the one hundred years just past is but the infancy of the town, and with best wishes for its future prosperity, I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
JAMES P. PEARSON.
P. S. - $5.00 enclosed as a mite toward expenses.
FROM ALGERNON B. BALDWIN, ESQ.
CHICAGO, Aug. 11, 1879. ORLAND EATON, EsQ., Hancock, N. H. :
Dear Sir, -You letter, containing a cordial and flattering invitation on be- half of the committee, to be present at the Centennial Celebration to be held at Hancock in September next, was duly received. My only apology for not an- swering it at once, is that I have delayed in the hope that I might so arrange my affairs as to be able to accept the invitation. To do honor to the noble men who cheerfully exiled themselves to lay the foundation of a new state in the depths of a New England wilderness is the duty of each succeeding gen- eration; their title to honor and gratitude from their descendants rests, not so much upon their courage and endurance in encountering and overcoming the dangers, privations, and hardships of pioneer life, as on the fact that the greater part of what is best and most worthy of admiration in American civ- ilization, is the natural result of the working of the ideas and principles they cherished, and the institutions they established - civil and religious liberty, the open school-house, freedom of speech and press, general diffusion of in- telligence, respect for labor, obedience to law. All these are the fruit of the seed sown in the wilderness by the early settlers of New England. We should be undutiful children, indeed, if we failed either to feel or express our reverence for the memory of those from whom we have received so priceless a heritage. But, though not insensible, I hope, to the claims of duty, I confess the strongest inducement to accept your invitation is the thought of the pleasure of going home once more to our common mother, and gathering with all her wandering children around her knees, on her one-hundredth anniversary. Surely no son or daughter of Hancock would willingly be ab- sent from that thanksgiving feast. My chair should not be vacant, if, by any reasonable sacrifice, I could be there to fill it; but before your invitation was received I had made arrangements of such a character, that I find it impossi- ble to change them so as to be at Hancock at the time fixed for the celebration.
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TOPOGRAPHICAL ITEMS.
As you suggested that, if present, I might be expected to say something in the name of the "Lawyers of Hancock," permit me to say here, that I have often wondered how any one born and reared among the peace-loving inhabitants, and under the tranquilizing influences of the quiet old town, should ever think of entering that profession, whose practice is a perpetual warfare. I remember being told in boyhood, by an old resident, that for nearly fifty years there had not been a single lawsuit between citizens of the town ; the story of that one suit, in the remote past, was handed down by tradition, and regarded as proof of the soundness of Puritan theology, in at- tributing total depravity to unregenerate man. My early training led me to place lawsuits in the same category as sickness, death, and other dire calami- ties. Yet, in spite of all this, the " green bag " fraternity occasionally finds recruits for its ranks. But if the influences which the good old town throws aroundher children in early life, are not strong enough to deter some of them from becoming lawyers in after years, those influences ought, at least, to pre- vent her lawyer sons from ever becoming promoters of strife, ought to make them seek to attain the highest ideal in the profession, to cause them to remem- ber that they are ministers in the temple of justice, and that their true func- tion is to aid in redressing wrong, preventing oppression, and securing justice between man and man. Such has been the character of the lawyers sent out from Hancock in the past; who have done their work and gone to their re- ward. May their example be emulated by those now in the arena of active life, and those who may come hereafter.
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