USA > New York > Onondaga County > Pompey > Re-union of the sons and daughters of the old town of Pompey > Part 5
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At the point in Mr. Marsh's remarks, where he refers to the Marshal, there was a postponement of the speaking, and the vast concourse repaired to the grove where refreshments awaited them. The last part of his remarks were made af- ter dinner at the grove. The place chosen for the pic-ric, was in a large grove owned by Deacon Samuel Baker, situ. ated a short distance north-west of the village. The road leading to it was through an arched gateway, handsomely
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decorated with evergreens, with the figures 1793, the date of the organization of the town of Pompey, and 1871, the date of the re-union. The'grounds were thickly shaded, and in every way adapted to the purpose. The scene pre- sented was alike pleasing to the sense of sight and taste. Three long tables running north and south, and with ais les between them, were set apart for the accommodation of visitors and guests. They were laden with substantials and delicacies, including strawberries and ice cream in great profusion. They were spread with white linen, and deco- rated with boquets and evergreens. They were the model of neatness and good order, and attracted universal atten- tion. To the west of them Reuben Wood, of Syracuse, the , well known caterer, was superintending the preparation of immense quantities of coffee. To the east was a long row of " family tables," set at right angles with those just men- tioned, where family re-unions took place. Among them were those of Hon. W. G. Fargo, the Birdseys, Mr. Sloan, Orrin Bishop, John Soule, Messrs. Northrup, O. J. and Daniel G. Wheaton, Eli Pratt, Joseph Wallis, Morris Bush, John P. Robinson, Julius and W. E. Mason, Edmund O. Clapp, Messrs. Beards, of Fayetteville and Pompey. Frank Jerome and Chas. Cook had a table with an evergreen arch in the centre, bearing the word " greeting," handsomely wrought, and underneath the symbolic device of crossed hands. The Pompey Center and Manlius and Fayetteville tables were neatly and tastefully arranged, and attracted general attention. On the south the Sweet and Garrett families had a fine table and capacious tent : and the family and friends of John Q. Smith of Syracuse, occupied another tent to the west, where one of the finest collations on the grounds was spread. Miner B. and Fred. Murry also had an elegant table to the north-east, and bountifully spread. Evergreen arches were also made over the principal tables. Means for preparing coffee were provided at various points, and common use was made of them. Large wooden tanks of lemonade, as cold as a January day on Pompey Hill, oc-
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cupied a prominent position, and also a tank of ice water. Long before the procession reached the grove, hundreds, aye, thousands of people had congregated and were enjoying themselves in a most rational manner, and from many gath- erings song and music echoed through the wood. At about 2 o'clock the sound of music in the distance was heard, and the words " they are coming," brought all to the margin of the route.
The young people who were to wait upon the tables dressed in uniform, with badges and flowers, arranged them- selves on either side of the route of the procession, and all was in readiness for the reception. The procession entered the grove, headed by the Marshal and his assistants, mount ed, and Dresher's full band, and in good order the guests ' took seats at the tables. The Rev. Mr. Brace offered thanks to the Throne of Grace. The waiting committee filed in in good order, and the work of destruction commenced. The attack was long and perseveringly continued, but the com- mittee was too well armed to be defeated, and when the ta- bles were cleared two hours later, the fragments gathered up were sufficient to have maintained a small army during a short seige. There was an abundance of everything, and right heartily were the bounties partaken of by the entire assemblage. Before Mr. Marsh concluded his address after dinner was served, the Durston quartette favored the as- semblage with another of their choice selections, singing, " Oh, how I love my mountain home," and were followed by music by the band.
At the conclusion of Mr. Marsh's address, the President read the following toast and sentiment.
The Old Town of Pompey-Glorious in her past memories, proud of her fertile soil, magnificent scenery and noble sons and daughters. To these she points with pride, and says in the language of the Roman matron, " These are my jewels," and called upon William Barnes, Esq., of Albany, to respond.
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RESPONSE OF MR. BARNES.
Mr. Chairman :
For unknown cycles of years, before any white man set- tled in the county of Onondaga, there lived and ruled over these pleasant hills and lovely valleys, those celebrated tribes of Indians known as the Confederate, or United Five Nations. These Romans of the New World had subjected to their sway most of the other tribes from the Hudson to the Mississippi rivers, and from the Carolina's to the Great Lakes. The hills of Onondaga formed the grand Council Chamber, where their dusky Senators convened and coun- selled, and where the painted Chiefs and Warriors planned their far-reaching campaigns. This soil was classic in the annals of tradition, reaching back to an era of which the memory of man knows not the beginning. The advance of the white man, from the time of King Phillip's war in the east to the present Indian warfare raging on the outskirts of our civilization in the west, has been but an ever repeat- ed history of the yielding of the native red man to the Anglo-Saxon race.
This is not the time or the occasion for Aboriginal enqui- ry or discussion-but at this glorious re-union at the house- hold shrines of our fathers, we cannot fail to remember the sadly eloquent sentiment which runs, like a minor chord, through all the speeches of their orators, and seems to have nerved the Savage arm in almost every Indian conflict that has occurred on this continent-" You ask us to leave the homes of our ancestors; you are attempting to drive us from the graves of our Fathers !"
To this sentiment, certainly every human heart assembled here to-day can thrill. We all feel that we are treading to- day a soil consecrated to us, also, as the chosen home of our fathers, and which contains within its bosom all that of them is earthly. I am proud to say that in your quiet church- yard at the base of Pompey Hill, I have a grandfather and grandmother quietly reposing. My grandfather, Deacon William Barnes, emigrated from Great Barrington, Mass.,
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to Otsego County, N. Y., and from thence in 1798, to a farm about one mile south of the village of Oran. In the immediate neighborhood three of his brothers, Phineas, Roswell and Asa Barnes, had previously settled. My grand- father was a farmer, and had upon his farm a small black- smith shop, as it was not unusual in those days for the far- mer to understand and practice, occasionally, some mechan- ical trade. Animated by that stern monitor necessity, as well as by the promptings of his Puritan blood, he painted in conspicuous letters, first above his forge, the motto which was the guide of his life, "Work or Die," and alternating between the two pursuits of blacksmith and farmer, laying down the ponderous hammer only to assume the equally severe labor of felling primeval trees four or five feet in diameter, and guiding his oxen through virgin acres, where the stumps impeded every onward step-his life stands as the representative of the lives of nearly all those early set- tlers in Pompey, whose memory we revere to-day.
These early settlers were mostly God-fearing New Eng- landers of Puritan origin, and fervently inspired with relig- ious zeal and enthsiasm. In my grandfather's house, no secular book or newspaper could be read upon the Sabbath day, the sacredness of which was kept with punctillions rigidity. An amusing incident has been recently related to me by one of the parties, still living, and now in his eighty- sixth year, (Mr. Luther Buell of this town.) In the early part of the present century he was working for my grand- father, and one Sunday afternoon, being sent to drive up the cows from the woods to be milked, a young deer was found with the herd, and by quiet and shrewed management was driven up also to the barn yard with the domestic cattle. Young Buell, much elated at the prospect of a fine haunch of venison, hastened into the house to notify my grandfather of his prize, but alas! for the impatient Nimrod-the sun had not yet set in the west, and the sacred day could not be profaned by secular pursuits-venison or no venison, no gun could be discharged on those premises, and the young man
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was compelled to watch and stealthily guard his game until the sun had fairly sunk below the horizon, and the New England Sabbath had terminated. Then the deer was duly shot, and my grandfather's conscience preserved inviolate.
Our present generation have little conception of the her- culean task lying in the pathway of the early pioneers of Central New York. It was no small undertaking to travel through dense forests in search of the military lot which the settler had purchased from the soldier of the Revolution, by whom it had been drawn as a reward for military services during the war. Once upon his lot, (perhaps a dozen or more miles from a Doctor, a neighbor or grist-mill,) he was confronted not alone by wild beasts and Indians, but by the no less stern realities of a primeval forest out of which he must by his strong arm alone, create and build up a Christian home. What was to be done ? Wife and children were there, needing food and shelter; sometimes in addition, a mortgage upon the lot with a no less ravenous appetite for. interest on each recurring anniversary of the purchase. We- read of heroism on the field of battle, where frantic men rush on to death, nerved by the maddening stimulus of martial music and the cannons roar, but here in the solitary wilder- ness was no flag flaunting in the breeze, no flying artillery, no support from other thousands of sympathetic hearts throb- bing in unison, no pensions, no honors, no promotions, no glory, no immortality. No; none of these-liere were only the wife and children, born and yet to be born, two strong stalwart arms, and a loving, honest and manly heart, intent- only on serving God and performing its duty here on earth .:
The sturdy faith which led these men into the wilderness, did not desert them when they faced its dangers, and the settlers axe soon resounded through its majestic solitudes. One by one the stalwart monarchs of the forest were laid low, until the sunlight crept coyly into the modest "clearing," and laughed with the wife and children, as the open space was consecrated to the Lares and Penates of the Christian home. Those days were not without their sunshine. Did
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von ever hear of the tender friendships and hearty hand-grips of those early pioneers ? If not, watch closely when you see any of the survivors casually meet. The whole combined energy of " Fifth Avenue," could not concentrate as much soul and electricity as was generated in one " barn-raising," or town-meeting. And then the midnight fires when the log-heaps were lighted in the dry season of June : no costly illuminations in the N. Y. Parks, in Paris, or in London, could equal the quiet joy of the farmer at the ever-changing pyrotechnics of the " fallow" and " log-heap." And then for the children ; could. Delmonico with all his art furnish a dish equal to fresh warm maple sugar to be eaten on the pure and unsullied snow of the vernal equinox ?
And after churches were erected, what holy joy welcomed the quiet Sabbath, the day of peace and rest, and how soul- satisfying the sermons of those pioneer clergyman, teaching their earnest hearers to look " from Nature up to Nature's God."
The church was often a Log-House or Barn, but it mat- tered little to the true Christians there assembled. The fervent prayers and aspirations that arose to Heaven from those humble walls, let us devoutly believe were as accept- able to God as the anthems of Westminster, or the form- alisms of Ecumenical Councils, convened in the broad aisles of St. Peters, at Rome.
In this stern conflict year after year, with poverty and want, many noble men and martyred women died a pre- inature death, overborne by their excessive burthens. The mass, however, came out victorious, the mortgages were gradually satisfied, comforts and conveniences were added to the household, from year to year, while numerous stalwart sons and handsome daughters joined hands with them in the crusade of labor, until the earth began generously to reward the faithful husbandman, and the wilderness blos- somed as the rose.
I have been asked to-day to respond to a sentiment hon-
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oring the memory of these men-how can I speak of them, without laying also my tribute of grateful reverence upon the graves of the honored mothers and grand-mothers of these early days, who with scanty means literally created the food and clothing for their families, and trained and taught us, their children, with all the fidelity and devotion of guardian angels. Many of them had disciplined intellects which were stimulated and fed only at the fount of classic English literature, and in the intervals of their daily toil, they were often able to talk with you more critically, and quote more freely from the Spectator, from Pope, Addison and the earlier poets than would be possible for many of the so-called literary women of to-day, while they gave to Hu- manity and to the State, not merely one or two feeble and dyspeptic offsprings, but well-endowed, fully perfected chil- dren, (sometimes numbering more than a dozen,) and all nursed at their own bosoms, and trained to manhood and womanhood, in the fear and admonition of the Lord.
My revered Father, Orson Barnes, (with whose name many of you are familiar, although he has been dead for twenty years,) having removed from this neighborhood du- ring my childhood, I had few opportunities to become ac- quainted with your older citizens. As a law-student, I well recollect the Websterian brow of DANIEL GOTT, and the able, honest and cheerful face of VICTORY BIRDSEYE. They be- longed to that honored class of lawyers, not yet I trust, en- tirely extinct, who performed their professional duties with all the honesty, zeal and conscientiousness of ministers of the gospel. I well recollect when studying law in Baldwins- ville, with the late lamented Judge Geo. A. Stansbury, walking twelve miles, day after day, to the Court House, at Salina, to hear such lawyers as Noxon, Lawrence, Hillis, Gott and Birdseye, and feeling amply repaid for the phy- sical fatigue.
Among the many men of mark, who have been born in the town of Pompey, and who I see around me to day, I miss one face that should have lent its geniality and charm
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to this gathering. I refer to the celebrated artist and great- est of American sculptors, E. D. Palmer, of Albany, N. Y. Born upon these hills, almost within sight of our festivities, and early inured to toil, his hardy frame gathered and con- solidated year by year the strength and vigor which at man- hood vitalized and invigorated his genius, and enabled him without the training of the European schools or having even seen the classic models of the old world, to wrest from his trans-Atlantic rivals a fame that grows brighter and brighter, with each succeeding effort of his genius. Pompey has pro- duced great orators, lawyers, statesmen and financiers, but I recall no other of her sons who has achieved a wider repu- tation, or who wears his honors more worthily, than Erastus D. Palmer. A representative American in every pulse and fibre of his being, the town of Pompey honors herself when she honors him.
Mr. Chirman-I have already occupied too much of your time, and the lengthening shadows admonish me that the afternoon is rapidly passing away, but I cannot leave you without referring to one historical fact connected with the settlement of the military tract in Central New York. The twenty-six towns composing this traet, were with the ex- ception of four, named from ancient Romans and Grecian Generals, Orators and Statesmen. Our own township, No. 10, comprising 60,000 acres, received the name of Pompey, from POMPEY MAGNUS, the son of Strabo, who was born in the year of Rome, 647. He was as you all know, a brave, successful General, and was honored with three Roman triumphs for his victories over Africa, Europe and Asia, and was esteemed the conqueror of the world. Having been elected consul and invested by the Roman Senate, with ex- traordinary powers, he ruled the Empire with almost su- preme authority, and was considered as the rival of Alexan- der the Great. One incident in his life occurs to me, which I desire to relate, not merely to "adorn a tale," but to " point a moral," which it may be well for us in these latter days to heed. Rome, the haughty mistress of the world,
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was suffering from famine, and eries for bread arose in her streets. By a Senatus Consultum, Pompey had been entrust- ed with the important duty of providing and importing corn and other provisions. He sailed with his fleet to the coast of Africa, and having obtained vast supphes, was preparing to'return, when a fearful storm arose, threatening the de- struction of the whole expedition. His mariners refused to re-embark, and were on the point of mutiny, when Pompey seized the helm of his vessel and ordered them to weigh anchor, with these decisive words, " It is necessary that ic should go, it is not necessary that we should lire." It was this spirit which animated the early pioneers of the town which bears his name. Fidelity to duty first of all, and after that, considerations of personal safety and ease : this was incul- cated in their daily teachings, and in every action of their lives, and on this festal day, as we meet to commemorate their virtues and emulate their example, let us consecrate ourselves to the same high ideal, and make ourselves wor- thy inheritors of their heroic blood, always remembering that
" Ill fares the land to hastening ills a prey Where wealth accumulates and men decay !"
At the conclusion of Mr. Barnes' speech the President said :
The fair daughters of Pompey-we never forget them- We cannot marry them all, (laughter,) if we would-They would not let us if we could. (Laughter). But Pompey has long been the hunting ground for wives by outside barba- rians. (Laughter). I propose to give a toast appropriate to that class of men, and shall call upon a distinguished individ- nal from yonder city to respond. He has become a son-in-law of Pompey, by uniting in marriage with one of the Daugh- ters of the late Doctor Urial Wright, so well and so favora- bly known to all the residents of Pompey, and who for a number of years held the office of "Superintendent of the Onondaga Salt Springs," and discharged its duties with marked ability. The widow of Doctor Wright-four daugh-
5
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ters, two sons, two grandsons, and two sons-in law, are pies- ent with us on this occasion. I offer the following toast : "Old Pompey's sons-in-law, their good judgment in the selec- tion of their wives prove them worthy of the truc and noble women who have captured them."-( Applause.) I call upon IIon. James Noxon, of Syracuse, to respond.
MR. NOXON'S RESPONSE.
Mr. Chairman and Fellow Citizens :-
It is a pleasure to be called upon to respond to the senti- ment given by your chairman, relative to the fair daughters of Pompey and the men who have been captured by then. The introductory remarks of the President upon the reading of the toast, inspires me with more than ordinary feeling at the present time, to reply in a manner worthy of the sons- in-law of Pompey. The sons of Pompey have spoken well for her in her younger days. They have justly and proudly referred to the men and women who laid the foundations of this good old town, which has sent forth so many good and worthy daughters and sons. Our acquaintance with the history of the State and the men who have taken part in the transactions relative to its policy and government, leads us to point with pride to the men who have gone forth from these hills and inscribed their names high upon the roll of honor in every department of life. The reputation and character of the men who have gone forth from Pompey, extends far beyond the limits of the county of Onondaga, and who does not well remember in casting his eye over the State, that no individual locality has produced better or greater men than she. It well behoves the young men, not only here in this locality but everywhere in the State, to look about them and around them, and see where they had better be born-(laughter)-I wish my voice could reach the ears of the young men of the valley below us, not alone those who have been accustomed from youth to gaze ad- miringly upon these mountain tops, but those living far- distant and beyond the bounds of our county. I would
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point them to the fertile hills, and ask them to look well to it, that their sails were well trimmed, and if they loved high places, and to be honored and distinguished among men to come here, and if they could be born again, be born in the good old town of Pompey, (applause and laughter). It pro- duced great men, and the record of this day will long be re- membered as a day of treasuring up and recounting her jewels. Why was it that the town of Pompey and the other hills of the county of Onondaga, whose tops were away up among the clouds, were so early settled by the hardy men who emigrated from New England ? It was because here was a fertile soil, beautiful mountain streams, fine breezes, a county unaffected by the low and marshy region of the val- leys, and hence the early settlements were made here, and the pioneers from other counties, and other States pitched their tents on these proud eminences, where the physical and mental condition of men best flourished, and where great men must and will be born. I beg you will note that it was not altogether my fault that I was born on yonder Hill, in the town of Onondaga, instead of this more elevated one in Pompey. Onondaga has proud old hills, and she too, has a noble record of good and great men who have gone forth from her majestic hills and been leaders in the van of eivili- zation. It may not be amiss to state that those hills, like the hills of Pompey, have been subject to the depredations of the venturesome young men of the valleys, who have committed trespasses upon the estates of the good farmer, and been captured and made Sons in-Law by their fair daughters. (Laughter and applause).
Now, my friends, be it known to you, one and all, that at an early day I made the discovery that I was laboring under a most difficult and embarassing perplexity, which it was hard to overcome, while in dreams I yearned and desired to be born here, my lot had been east elsewhere, and I could not if I would be born on both these glorious Hills. This difficulty I managed to overcome as best I could, next to being a son I reckoned a son-in-law would be pre-eminent,
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so I ventured to try these hunting grounds, and extended my heart and hand to one of the daughters of this venerable town; and we together walked down into yonder valley, where our lot is cast in full view of these magnificent hills. (Applause). Young men of the valleys who hear me this day, whether you live far or near, I say try on, you may grieve and mourn over the misfortunes of your lives, that you were not born here. It is not probable your tears and griefs will alter the Providences which has cast your lot else- where, but the way is open, your tears and grief can be turned to smiles and joy, when I teach you by a joyous ex- perience that the best work of your lives is to be captured by one of the fair daughters of Pompey, as you surely will, if you venture upon these hill tops, and then your baptism will be complete, and although not a son, the law will recog- nize you as such, and you will be a son-in-lawr. (Great laughter and applause). I have no doubt our President, who for so many years roamed over these hills, knew well when he framed the beautiful sentiment to which he has called me to respond, that I had never had cause to regret that my fortune had been united with one of Pompey's daughters, and that the son-in-law and daughter rejoiced alike in this re-union of kindred spirits on this delightful occasion. Al- low me to say to the daughters here present, you need have no fear of the young men from these valleys. If they have the heart and the bravery to climb these hills, and face the storm king upon the top of your mountain heights, they are worthy of your kindest solicitudes, and should be warmly received. If laudable ambition rivits them here to be en- grafted into this great family of joyous and loving spirits, I entreat you to receive them kindly, and if needs be, and heaven approves, walk hand-in-hand down into the valley together; and when the centennial year of the foundation of the town of Pompey shall roll around in 1894, let them, and you, and your children, and all the rest of us who shall live to that day, come around another festive board, and rejoice in the pleasures of another re-union of the sons and daughters of Pompey.
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