13 
 
 ADDRESS 
 
 IN COMMEMORATION OF 
 
 THE TWO-HUNDKEDTH ANNIYEESART 
 
 THE INCORPORATION OF LANCASTER, 
 
 MASSACHUSETTS 
 
 y 
 
 By JOSEPH WILLARD. 
 
 lE&it^ an ^ppmUi:, 
 
 BOSTON: 
 
 PRINTED BY JOHN AVILSON & SON, 
 
 22, School Street. 
 
 1853.
 
 Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1863, by 
 JOHN WILSON AND SON, 
 
 In the Clerk's OfiSce of the District Court of the District of Massachusetts.
 
 i. I . UBPvAHY 
 
 10 U^^ SAI^^rA BARBAIIA 
 
 RESOLUTIONS, ETC. 
 
 At a meeting of the Committee appointed to make arrangements for the 
 Celebration of the Two-hundredth Anniversary of the Incorporation of the 
 Town of Lancaster, held Dec. 20, 1852, — 
 
 Voted, To invite Joseph Willard, Esq., to deliver the Addi-ess upon the 
 occasion of the Celebration. 
 
 JOHN M. WASHBURN, Secretary. 
 
 Lancaster, Dec. 21, 1852. 
 Joseph Willard, Esq. 
 
 Dear Sir, — I have the honor to tx-ansmit to you the annexed Vote, 
 passed last evening -with perfect unanimity. Permit me to express the hope 
 that it will suit your convenience to comply Avith the Avishes of the Commit- 
 tee, and that you -will authorize me so to state at their next meeting, which 
 takes place on the 27th inst. The 15th day of June, 1853, is fixed upon for 
 the Celebration. 
 
 Respectfully yoiu- obedient servant, 
 
 JOHN M. WASHBURN. 
 
 Boston, Dec. 31, 1852. 
 
 Gentlemen, — I have received your in\dtation "to deliver the Addi-es.s 
 upon tlie occtision of the Celebration of the Two-lmiulredth Anniversary of 
 the Incor2)oration of the Town of Lancaster." Accept my thanks for tliis 
 unexpected honor. 
 
 I have delayed luy answer, doubting whether 1 could ade<iuately ri'pre- 
 sent the occasion. From the interest, however, that I firl in \.\\v history
 
 IV RESOLUTIONS, ETC. 
 
 and prosjjcrity of the old town of Ijancastcr, — sometime my residence, — 
 I have been induced to i)ut aside all question, and to accept your very kind 
 invitation. 
 
 I am, Gentlemen, 
 
 Very respectfully yours, 
 
 JOSEPH WILLARD. 
 
 To the Committee of Arranoements for the 
 Celebration of the Two-hundredth Anni- 
 versary of the Incorporation of the Town 
 of Lancaster. 
 
 Lancaster, June 20, 1853. 
 
 At a meeting of the Committee of Arrangements for the Celebration of the 
 Two-hundredth Anniversary of the Incorporation of Lancaster, — 
 
 Voted, That the thanks of the Committee be tendered to Joseph Willard, 
 Esq., for his learned and eloquent Address, delivered on the loth instant; 
 and that a copy be requested for the press. 
 
 JOHN M. WASHBURN, Secretary.
 
 Whiie remarking upon the early settlers in Lancaster, iind those traits in 
 their character from which the elements of success in the present prosperous 
 condition of the town have been derived, it would have been very gratifying 
 to the writer of the Address to give sketches, somewhat in detaU, of a num- 
 ber of the inhabitants who have been particvdarly distinguished as citizens 
 of wholesome influence in private and social life, and, in a wider sphere, 
 in pubhc office, both civil and nulitary. The general train of rellection, in 
 coming down to the settlement of the town, would have easUy led to these 
 delineations ; thus carrying out the full plan. But the limits of an address, 
 and the very considerable additional time and labor required to collect the 
 materials for the proposed sketches, — which, it is believed, would form an 
 interesting and instructive portion of a history of Lancaster, — rendered it 
 necessary to relinquish the design. 
 
 The 2)recise day for this Celebration, after correcting the culendiu' trom 
 old to new style, would have been May 28, 1853. But as the ti-ue day fell 
 upon Satiu-day, and also in " Anniversary week," it Avas thought best to 
 postpone the Celebration ; and Wednesday, June 15, was selected, for tlie 
 reason stated on page 119. 
 
 The brief space of a day, or rather of that portion of a day intervening 
 between the beginning of the services at the chiu-ch, — wliich were unex- 
 pectedly delayed about an hour beyond the appointed time, — and the leaving 
 of the different railroad trains several hours before sunset, rendered it ncccs-
 
 VI 
 
 Siiry to omit portions of the Address, and also some of the matters contained 
 in the Ajipendix, which arc now all printed in full. 
 
 The Publisliing Committee may not have included in the Appendix all 
 which properly belongs to it. They can only say, that they have used, in the 
 exorcise of their best judgment, the materials with which they have been 
 furnished. On page 158, the meaning intended is, that the Rev. Dr. Hill is 
 a native of Harvard ; and, though it may not be mistaken, yet the statement, 
 according to its present grammatical reading, is incorrect. A portion of what 
 is referred to on page 197, as having been said by a previous speaker, will 
 not be foimd in liis remarks as they now stand, and was omitted in the copy 
 wliich he prepared for the printers.
 
 ADDRESS.
 
 ADDRESS. 
 
 Having been called by your committee to take part in this 
 celebration, it was not "without some self-distrust, and until 
 after some deliberation, that I accepted the invitation. There 
 are times when an invitation from authority is of the nature 
 of a command ; and, having in time past taken some interest 
 in the well-being of this town, and ever rejoicing in its pros- 
 perity, I venture to meet every hazard, and engage with 
 you in this day's proceedings. 
 
 Citizens of Lancaster, — descendants of the early planters 
 now dwelling in these pleasant places, — and you, who, your 
 lot being cast elsewhere, are now present, coming from hill- 
 side and valley, from city and field, from the pursuits of 
 private life or the cares of public station, — in the name of 
 the past I bid you welcome. The past welcomes you as you 
 come hither with a reverential feeling for your own birth- 
 place, or the burial-fields of your ancestors, — those humble, 
 but honest and enterprising, pioneers of civilization in this 
 then distant plantation.
 
 2 CENTENNIAL ADDRESS 
 
 And very fitting it is to turn aside from daily cares and 
 daily labor, and devote one day in a century to reflections on 
 the past, to the gladsome enjoyment of the present, and to 
 the indulgence of hopeful anticipations for the future. 
 
 Tliis is no idle, ceremonious observance. It is connected 
 with a wide association of sentiment. It has regard to 
 ancestral feeling. It is wholly conservative in its influence. 
 The sentiment has its place in the bosom of every true-hearted 
 man, however humble or however exalted, — in all untrav- 
 elled hearts, many of which, I trust, are now throbbing in 
 these seats. 
 
 We admit the power of this great law of association, and 
 joyfully submit to its control as it kindly draws us to ances- 
 tral homes. It binds nations and people. The Jew could 
 not sing the Lord's song in a strange land when he turned 
 in thought to holy Jerusalem. The poor Indian longs again 
 for his free, unhoused" condition in the home of his fathers, 
 rendered desolate in his eyes by the refinements of civilized 
 life. The African sings his lament in the house of his 
 drearv bondage. The native of refined Europe or America, 
 separated by business or necessity from the haunts of his 
 youth, looks back upon them with reverential regard, and 
 approaches them again with trembling delight. 
 
 But this law, at certain periods of life, loses its hold. 
 Youth, with an ambition of enlarged condition, and impatient 
 of restraint, bursts away from the quiet of our peaceful \dllages 
 to seek wealth or distinction in crowded walks, where conflict 
 is the severest, and toil the most straining ; and tugs and vies 
 with others in the race, till he seems to have forgotten his
 
 AT LANCASTER, MASSACHUSETTS. O 
 
 bii'thplace with its simple pleasures and enjoyments. But 
 not so. As the deep seminal religious principle, early 
 implanted, will bui'st forth in declining years, however over- 
 laid in time of vigorous health and active powers, — seemingly 
 for ever dead and buried, — so the right-minded man, when 
 the battle of life is on the wane, revives again, and tuins 
 with tender ajffection to the recollection of early scenes. 
 Scenes, that had faded and vanished, again prove real. The 
 voices of the past lead him with their fond memories, as the 
 little cliild leads the loving parent ; and he comes, as you 
 now come, with the tribute of his affection, to hang hin 
 votive offering in these temples of his early love. 
 
 Again I welcome you to this chosen spot, at this auspi- 
 cious season, when all nature has clothed this beautiful 
 valley in richest attire, with all the charms, of new life, amid 
 genial scenes, and in a time of marvellous public and private 
 prosperity. 
 
 The time for your commemoration is aptly chosen in the 
 year of our Lord eighteen hundred and fifty-three. For 
 though somewhat more than two centuries have elapsed since 
 the white man first traced the furrow and sowed the seed in 
 these broad acres, and though less than two centuiies have 
 elapsed since tlje full privileges of a town were first be- 
 stowed upon the early planters by the colonial authorities, the 
 anniversary of their actual organization as a municipal body, 
 with the general functions of a body corporate, is in accord- 
 ance with the usual practice in these celebrations, and is in 
 fact the only definite point of time from wliich to take our 
 departure.
 
 4 CENTENNIAL ADDRESS 
 
 Two hundred years ago ! when the veil had been partially- 
 lifted, and light was pouring in from every quarter ; when 
 the thick darkness which had long brooded over the nations 
 had not wholly disappeared, — nay, which still lingejs in the 
 high places of civilization ; when the eyes were turned to 
 the brightness of moriiing out of theii* broken slumbers, but 
 still so dazzled and confused that objects passed and repassed 
 as in a clouded vision, with indistinctness of form and out- 
 line, — at this time, when intellectual nature was paying 
 homage to its Maker, and fresh beauties were beginning to 
 gladden the soul ; and, in sad contrast, the great principle of 
 toleration, still so imperfectly comprehended in its entire 
 meaning, was dreaded for its danger, or scouted for its folly, 
 — at this time, the large narrative of your municipal history 
 finds its beginning. 
 
 • And what, at that time, was the history of Europe ? For 
 Asia, in its stereotyped condition, and Africa, that great 
 historical phenomenon, still remained in the dead past, 
 involving Egypt in darkness for ages after it had performed 
 its distinguished part in transmitting art and learning from 
 the remote East, thi'ough Greece, to the shores of Western 
 Eujfope. Russia, which now runs her parallels of latitude 
 through the frozen regions of the North, touching upon oui* 
 own continent on the West, and knocking at the gates of 
 ancient Byzantium on her march towards the British empire 
 of the East, was then all but unknown among the powers of 
 Europe ; her hero unborn, and her subjects, wherever raised 
 above serfdom, possessing only the half-civilization derived 
 from her oriental sympathies. Spain, though already past
 
 AT LANCASTER, MASSACHUSETTS. O 
 
 her zenith, still grasping two continents in her dominion ; 
 the Atlantic still vexed with her richly freighted galleons, 
 but her decadency irrevocably assured by the eternal law of 
 right; while France, on the other hand, just beginning to 
 recover from the weak and divided reign of the son of 
 Henry the Fourth, and the insane counsels of the queen 
 mother, already gave intimations of that development of 
 strength, which, at the close of the Thirty Years' War, by 
 the peace of Westphalia, was exhibited in enlarged boun- 
 *daries, and through a series of brilliant victories that made 
 her the leading power in Europe. In England, not then 
 a first-rate power in her external relations, the struggle 
 had already commenced between prerogative and right ; a 
 fearful conflict that drenched the kingdom in blood, but 
 out of which was to issue the final estabhshment of limited 
 power; a new conception of the rights of the subject, — 
 liberty, law, order. 
 
 Let me glance briefly at some of those circumstances in 
 the ecclesiastical history of England which tended to the 
 growth of civil and religious liberty among ourselves, with 
 those other circumstances in the character, position, and 
 policy of our ancestors, that led to the confirmation of this 
 libe;.-ty ; and then touch upon some few of the more promi- 
 nent points in the history of the Nashaway plantation. 
 
 No event in the history of nations, any more than in indi- 
 vidual life, is without its final consequences. No human 
 foresight can discern the great results that ma^^ follow from 
 circumstances apparently the most trivial. In the order of 
 God's providence, significance is to be attributed to whatever
 
 CENTENNIAL ADDRESS 
 
 occurs ; and empires have been shaken, dynasties overturned, 
 and the destiny of mankind shaped out, by the whim or passion 
 of individual men. Thus, in the sixteenth century, — a cen- 
 tury important as any other in the history of Modern Europe, 
 and having its influence upon the planting of these western 
 shores, — the refusal of the Pope to sanction the marriage of 
 Henry the Eighth to a lady of his court rendered that monarch 
 defiant, and drove him at once and for all time to sunder 
 the British empire from the spiritual despotism of the Holy 
 See. Eejoicing in polemic theology, the very man who had 
 entered the lists against Luther and his great doctrine of 
 justification by faith, — the very man who had defended the 
 seven sacraments of the Catholic Church, and gained the 
 title of Defender of the Faith, — in a fit of transient passion 
 wrenched the brightest jewel fi:om the tiara of the Roman 
 Pontiff. Thepce followed, in regular sequence, various pro- 
 visions tending to make permanent that separation, which was 
 begun in a bad spirit and a distempered fancy. The Bible 
 was enthroned in the place of the Supreme Pontiff, and all 
 were allowed to read their duty and destiny in its holy 
 pages in their own tongue. 
 
 These are the two great facts of Heiuy's reign ; namely, 
 the separation from Rome, with its subsidiary train of con- 
 quences, and the estabhshment of the supremacy of the 
 Bible ; steps that once taken could never be retraced ; 
 and though the king remained, in almost every respect, a 
 stout adherent of the old faith in matters of doctrine, and 
 feared the natural result of his own actions in this mighty 
 change, and though the nation was halting betwixt two
 
 AT LANCASTER, MASSACHUSETTS. * 
 
 opinions, the onward progress was at every moment mani- 
 fest. The mighty deep was moved, and bore upon its 
 bosom the goodly vessel, now dashed against by opposing 
 waves, and staggering under their shock; now trembling 
 in the wind, a seeming sport to contending elements ; drift- 
 ing at times from her course, exposed to shoals and rocks 
 and quicksands, but still staunch and tight ; righting herself 
 after every onset, obedient to her helm, and, against every 
 obstacle, gallantly speeding onward and onward towards her 
 destined haven. 
 
 The persecutions in Mary's reign, which for a time seemed 
 to be dealing deadly blows against the new opinions, in 
 reality fixed them in the hearts of the people with concen- 
 trated though secret strength, and set the seal upon Protestant- 
 ism, as is fully proved by the immense demonstrations on the 
 accession of Elizabeth. If individuals quailed before the 
 hand of power, masses still cherished the right, which 
 gained in intenseness through successive reigns until the 
 seventeenth century, and then became firmly established as 
 the great religious power of the state. Meanwhile there 
 were earnest men, reformers, scattered here and there, dis- 
 satisfied that no more had been done, and anxious for further 
 progress within the very bosom of the church. They were 
 men who, according to the old maxim, thought nothing 
 accomplished while aught remained to be done ; thoughtful 
 men, fearful that the reformation was stopped midway, and 
 that by some unexpected lurch the whole establishment 
 might return to the arms of that spiritual power from which 
 it had so abruptly broken away.
 
 8 CENTENNIAL ADDRESS 
 
 Many braved the terrors of persecution in the time of 
 Mary, and remained in England. Others fled to the Con- 
 tinent, and formed congregations in Germany and Switzer- 
 land, and built up considerable churches, banded together 
 by a common faith and a common sympathy. From their- 
 intercourse with the reformers at Frankfort and Geneva, 
 they gradually imbibed principles and views touching matters 
 of religious forms and discipline, that established many of 
 them at once as the great party of progress within the bosom 
 of the church. With united forces their power would have 
 been great in accomplishing their work; but they became 
 divided before they returned to England under the early 
 auspices of Elizabeth. Each party followed its own idiosyn- 
 cracy, — the cautious aiid the bold. .The one listened only 
 to the echoes of the pa'st, and sought no further change, nay, 
 dreaded it : the other, giving God thanks for thus much, 
 stoutly claimed further change, the evolution of higher 
 truth. The former, with feeble progressive j^ower, finally 
 became encrusted all over with a hard conservatism, and, 
 sliding gradually and easily into" conformity, filled the various 
 departments of the ecclesiastical administration : the latter, 
 less submissive, with eyes undazzled by the rays of royalty, 
 sought other and fui'ther light, and, embracing the genmne 
 principle of dissent, held fast to the right of private judgment 
 and interpretation. Their opposition, it is true, was for a 
 time confined to forms and ceremonies, observances and dress. 
 But opposition, once ventured, grew wider in its views, 
 deeper in its designs, more searching in its operation, till 
 form changed to substance ; and the encounter, at first too
 
 AT LANCASTER, MASSACHUSETTS. 9 
 
 slight to excite aught but contempt, waxed stronger and 
 stronger, till sceptre and mitre were prostrate in the dust. 
 
 The fiery contest raged through the chief part of Eliza- 
 beth's reign, both in England and Scotland ; and all the 
 powers of the crown, and all the sharpness of penal enact- 
 ments, were called into exercise to crush the growing party. 
 Papist and Puritan, the two extremes of submission and 
 dissent, suffered almost equally from the biting statutes of 
 the virgin queen. 
 
 Those were no cold, speculative men, who out of the bosom 
 of the church wrought the great change. They were the 
 sober, thinking men of the age, — England's thinkers ; quiet, 
 but determined, with an enthusiasm growing out of the 
 very character of their souls. The religious element was 
 awakened ; and that no earthly power can subdue. It feeds 
 upon persecution as a natural element ; and flame and fagot 
 but warm it into activity and intenseness. So widely had it 
 spread, that, early in the reign of James the First, there 
 were fifteen hundred nonconforming clergy in England 
 alone; representing, on a moderate computation, a million 
 of persons. 
 
 I would not derogate from the many excellences of the 
 Established Church, — its solemn worship, its numerous mar- 
 tyrs, its* host of learned, excellent, religious men, in all its 
 ages ; but, allied as it was to the state, identified with it, 
 it was not to be expected — certainly, in the fifteenth and 
 sixteenth centuries it could not be expected — to do much 
 for the liberty of the subject. To accomplish this required 
 a different set of men, trained under other influences. And it 
 2
 
 10 CENTENNIAL ADDRESS 
 
 happened with these, as with others, that they knew not to 
 what a great end they had been born ; and that matters, very 
 sHght in themselves, would lead by gradual steps to an 
 enlarged discussion of the whole theory of church govern- 
 ment, the authority of the state as connected with it, and the 
 existence of an established order. They were working out a 
 great problem, with all their blindness touching toleration, 
 and with all their imperfections. Every sect conscientiously 
 believed that uniformity of faith, that is, uniformity with their 
 sect, should be established by severe enactments. With all 
 their strict theology, their denial of innocent enjoyments, 
 their sanctimonious appearance, and their harshness of judg- 
 ment, they became, unconsciously perhaps, the leaders in 
 the greatest enterprise of modern history. It was their 
 controversy that saved England from the dead calm of a 
 spu'itual despotism ; preserved at the time whatever there 
 was of liberal tendency in matters of state ; and finally 
 achieved the great victory of establishing constitutional 
 liberty on a firm basis. 
 
 All honor, then, be awarded to the Puritan party of the 
 sixteenth century, whether in or out of the Church of 
 England; a blessed instrument, under Divine Providence, 
 of so great salvation ! 
 
 The events of the first quarter of the seventeenth century 
 in our mother-country are too familiar, — the story has too 
 often been told by many writers, and on divers public cele- 
 brations, to warrant any detail on this occasion. 
 
 The way that had been preparing for a whole century 
 through much suffering, and with only occasional gleams of
 
 AT LANCASTER, MASSACHUSETTS. 11 
 
 light; was now opening wider and wider to a new generation 
 disciplined by adversity ; a generation, with, some defects and 
 some inconsistencies of character, exhibiting that tenacity of 
 principle and purpose which ensured final success. 
 
 I have stated that the Puritans in the early part of the 
 seventeenth century, while they went for reform, by no 
 means extended their views so far as at a subsequent period, 
 or foresaw the necessary development and result of their own 
 measures. They had no original purpose of overthrowing 
 the ecclesiastical poHty, and introducing the present dissent- 
 ing service ; nor did they ask or urge any thing of the kind in 
 their famous petition in the first year of James. They dis- 
 claimed what they styled " a popular parity in the church." 
 They had in view the internal police, if I may so terra it, 
 rather than the reconstruction of the fabric. So large was 
 the infusion of the element of this party in the national 
 legislature, that the House of Commons is found publicly 
 sympathizing with it; and a petition to the king to that 
 general efiect was sustained by a large number of the mem- 
 bers, though by less than a majority. Well had it been, had 
 success attended the effort ; but the array of power was 
 marshalled in another quarter, and of a reverse character. 
 At the very time the Commons were in deliberation,' the 
 clergy had their Convocation, and adopted a new collection 
 of canons, which still constitutes a principal part of the 
 ecclesiastical law of England. In many particulars it treated 
 about indifferent matters ; that is, indifferent to all but for- 
 malists : but others were such as troubled the conscience of 
 the honest-minded dissentient, forthwith driving away a large
 
 12 CENTENNIAL ADDRESS 
 
 niunber, and finally separating the ^reat body of the Puri- 
 tans from the Establishment. Out of this class grew the 
 Independents, the standard-bearers in the great army of 
 freedom. 
 
 The principal articles adopted by the Convocation, that 
 touched the sincere convictions of the dissenting Puritans 
 within the chuixh, and to which all were obliged to sub- 
 scribe before they could preach, were these, viz. That the 
 King is the supreme head of the realm, as well in all spiritual 
 and ecclesiastical as in temporal causes j that the Book of 
 Common Prayer contains nothing contrary to the word 
 of God ; that they will use it, and none other ; that the 
 Thirty-nine Articles are all and every of them agreeable to 
 the word of God. All persons are declared to be excom- 
 municated by the very fact of affirming, that the Church of 
 England is not a true and apostolical church ; or that the 
 Book of Common Prayer contains any thing repugnant to 
 Scriptiu-e ; or that the Thirty-nine Articles are in any part 
 superstitious or erroneous ; or that the rites and ceremonies 
 of the chru'ch are such as good men may not with a good 
 conscience approve j or that the government by archbishops, 
 bishops, &c., is opposed to the word of God; or that the 
 form of consecrating bishops, &c., is, in any particular, 
 unscriptural. So all were excommunicated who separated 
 from the church, and joined in a new brotherhood, or 
 asserted their right to do so, or affirmed that there were any 
 other chuixhes within the realm that were true and lawful 
 churches, or that any had a right to make rules ecclesiasti- 
 cal without the authority of the king. And, finally, all were
 
 AT LANCASTER, MASSACHUSETTS. 13 
 
 visited with excommunication who denied the Convocation to 
 be a representative of the true Church of England, or the 
 vaKdity of its decrees ; or affirmed that the members were 
 conspiring against godly and religious professors of the 
 gospel. 
 
 It is a curious fact in the history of these canons, that 
 they were *never the law of the land. They were never 
 confirmed by Parliament, and have no legal force as to the 
 laity ; and yet, filled as they are with the spirit of blight and 
 miklew, they had a withering, deadly power. Under them a 
 great company of the upright and vii'tuous, the health and 
 strength of the realm, almost such as no man may number, 
 were harassed and persecuted beyond measure, and without 
 stint or intermission. Their religious rights were trodden 
 down.; the dictates of conscience were punished ; social 
 position was destroyed; and scorn and hate were visited 
 upon them with unbounded severity. 
 
 Who, then, can wonder at the rapid growth of dissent, 
 dating from this period, and its continued progress, gathering 
 strength from every fresh indignity, until its final consumma- 
 tion in assured victory over its oppressors ? Who can wonder 
 that these men, thinking themselves not only " somehow 
 straitened," as an American prelate has sneeringly said, but 
 bufieted and trodden down as he should have said, should 
 gather the energies belonging to the land of their birth, and 
 rise in indignant opposition to their persecutors ? 
 
 What was said of this indomitable class in Scotland at that 
 period is equally true as of those of England. '* With all 
 their arrogance and intolerance, and the other offensive
 
 14 CENTENNIAL ADDllESS 
 
 features of their creed and character," says a writer, inclined, 
 against the prejudices of education and association, to be 
 somewhat impartial, " these men were far from being without 
 their high qualities, besides their piety and religious fervor. 
 The meekest of them, not less than he that was of hotter 
 temper, cherished an honorable pride and spirit of independ- 
 ence even in worldly matters, which kept them ' erect to a 
 remarkable degree in their general carriage, amid all the 
 servility and baseness of the time." Arrogance, intolerance, 
 and the other offensive features of their creed ! As to their 
 creed, it was at this time the creed, in theory and profession 
 at least, of the great Anglican Church ; and though Armin- 
 ianism had already crept in to some extent, and was largely 
 spreading, it could then hardly be said to be the prevailing 
 belief of the adherents of the church. A lurking tendency 
 toward Rome already existed, and became quite apparent a 
 few years afterwards. In the same proportion Calvinistic 
 doctrines and practice were on the decline, and the believers 
 were held up to ridicule and reproach ; so that parish 
 ministers, not long after, were forbidden to preach upon their 
 peculiar doctrines. 
 
 As to arrogance and intolerance, although we may not 
 boast for them an exemption, it ill becomes the Established 
 Church to flout the Puritans. It gave more than measm-e 
 for measure in return for what it received. It had not the 
 nice Christian eye that would lead it to detect its own 
 enormities, and amend them ; but saw the mote in its 
 Christian brother's eye, and commended itself, saying, " I 
 am holier than thou."
 
 AT LANCASTER, MASSACHUSETTS. 15 
 
 Thus we have seen, in the time of Henry the Eighth, at 
 first only a modified form of Romanism, — a change in the 
 head of the church from the Eternal City to England ; then 
 halting steps and slow, — persecutions by one portion of the 
 Protestant denominations, almost equally of Catholics on the 
 one hand, and of Dissenters on the other ; then the gradual 
 growth of the principle of dissent permeating large masses 
 of men, now no longer despised. The expression of con- 
 tempt is no more heard, but fear and hate are in its stead. 
 
 The men who colonized Massachusetts had remained within 
 the bosom of the church, protesting against what they deemed 
 its unscriptural ordinances, sometimes in a deprecatory, and 
 sometimes in a defiant tone, preparing themselves for what- 
 ever event in God's providence might await them. It was 
 no longer a feeble aggregation of humble individuals that 
 might be swept away, and no remembrance be had of them, 
 but a recognized power in the church ; no longer a party by 
 sufferance, but aggressive, contending for place and position, 
 for the enjoyment of religious rights without fear of external 
 and usurped dominion. 
 
 And now first appears an instance of separation imme- 
 diately connected with our own history. I leave out of 
 view the instance of Robert Brown. His movement was 
 individual and erratic. He contended mainly on his own 
 account, fell back when his congregation was dispersed, 
 became reconciled to Mother Church, and lived and died in 
 her communion ; a man who neither in life nor conversation 
 was a true type of the self-sacrificing pietist. The men of 
 whom I am to speak wore of sterner stuff.
 
 10 CENTENNIAL ADDRES.? 
 
 A few months before the death of Elizabeth, in the year 
 1 002, William Brewster, a gentleman of education and of 
 public service at court, having no taste for the heartless 
 pursuits of a courtier, — a man with whom life was earnest 
 and real, — retiring from the round of fashion and luxury, 
 united with some other kindred spirits, and gathered a little 
 church, — the first church of the Pilgrims, in the North of 
 England. Of this church the worthy and revered Richard 
 Clifton was the minister ; to whom succeeded Robinson, 
 so celebrated in our New England history, and ever so 
 closely and honorably identified with it. I omit the church 
 of the excellent and learned Smith, because he died early, and 
 his congregation fell asunder in the Low Countries. This 
 church under Clifton was the mother of our New England. 
 Its story in the mother-country, its sufferings there, its dangers 
 in reaching Holland, its various trials and triumphs in that 
 country, and its final peaceful settlement on our own shores, 
 are all famiHar as household words from the interesting 
 narrative left by Governor Bradford. But the place in 
 England where this church was first gathered, and where 
 it maintained a struggling existence for a few years, encom- 
 passed on every side, with all of authority, all of social 
 position and refinement, against it, while James threatened, 
 in brutal phrase, to harry all Nonconformists out of the 
 land, — that place, so interesting historically as the first 
 nestling spot of the Pilgrims, * has for generations been 
 wholly lost from memory. It has been reserved to the 
 present time to discover, identify, and consecrate the spot. 
 This has recently been accomplished through the pains-
 
 AT LANCASTER, MASSACHUSETTS. 17 
 
 taking diligence of a learned English antiquaiy ; * a gentle- 
 man who, while devoted at home to the engrossing labors 
 of an important office, from his affectionate regard for our 
 New England worthies, has redeemed time enough to contri- 
 bute a very considerable amount of exact information illus- 
 trating our early annals. 
 
 In a little village in Nottinghamshire lies the cradle of 
 Massachusetts. Casting our eyes upon the map, we find in 
 the northerly part of that county^ on a branch of the Trent, 
 the humble parish of Scrooby, an obscure agricultural vil- 
 lage, now containing but two hundred and ninety-seven 
 inhabitants, and in territorial extent less than one-tenth part 
 of our own reduced Lancaster. Of greater importance at an 
 earlier day, though never of mark among the localities of 
 England, it will in future be remembered by us only as con- 
 nected with our own history. " In the mean townlet of 
 Scrooby," saith an early writer, f " I marked two things : the 
 parish church, not long, but very well builded ; the second 
 was a great manor-place standing within a moat, and longing 
 to the Archbishop of York, builded in two courts, whereof 
 the first is very ample." 
 
 This bishop's manor was the residence of the worthy 
 Brewster. Here he gathered from the vicinity a congrega- 
 tion of believers, — CKfton, Robinson, the Bradfords, Jacksons, 
 Rochesters, and others, who formed the first permanent Sep- 
 aratist Church of the seventeenth century, which, under the 
 guidance of Heaven, became the first Church of Christ in 
 
 * llev. Joseph Hunter, of London, a member of the Record Commission. 
 
 t Quoted by Mr. Hunter : Collections of the Massachusetts Historical Society. 
 
 3
 
 18 CENTENNIAL ADDRESS 
 
 New England. Thus was finished the training that had been 
 in progress for two centm-ies from the primal tjrpe to the full 
 representation of a peculiar people on these shores. 
 
 Chalmers calls them "a few fanatics, who, tii-ed of the 
 European world, because it denied to them that toleration 
 which they showed little inclination to allow to others, sailed 
 for Virginia, but were driven by a storm on the coast of 
 New England." But Chalmers was a Scotchman and a most 
 ardent loyalist. The sentiment is not strange from that 
 quarter, while the charge of fanaticism is the easy calumny 
 applied to reformers in every age, — Wickliflfe, Luther, Clark- 
 son, Wilberforce, and others ev^ down to the present day. 
 
 But, while we smile at this acrimonious spirit, it may well 
 be admitted that these men were not in a position to establish 
 a great state. It may be questioned whether they could 
 have sustained a colony from natural increase of population, 
 or from any emigrations, considerable either in numbers or 
 resources. Probably they would have fallen before a hostile 
 demonstration of either of the larger Indian tribes, — the 
 Pequots or the Narragansets. There were among them many 
 excellent men, whose names and worth every true son of 
 New England cherishes in his very heart. Their principles 
 and aspirations all tended directly to freedom : still they were 
 not the men destined to build up a Commonwealth. Their 
 assured protection came from the colony planted on their 
 northern border, with Connecticut and- New Haven in the 
 opposite quarter. 
 
 The time arrives, and the men are now advancing, for whom 
 under the good Providence of God, in the beautiful words of
 
 AT LANCASTER, MASSACHUSETTS. 19 
 
 the prophet, " the wilderness and the solitary j)lace shall be 
 glad, and the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose." 
 
 •And thus, while the little band of Pilgrims, first at Scrooby, 
 then in Holland, and then on our southern border, were 
 working out the destiny to which they were appointed, — 
 feeble, because separated from the large class oi Noncon- 
 formists, — this greater body jof the Puritans, remaining in 
 the Church of England, was gaining in strength, in intellec- 
 tual accomplishments, and in unity of purpose. They became 
 recipients of all the advantages arising from the increasing 
 culture and civilization of the age. Herein they gained 
 beyond measure. Their faculties were sharpened, their ener- 
 gies wei-e increased, by the discussions and controversies they 
 maintained, and by the persecution they endured, when re- 
 quired to conform, or be harried out of the land. God was 
 now " sifting a whole nation, that he might send choice grain 
 over into the wilderness." Ecclesiastical tyranny had become 
 inveterate. The harrying was in full play. Then were gath- 
 ered together men of education, wealth, and social distinction, 
 — clergymen, lawyers, country gentlemen, men of deep reli- 
 gious sentiment, and yet wise in their generation, — who took 
 deliberate and sober counsel. They found, that by a potent 
 alchemy they could transmute a trading company within the 
 realm into a great institution of civil government beyond 
 the realm. 
 
 In this great measure, — this master-stroke, — first publicly 
 suggested by Governor Craddock, we recognize lar-sighted 
 wisdom, such * no other colonists ever manifested ; sugges- 
 tive wisdom, comprehensive in all its parts. These men
 
 20 CENTENNIAL ADDRESS 
 
 were willing to leave, three thousand miles behind them, all 
 that constitutes the idea of home, and plant themselves in a 
 distant wilderness, provided they had the powers of gove*i- 
 ment in their own hands ; but not willing to become exiles 
 from the place of their affections, if they were to be dependent 
 upon a migre board of trade in London. 
 
 Can they be justly blamed ? They have been blamed, as 
 if they had done this great work in a corner, and had per- 
 petrated a fraud upon the king. The* vote to transfer the 
 patent, so that it might be legally done, seems to have been un- 
 animous. Whether legal advice was actually taken is uncer- 
 tain. The fact does not appear of record. But it is certain 
 that the king took no offence at the transfer ; and^ more than 
 two years afterwards, he was at especial pains to assure the 
 inhabitants that their privileges would be protected. 
 
 The reasonable explanation of the conduct of the king in 
 permitting this transfer, which of course must have soon be- 
 come publicly known, is given by a recent historian, namely, 
 that " the king's policy, at the present time, was to persuade 
 the leaders of the Puritans, that, if they would peaceably aban- 
 don the contest for their principles in England, they were 
 at liberty to embody and enjoy them in whatever institu- 
 tions they might think fit to estabhsh in America." 
 
 Previous history may be searched in vain for an enterprise 
 essayed with more vigor, prudence, and wisdom, by better 
 men, or with more entii'e success 5 not with remote success, 
 nor with intermediate faltering, but by one grand efibrt, at a 
 single adventure, the Commonwealth of Ma^achusetts, God 
 bless her ! was established on a firm basis. True there were
 
 AT LANCASTER; MASSACHUSETTS. 21 
 
 sufferings dm-ing the first winter ; but they sink into insig- 
 nificance in comparison with those at Jamestown and at 
 Plymouth. 
 
 The Massachusetts men were of two classes. They were 
 widely separated by the distinctions in society that existed at 
 home ] and for a time were separated here by the same con- 
 siderations, besides those of education. The ministers, almost 
 all of them, were men educated in the classical and scholastic 
 learning of the times in the ancient halls of Oxford and Cam- 
 bridge. Many of them, as well as the leading laymen, were 
 persons of considerable'estates, and brought over families of 
 the faithful of the uneducated class, who had been but little 
 remembered in the distribution of temporal goods. The 
 former rejoiced in the title of Master ; the wife was Madam : 
 the latter were simply Goodman and Goodwife. These desig- 
 nations prevailed to a great extent until the abrogation of the 
 first charter. 
 
 Many excellent men connected with the company never 
 came over ; but, while active and thoughtful for the benefit of 
 the colony, were largely concerned in th^ series of measures 
 which established the power of the Independents in England. 
 Of these, among many others of the laity, may be mentioned 
 that worthy merchant, Matthew Craddock, the Governor of 
 the Company in England ; Samuel Vassall, a member of the 
 Long Parliament, and* otherwise distinguished in public 
 station, and one of the earliest on that honored roll, " who 
 refused to submit to the payment of tonnage and poundage ; " 
 Thomas Adams, vigilant in the concerns of the company, 
 one of the Court of Assistants, and a member of the House
 
 22 CENTENNIAL ADDRESS 
 
 of Commons ; Sir William Breretoii; of an ancient family in 
 the county of Chester, a distinguished military officer, a mem- 
 ber of the House of Commons, and one of the King's Judges ; 
 Thomas Andrews the merchant. Sheriff, Lord Mayor of Lon- 
 don, and also one of the King's Judges; John White the 
 counsellor, the leading professional adviser of the Company 
 in England, an active member of Parliament, lay member of 
 the celebrated Westminster Assembly, and withal a grave, 
 honest, and learned man. 
 
 Of the clcigy I will name only Nye and White. Philip 
 Nye, a man of uncommon sagacity, *an Oxford graduate, a 
 member of the Westminster Assembly, one of those who 
 negotiated the treaty with the Scots, which issued in the 
 famous. Solemn League and Covenant that united the two 
 nations in one great religious compact, — that compact which 
 resulted in overthrowing the monarchy. John White, of 
 Dorchester, sometimes called " Father of the Massachusetts 
 Colony," a man fervent in his religion, active in his zeal, en- 
 lightened in his works, contributing to the necessities of the 
 Pilgrims at PlymoAh, providing for the moral and spiritual 
 instruction of the fishermen on our coast, especially at Cape 
 Ann ; for the plantation at Salem ; and for the union of the 
 men of Dorset and Devon, whence sprang the Company of 
 the Massachusetts Bay. He may be named also as the author 
 of a tract well known to antiquaries, entitled the " Plant- 
 er's Plea," intended to justify and promote the undertaking 
 •of the colonists. He was also active in promoting the adop- 
 tion of the Solemn League and Covenant. No one was held 
 in deeper respect ; no one was more deserving of it.
 
 AT LANCASTER, MASSACHUSETTS. 23 
 
 These men, with their associates, are more especially de- 
 serving of commemoration by us, because, as they belonged 
 to the party at home that has been unpopular in all siicceeding 
 history, justice has never been*rendered to theii- virtues. 
 
 The character of a new settlement, the aggregate of indi- 
 viduals, is equally important with that of the individual, as 
 the great representation in the line of succession or descent. 
 How many centuries, I would ask, elapsed ere the barbar- 
 ism and piracy of the North of Europe gave way before the 
 influences of Christianity and the refinements of civilization ; 
 and how many subsequent ages before that Christianity and 
 that civihzation resulted in the firm establishment of well- 
 assured freedom even in the most favored lands ! What in- 
 termediate struggles of right against might, and light against 
 darkness ; what dreary periods of doubt, almost ending in 
 despair ; what persecutions and tortures of the good and 
 far-seeing, — of the men guilty of being wiser than their 
 times, and in advance of their age, — branded as inno- 
 vators on the venerable rescripts of the past, and the 
 time-honored institutions of the land ! — what condemna- 
 tion because they represented no great majority of a popular 
 party, but only the thoughtful speculations of a despised few ! 
 All this must be undergone, experience long and bitter, 
 before a well-ordered state rises from the various elements 
 that contribute «to its formation. So in the individual : his 
 barbarism and vice descend by easy and natural transmission 
 to succeeding generations, infecting whole masses of men, — 
 developed now in this, and now in that offensive trait ; ;ind 
 finally and necessarily triumphant, unless controlled and sub-
 
 24 CENTENNIAL ADDRESS 
 
 dued by new elements of a reformatory character, gradually 
 working their way to success. 
 
 When, therefore, we take into view the easy, downward 
 tendency of the individual and of the many, and the slow, 
 painful, hesitating process of recovery under the. severity of 
 self-discipline and experience, it is a subject of devout grati- 
 tude that our own colony was planted by God-fearing men, 
 — men of whom we have no reason to be ashamed, — men 
 who, with all their imperfections, have left their good 
 impress sharply defined on all following generations ; clearly 
 discerned in one long track of light down to the present 
 time. 
 
 Leaving, then, those of the Massachusetts Company who 
 remained in England, proceed with me while I glance at some 
 few of that large number who came over in the first great 
 fleet in the spring of 1630; and of those who found their 
 way hither at a later season of the same year, or subsequently 
 within four years. All of that class may be embraced in 
 the great army of founders. But first there is one entitled 
 to notice, of whom history makes deserving mention. I 
 mean Roger Conant, the connecting link between the settle- 
 ment at Plymouth, the station at Cape Ann, the plantation 
 at Salem, and the colony of Massachusetts. History de- 
 scribes him as " a religious, sober, and prudent gentleman." 
 He was a good man, filled with courage and resolution to 
 abide fixed in liis purpose, notwithstanding all opposition, 
 and every attempt at persuasion he met with to the contrary. 
 Among the laity he may well be classed in a hke category 
 with that of John "White, of Dorchester, in a larger sphere
 
 AT LANCASTER, MASSACHUSETTS. 25 
 
 among the clergy, in earnest effort to promote emigration to 
 the Bay. Ahnost solitary in his position, he stood, with a 
 brave and cheerful spirit, when others quailed and fainted ; 
 and, stretching with the eye of faith across the bosom of 
 the wide Atlantic, could discern, through the dimness of the 
 future, the advance of that devoted company under Endecott 
 that was to people the shores of Naumkeag. Two years did 
 he, with his three associates, Woodbury, Balch, and Palfrey, 
 in solitude and danger, await the advent of this band ; and, 
 •upon its arrival, was the happy means of allaying the jealou- 
 sies and settling the differences between the ancient planters 
 and the new comers, in relation to the jurisdiction over the 
 soil and the enjoyment of individual rights. 
 
 The great fleet of 1630 is now approaching these shores; 
 not in ten or eleven days from the mother-country, accord- 
 ing to our every-day experience, but after a wearisome and 
 boisterous voyage of more than two months, baptized in 
 storm and peril. Let us note a few of these men, with 
 some of those that followed them, as they disembark in 
 search of habitations in the wilderness of the Bay country 
 that was all before them. 
 
 Thomas Dudley, who had already seen military service in 
 France in his carnal days, and, retui'ning to this country, 
 became a part of the church mihtant, now descends fi'om 
 shipboard, and appears upon the scene. We behold a man 
 of severe exterior, clothed in the Puritan garb of that 
 period, discouraging all levity and every approach to mirth- 
 ful relaxation, as inconsistent with self-denying ordinances ; 
 abrupt in his address; a terror to the worldling and the 
 4
 
 26 CENTENNIAL ADDRESS 
 
 unsanctified ; believing all truth wrapt up in his own creed, 
 with no toleration for a different faith, or want of faith, in 
 others ; exiling himself from all the tender and social delights 
 of a pleasant home ; sympathizing with those only of a spirit 
 kindred to his own ; careful in all money concerns, even 
 to the charge of avarice ; but, with all this, of an ardent 
 temperament, with a heart devoted to religion, as he under- 
 stood and embraced it; of integrity incorrupt, of large 
 good sense, and of resolute, energetic will. A fit person to 
 join in the great enterprise, we find him, while on board the 
 Arbella, before leaving the shores of England, entrusted 
 with the second office in the infant Commonwealth, and 
 afterwards raised to the chief civil and military command. 
 He left a son and grandson more distinguished than himself. 
 Let him be taken as a representative of Northamptonshire. 
 
 Of a difierent bearing, of gentler temperament, and more 
 gracious mien, approaches Isaac Johnson. He was of gene- 
 rous nurture ; the friend of Winthrop, Hampden, Dudley ; 
 a gentleman of large landed estate ; an affectionate friend 
 to the colony, and its benefactor, — the husband of the 
 lovely lady Arbella. They come in purity of spirit and 
 with holy influences in the array of their kindred associates, 
 but only as it should seem to seal their faith by their early 
 death ; — she, the virtuous, self-sacrificing, loving wife, re- 
 nouncing all the distinguished privileges and the delicacies 
 of a noble home; he, in the words of Winthrop, "a holy 
 man and T\ise, and dpng in sweet peace." He was a worthy 
 representative of Rutlandshire. 
 
 Yorkshire was amply represented by Sir Richard Salton-
 
 AT LANCA^ER, MASSACHUSETTS. 27 
 
 stall, a. gentleman of honorable descent, of kind and frank 
 dispgsition, and justly entitled one of the fathers of the 
 Massachusetts Colony. Not that he remained here long, 
 for he returned to England in the following spring ; but he 
 left his sons behind, who were honored in their own lives, 
 and honored in the character of their descendants. In an 
 age when toleration was considered as an evidence of lax 
 principle, if not of absolute heresy, he exhibited in his life a 
 beautiful illustration of Christian charity ; and, some twenty 
 years after his return, sadly complained to Wilson and 
 Cotton of the instances of a persecuting spirit that had 
 reached his ears. Though distant from the colony and 
 engaged in other scenes, he was ever mindful and helpful of 
 the colonists, defending their good name and their charter, 
 before the king in council, against the resentment of 
 Gardiner, Morton, and Katcliffe, — taking all opportunities 
 of rendering them assistance, and still further deserving of 
 gratitude for his thoughtful remembrance of the College. 
 
 William Vassall, of London, one of the Assistants, a man 
 equally catholic in spirit with Saltonstall, but more given to 
 argument and controversy, well-educated, intelligent, and 
 busy, remained in the colony only for a short period, and then 
 left it for England. On his return lo Bo'ston, so far from 
 making that place his residence, he eschewed the Massachu- 
 setts, and sat down at Scituate. He is called by Winthrop 
 " a busy and factious spirit, — a man never at rest but when 
 he was in the fire of contention." The title of Winslow's 
 pamphlet, " New England's Salamander Discovered," had 
 reference to Vassall. While in Scituate, he had a long con-
 
 28 CENTENNIAL ADDRESS 
 
 troversy Avith President Chauncy in reference to the mode of 
 baptism. It was conducted with mutual sharpness, bu| on 
 Vassall's side with a good degree of coolness. He found 
 more favor with Wilson, Cotton, and others, ministers in the 
 Bay, than with those in Plymouth. A second church was 
 the result of this dispute, and the measure of his success. 
 Though strongly suspected "of inclining to Episcopacy, he 
 seems to have been a pretty fair Congregationalist, at least 
 while he remained in this country. The principles for which 
 he contended Were not characteristic of that period, but now 
 would be universally admitted as a constituent of the unques- 
 tioned liberty of the subject. The discussion was of imme- 
 diate interest, and may have had some more permanent 
 influence in the history of the colony. 
 
 A more humble spirit dwelt in the breast of Increase 
 Nowell, the Secretary of the Colony for awhile ; serving the 
 planters with diligence as one of the Assistants for twenty- 
 five years, and performing other public functions. Activity, 
 energy, fidelity, were traits of his character. He left to his 
 children the treasure of a good name ; which, being better 
 than riches, as we have it on authority, may be considered an 
 ample inheritance. He died poor in other possessions. 
 
 Wilham Pynchon, fsom Essex, another Assistant, possessed 
 a determined natui-e, and a good share of learning. He 
 founded Springfield a few years before Lancaster was first 
 inhabited, and named it after his birthplace in Essex. For 
 almost an entire generation, his was its leading and controll- 
 ing mind. Like most laymen of that day, versed in scholastic 
 theology, he rejoiced to see his name in print, no less than the
 
 AT LANCASTER, MASSACHUSETTS.. 29 
 
 brethren who engrossed the greater part of letters. Living 
 remote from the other plantations, in a place of great seclu- 
 sion, he seems to have been inclined, very presumptuously, 
 of course, independent of the authorities in the Bay, to do 
 his own thinking, and to have worked out a theory of the 
 atonement, viz. that the sufferings of the Saviour were merely 
 " trials of his obedience," wholly adverse to the prevailing 
 doctrine. This brought him under public cognizance. The 
 Great and General Court interfered. The church was in 
 peril. The court solemnly pronounced its dislike and det- 
 estation of his book as erroneous and dangerous, false and 
 heretical ', required him' to appear and exculpate himself, or 
 suffer the consequences ; and directed that the obnoxious 
 treatise be burnt by the executioner in Boston Market-place 
 " after lecture." By the same power of eminent domain in 
 matters of faith, ten years after, the apostle Eliot's tract upon 
 the Christian Commonwealth, which passed current during 
 the Protectorate, was supposed to reflect upon kingly govern- 
 ment, and orders were issued for its suppression. Pynchon, 
 in his case, appeared, and made explanations and retractions ; 
 but, before final judgment, taking counsel of discretion, and 
 probably foreseeing that he would be visited with sharp 
 condemnation, he wisely took advantage of the interval, and 
 returned to England. 
 
 Before his theological fall, he was held in high esteem for 
 his virtues and services, as a main pillar in the Sjiringfield 
 Plantation ; vigilant and helpful in church and state ; but 
 he had committed what Avas then the unpardonable sin, — 
 and what even in our own day renders a man obnoxious to
 
 30 CENTENNIAL ADDRESS 
 
 censure, and disturbs his social position, — by the main- 
 tenance and expression of opinions, which, however honest, 
 were adverse to the prevailing sentiment of the community. 
 Roger Ludlow, the Assistant and Deputy-Governor, who 
 came over with the west-country people, was a more ambitious 
 man than Pynchon, of warmer temperament, and somewhat 
 of the Miles Standish school. Though, it would seem, not 
 bred to the law, he possessed a reputation for professional 
 knowledge ; — precisely the kind of man, and precisely the 
 knowledge needed in the infant colony, where so soon and 
 for so long a time the science and skill of legal fence were 
 to be called into exercise. He was evidently high-spirited, 
 and would easily kindle into a passion. He threatened to 
 leave the colony and return to England, should the people 
 insist upon choosing the Assistants every year, and upon 
 choosing the Governor by the whole Court, that is, by the 
 whole body of freemen, instead of by the Assistants. History 
 records other instances characteristic of the man. But he 
 was honest-minded and useful while he remained here, though 
 somewhat suspicious that he had not his full share of popular 
 honors. When the sovereigns find that a man comes to this 
 complexion, they have a very summary way with him : he 
 must submit to the bowstring. And so it was with Ludlow. 
 He was left out of the government, and, in consequence, 
 departed from this jurisdiction for Connecticut. There, in a 
 narrower field and with fewer rivals, he became a prominent 
 man for a number of years, — active in the Pequot war, — 
 active as one of the Commissioners of the United Colonies, 
 and so active in stirring up his neighbors on his own account
 
 AT LANCASTER, MASSACHUSETTS. 
 
 31 
 
 to commence hostilities against the Dutch, as to disturb his 
 influence, and occasion him so much trouble that he left 
 Connecticut, as nineteen years before he had left Massachu- 
 setts, and sailed for Vii'ginia. 
 
 William Coddington, a native of Boston in Lincolnshu-e, 
 worthilj^ embalmed in Rhode Island history, Assistant and 
 Treasurer of the Massachusetts Colony, was a man less 
 fiery in his constitution than Ludlow, but still of a very 
 determined spirit. Winthrop calls him '■' a godly man, and 
 of good estate." From his great excellence of character, and 
 ample means, he was enabled to exert a large and healthful 
 influence in Boston, where he was a principal merchant ; and 
 his talents and integrity insured the continuance of that in- 
 fluence until the time of the Antinomian war ; when, happen- 
 ing to be of the losing party, — the covenant-of-grace party, 
 — his situation became unpleasant in the extreme. He re- 
 moved to Rhode Island, where all theological covenants were 
 equal, — equally indifferent, — and was there distinguished 
 for his good service. For a long time he held the office of 
 Governor. 
 
 Simon Bradstreet, of Emanuel College, Cambridge, the son 
 
 * 
 
 of a clergyman, a Lincolnshire man, " the Nestor of New 
 England," was more fortunate in his convictions than Cod- 
 dington, in that he joined the covenant-of-works party, which, 
 after a short but severe controversy, triumphantly carried the 
 day. 
 
 Coming to the colony a young man, he successively passed 
 through the offices of Assistant, Secretary, Deputy-Gover- 
 nor, Governor, Commissioner of the United Colonies, and
 
 32 CENTENNIAL ADDRESS 
 
 Agent to England. His colonial life embraced a period 
 of sixty-seven years ; witnessing the first planting of Mas- 
 sachusetts under the first charter, the government during 
 its entire continuance, its abrogation, the usurpation of An- 
 dres, the incoming of the second charter, and five years of 
 its vigorous operation. Surviving all his original associates 
 and a host in the next generation, he lived to see the healthy 
 growth and the consolidated strength of the Province, and 
 was at a sufficient elevation, — like Lord Bathurst in the 
 beautiful apostrophe of Burke, — casting his eye back in 
 contemplation of the past, and looking into the future to 
 discern the possibility of a rising empire in the West, freed 
 from provincial transatlantic bondage. 
 
 Few men in the colony were more serviceable than Brad- 
 street. He possessed a phlegmatic temperament, tending to 
 long life, with great moderation of character, accompanied by 
 undoubted firmness. Though perhaps not bred to the Bar, 
 like Wintlii-op, Bellingham, and Humphrey, he had respect- 
 able legaL attainments, which were frequently called into 
 exercise. A distinguished tribute was paid to his wisdom 
 and sagacity, in his being selected as one of the Agents 
 of Massachusetts in England after the Bestoration. He was 
 generally, if not always, of the moderate party, and was at 
 its head in 1680, when the charter was in danger, and the 
 country was hotly divided as to the best course to be pursued, 
 — whether to submit implicitly to the king, \0r to die by the 
 hands of others, rather than by their ojvn. From tliis mod- 
 eration it has sometimes been inferred that he was an ordinary 
 man. The important offices he held show the contrary. No
 
 AT LANCASTER, MASSACHUSETTS. 33 
 
 ordinary man would have been sent to the court of Charles 
 at that most critical period in our colonial aiFaifs, or would 
 have been replaced in the executive chair- when Andros was 
 deposed. But the authority of Winthrop, who calls him " a 
 very able man," is conclusive. 
 
 Of less public distinction and of less learning than Brad- 
 street and the others I have named, was William Colburn. 
 He was a gentleman of unquestioned worth, and great local 
 influence in town and church for more than thirty years. 
 We find him in that company of twelve, including Johnson, 
 Winthrop, Saltonstall, Dudley, and others, who met at Cam- 
 bridge in August, 1629, and covenanted to embark for the 
 Massachusetts Plantation, provided the whole government, 
 together with the patent, be transferred, and be established 
 there. We know the man by his associates, and by the reso- 
 lute performance of a brave, self-denying determination. 
 
 The excellent Edward Rossiter, a gentleman of good estate 
 from the West of England, and one of the Assistants, should 
 not be passed over in this brief notice. He was held in 
 great esteem among his associates, and possessed actual good 
 influence, with the prospect of extended usefulness. But 
 he was not permitted to help on the work. He was arrested 
 by death within a little more than two months after his arri- 
 val ; being one of those who, according to Cotton Mather, 
 took New England on their way to Heaven. 
 
 This slight enumeration of distinguished laymen who came 
 
 over in 1G30, imperfect as it is, would be sadly deficient, 
 
 without naming him who was the leading spirit, the good 
 
 genius of the colony. Born to a competent estate, having his 
 
 5
 
 34 CENTENNIAL ADDRESS 
 
 residence amidst the wholesome influences of the country; 
 bred to the Bar, as were his father and grandfather ; nursed 
 in the bosom of the church ; not forced to labor by the impulse 
 of necessity, the predicament of the generality of mankind ; 
 but having nobler impulses coming right out from his gener- 
 ous nature, xirging him to labor for the good he might 
 accomplish, — we find him in mature life attending the meet- 
 ing at Cambridge, and subscribing his name to the Solemn 
 Covenant there concluded. Next we find him, though but 
 recently become a member of the Company, preferred before 
 all others for Governor of the incipient Commonwealth, 
 when it was determined to remove the charter and the govern- 
 ment to New England. 
 
 And here his history is the history of the colony until his 
 death in 1649. He was in office for the greater part of the 
 time ; but, whether in office or a private citizen, was of potent 
 influence, of unceasing energy, and ready at all times to spend 
 and toil as he might best promote the public good. Of strong 
 good sense, he was the wise man ; of clear discernment, he 
 was the sagacious man ; of singular moderation and self-con- 
 trol, he was the careful man ; full of integrity and purity, he 
 was the conscientious, religious man ; — like the best men at 
 all periods, occasionally falling into unpopularity, but waiting 
 with patience till time should prove him to be right, and his 
 adversaries wrong ; and then, without compromise or sac- 
 rifice, regaining his ascendency, and becoming more trusted, 
 honored; and reverenced, than before j — if ever erring, erring 
 in the sincerity of his heart ; and, like all noble natures, 
 prompt and ingenuous to acknowledge the error when con-
 
 AT LANCASTER, MASSACHUSETTS. 35 
 
 vinced of it. With a nice sense of the liberty of the subject, 
 and still at times apprehensive lest the encroachment of the 
 popular sentiment of the less educated portion of the commu- 
 nity should weaken the strength and consistency of good 
 government, he held on his way, through good report and 
 evil report, according to his own views of truth and duty. 
 Deferred to by all classes, both clerical and lay, amid the 
 constant difficulties that surrounded him, and sometimes em- 
 barrassed his position, he pursued a steadfast course, sustained 
 by his own conscience, and looking to God and to posterity 
 to do justice to his character. 
 
 He has left us a History of New England that is truly 
 invaluable. Without it we should know comparatively little 
 of the first nineteen years of the colony, — the period of its 
 weaknesses and trials, — of the motives of its leading men, or 
 of the principles of its policy. With it we have our earliest 
 landmarks well defined, and a record of events on which all 
 subsequent historians have safely built. Upon those nine- 
 teen years he left an impress such as no other man has left, 
 and which has survived through all succeeding generations. 
 
 We revere him as the great founder and wise conservator 
 of the Commonwealth ; as the skilful pilot who guided the 
 frail bark through the tempestuous waters of religious and 
 political strife ; as the choicest of that chosen seed in the 
 great sifting of the nation. 
 
 God, in his providence, might have raised up some one 
 equally competent to fill his great measure ; but I know no 
 one among all the wise and learned men, his associates, who 
 could have acquired for himself such an ascendency as he
 
 36 CENTENNIAL ADDRESS 
 
 possessed ; no one before whom all others would have bowed 
 with the same reverential regard, yielding their entire con- 
 fidence. In the singular purity, the unbending integrity and 
 independence, and other noble traits of his private and public 
 life, we recognize in type the great qualities of John Jay, that 
 patriot and Christian of our Revolution. All reverence, 
 then, to the name and virtues of John Winthrop, an instru- 
 ment fitly shaped for a great work well wrought out ! All 
 reverence to John Winthrop, the civil father of our infant 
 State, and the .ancestor of successive generations held in 
 honor and esteem to the present day ! We go back to no 
 robber demigods for our corner-stone, but to a well-assured 
 name in the culture and Christianity of Modern Eiu-ope. 
 
 Of Aspinwall, Edward Johnson, of " Wonder-working Pro- 
 vidence " memory, and others of the year 1630; — of those 
 who came over a few years after, as Dennison the worthy 
 Major-General ; — Deputy -Governor Humphrey, entitled " a 
 gentleman of special parts, of learning and activity, and a 
 godly man;" — Governor E-ichard Bellingham, the lawyer, 
 quaintly called '' a great justiciary, a notable hater of bribes, 
 firm and fixed in any resolution he entertained, of larger 
 comprehension than expression, like a vessel whose vent 
 holdeth no good proportion with its capacity to contain, — a 
 disadvantage to a public person ; " — Sir Henry Vane, well 
 known in the wider sphere of English history ; — Governor 
 John Haynes, a "gentleman of great estate," with something 
 of Roger Ludlow's ambition, and more than Winthrop's 
 severity in discipline, but doing good service to the public ; 
 — Roger Harlakenden, termed " a very godly man, and of
 
 AT LANCASTER, MASSACHUSETTS. 37 
 
 good use both in the Commonwealth and in the church," 
 who " died in great peace, and left a sweet memorial behind 
 him of his piety and virtue ; " — of these and others the 
 principal laymen, I would only say that they were good 
 representatives of their class in England, and were men of 
 whom any community might justly boast. 
 
 It would carry me far beyond my purpose and your pa- 
 tience to enlarge upon the members of the clerical profes- 
 sion, who came over in 1630 and a few following years. 
 Their name is legion. They were educated men, trained at 
 Oxford and Cambridge, mth all the lights of the age ; fitted, 
 by crosses and a perplexed condition in their own land, to 
 adventure upon an experiment of life in another climate, 
 and exerting here, during the existence of the old charter, 
 an influence, political as well as religious, such as has never 
 been exercised by any other body of Protestants in any 
 quarter of the globe since the Reformation. They were 
 stern, Old Testament men, tracing a resemblance in their 
 condition to that of the Jews ; believing it ordained that 
 the heathen should be driven out before them ; brave men, 
 contending for their own views of the right through all ob- 
 loquy, the sneers of the profligate, and the persecutions of 
 ecclesiastics; self-denying men, denouncing amusements, and 
 the lax principles of the times; rather rejoicing in being 
 called upon to endure hardship ; very humble before God, 
 but still loving power, not perhaps for its own sake, but for 
 the good they might accomplish ; unbending to those who 
 thrust at them, and loved them not ; austere in life and con- 
 versation, partly from their theology, and in part from their
 
 38 CENTENNIAL ADDRESS 
 
 position as a sect everywhere spoken against ; with many- 
 failings, — failings in the gentle virtues and in the spirit of 
 toleration, — but with more virtues of the sturdy and un- 
 compromising kind, such as the infant condition of the colony 
 required, when an influx of any opposite religionists, or of 
 the cast-off adventurers from the Old World, might have 
 reduced it to a perfect Alsatia. 
 
 The time of our great exodus from the mother-country 
 was opportune. Had it been earlier, when kingly preroga- 
 tive was scarcely questioned, and priestly power rejoiced in 
 its wide-spread domain, the ancestors of New England might 
 have settled down into unquestioning, passive non-resistants, 
 with as little of will as of ability to stay encroachments. 
 The time was well chosen, when the nascent principle of 
 liberty was permeating the whole kingdom ; when arbitrary 
 measures in church and state were stoutly questioned j when 
 the vigorous, hardy elements of the English character, our 
 inheritance, were mustering and concentrating for the final 
 struggle. Hampden had already resisted unjust taxation; 
 and, in the bosom of the church, the sacred right of dis- 
 sent was taking definite shape. On the eve of great events 
 the plantation was projected. In leaving their country, the 
 colonists escaped the intermediate stage of poKty in the 
 Presbyterian Church, and came at one bound upon the In- 
 dependent or Congregational Platform. Meanwhile, the 
 troubles that were casting their broad shadows over the 
 future of England gave the planters an opportunity of 
 forming their theory of religious and civil poKty, and of con- 
 solidating their institutions to a considerable extent.
 
 AT LANCASTER; MASSACHUSETTS. 
 
 39 
 
 Coming from a country whose institutions of government 
 had remained for ages, they had a framework for their 
 model that required only modification in its details to 
 adjust it to their new condition. Thus saved from all 
 fanciful notions, from all transcendental policy, from all idea 
 of a social compact of optimists, like sensible, every-day 
 men they proceeded to build for themselves on old founda- 
 tions with sound views, issuing from long-established prin- 
 ciples, sloughing off all feudal incum1)rances, and all combined 
 spiritual domination. 
 
 What was the future that, in visions by day, or dreams by 
 night, was dimly discerned by the more ardent and enthu- 
 siastic ? Did a great destiny spring up to their view, as they 
 stood gazing upon the shifting lights passing rapidly before 
 them, and then settling down in dreary night, — like the 
 prospect beheld from our mountain-tops, when the storm sub- 
 sides, and the breeze sweeps along the dense clouds, which, 
 now in broken masses, in ever-varying forms of beauty, with 
 edges of Hght, reveal the sunshine and the blue sky, and, 
 while the eye is beholding other mountain-tops beyond, with 
 pleasant valley, hill-side, and plain, infold themselves in one 
 grand volume, and close the scene to human view ? No 
 such picture presented itself to their earnest gaze, — no bril- 
 liant vision in the distance ; but, still with conscious f\iith 
 that the invisible is real, and with doubts and fears as to 
 their future in this world, they longed only for a spot to which 
 they could flee and be at rest. They looked back upon their 
 own native land - — the homes and graves of their fathers, 
 — with yearning and affection ; but they sighed not to return.
 
 40 CENTENNIAL ADDRESS 
 
 Girt wp in the power that God had given them, they were 
 ready to dare, to endure, and, if need be, to die. They had 
 the courage of men, and wore it as a familiar garment. The 
 stern duties they had assumed left them no choice, even had 
 they had the purpose to retrace their steps. Their manhood 
 and faith would at once have taken the alarm, and prevented 
 the design. 
 
 And did it demand stout hearts ? It may be said that 
 others have made equal sacrifices. Others have made sac- 
 rifices ; have gone to distant, barbarous shores, and ventured 
 through seas of danger to conquer a name, to gain celebrity 
 by military exploit; and every day the most imminent 
 hazards are run in the greedy quest of gold. 
 
 Adventurers had ah'eady coui'sed along our shores, estab- 
 lishing stations for the convenience of fisheries and trade. But 
 " the wealth of Ormus or of Ind " was not the object with the 
 men of 1-630, and their successors. They consecrated their 
 energies to no such purpose. Turning aside from the great 
 and engrossing object of mankind, the pursuit of wealth, they 
 embarked with all the materials required to build up a state, 
 — with their beloved charter, better than all the household 
 gods of old, and attended by a superintending Providence, 
 ever shaping out their destinies. The elements they possessed 
 for a social and political organization at once took form and 
 order, as it were, by a self-adjusting power ; and when, soon 
 after, a representative body was constituted out of and instead 
 of the whole body of freenien, and at the next step this again 
 was separated from the Board of Magistrates or Assistants, 
 each possessing a negative upon the other, the system of
 
 AT LANCASTER, MASSACHUSETTS. 41 
 
 republican government was fully secured. So wisely were 
 tlieir measures taken, that we have only to record constant 
 progress ', and, even when danger was threatening from within 
 or from without, and there was apparent halting, their course 
 was still onward. The condition of their social and political 
 state, gradually gaining in strength and consistence, and de- 
 veloping in symmetrical proportions, led, by natural and easy 
 stages, to success in their various encounters, whether in 
 diplomacy or in war, until the final establishment of an inde- 
 pendent government. The great result was not accompHshed 
 under a century and a half; nor was it either foreseen or 
 predicted : but the curious student in their history can now 
 trace the causal relation with perfect distinctness, ^he 
 character of the people, and the quality of their institutions, 
 were touched to one great issue. 
 
 A representative government was fairly derived from the 
 government to which they had been accustomed at home ; 
 so also the division of their Commonwealth into counties : 
 but the division into towns had nothing like it in theii* own 
 previous experience, or in any example in the Old "World, 
 where cities, boroughs, and towns were of somewhat diverse 
 signification. Towns existed here, of coui'se, from the outset, 
 as a necessaiy organization ; but we may search in vain for 
 any authoritative establishment in the first years of the 
 colony. They were not made : they grew out of the political 
 circumstances that demanded them. Like towns in England, 
 they had the right of a church, with the sacraments; but 
 far greater and very difierent privileges were soon accorded 
 to them. They became corporations as soon as they were 
 6
 
 42 CENTENNIAL ADDRESS 
 
 competent to manage their municipal affairs. They had towns- 
 men, afterwards called Selectmen, to order " the planting and 
 the prudential affairs ; " a Clerk of the Writs, nominated 
 by the town, and confirmed by the County Court, and so 
 called because he had power to issue "summons" and other 
 process in legal proceedings, and afterwards called Town 
 Clerk, with additional duties ; also Constables, a Treasurer, 
 Assessors, and the whole array of town functionaries. In 
 civil matters, they made provision for schools, for the support 
 of theii' poor, the establishment of highways, the disposition 
 of lands, the support of a military force ; and enjoyed the 
 power of taxing themselves, and raising money to any extent 
 they pleased, for the purposes of the town. Their importance 
 was further secured by their corporate right of representation 
 in the General Court, which brought them into close contact 
 with legislative proceedings ; each man, as it were, esteeming 
 himself almost a legislator, — a part of the governing power, 
 as well as a subject ; and looking forward to the time wlien 
 he should be called by the suffrages of his brethren to be 
 one of the deputies. A larger liberty was allowed than now 
 exists. Residence was not required for representation; so 
 that if a freeman were ambitious of legislative life, and his 
 own town were bHnd to his merits, he might seek his consti- 
 tuents elsewhere. Thus, Thomas Brattle, of Boston, father 
 of the Rev. William Brattle, of Cambridge, represented 
 Lancaster in 1671 and 1672, and Concord from 1677 to 
 1681. This privilege continued during the old charter, 
 and for one or two years under the Province charter. But 
 sundry members of the House, chiefly, inhabitants of Boston,
 
 AT LANCASTER, MASSACHUSETTS. 43 
 
 representing towns in the country, being opposed to the 
 Governor, Sir William Phips, voted against the address of 
 the majority of the representatives, who desired that he might 
 not be removed from office. To get rid of these factious 
 gentlemen, a law was passed, requmng residence as a quali- 
 fication for election. And thus a change, first instigated 
 by private motives, has in the end become a part of our 
 organic law. 
 
 The liberty of discourse at town-meetings was very large. 
 Listen to the record : " Every man, whether inhabitant or 
 fforeiner, free or not free, shall have libertie to come to any 
 publique court, council, or towne meeting, and either by 
 speech or writeing to move any lawfull, seasonable, and 
 materiall question, or to present any necessary motion, com- 
 plaint, petition, bill, or information, whereof that meeting 
 hath proper cognizance, so it be done in convenient time, 
 due order, and respective manner." 
 
 Thus much for the power of the towns in civil matters. 
 Their power in parochial concerns was equally broad. No 
 churches being recognized but; those of the Congregational 
 order, and parishes being originally co-extensive with towns, 
 the towns were vested with entire authority to contract with 
 their religious teachers, and raise money for their support. 
 The practice of voluntary contribution, however, prevailed 
 for some years. 
 
 It is hardly possible to speak too highly of the importance 
 of towns in the history of Massachusetts, or to magnify the 
 results derived from their institution. They were indeed 
 miniature republics, possessed of every element of order and
 
 44 CENTENNIAL ADDRESS 
 
 freedom. Besides their powers, which I have succinctly 
 mentioned, the meetings themselves are not to be passed 
 over without note of their influence. " Town-meeting day " 
 is a phrase of great significance ; representing, in an humble 
 degree, that which is true of the Commonwealth in the 
 meetings of its General Court. From all quarters, — from 
 the farm and the workshop, from hill and valley, the peo- 
 ple gather together to choose their officers, vote moneys, 
 and discuss grave questions affecting their social and political 
 well-being. There all meet on common ground, — the man 
 of wealth and education side by side with the humblest, 
 whose hands are hardened by honest toil. Each stands up 
 in his own manhood, and has an equal claim to be heard ; 
 and the vote of each is no bhnd exercise of power, but the 
 deliberate expression of one free to choose. Listen to the 
 discussions j the homely statement, the sagacious remark, and 
 it may be the exhibition of an untaught native eloquence ; 
 the outpourings of a generous natiu-e on the one side, and 
 the contracted spii'it on the other, — all the proceedings 
 conducted with the propriety and order of larger deliberative 
 assemblies. All bow to the forms as well as the substance 
 of law ; all develops their several capacities, marked by the 
 same characteristics, and swayed by the same motives, as 
 great parliamentary bodies. 
 
 Here we see, month after month, year after year, generation 
 after generation, that constant training of the individual 
 which gives him a sense of personal consequence, instructs 
 him in his rights, and renders him entirely apt in all matters 
 pertaining to the general government of the State. As town-
 
 AT LANCASTER, MASSACHUSETTS. 45 
 
 » 
 
 officers, as representatives in the Legislature, as jurors, and 
 in other ways, large masses are thus brought into immediate 
 contact with the practical working of the laws, and become 
 marvellously well instructed in theii* rights and duties. In 
 this field of deliberation and controversy is sown the seed 
 that bears rich fruit in the life of the citizen. Here, when 
 trouble comes from abroad, and tyranny is scented in the 
 tainted breeze, is formed the vigorous and combined public 
 sentiment that sways the community. Here are witnessed 
 brave resolves, to be carried out with equal bravery in action, 
 in steady resistance to aggression. Indeed, we may almost 
 say that the Revolutionary War, so far at least as Massachu- 
 setts was concerned, was carried on under the auspices of the 
 people in town-meeting assembled. There the discussions 
 were had ; there great questions of natural right and civil 
 liberty were debated ; there the supplies were voted, the men 
 raised, the sacrifices made, and independence wrought out. 
 
 But all this machinery would be of little avail, unless the 
 men were found to work it ; and the men would not have 
 been found to work it, had ignorance abounded. Its influ- 
 ence must be correlative to the intelligence of the masses. 
 For this, early and tolerably ample provision was made. 
 The cultivation of the few, and the ignorance of the many, 
 had ever been the unhappy condition of human society. But 
 all this was to be changed. The right of instruction, widely 
 diffused, was now to flow in, reaching the humblest indivi- 
 dual and the remotest hamlet. The leading men among the 
 laity whom I have before named, with their associates in 
 civil life, and more particularly the ministers of the Congre-
 
 46 CENTENNIAL ADDRESS 
 
 gational churches, possessed- about all the learning of the day. 
 These very men, whom it has been the fashion with many to 
 deride immeasurably as bigots in the church, and tyrants in 
 the state, were those, and those only, who established the first 
 system of free schools known to the world to be supported 
 by the whole community; and they planted, side by side, 
 our University, wliich, from that day to the present, has been 
 the blessed instrument of incalculable good. Possessing the 
 advantage of education, and exhibiting its precious fruits, — 
 knowing the illiterate state of the humbler colonists, existing 
 to such an extent that being able to read was matter of 
 praise, and being able to write was somewhat of a distinction, 
 — knowing, too, that in no way could they preserve what they 
 had so laboriously established as a free Commonwealth, but 
 by assiduous effort directed point-blank to the minds of the 
 people, they entered upon the subject with an earnestness 
 and perseverance that insured early and complete success. 
 Nor was there any of that narrow jealousy which it has been 
 reserved for a later day, and a time of boasted refi.nement, to 
 manifest ; as if there were any inconsistency between the free 
 school and the college. All felt and acknowledged their 
 mutual and beneficial dependence ; that the college was to 
 be nourished through the school, and the school to be pre- 
 served and elevated through the higher standard of the 
 college, — links in one great chain, connecting all art and all 
 science, and binding all orders and conditions in one loving 
 embrace. 
 
 All praise to the men who were first instrumental in 
 enlightening the public mind, and training up the great body
 
 AT LANCASTER, MASSACHUSETTS. 47 
 
 of citizens, by a constant exercise of the intellectual faculties, 
 to a clearer perception of their rights and obligations, and an 
 increased ability to preserve them ! Let their works praise 
 them ; and we of the present generation, who have received 
 the choice inheritance, and live in the sunlight of this great 
 blessing, will praise their practical sagacity, and their far- 
 reaching vision. 
 
 The good sense of these men, shown in the system of 
 towns, and in the provision made for religion and education, 
 is equally manifest in the character of their laws. The 
 statute-book of a people is, to a large extent, the history of 
 that people, and the key to their condition in the widest 
 range. It shows the progress of social order, national indus- 
 try, liberty, and civilization, or the contrary.* In this respect, 
 
 * We very much need an edition of our statutes at large, from our earliest 
 colonial existence, down to the adoption of the Constitution of the United States; 
 something after the manner of the English " Statutes of the Realm," " The Acts of 
 the Parliament of Scotland," "The Irish Statutes at Large," or the United States 
 " Statutes at Large." It should embrace all the laws, from the very first, in chrono- 
 logical order, — the temporary as well as the perpetual ; all that have become 
 obsolete, or have expired, or have been repealed, as well as those in force. It is difficult 
 now to trace the course of legislation throughout our colonial and provincial condition . 
 The effort requires some bravery of spirit, — a determined resolution. It is not well 
 that a Commonwealth like Massachusetts should be without the statutes of her realm, 
 collected and printed to the letter. Besides, the archives of the Commonwealth 
 contain many projets of laws, not finally becoming laws, but Very interesting and 
 instructive in the history of our people. These would come in very well as collateral 
 illustrations. 
 
 The printing of the two earliest volumes of the Colonial Records, so wisely recom- 
 mended by his Excellency Governor Clifford at the last session of the Legislature, is 
 now in progress, under the enlightened and careful supervision of Dr. Natlianicl B. 
 Shurtleff, to whom the Governor, with very praiseworthy discrimination, has entrusted 
 the undertaking. This is a step in the right direction. May the Legislature of 1854 
 take the next step, and make provision for the great work of the Massachusetts 
 Statutes at Large.
 
 48 CENTENNIAL ADDRESS 
 
 our ancestors, in most matters of their early civil legislation, 
 were as wise in their generation as the children of this world. 
 They had no book of Blue Laws. Some offences were made 
 capital, to which at this day no penalty would bf affixed ; 
 but otherwise their laws were generally appropriate to their 
 circumstances, and very judicious. 
 
 It is somewhat singular that the character of our early 
 statute law has been wholly misunderstood until the present 
 day. Even the inquiring and learned Hutchinson was 
 ignorant of the body of laws actually adopted. The subject 
 forms an interesting chapter in our history ; but I can only 
 briefly touch upon it. In the infancy of the plantation, the 
 leading men were somewhat opposed to a fixed code ; not 
 from any arbitrary notion, if we take their own statement, 
 but, as they say, from " want of sufficient experience of the 
 nature and disposition of the people, considered with the 
 condition of the country, and other circumstances ; " and 
 because "it would transgress the limits of the charter," which 
 forbade any laws to be made, " repugnant to the laws of 
 England ; " and " that," says the historian, with charming 
 simplicity, " we were assm-ed we must do. But to raise up 
 laws by practice and custom had been no transgression." 
 They h^d some views of equity, in adapting judgments to 
 particular cases, pro re natd. Of course, the people were 
 not quite easy under this dispensation, and saw clearly 
 enough, with all regard for the magistrates and elders, that 
 there would be no safety for the civil state, unless laws were 
 established on a proper basis ; so that discretion, the fore- 
 runner of arbitrary power, might be wholly taken away.
 
 AT LANCASTER, MASSACHUSETTS. 49 
 
 From 1635 to 1641, six long years, this subject "was 
 mooted through many sessions of the General Coiut. At 
 one time, in 1636, worthy Mr. Cotton, who was one of those 
 who were appointed to compile a body of fundamental laws, 
 presented " a copy of Moses his judicials compiled in an 
 exact method;" which were taken into consideration till the 
 next General Court. No evidence exists that they were ever 
 acted upon: certain it is they were never adopted. This 
 code, however, of " Moses his judicials," seems to be the 
 same that was published in England in 1641, under the 
 title of " An Abstract of the Laws of New England as they 
 are now estabhshed." It contains many provisions of prac- 
 tical import, well fortified with references to texts in the 
 Old Testament. Some of the provisions were not particu- 
 larly democratic. Thus the magistrates were to be selected 
 out of the ranks of noblemen or gentlemen, the best that 
 God shall send into the country, to be chosen for life, un- 
 less removed for good cause. " More large and honorable 
 accommodations " in land were to be given to men of eminent 
 quality and descent, in regard to their greater disbursements 
 to pubHc charges. No landholder could convey his estate 
 to any one but a freeman of the same town. Wages of 
 labor were to be regulated. Some twenty crimes were made 
 punishable with death, — among them, heresy ; wilful perjuiy ; 
 profaning the Lord's day in a careless and scornful neglect 
 or contempt thereof; reviling of the magistrates in highest 
 rank ; rebellious chilcben, continuing in riot or drunkenness 
 after correction, or cursing or smiting their parents. 
 
 There was one provision, copied from Deuteronomy, and 
 7
 
 50 CENTENNIAL ADDRESS 
 
 relating to military exempts, that would have been of blessed 
 comfort to some citizens in the subsequent Indian wars. It 
 runs thus : " Men betrothed and not married, or newly mar- 
 ried, or such as have newly built or planted, and not received 
 the fruit of their labor, and such as are faint-hearted men, are 
 not to be forced against their wills to go forth to wars." 
 
 Well had it been, thought William Aspinwall, a friend of 
 Cotton in the Antinomian war, had the Massachusetts " had 
 the heart to have received " this code. He confesses that it 
 is not without imperfections, but is " bold to say that it far 
 •surpasseth all municipal laws and statutes of any of the 
 Gentile nations and corporations under the cope of heaven;" 
 reaching " to all persons, nations, and times, and is a perfect 
 standard to admeasure all judicial actions and causes, whether 
 civil or criminal, by sea or land ; " — and much more of this 
 marvellous praise. Governor Hutchinson does not go so far 
 as to assert that this abstract was adopted. He states that 
 the legislators made it their plan in general, departing from 
 it in many instances, and in some which were very material. 
 But this was not the case, as would have been manifest to 
 him, had he known the laws that were actually adopted. 
 A system more honorable to the good sense of our ancestors 
 was the chosen one. Winthrop says that the General Court 
 in December, 1641, "established one hundred laws, which 
 were called the ' Body of Liberties.' They had been com- 
 posed by Mr. Nathaniel Ward, sometime pastor of the 
 • chmxh of Ipswich. He had been a minister in England, 
 and formerly a student and practiser in the course of the 
 common law." This Nathaniel Ward, the well-known
 
 AT LANCASTER, MASSACHUSETTS. 51 
 
 author of the " Simple Cobler of Agawam," has the high 
 praise of having prepared, and, so far as appears, single- 
 handed, the first code of laws known in Massachusetts ; 
 relieving the people from the presence of all discretionary 
 authority on the part of the governors, and forming an 
 excellent foundation for the construction of the jurisprudence 
 of the Commonwealth. Except some few particulars be- 
 longing to the period, it shows throughout a clear apprehen- 
 sion of the provisions of the common law, and the liberties of 
 the subject as contained in Magna Charta. It marks the 
 exact and well-read lawyer, not overlaid nor clouded by his 
 subsequent clerical training (I speak it, of course, in no 
 offensive sense), but retaining the freshness of his previous 
 professional discipline. I repeat, then, that they of the 
 Massachusetts were eminently wise men in adopting Ward's 
 system. They must have easily remarked the vast difference 
 between the two codes : that "Ward's was an ample rule for 
 a civil, enlightened community; and Cotton's a singular 
 theorem, like the apostle Eliot's " Christian Commonwealth," 
 adapted to no existing people. Christian or Pagan. 
 
 The true history of our early legislation has been involved 
 in obscurity, because the code remained in manuscript for 
 two«centuries. Writteif copies were sent to the few to^vns 
 then constituting the colony j but the laws never appeared in 
 print till some ten years since, — the result of an accidental 
 discovery by an exact and critical scholar,* who has triumph- 
 antly vindicated the " Body of Laws and Liberties " as our 
 fundamental code. But, while it approves itself in almost 
 
 * Hon. Francis 0. Gray. Col. Mass. Hist. Soc. vol. xxviii.
 
 52 CENTENNIAL ADDRESS 
 
 every particular to the student of jurisprudence, other laws 
 were added from time to time, showing the peculiar temper 
 and characteristics of the people of the Bay, as they were 
 daily becoming more distinctive, — such as laws punishing 
 non-attendance at church ; punishing the keeping of Christ- 
 mas by forbearing to labor, by feasting, &c. ; laws against 
 heresy, and against the Quakers, Jesuits, and Anabaptists. 
 
 Chalmers takes no notice of Ward's code. Indeed, where 
 Hutchinson was in ignorance, Chalmers could have no know- 
 ledge ; and so he runs into the general error, and charges 
 that the laws were compiled chiefly from the Jewish sys- 
 tem. He complains also that the common and statute laws 
 of England were no more regarded here than in Germany or 
 France. This complaint is neither wholly true nor wholly 
 false. They did not adopt the whole, or any part, as a system 
 by which they were bound as subjects of England ; but they 
 did adopt whatever they deemed suited to their condition, 
 consistent with right reason, and not in conflict with the 
 word of God. And they silently rejected the English system, 
 as such, — not from, any idea of independency, as was falsely 
 urged, even at that early period, by Dr. Child and his asso- 
 ciates ; repeated by the Commissioners of Charles Stuart, by 
 Randolph, Chalmers, and the Courlf party generally, — tbut 
 that they might enjoy in peace what they had attained 
 at the costly sacrifice of kindred and countiy. And this 
 solemn purpose it was their good pleasure to manifest in 
 every way in their power, at least up to the extremest verge 
 of their chartered rights. Circumstances wrought favorably 
 for them in this respect, at very important points of time ;
 
 AT LANCASTER, MASSACHUSETTS. 53 
 
 first, in the troubles in ipngland, ending in the execution of 
 Charles, and preventing undue interference in colonial 
 affairs ; and, next, in the sympathy between the colonists and 
 Cromwell, when they basked in the sunshine of favor more 
 than royal, and gained immunities of trade, which, seconded 
 by their own industry and sagacity, added largely and rapidly 
 to their wealth and power. But, except during the Protec- 
 torate, Massachusetts was the least favored of all the colonies, 
 from the first planting till the final separation from the 
 mother-country. 
 
 I would not pass from this general subject, without taking 
 notice of one of the many ways in which the sensitive nature 
 of Massachusetts guarded every avenue that might admit 
 interference from the government at home ; one that was 
 very bold and successful through a series of favoring events. 
 She was exceedingly jealous of appeals from her decisions, 
 either to the King in Council or to the P*liament. The 
 haughtiest monarch could not have been more so. And 
 justly, was she jealous, so far as the safety of the colony was 
 concerned, whatever interpretation was to be given to the 
 charter. As early as 1640, when the colony was in the 
 tenderest gristle, when Parliament was mighty, and the King 
 was weak, they were advised by their friends in England to 
 sotcit favors of Parliament. Many, doubtless, might have 
 been obtained. Did they seize the opportunity with avidity ? 
 Not so ; but, with cautious, clear-sighted wisdom, after grave 
 deliberation, even at the risk of appearing ungrateful, or 
 of seeming to despise a rising power, they very decidedly de- 
 clined. They saw plainly that this would be that •' first step "
 
 54 CENTENNIAL ADDRESS 
 
 that would " cost ; " a favor receivecl^specially after solicita- 
 tion, would uncomfortably bind the recipient. The bestow- 
 ing power would be likely to claim a right to interfere with 
 the direction and control of colonial affairs ; and a state of 
 dependence would be the result. The sentiment of gratitude 
 would be well enough between man and man ; but, between 
 two communities, it would soon bring about the relation of 
 master and servant, by a sure rule of political science. In 
 their instructions to "Winslow, they say, " If it should be ob- 
 jected why we make not out our processes in the King's name, 
 you shall answer. First, that we should thereby waive the 
 power of our government granted to us ; for we claim not as 
 by commission, but by a free donation of absolute government 
 granted to us ; Second, for avoiding appeals," &c. They 
 made the distinction, however, that they were subject to some 
 laws of state proper to foreign plantations, and that was the 
 utmost they wt)uld ever admit. Dr. Child and others, in 
 their petition in 1646, made a brave threat, that, if those 
 of their denomination were not taken into the congregation, 
 " they should be necessitated to apply their humble desires to 
 Parliament to provide able ministers for them." The elders, 
 however, had advised that the charter gave full power to 
 make, all laws, and final determination in all cases in the 
 administration of justice ; from which, of course, they deducj^d 
 the opinion that no appeals could be taken. "When, therefore, 
 the petitioners threatened to appeal to England, Governor 
 Winthi'op told them, in very plain language, " he would ad- 
 mit no appeal, nor was it allowed by their charter." They 
 were dealt with in the most summary manner. Fortunately,
 
 AT LANCASTER, MASSACHUSETTS. 55 
 
 at this time all power had passed from royalty ; and Parlia- 
 ment, being in religious sympathy with the colonists, did 
 not hesitate to discountenance Child, Gorton, and others, in 
 their attempt to obtain redress. " We intend not," saith 
 Parliament, " to encourage any appeal from your justice, but 
 to leave you with all that freedom and latitude that may in 
 any respect be claimed by you." Of course, they were now 
 safe iji being as stern and uncompromising as they pleased ; 
 and unfortunate were those who fell binder their sharp dis- 
 pleasure. 
 
 The time was more alarming after the Restoration, when all 
 fellow-feeling was withdrawn, and the colonists were regarded 
 as schismatics in church, and republicans in politics. They 
 most earnestly urge Leverett, their agent in London, to take 
 care that no appeal be permitted in civil and criminal cases j 
 " which," say they very forcibly, " would be sucli an intolle- 
 rable and unsupportable burthen as this poore place (at this 
 distance) are not able to undergoe ; but would render autho- 
 ritie and government vaine and ineffectual, and bring us into 
 contempt with all sortes of people." Leverett himsel:^ while 
 in London, was charged with saying, that, " rather than 
 admit of appeals, we would sell the country to the Spaniards." 
 lie denied the charge. The King's Committee, however, 
 pardoned it, if made, and regarded the words, not so 'much 
 Leverett's, " as the spirit of the country." He was pressed by 
 one of the Committee to say whether Massachusetts would 
 not cast off her allegiance and subjection if she " durst." 
 " We apprehend we are honest men," says Leverett, '' and 
 have declared in our application to his Majesty to the con-
 
 56 CENTENNIAL ADDRESS 
 
 trary ; and therefore [he] could not have such thought of us, 
 without the breach of charity." 
 
 When the Commissioners came over, armed as they sup- 
 posed with irresistible authority, and claimed a right to hear 
 appeals, Plymouth, Rhode Island, and Connecticut yielded at 
 once, and the Commissioners proceeded to entertain appeals. 
 Those colonies submitted, if not gracefully, yet very quietly ; 
 and the two former made great demonstration and promise 
 of loyalty and obedience.^ Purposely did the Commissioners 
 first deal with those three colonies, trusting that so good an 
 example would not be lost, and that it would " abate the 
 refractoriness " of Massachusetts. The story is well known of 
 their efforts while in Boston to hear appeals ; and the procla- 
 mation of the General Court, by sound of trumpet, declaring 
 that body the supreme court of judicature, and that they 
 would not permit appeals. They did not permit them. ' The 
 Commissioners were still more incensed with the impertur- 
 bable coolness of the General Court, in a case in which the 
 Couit itself was in fact the defendant, on charges brought 
 against it by a complaining party, and invited the Commission- 
 ers to be present. But this very peculiar proceeding, of a de- 
 fendant sitting in his own cause, was what the lawyers would 
 call " a case of novel impression," not laid down in the books ; 
 and was not agreeable to the Commissioners. They declined 
 the invitation with some indignation. " Major Hathorne," they 
 said, " made a seditious speech at the head of his regiment, 
 and Governor Endecott another at the Boston meeting-house, 
 but were not questioned for it." Randolph, in 1676, takes up 
 the refrain : " The government acknowledges no superior, nor
 
 AT LANCASTER; MASSACHUSETTS. 57 
 
 admits of any appeal to his Majesty, whose arms are not set 
 up in any of their courts, meetings, or public assemblies." 
 
 In this matter of appeals, so important, so vital, Massachu- 
 setts stood alone ; uttering but one voice, and acting with 
 but one purpose, throughout the whole of her colonial his- 
 tory ] thus justifying, to some extent, the querulous remark 
 of Chalmers, that it was "an overruling principle in the 
 colonial policy of England that refractoriness always procured 
 concession, which has at all times been attended with the 
 most consequential effects." This refractory spirit the ene- 
 mies of the plantation saw fit to detect very early in the day. 
 Sunlight had scarcely penetrated the forests around Boston, 
 then but tliree years old ; the planters were comparatively 
 few in number, after the struggles with a hard winter and a 
 new cKmate, when they were charged by Gardiner, Morton, 
 and Ratcliffe, with intending to rebel, and cast off their 
 allegiance. Of course, a very absurd charge ; but worthy of 
 notice, because it shows how early the colonists wished, so 
 far as practicable, to manage their own affairs. They were 
 very ready to admit allegiance, when pressed to the question, 
 but never ready to ask for assistance in any emergency. 
 They protected themselves in every difficulty, and amid all 
 the horrors of Indian warfare. When worried by mandates 
 from home, requiring their submission, they threw themselves 
 upon their chartered rights, or the necessities of theu* condi- 
 tion; and if, after exhausting all other efforts, they could 
 neither "avoid nor protract," it was not then* practice to 
 submit, but to rest quietly, wait upon Providence, and abide 
 the issue of events.
 
 58 CENTENNIAL ADDRESS 
 
 It is no part of my purpose to detail the course of Massa- 
 chusetts in her many instances of peaceful resistance, so 
 characteristic and full of interest. It would be but repeating 
 the salient points of her history, all along the line, for a 
 century and a half. Much less is it my object to dwell uj)on 
 the often-repeated charges that have been brought against 
 her. It is a pretty wide subject, and the field of discussion 
 is large. With a few exceptions, a complete defence of her 
 policy might be established, taking her own point of view, 
 and considering the peculiarities of her situation. It might 
 be easily shown, and the true historian of Massachusetts, 
 when summoned to the great work, will show, that her sharp 
 spirit and stringent legislation both combined to consolidate 
 her strength at an early day, and led her on through succes- 
 sive stages, securing at each point what she had ah'eady 
 acquired, until, disciplined by adversity and invigorated by 
 prosperity, she was able to lead in the great and solemn 
 appeal to the last remedy of a people standing for their 
 rights. I would not, if I could, conceal her blemishes nor 
 extenuate her faults. Over and above them all appear her 
 brave. spirit, her indomitable industry and perseverance, her 
 lofty virtues, her good order, and her stable institutions. 
 
 It will doubtless be expected, by some of my audience at 
 least, that I should dwell at length upon the history of this 
 place. The day would not be sufficient for the purpose ; but 
 it will never answer in the play to omit the principal charac- 
 ter. "What I propose to say can be well enough compressed 
 within my remaining space. 
 
 The territory of Lancaster was probably never trodden by
 
 AT LANCASTER, MASSACHUSETTS. 59 
 
 tlie white man much ear her than the year 1643, thirteen years 
 after the first settlement of Massachusetts Bay. It may be 
 that some bold adventurer from Watertown or Sudbury had 
 previously ventured to trap the beaver or hunt the deer some- 
 what beyond the boundaries of the present town of Stow ; but 
 who would peril himself by passing the bristling "Wataquodoc 
 hills, that divide the waters of the Assabet from those 
 of the Nashaway, so distant from any outside support, and 
 with dense forests between ? Along these pleasant waters, 
 through these fertile valleys, on these sunny hills, the Indian 
 strayed unmolested, in all the wildness and liberty of his 
 unconstrained condition, as did his ancestors for ages before 
 him. In all times, this vicinity, with its numerous little 
 lakes, its running streams, and its intervales of easy cultiva- 
 tion, scattered all over Avith the stately elm and sturdy 
 walnut, must have been a favorite residence of the Indian. 
 Here he reverenced the Great Spirit for the beauties of 
 creation, — here he could sow beside the still waters, draw 
 his sustenance from their bosom, and from the wooded coun- 
 try around. Here the rude chief bore easy sway over his 
 tribe, disturbed only by the fear of the war-parties of the 
 Narragansetts, or the more distant and more dreaded Maquas, 
 the terror and scourge of the New-England Indians. 
 
 At the time when this territory first opened upon the 
 view of the white man, the good Sholan, or Shaumauw, 
 exercised a peaceful rule, in this his little empire, over the 
 tribe of the Nashaways. His principal residence was a few 
 miles distant from this spot, on a gentle eminence, between 
 the two lakes of the Washacum.
 
 60 CENTENNIAL ADDRESS 
 
 Early in the seventeenth centuiy, the various tribes, the 
 Pequots in Connecticut, the Narragansetts chiefly in Rhode 
 Island, the Pawkunnawkuts in Plymouth Colony and its 
 vicinity, the Massachusetts in the Bay, and the Pawtuck- 
 etts extending east to the Piscataqua, were populous and 
 powerful. The Pequots retained their power, as a great and 
 warlike people, until their swift and terrible destruction by 
 the English, in 1637; and the Narragansetts until a hke 
 destruction, in 1675; while the Pawkunnawkuts, the Massa- 
 
 i 
 
 chusetts, and the Pawtucketts, some eight years before the 
 settlement of Plymouth, had been swept over by a dreadful 
 pestilence, reducing their numbers from many thousands to 
 a few hundi'eds. Thus, in the belief of the Pilgrims and 
 Pmdtans, was a way laid open, by a special dispensation of 
 Providence, for the introduction of the people of God, — 
 another Canaan prepared for the reception of another peculiar 
 people. 
 
 The tribe of the Nashaways suifered, though not equally, 
 with the others; but neither history nor tradition enables 
 the inquii'er to determine their number or theii' power. 
 The Massachusetts, that had been a numerous people, held 
 dominion over this tribe, which Gookin mentions as being 
 in the Nipmuck country, though it is generally supposed by 
 antiquaries of the present day to have been outside of it. 
 However this' may be, it is certain that the Nashaways were 
 never, within memory or according to tradition, subject to any 
 of the neighboring tribes, but only to the Massachusetts, who, 
 before 1612, could send some thi'ee thousand men into the 
 field. It would be interesting to inquire into and develope
 
 AT LANCASTER, MASSACHUSETTS. 61 
 
 the history of our tribe ; to ascertain the period of its power 
 and decadency ; to give an account of its intercourse with 
 the early settlers in the valley; and to perpetuate some 
 anecdotes of the men and the time. But, with the exception 
 of a few glimmering, fitful lights, all is as dark as its sad fate. 
 We first hear of the Nashaways in 1643 as a peaceful 
 people and friendly to the English, whose rapid increase in 
 population, strength, and spread, must have filled them with 
 astonishment, and whose deadly blow, that prostrated the 
 Pequots, must have inspired them with terror. Finding that 
 some petty chiefs, who had placed themselves under the 
 jurisdiction of the English a few years before, were fully 
 protected in their persons and lands against their enemies the 
 Narragansetts, Cutshamequin, the head of the Massachusetts 
 remnants, Nashacowam and Wassamagoin, Sachems, near 
 Wachusett, with two other chiefs, came to Boston in the 
 spring of 1644, and in like manner tendered themselves, 
 and all the Indians between the river Merrimack and 
 Taunton ; desiring to be received under the English protec- 
 tion and government. So they were instructed in the same 
 articles and in the ten commandments. The answers of the 
 latter chiefs to these articles probably agreed in substance 
 with the answers of the first who surrendered theii' sove- 
 reignty. They desired " to speak reverently of the English- 
 man's God ; " and, when enjoined not to swear falsely, 
 innocently answered they "never knew what swearing an 
 oath was." With equal innocence, when enjoined not to do 
 any unnecessary work on the Lord's day within the gates 
 of proper towns, they said " it was a small thing for them to
 
 62 CENTENNIAL ADDRESS 
 
 rest on that day, for they had not much to do any day ; and 
 therefore they will forbear on that day," — and so on through 
 the chapter. Cutshamequin and his brother Sachems were 
 '' solemnly received," saith the historian, " and then, presented 
 the Court with twenty-six fathom more of wampum, and the 
 Court gave each of them a coat of two yards of cloth, and 
 their dinner, and to them and every of them a cup of sack 
 at their departui-e : so they took their leave, and went away 
 very joyful." This was considered a very grave and impor- 
 tant proceeding, not only worthy to be recorded, but to be 
 the chief occasion of a special session of the General Court. 
 
 Unless misled by the orthography of the name, I suppose 
 we have in this record the submission of the Nashaway tribe 
 to the jurisdiction of the colonial government. The tribe 
 did not belong to the old towns of " praying Indians," as 
 they were called, but was one of the seven new praying 
 towns in the Nipmuck country ; a territory not very exactly 
 defined. They were too remote from the old towns to be 
 visited very often by the good apostle Eliot, or to receive 
 much benefit from his influence. But they were not, as I 
 once supposed, left without witness. The good man visited 
 them in 1648, and labored earnestly for their welfare. He 
 writes encouragingly : " Shawanon, the great Sachym of Na- 
 shawog, doth embrace the gospel, and pray unto God. I have 
 been four times there this summer, and there be more people 
 by far than be amongst us, and sundry of them do gladly 
 hear the word of God ; but it is nearly forty miles ofi", and 
 I can but seldom go to them. Whereat they are troubled, 
 and desire I should come oftener, and stay longer when I
 
 AT LANCASTER, MASSACHUSETTS. 63 
 
 come." He was there again on his mission of Christian love 
 in 1649, when the kind Sachem rendered him a grateful 
 service. There was some stir betwixt the Narragansetts and 
 the Mohegans, and several murders had been committed ; so 
 that Eliot's people were unwilHng that he should risk his 
 life by journeying to Quaboag, or Brookfield; as he had pur- 
 posed ; — " which; when the ISTashaway Sachem heard," says 
 Eliot, " he commanded twenty armed men (after their man- 
 ner) to be ready ; and himself with these twenty men, besides 
 sundry of our neer Indians, went along with me to guard 
 me." But, after all, his hold upon these people was very 
 slight. He writes complainingly, in 1650, of the delay for 
 want of means ; and says, " that whereas, at my first preach- 
 ing at Nashawogg, sundry did embrace the word, and called 
 upon God, and Pauwawing was wholly silenced among them 
 all, yet now, partly being forty miles off, and principally by 
 the slow progress of the work, Sathan hath so emboldened 
 the Pauwawes, that this winter (as I hear to my grief) there 
 has been Pauwawing again with some of them." We hear 
 nothing further of the Nashaways, nor of the apostle's exer- 
 tions in their behalf, for four years. The gentle Showanon 
 died in 1654. The General Court, apprehensive of his suc- 
 cessor, and describing the Nashaways as " a great people, who 
 have submitted to this jurisdiction," sent Nowell and Eliot 
 to direct their choice of a successor ; " their eyes being upon 
 two or three which are of the blood, one whereof is a very 
 debaust, drunken fellow, and no friend to the English; 
 another of them is very hopeful to learn the things of Christ. 
 If, therefore, these gentlemen may, by way of persuasion or
 
 64 CENTENNIAL ADDRESS 
 
 counsel, not by way of compulsion; prevayle with them for 
 the choyce of such an one as may be most fitt, it would be 
 a good service to the country." 
 
 I cannot state positively the success of these missionaries. 
 No royal archives of the Nashaways remain to enable me to 
 declare upon whom the crown fell j but the one described as 
 possessing no enviable reputation corresponds well with the 
 character of Shoshanim, who was second from Sholan, and 
 was at the head of the tribe in Philip's war. 
 
 The earliest intimation we have of the coming degeneracy 
 of this people is connected, in point of time, with their 
 proximity to the whites. It may have been an accidental 
 coincidence ; but, as the facts of history are so decisive in 
 other instances, we may here reasonably infer the same rela-* 
 tion of cause and effect ; and that the white man, who, from 
 his superior intelligence, should have been instrumental in 
 recovering the savage from his barbarism, was guilty of his 
 debasement and moral rmn. The tribe, had at this time 
 recovered, to what extent I knqw not, from the pestilence of 
 1612. A new generation had grown to manhood. They 
 were now more numerous and prosperous than at any subse- 
 quent period. The General Court, as we have seen, speak 
 of them as a ''great people ; " and Eliot says, " There be 
 more people by far than be^ amongst us." But they did 
 not attempt to advantage themselves by their position. The 
 early settlers, though in their power, were rewarded by no 
 treachery, but constantly met with kind treatment and assid- 
 uous service. I suppose the palmiest state of the tribe was 
 about ten years after the incorporation of the town. A long
 
 AT LANCASTER, MASSACHUSETTS. 05 
 
 interval of peace had so recruited their strength, that they 
 ventured on a war against the Maquas, which lasted several 
 years, and was not terminated until 1671. During this 
 war, they united with other tribes, making a force of six or 
 seven hundred men, and marched into the distant country of 
 the Maquas, or Mohawks, on the river of that name. The 
 incursion was disastrous. The invaders were compelled to 
 retreat, after having lost in the principal fight some fifty of 
 their chief men, and perhaps as many more in other attacks 
 and by sickness. The Nashaway tribe, it may be supposed, 
 suffered equally with their confederates ; so that Gookin, 
 writing in 1674, speaks of them as having ^^ been a great 
 people in former times," and says that of late years they "have 
 been consumed by the Maquas wars and other ways, and are 
 not above fifteen or sixteen families." And here we have the 
 last recorded mention of them before their final dispersion in 
 Philip's war. Their ruler at this time was, as we have seen, 
 of a different temper from Sholan, and was probably addicted 
 to the prevailing vice of his people. Eliot was then in the 
 decline of life, though still active in the ministry. During the 
 summer of 1674, in connection wdth his faithful coadjutor 
 Gookin, he visited several of the Indian towns in the southerly 
 part of this county, also the one lying on the southerly bound- 
 ary of the present city of Worcester. Wliile there, they wrote 
 a' letter to the Nashaway Sagamore, Shoshanim, and his people, 
 and sent it by a Natick Indian, whom they had appointed to 
 be a teacher among the graceless children of Washacum. It 
 so happened that one of the tribe was present on the occasion, 
 and made a speech to Eliot and Gookin -with " much affection 
 9
 
 G6 CENTENNIAL ADDRESS 
 
 and gravity." He gav€ rather a sad account of the state of 
 morals in his tribe. Some of the people were well disposed 
 to receive the truth ; but there was much sin there, and in- 
 temperance fearfully prevailed. He promised that, if his 
 friends would choose him Constable, and give him encourage- 
 ment, he would come to Gookin for the insignia of his office, 
 " a black staff and power." This would give him authority 
 to apprehend the disorderly, and bring them before Gookin 
 for punishment. 
 
 Here I leave this poor, wasted people, before writing the 
 last sad chapter in their history, and proceed to glance briefly 
 at the origin and early progress of the settlement in Lancaster. 
 Like that of the eternal city, the foundation of our little muni- 
 cipality was a work of great difficulty, and attended with long 
 delays. But we have no poet to make graphic its struggles. 
 
 It cannot be shown that there were any Indians residing 
 within the present limits of Lancaster in 1643, except perhaps 
 a few detached families, whose localities are proved by stone 
 implements, arrow-heads, &c., found near the surface of the 
 ground. Sholan's subjects were principally seated around 
 him, near his residence on the pleasant swell between the two 
 Washacums. They certainly had an eye for beauty of natural 
 scenery, like the Indians everywhere. The residence of the 
 Sachem commanded a view of the spreading waters, covering 
 a space sufficient for a good-sized town, with mountain 
 scenery to the west, terminating in the graceful outline of 
 the Wachusett. He was in the vicinity of his supplies, in 
 the town of many waters and abundant woods. He needed 
 not the exclusive enjoyment of real estate, like a great pro-
 
 AT LANCASTER, MASSACHUSETTS. 67 
 
 perty-holder. A free range for fishing and hunting, with 
 the reservation of a little land for planting, would satisfy 
 every want. He therefore rather coveted the neighborhood 
 of the English, — thought perhaps they would be a protec- 
 tion against the dreaded Maquas, — saw not the early destruc- 
 tion of his race in the ^imness of the future. Laden with 
 peltry, he found his way to Watertown, probably before 
 1643. He there met with Thomas King, with whom he 
 traded. He told King . of the choice intei'vales, so easy for 
 planting ; the woods and waters, abounding in supplies ; — 
 that the Great Spirit had been very bountiful to the place, 
 and that the Nashaways would rejoice in the presence of that 
 great people who had come from a distant world. . King 
 may have naturally hesitated in venturing so far into the 
 wilderness j and his good wife Mary may have clung to him 
 very fondly, entreating him not to trust hinlself with the 
 Indian " salvages," who would prove treacherous, however in 
 appearance friendly, and leave her a widow, and their little 
 son and daughter, just taught tq lisp their parents' names, by 
 which they were called, orphans. King was young, i-esolute, 
 and confident. He put away the fears of Mary as idle, 
 assuring her of his great trust in Sholan, and, above all, his 
 faith in that divine Providence which had led him on thus far. 
 He persuaded her that all Avould be well. A weary day's work 
 is before him. He makes his preparations, in which Mary 
 renders her gentle and affectionate assistance. He rises 
 early, and, apparelling himself in the simple garb of hie con- 
 dition and age, embraces his little Thomas and Mary and his 
 loving wife, mounts his horse, and, pursuing his course for
 
 68 CENTENNIAL ADDRESS 
 
 some distance along the valley of Charles River, thence 
 through infant Sudbury, fording or s-wimming the river, and 
 piercing the unbroken forest as best he may, reaches the 
 summit of the Wataquodoc. There he stops, and gazes with 
 delight upon the long extended valley, beautiful as that of 
 E.asselas, permeated with streams ; with a landscape of gentle 
 undulations, the Wachusett rising bravely in the distance as 
 its western boundary. Slowly he descends, passes the south 
 branch of the Nashaway at "the wading-place," "and proceeds 
 onward to the south-easterly slope of George Hill. " This is 
 a goodly spot," he exclaims : " I can doubt no longer. The 
 favored territory must be purchased ; and here, where I stand, 
 will I erect a trading-house for commerce with Sholan's tribe." 
 He returns to Watertown, and casts about among his neigh- 
 bors and others for adventurous spirits to join with him in 
 the piu'chase. The same year that the confederation of the 
 colonies was formed, that most important measure, the assu- 
 rance of strength and confidence against all internal danger, 
 — the same year that the Scotch League and Covenant was 
 ratified, which led by necessity to the overthi-ow of the 
 Stuarts, — witnessed the inception, the fii'st germ, of this 
 then distant plantation. 
 
 King associated with himself John Prescott, of Watertown ; 
 Harmon Garrett, of Charlestown ; Thomas Skidmore, of Cam- 
 bridge ,' Stephen Day, of Cambridge, the earliest printer in 
 any of the colonies ; a Mr. Symonds, but which of the several 
 persons of that name I cannot ascertain ; and sundiy others, 
 whose names have not been transmitted. Harrington classes 
 these last under the very convenient designation of " &c." —
 
 AT LANCASTER, MASSACHUSETTS. 69 
 
 an expression that may at least lay claim to as large an inter- 
 pretation as the " &c." of Littleton, which Lord Coke, in his 
 commentaries, affirms to be very pregnant with meaning. 
 This little abbreviation shuts out the names of the other 
 associates in utter night. The associates took a deed from 
 Sholan of this part of his domain, ten miles in . length and 
 eight in breadth. Unfortunately this deed is not on record, 
 and the original cannot be found.* 
 
 They entered into an agreement to appear and begin the 
 plantation at a certain time ; and, as an evidence of their 
 determination, sent up three Watertown husbandmen, — 
 Richard Linton, Lawrence "Waters, his son-in-law, and John 
 Ball,t to whom they assigned land, — to make preparation 
 for " the general appearance of the Company." These three 
 men, who, it would seem, came here two hundred and ten 
 years ago, were the first inhabitants. Waters afterwards 
 built a house on the pleasant slope in front of us, near the 
 entrance of the centre road. King and Symonds built a 
 
 * Rev. Mr, Harrington, in his Century Sermon, preached May 28, 1753, states 
 that the purchase was made in 1645. This is a mistake. It was made, without 
 question, in 1643. 
 
 With regard to the area of the town, the full measure of eighty square miles seems 
 to have been given by the survey, though the original grant and the survey differ in 
 the length of the lines. 
 
 t The town Covenant contains the signatures of the inhabitants up to 1660, but 
 Ball's name is not there; neither is it in the record of grants. lie was killed by the 
 Indians at Lancaster in 1676. lie was at that time of Lancaster. He probably left 
 before the incorporation of the town. It would seem that he was entitled to land, but 
 that it was not laid out. John his son, in 1G82, conveys to Thomas Harris, of Boston, 
 thirty acres of upland, twenty acres of intervale, <tc. <tc., " butting and bounding 
 as these are, or hereafter shall be, recorded in the records for the town of Lancaster." 
 Middlesex Registry, 16-100. This was probably a first grant, and, up to this time, 
 not laid out.
 
 70 CENTENNIAL ADDRESS 
 
 trading-house on the south-easterly side of George Hill, which 
 was the earliest building in this .valley. Neither King nor 
 Symonds ever resided here, and the former very soon sold all 
 his interest to the other associates. Sholan further evidenced 
 his desire to be on good terms with the planters, in the spring 
 of 1 644, and to give them assurance of safety, by submitting 
 himself and his tribe to the government of Massachusetts 
 Bay. 
 
 The first effort of the associates seems to have been to 
 gather a church before any houses were erected ; and seven 
 of them, who were not freemen, and of course not church- 
 members, invited the Rev. Nathaniel Norcross, of Watertown, 
 a graduate at Catherine Hall College, in the University of 
 Cambridge, in 1636, to be their minister. Norcross, Eobert 
 Child the '' Paduan Doctor," Stephen Day, John Fisher, and 
 others, whose names cannot now be recovered, appear to have 
 been the first who petitioned for the liberty of a plantation 
 here, at the sessions of the General Court in May, 1644. 
 They were advised first to go and build, and take members 
 of other churches, and proceed in an orderly way, according 
 to the usual wont in other towns. The business labored 
 through the year 1644, notwithstanding their continued, 
 efibrts ; " and other difficulties intervened to prevent the 
 " Company intended to plant Nashaway " from reaching the 
 promised land. 
 
 In June, 1645, more than two years after King's mission, 
 Norcross, Prescott, Day, Garrett, and Skidmore, together with 
 John Hill, — of which name there were divers persons in the 
 colony, — Isaac Walker, and John 'Cowdall of Boston, and
 
 AT LANCASTER, MASSACHUSETTS. 71 
 
 Joseph Jenkes, either the ingenious blacksmith of Lynn, or 
 his son of the same name, who now first appear upon the 
 scene, — unless they are included in Harrington's " &c. " of 
 1643, — complain to the General Court of the want of a 
 bridge over Sudbury River, and a way over the marshes, so 
 that they cannot pass to the plantation without exposing 
 themselves and theii- property to loss ; " as your petitioners," 
 they say, " are able to make proof of by sad experience of 
 what we suiFered there within these few days. Many of us 
 have been dependent on this work above these two years 
 past. Much time and means have been spent in discovering 
 the plantation, and providing for our settling there. Divers 
 of us have covenanted to sit down together, and to improve 
 ourselves there this summer, that we may live there the 
 winter next ensuing, if God permit." This petition was 
 favorably entertained, and an allowance was made towards 
 the work, provided "it be done within a twelvemonth." 
 
 The summer passed away ; and Sudbury bridge and cause- 
 way were not made. On the first of October, in answer to 
 their petition, the Court consented that Hill, before named. 
 Sergeant John Davies, John Chandler, Isaac Walker, and 
 Mathew Barnes, or any three of them, should have power 
 to lay out lots for all the planters. They presented another 
 petition, October 3d, referring to a petition of the day 
 before, which is not now to be found, and designate Hill, 
 Davis, Chandler, Walker, Skidmore, Barnes, — names already 
 mentioned, — with the addition of James Cutler and Samuel 
 Bitfield, "as suitable persons. From this list the Court 
 selected Hill, Davis, Chandler, Walker, and Barnes. Bit-
 
 72 CENTENNIAL ADDRESS 
 
 field they first approved, but afterwards erased his name. 
 But the year 1645 ended as it began: nothing was accom- 
 plished. Winthrop had no high estimate of the persons 
 interested in this plantation at that time : " most of them were 
 poor men/' he states, " and some of them corrupt in judg- 
 ment, and others profane, so that in two years they had not 
 three houses built, and he whom they had called to be their 
 minister left them for their delays." It is impossible to 
 separate these men, and class them according to their moral 
 affinities, as described by Winthrop. They were un- 
 doubtedly, most of them, humble men, not rich in goods, 
 not liable to the charge of '' intolerable excess and bravery." 
 Probably, however, no one of them had an "estate exceeding 
 two hundi'ed pounds," which would permit them by law to 
 " wear gold or silver lace, or gold and silver buttons, or any 
 bone lace above two shillings per yard, or to walk in great 
 boots ; " or their wives to " wear silk hoods or scarfs'" I 
 trust, however, that not many of them were "profane; " and 
 as for being " corrupt in judgment," interpreted into the 
 dialect of the present day, it would probably mean no more 
 than this, — that they were not members of any chui'ch, 
 not freemen, and not of the way of any congregation as then 
 established. It should be remarked, however, that Prescott 
 was the only one of the petitioners who became an inhabitant 
 of Lancaster. It may be that Norcross left them for the 
 reason stated, though the fact of his joining in the petition 
 for Sudbury bridge and causeway, the want of which, after 
 all, seems to have been the great obstacle, or one of the ob- 
 stacles, and one that the petition shows they were all laboring
 
 AT LANCASTER, MASSACHUSETTS. 73 
 
 harmoniously, in a common cause, to overcome, seems to dis- 
 prove it. Harrington suggests that Norcross left either from 
 aversion to the place, or by the instigation of such of the pro- 
 prietors as were unwilling to come up themselves, and took 
 with him the mutual obligation of the associates, — took it 
 with him perhaps to England, whither he seems to have gone. 
 It certainly is no marvel that many of these men should 
 have become discouraged, and have been glad to plead the 
 loss or disappearance of the written obligation as an excuse 
 for its violation. But they were not right in retaining their 
 interest in the plantation, while they refused to comply with 
 the terms of the contract. One only of the associates, John 
 Prescott, the stalwart blacksmith, was faithful among the 
 faithless. He turned not back, but vigorously pursued the 
 interests of the plantation till his exertions were crowned 
 with success. How soon he became a permanent* resident 
 I cannot now state. I suppose that he passed the winter 
 of 1646—47 within a short distance of this spot. Linton and 
 Waters were already here, and had. tilled the soil, and were 
 prepared to receive Prescott, who ventured up, though 
 Sudbuiy bridge and causeway were not. Perhaps he did 
 not then stand well with the proprietors, who had violated 
 their engagement. Certainly he did not stand well with the 
 government, because he favored a larger liberty than was 
 then allowed, and opeiily sympathized with Cliild, Fowle, 
 Yale, and the others. The loss that he met with in liis 
 journey hither, in the fall or early winter of 1G4G, and the 
 subsequent danger of his wife and children, are related by 
 our good Governor Winthrop, as if he half believed that 
 
 10
 
 74 CENTENNIAL ADDRESS 
 
 they were a punishment for favoring the petitioners. " Pres- 
 cott," says he, " another favorer of the petitioners, lost a horse 
 and his lading in Sudbury River ; and, a week after, his wife 
 and childi'en, being upon another horse, were hardly saved 
 from drowning." Mark the issue ; one plunge by that last 
 horse, or a little deeper water, and American literature would 
 not now be graced by the brilliant classic History of Ferdi- 
 nand and Isabella, of the Conquest of Mexico^ and of the 
 Conquest of Peru. 
 
 The precise time when the associates relinquished their 
 purpose is not easily determined. It probably took place 
 some time before they made their formal surrender, which 
 was not until October, 1647. The Court, — after reciting 
 the grant of a plantation made in October, 1645, to Chandler, 
 Walker, Davies, Hill, and Barnes ;' the death of Hill ; and 
 the statement of Chandler, "Walker, and Davies, that they 
 had taken no part as "undertakers since the grant," with 
 their request that it might be " taken in," " manifesting their 
 utter unwillingness to be engaged therein, — adds that " the 
 Court doth not think fit to destroy the said plantation, but 
 rather to encourage it ; only in regard the persons now upon 
 it are so few, and unmeet for such a work, care to be taken 
 to procure others ; and in the mean time to remain in the 
 Coiu-t's power to dispose of the planting and ordering of it." 
 This was a virtual resumption of the grant. And thus, after 
 the labors, sacrifices, and expenses of more than four years, 
 the smoke curled up but from a few chimneys; and the 
 culture of a few fields was the only indication of the presence 
 of civilization. Prescott continuing true, this very month
 
 AT LANCASTER, MASSACHUSETTS. 75 
 
 evidenced his determination to persevere, by his purchasing 
 of Cowdall, whom I have before named, a house and twenty 
 acres of land in the plantation. This was the site, or near 
 to it, of the trading-house erected by King and Symonds, 
 and was the estate from which the lots of the proprietors on 
 the other side of the river afterwards took their beginning. 
 Linton and Waters, and some few others whom I cannot 
 name with certainty, also remained steadfast. 
 
 Laijds had been laid out very early ; but at what precise 
 time, or by whom, nowhere appears. The first associates, 
 several of whom had expended labor and money, such as 
 Prescott, Linton, Waters, Garrett, and Day, may have made 
 some division among themselves. Laurence Waters, who 
 was a carpenter, had a tract of seventeen acres given to him 
 by the first undertakers, bounded southerly on the north 
 branch of the Nashaway river. The railroad passes over this 
 land, and the station-house is upon it. Here Waters built a 
 house, — the first dwelling-house, I am inclined to believe, 
 that was erected in Lancaster. Linton was not far off. 
 Whether Prescott first lived on the east side of the neck, or 
 on the Cowdall purchase, I am at a loss to discover. The 
 probability, that they would wish to be near one another in 
 this part of the town, would tend to the former conclusion. 
 
 From this time of the offer to surrender the grant, we 
 hear nothing further until 1650, There is some evidence 
 that, in the meanwhile, other persons, not many, may have 
 joined the adventurers. I have the names of several, but 
 cannot yet establish the precise date of their advent. Some 
 Sudbury men were looking favorably fti this direction ; but
 
 76 CENTENNIAL ADDRESS 
 
 few were disposed to remove hither, while the General 
 Court reserved all their power, either to make an actual 
 grant, or remove those who were akeady upon the land as 
 " unmeet for such a work." In May of this year, the in- 
 habitants received another rebuke from the ruling powers. 
 Suffering much, in the same way as new townships have 
 subsequently suffered, by reason of large tracts being owned 
 by non-residents, they humbly ventui'ed to ask leave to tax 
 these for all common charges. The General Court /ather 
 contemptuously answered, that the place " is not fit to make 
 a plantation." Not indeed that it had not capabilities in its 
 eighty square miles to make a goodly town, but because there 
 was no ministry maintained there ; and so the petitioners 
 were told very distinctly, that, imless they made it appear by 
 the next Court that the place was " capable to answer the 
 end, they shall be called there hence, and suffered to live 
 without the means, as they have done, no longer." The 
 resolution was well taken. These few people were without 
 a church, the nearest being in Concord or Sudbury. Neither 
 had they a school. Thus they were living in violation, open 
 violation, of the two cardinal principles of New England 
 policy, religion and education, by which the kingdom of 
 " Sathan " was to be driven out.* 
 
 I think that it does not appear in what way the handful of 
 inhabitants succeeded in quieting the apprehensions, and 
 warding off the purpose, of the Court. It may have been 
 understood that there would soon be an accession to the 
 
 * It is as " unnatural for a right New-England man to live without an able minis- 
 try, as for a smith to work his* irons without a fire." — Wonder-teorking Providence.
 
 AT LANCASTER; MASSACHUSETTS. 77 
 
 population, sufficient to satisfy the demands of the public 
 authority. It is certain, not only that they were not ordered 
 away, but that they remained undisturbed for the two suc- 
 ceeding years. They addressed a petition to the Legislature 
 in 1652, the contents of which are not known, but which is 
 referred to in the following year, as " concerning the settling 
 of the place in several particulars." It resulted in the orga- 
 nization of the town in 1653. 
 
 Meanwhile, there had been a small addition to the number 
 of families, very small, — only nine, all told. Thus ended 
 the struggle -of ten years. A few men, persevering through 
 many difficulties • incident to their situation, far beyond the 
 confines of English habitation, lived to witness the success of 
 their wishes, and to prove to the General Court that the 
 persons upon the place were " meet for such a work," and 
 that the place itself " was fit to make a plantation." 
 
 On the 1 8th of May, two hundred years ago, corresponding 
 to May 28th of our new calendar, liberty of a township was 
 granted, pursuant to the petition of the inhabitants. The 
 bill for a township underwent sundry changes before its final 
 passage into an act of incorporation, as it may not inaptly be 
 termed ; but none affecting its substance. As in the family, 
 so in the plantation, one of the chief difficulties seems to 
 have been in the baptismal name. Sturdy John Prescott, 
 the manifest file-leader in the settlement, was evidently the 
 man at that precise point of time held in chief regard among 
 all of the little band. The people wished to do him honor 
 by a memorial of an enduring nature. So they petitioned 
 the authorities that the town be called " Prescott." A deaf
 
 78 CENTENNIAL ADDRESS 
 
 ear was turned to the request : his sympathy with Dr. Child 
 and his companions, which was ever deemed heretical, during 
 the lifetime of the colony, may not have been forgotten ; or 
 perhaps he was not considered of sufficient general consid- 
 eration in the community; or to name a town after any 
 individual may have smacked too much of man-service ; or, 
 what probably weighed conclusively, he was no freeman; 
 and, though he had been in the colony twelve or thirteen 
 years, and had sat under the preaching of good Mr. Phillips, 
 of Watertown, who we are told on contemporaneous authority 
 " preached many a good sermon," he had taken the oath of 
 fidelity only the year before. If, therefore, he was not com- 
 petent to be elected to any office in the Commonwealth, not 
 being a member of the church, and so no freeman, it would 
 not have been deemed a good precedent to perpetuate his 
 name in the permanency of a town. Therefore, in disregard 
 of the wishes of the petitioners, " Prescott " was struck out ; 
 and, as the record runneth, the Court, "taking the condition 
 of Nashaway into further consideration, do order that it shall 
 be called henceforth West Town." But, this not being true, 
 as designating the idtima Thule of civiKzation in that quarter 
 of the compass, Springfield already possessing that honor, 
 the name found no favor. In fine, it was changed to Lan- 
 caster, the name by which this goodly domain should be 
 called through coming ages. The reason of its adoption is 
 not known, and all speculation upon the subject is unavail- 
 able. Let it suffice that it is of goodly sound, and of large 
 historical associations in the old world. 
 
 The infant offspring thus having a designation, let us sketch
 
 AT LANCASTER, MASSACHUSETTS. 79 
 
 cursorily its early history and subsequent struggles. The 
 act of incorporation proceeds upon the expectation that other 
 families were soon to join the nine already at the plantation. 
 The Court ratify the Indian purchase in its full extent; 
 require all to take the oath of fidelity ; provide for the minis- 
 try, and for Harmon Garrett and others of the first associates 
 who had been at labor or charges for the purchase of lands, 
 " although evacuated of their claim." Six men are desig- 
 nated, the major part to be freemen, to lay out lands, and 
 order the ^^prudentials " of the place, " until it is so far 
 seated with able men as the Court may judge meet to give 
 them full liberties of a township according to law." These 
 six men were Edward Breck, from Dorchester; Nathaniel 
 Hadlock, from Charlestown ; William Kerley, from Sudbury ; 
 Thomas Sawyer ; and from Watertown, John Prescott and 
 Ralph Houghton. Of these six, the freemen were Breck, 
 Hadlock, Kerley, and Sawyer. Hadlock died soon after, and 
 the first division of lands was made by the survivors in 
 November, 1653, — on the very republican rule of equality, 
 assuring to each man a stake in the community as a freeholder. 
 All subsequent divisions were made in proportion to each 
 man's property brought into the town. 
 
 In the following spring, the inhabitants felt they were 
 quite competent to manage their municipal aflfairs without 
 legislative intervention ; and, making bold to prefer a request 
 to that effect, the full liberty of a township was granted 
 " until further order." But when they assumed the responsi- 
 bility, and came to the practical management of business, to 
 which probably not one of them had been trained in tht^
 
 80 CENTENNIAL ADDRESS 
 
 mother-country, they found their want of education- and expe- 
 rience. After managing as best they might for three years, 
 and meanwhile having had "the award of certain arbitrators 
 in sundry matters of local difference, they ingenuously confess 
 to the General Court their unpleasant situation, and their 
 inability to conduct their affairs " either through town-meet- 
 ings, by reason," as they say, " of many inconveniences and 
 incumbrances," — which, however, they do not specify, — 
 or " by Selectmen, by reason of the scarcity of freemen : 
 being but three in number, we want liberty of choice." 
 They ask for a Committee '' to put us," as they say, "in such 
 a way of order as we are capable of, or any other way which 
 the honorable Court may judge safest and best, both for the 
 present and future good of us and our town, and those that 
 are to succeed us ; " and " to stand till they be able to make 
 return, that the town is sufficiently able to order their pru- 
 dential affairs, according as the law requires." The Court 
 appointed Willard of Concord, Johnson of "Woburn, and 
 Danforth of Cambridge, for that purpose, and "to hear and 
 determine the several differences and grievances obstructing 
 the good of the town, and interfering with its progress." 
 
 These gentlemen accepted the appointment, and busily 
 engaged themselves in their duties, — constituting a Board 
 of Selectmen to act under them, and defining their functions 
 with regard to the settling of a minister, erecting a meeting- 
 house, laying out highways and the town-bounds, imposing 
 fines, assessing taxes, keeping records, and other such mat- 
 ters. They directed the Selectmen to reserve land for five or 
 six able men to come and inhabit among them, for their help.
 
 AT LANCASTER, MASSACHUSETTS. 81 
 
 Special power was given to them for the recovery " of those 
 fines and forfeitures that are due to the town from such 
 persons as have taken up land, and not fulfilled the condi- 
 tions of theu- respective grants, — whereby the common good 
 of the plantation hath been, and yet is, much obstructed." 
 
 At the head of the Board of Selectmen, they placed Master 
 John Tinker, a man of very good works, notwithstanding his 
 name. He was one of the early settlers of Wethersfield, 
 Connecticut ; . afterwards a resident in Boston ', one of the 
 grantees of Groton, and perhaps for a short time an inhabi- 
 tant. In 1657, having purchased of the government the 
 trade of Nashaway and Groton, in furs, for that year, he 
 removed to Lancaster, perhaps for the convenience of being 
 nearer to the Indians with whom he dealt. He was of good 
 education, and, rather an unusUal accomplishment at that 
 day, a very good penman. Some specimens of his skill still 
 remain. The Commissioners, to their praise be it spoken, 
 and all antiquaries will join in the expression, directed the 
 Selectmen " to take special care for the preserving and safe 
 keeping of the town-records ; " and they were authorized to 
 " procure the same to be written out fairly in a new book, 
 to be kept for the good of posterity." The copy was made : 
 the few sentences I have just cited were a part thereof. 
 All else, original and copy, have long since perished. I 
 think that he was very helpful to the town while he remained 
 here. In 1659, after a residence of two years, he removed 
 to " Pequid," which, being interpreted, means New London 
 in the Connecticut Colony. There he was a representative 
 in the General Assembly, and afterwards one of the Assist- 
 11
 
 82 CENTENNIAL ADDRESS 
 
 ants. He died in 16G2, and is commemorated as "a gen- 
 tleman of distinction at New London and throughout the 
 colony." While he remained in Lancaster, I can have no 
 doubt of his being the leading man ; the one upon whom the 
 Commissioners placed chief reliance in carrying out their 
 purposes. Goodman Thomas Wilder, who was admitted to 
 the Charlestown Church in 1640, and was made freeman in 
 1641, came to Lancaster in July, 1659, and succeeded to Mr. 
 Tinker in the office of Selectman. 
 
 The minister was liberally dealt with, considering how few 
 were the people, and how moderate their circumstances. He 
 received the conveyance of a handsome landed estate, and 
 X50 per annum for salary. But, with all this, quiet and 
 harmony did not reign uninterrupted. Altercations occurred 
 here as elsewhere. In their narrow condition, they found 
 occasions of controversy and strife as readily as in larger 
 communities in other days. These appear from incidental 
 hints in the fragmentary records that survive. No attempt 
 is made to conceal the fact of their existence, though we are 
 not led to understand in what they consisted. Mr. Tinker, 
 in addi-essing the Commissioners iu behalf of the . Selectmen 
 for leave to impose penalties, that their power might not be 
 " a sword tool and no edge," remarks that " the town is in 
 some silence at least, and we hope in a good preparation to 
 after peace. Yet it is hard to repel the boilings and breaking 
 forth of some persons, difficult to please; and some petty 
 differences will arise amongst us, provide what we can to the 
 contrary." 
 
 In 1665, the Commissioners, at the request of the inhabi-
 
 AT LANCASTER, MASSACHUSETTS. 83 
 
 tants, consented to grant them liberty among themselves, and 
 power to elect their own Selectmen. At the May session, 
 1673, twenty years after the incorporation, and thirty years 
 after the first plantation, the town petitioned that the Com- 
 missioners might be discharged from further duty, with 
 thanks "for their great pains and service for so long a 
 season." The Commissioners consented to the petition ; and, 
 satisfying the Court that for many years the people had been 
 trusted, and were able to manage their own affairs, the Court 
 granted them liberty " accordingly as other towns ; " — and 
 thus the long State of pupilage came to an end. 
 
 The town-covenant, which in its body purports to be in 
 1653, contains the names of planters and proposed planters, 
 who subscribed as late as 1660. It is drawn up with a good 
 dea,l of specialty. It provides for building up the chm-ch, 
 and for the honorable support of the pastor. " Profane and 
 scandalous persons " were not to be admitted as inhabitants ; 
 nor any " notoriously erring against the discipline and doctrine 
 of Church and Commonwealth." Thus Chui'ch and State 
 were to be guarded ; and, to keep out the gentlemen of the 
 long robe through all future time, they covenanted not to go 
 to law in civil matters, but to submit to arbitration, unless, as 
 they very prudently make reservation, " the matter be above 
 their ability to judge of." Such a case soon arose. Henry 
 Kerley, a somewhat ambitious, quick-tempered individual, 
 who afterwards rose to be a captain, kept possession of 
 a valuable tract of land that had been intended for the 
 ministry ; a part of which had been given to him, according 
 to the record, " without that due consideration that might
 
 84 CENTENNIAL ADDRESS 
 
 have been." By way of peace-offeiing, the town made a 
 proposition, which, if he should accept, then well, — other- 
 wise " the town to proceed as they see cause, or as counsel 
 may advise, for recovering their own interest therein." 
 None dissented but " John Prescott and Laurence Waters, 
 who voted negative ; but, at the same time, Henry Kerley, 
 being present, would not accept of it." Forthwith prepa- 
 rations were made for a regular legal battle. A committee 
 was chosen to prosecute the town's case for the lands kept 
 back by him, "notwithstanding such loving tenders as hath 
 been made by the town." And " they are to use all such 
 means as their discretion may lead them, or as counsel may 
 advise them to." The determined attitude of the town, how- 
 ever, prevented the necessity of further proceeding. Kerley 
 yielded, and the matter was settled. 
 
 With all their large territory, they were unwilling, for 
 some years, to admit more than thirty-five families to the 
 plantation. They may have honestly supposed, as they had 
 at that day very liberal views of landed possessions, that two 
 miles square would be but a fair allowance for a family. 
 But, when the surface of the territory was laid open to culti- 
 vation, and its generally productive character became known, 
 they ordained that so many might be admitted " as may be 
 meetly accommodated, provided they are such as are accept- 
 able." With this change, the population, prosperity, and 
 wealth of the town began rapidly to increase. 
 
 None of the first associates seem to have returned to take 
 advantage of the privileges secured to them by the act of 
 incorporation. During the eight or ten preceding year's.
 
 AT LANCASTER, MASSACHUSETTS. 85 
 
 while Prescott remained; the others found residences more to 
 their mind. Norcross, I suppose, soon retiu-ned to England, 
 where the increase and prosperity of the Independent Church 
 afforded an opening for many of the clerical order. Stephen 
 Day, the locksmith and printer, to whom the town gave some 
 land in 1665, on the westerly borders of the plantation, 
 " paying as other men do," continued to live in Cambridge ; 
 and there he died. Skidmore removed to Stratford, Connec- 
 ticut, several years before the incorporation of the town. 
 Symonds, from the circumstance that his baptismal name 
 is not given, and his being thus involved in the whole 
 family of that name, cannot be traced. Garrett remained in 
 Boston, having previously been of Charlestown. As for Hill, 
 Walker, Cowdall, and Jenkes, if they were of the first band, 
 — the pioneers, — Hill was dead, Walker continued to keep 
 a shop in Boston, Cowdall was at Boston, and Jenkes at 
 Saugus. 
 
 I have been more minute in narrating the efforts and diffi- 
 culties from 1643 down to this jjeriod, because the early 
 incidents of the plantation, the scattered fragments that we 
 can gather up, are rather remote from general inquiry, and 
 are well deserving of preservation. At any rate, I think, they 
 will be found interesting to those present, who claim lineage 
 from the valley. To enter into a detail of the more promi- 
 nent events in the history of the town would carry me very 
 far beyond the utmost limits of this occasion, and might not 
 possess any general interest. 
 
 The town, as I have said, was now beginning to enjoy a 
 healthful, prosperous condition. The number of inhabitants
 
 86 CENTENNIAL ADDRESS 
 
 was constantly increasing by birth and immigration until 
 the fatal year of 1675-6, when there were at least fifty 
 families in the place. More than a hundred and seventy 
 births are recorded before that year, and but a few more 
 than one quarter of that number of deaths. • 1?here were 
 also many new comers into the place. Marriages were early ; 
 the increase was rapid ; and I can err but little in my esti- 
 mate of a population exceeding three hundred persons, and 
 less than three hundred and fifty. All now dwelt in peace ; 
 ' with a minister deserving and receiving respect ; a united 
 people, some few engaged in the mechanic arts, but most of 
 them farmers, cultivating the soil for the generous grain, and 
 the orchard for its fruits, and living in friendship with the 
 natives upon their western borders, far away from aggression 
 and war, from public discord and private contention. Let us 
 enter into their humble habitations, and view in imagination 
 their manner of life. The elders, passing their days in toil 
 through the summer, gathered together in the evenings of 
 winter from their not very distant habitations to talk over the 
 events of their early life in the mother-country, — the difficul- 
 ties they encountered in their attempted embarkation, some 
 with their wives and children, others with their affianced ones ; 
 their adventui-es on these western shores before they found 
 a pleasant resting-place in this remote valley of the Nasha- 
 way, with its broad acres and peaceful waters ; and then the 
 blessing of Heaven upon their labors, so that they have not 
 sowed in vain, but that an abundant harvest has just been 
 vouchsafed to them ; — and then discoursing of the future 
 of the plantation ; what relations, what friends of former
 
 AT LANCASTER, MASSACHUSETTS. 87 
 
 years, would yet rejoin them from their ancestral home, and 
 what others were preparing, when the spring should open, to 
 leave the narrower acres of the older settlements, and unite 
 with them in tilling this virgin-soil ; — and then, reverting to 
 the affairs of the town, they ask each other. Is each man as- 
 sessed justly for the public charges ? Is the school properly 
 taught ? Are good Master Rowlanclson's homilies listened to, 
 and profited by, as they should be ? Then they plunge into 
 deep argumentations upon dogmas that have puzzled wiser 
 heads, and defend their worthy minister against any leaning to- 
 wards the Pelagian or Arminian or Antinomian heresy. Then 
 they touch upon their neighbors, — all are their neighbors ; 
 the remarks made by this goodman or that goodwife ; and 
 how the younger, not regarding their wilderness-condition, are 
 giving in to the fashions of the towns on the Bay, because an 
 occasional ribbon or a bit of tiifany is detected upon the dress 
 of the fair maiden of the valley, or the young man rejoices in 
 some trinket, — a present from that same maiden, or from a 
 dear relative in the old world. They touch upon family joys ; 
 the birth of a child, adding so much to the expected solid 
 wealth of the population ; the birth of twins, their goodliest 
 heritage. They touch upon family griefs, and join in lament- 
 ing that one and another of those who bore with them the 
 long deprivations of forest-life are rapidly passing away ; how 
 many of the wives of their associates have been called from 
 
 earth, — Joane, the wife of goodman John White and mother 
 
 • 
 
 of Madam llowlandson ; Mary, the wife of goodman Richard 
 Smith ; Mary, the wife of goodman J ohn Smith ; Elizabeth, 
 the wife of goodman Edmund Parker ; Ann, the wife of
 
 88 CENTENNIAL ADDRESS 
 
 •Toodnian John Moore ; Martha; the wife of goodman John 
 Rugg, surviving one of her twins but six days, and dying on 
 the same day with the other ; Ann and after her Bridgett, 
 the wives of goodman Thomas Kerley, sen. ; — nay, that 
 death had not spared the planters themselves ; but that, just 
 as the wilderness and the solitary pkce were glad for them, 
 Richaitl Linton, the old man of the settlement, Thomas James, 
 John Smith, William Kerley, sen., together with Thomas 
 Joslin, John White, John Whitcomb, sen., and Thomas 
 Wilder, — ancestors of a numerous posterity, and all of 
 whom had been of service in the plantation, — had passed 
 to their rest; that even the heart of their good pastor had 
 been sorely tried by the death of his father, Thomas Eow- 
 landson. All these within twenty years from the incorpora- 
 tion of the town. There, in yonder burial-place, repose the 
 undistinguished remains of those who toiled and suffered 
 and enjoyed here, undisturbed even by the thunder of the 
 steam-engine as it courses beside their humble resting-place. 
 And then, as they turned to more joyous themes, would come 
 up the new engagement, creating a profound sensation 
 throughout the little community, for usually both parties be- 
 longed to the plantation, and were known to all; the sons 
 having the good taste to take to themselves wives from the 
 daughters of their own people ; the daughters, on their part, 
 not objecting to the sons. 
 
 Newspapers, of course, they had none : there were none 
 in the colony. Once in a few months, a stray item would 
 reach them by some one returning from the Bay, affording 
 subject for conversation for a length of time in proportion to
 
 AT LANCASTER, MASSACHUSETTS. 
 
 89 
 
 its rarity. And tliey would discourse of the old Pequot 
 war, of the entire destruction of the tribe as a distinct people, 
 and the bravery of the English troops ; and would institute a 
 comparison between the matchlock and the arrow : while ever 
 and anon, looking into the futui'e, some old planter would 
 touch upon the probability of other Indian wars, and would 
 quiet all fears because of the feeble condition of the Nashaway 
 and Nipmuck Indians ; the many converts to Christianity ; 
 theu" great distance from any powerful tribe ; and the terror 
 inspired by the skill, the valor, and the increasing numbers 
 of the English. 
 
 Thus in quiet they would pursue the even tenor of their 
 way, fearing nothing so much as danger to their sheepfolds 
 from the prowKng wild beasts, or the failure of their crops 
 through the irregularities of the season. But these scenes of 
 tranquillity^ at any assignable distance from the busy world, 
 were soon to be interrupted. " The warwhoop " was to 
 " wake the sleep of the cradle." 
 
 After the terrible vengeance executed upon the Pequots, 
 the power of the English was so highly estimated, that the 
 Indians could have but little heart to enter into a contest. 
 It must have seemed to them hopeless. Add to this, that 
 the confederation of the United Colonies — Massachusetts, 
 Plymouth, Connecticut, and New Haven — gave such an 
 assurance of strength, as to confirm the reluctance of the 
 tribes to engage in hostilities. Peace was thus secured for 
 a period of nearly forty years ; and, almost continuously 
 during that period, the power and consolidation of the 
 colonists were progressive. 
 
 12
 
 90 CENTENNIAL ADDRESS 
 
 The last great struggle was Philip's war. All subsequent 
 were mere skirmishes of outposts : that was for life or death, 
 success or extermination. Begun in Plymouth Colony, it 
 soon extended to the Massachusetts. The master-spirit of 
 the Wampanoags combined, as best he could, various of the 
 tribes to make one last vigorous effort to destroy the colonists. 
 The tide of war, after it entered our borders, swept on from 
 Mendon through Brookfield, and reached Lancaster on the 
 2 2d of August, 1675.. At this onslaught, eight persons were 
 killed. The powerful Narragansetts had not yet joined in 
 the war, though at heart with Philip. They were temporiz- 
 ing at this time. Their overthrow, early in the succeeding 
 winter, was overwhelming, — final. In this attack upon 
 Lancaster, we see the hand of the Nipmuck Indians, from 
 their scattered villages ; and the question arises, whether 
 the Nashaway tribe then joined the great leader. I am not 
 aware that any contemporaneous authority asserts it ; but we 
 may well presume, feeble as they were, — knowing, too, that 
 the English were not in sujSicient force to protect them, and 
 having now a Sachem represented as hostile to the planters, 
 — their native sympathies, as well as their notions of safety, 
 would lead them to desert the banks of the Washacum, and 
 arrange themselves by the side of their countrymen. Ill 
 advised indeed. The event proved this ; but who can blame 
 them for preferring their own people, and all the free pur- 
 suits of savage life, to a close intercourse with strangers ? 
 
 We may imagine in part, surely we cannot to its full 
 extent, the great dread that seized upon the little settlements 
 on the frontier. They were at a distance from any place of
 
 AT LANCASTER, MASSACHUSETTS. 91 
 
 retreat, and in constant fear, by night and by day. Their 
 own defences, which might have answered against an open 
 enemy of the same description whose approach was heralded, 
 were insufficient to guard against sui'prise from a lurking 
 foe, with noiseless tread, and the first intimation of whose 
 presence was the death-shot and the war whoop. The garri 
 sons, so called, were no sure protection of the inhabitants in 
 their daily pursuits and the ingathering of their harvest. 
 And thus the gloomy autumn of the year, with the fall of the 
 leaf, became typical of their own fall and ruin. Throughout 
 this period, and until late in the winter, they lived in an 
 apprehension scarcely less terrible than the reality. The 
 fall of 1675 passed, and still they were not again molested. 
 The commander of the Middlesex regiment was active and 
 constant, to the full measure of his military resources ; setting 
 in order the garrisons, and ranging through the forests along 
 the line of the frontier with troops of horse. This was the 
 only force, during the deep snows of a New-England winter, 
 that could be of any service. A few weeks after the destruc- 
 tion of the Narragansett fort, the remnants of the tribe fled 
 in detached parties, and were pursued by the English soldiers, 
 through the dense woods, toward Marlborough and Lancaster, 
 but without much success. The soldiers, having had a 
 wearisome campaign in the Narragansett country, in a bitter 
 season of the year, were ordered home for the purpose of 
 recruiting themselves ; it being generally supposed that the 
 enemy were too much weakened and dispirited to venture an 
 assault upon the border towns. Mounted troops also were 
 out in various directions. One company pursued the enemy
 
 92 CENTENNIAL ADDRESS 
 
 in their retreat into the Nipmuck countiy, but without any 
 greater success ; for, on being pressed by the horsemen, they 
 would scatter in diiFerent directions, and find security in the 
 swamps. Early in February, these troops were compelled to 
 return from their distant excursions by want of provisions. 
 The Narragansetts, Nipmucks, and others joined their forces ; 
 and this whole frontier lay exposed to their tender mercies. 
 But the frontier was too extensive to be guarded at all points, 
 even by the whole force of the colony. The enemy knew 
 this full well, and therefore established themselves, in the 
 depth of winter, in the hill-country in the westerly part of 
 this county, whence they could send out their war-paities in 
 different directions, without fear of surprise. The Nashaways 
 were then with them, ready to guide the hostile force, and do 
 battle against their old friends in the valley. The Sagamore 
 of the tribe, — ill-omened Shoshanim, — is reported to have 
 said in melancholy pride, probably soon after the destruction 
 of Lancaster and Groton, when elated with success, that, " if 
 the English would beg peace of him, he would let them have 
 peace ; but that he would never ask it of them." 
 
 On the 10th of February, answering to the present 20th, 
 1676, they surprised this town. The inhabitants, as they 
 were best able, entrenched themselves in the garrisoned 
 houses. Most of the other buildings fell a prey to the flames, 
 which soon arose in one general holocaust from every part 
 of the town. More than forty persons, — an eighth part of 
 the whole population, — were either killed on the spot, or 
 carried into captivity. "Within sight of this place, on the 
 other side of the little stream that courses peacefully through
 
 AT LANCASTEK, MASSACHUSETTS. 93 
 
 the valley, was the dwelling-house of the village-pastor. It 
 had been fortified with such humble means as were afibrded 
 in the small plantation. There were heard the yell and war- 
 whoop of the savage, the shrieks of women, the groans of the 
 wounded and dying ; weeping and lamentation from many a 
 Rachel. The column of smoke ascends, and soon the flames 
 burst forth through every crevice, and the little manse is a 
 blackened ruin. The few brave men of this garrisoned 
 dwelling, with the helpless women and children, forced out 
 by the flames, became prisoners in a hopeless captivity. No 
 monument, either marble or granite, marks the spot of the 
 deadliest onset the town ever experienced. It is still iden- 
 tified in yonder enclosed field, though every vestige has 
 disappeared from the surface. In one generation more, what 
 is now unwritten history will become indistinct tradition, and 
 all memory of that local habitation will have perished with 
 the dead ages of the past. 
 
 The tale of Lancaster's great grief has often been told. 
 It is familiar to many who hear me. It still lives in vivid 
 tradition in the midst of this people, the descendants of the 
 early planters. To describe the various incidents of this 
 attack, — the history of the war as connected with this town, 
 full of interest in all its particulars, — would consume too 
 much time in this day's proceedings. I will only add, that 
 the house of good Master Rowlandson was the only fortified 
 building that was destroyed. The other garrisons were 
 saved, in the first instance, by the Indians scattering them- 
 selves on this and the other side of the river for the purpose 
 of plunder, of which they took great store ; and, before they
 
 94 CENTENNIAL ADDRESS 
 
 rallied to assault those garrisons, the brave Captain Wads- 
 worth, who fell at Sudbury in April following, made a forced 
 march from Marlborough with his company, and arrived just 
 in season to save the remaining inhabitants from a Kngering 
 captivity or a dreadful death. Some few houses were left 
 standing ; and the trembHng remnants of the people secured 
 themselves in two garrisons, with a small detachment of 
 soldiers wliich the Governor and Council had ordered for 
 their protection. And there they remained ■ for a month. 
 The Indians were on every side, so that they could have 
 hardly escaped, had they made the attempt. Groton fell at 
 this time, and calamities were rife in other quarters. Well 
 might they exclaim, in the words of the brave Jewish leader, 
 " Behold, the battle is before us and behind us, and the water 
 of Jordan on this side and that side, the marsh likewise and 
 wood, neither is there place for us to turn aside." Thus 
 distressed, they sent a most imploring petition to the Governor 
 and Council, that a guard of men with carts might be ordered 
 to Lancaster, to remove them to a place of safety. In immi- 
 nent danger by day and by night, they could hardly venture 
 over the threshold of their garrisons. All abroad was the 
 silence of death. . They looked out only upon the gloomy 
 ruins of their habitations. With touching simplicity, they 
 say in their petition, " Om- state is very deplorable in our 
 incapacity to subsist : as to remove away we cannot, the 
 enemy has so encompassed us ,' otherwise for want of help 
 and cattle, being most of them carried away by the barbarous 
 heathen ; and to stay disenabled for want of food. The 
 town's people are generally gone, who felt the judgment but
 
 AT LANCASTER, MASSACHUSETTS. 95 
 
 light, and had their cattle left them with their estates. But 
 we, many of us here in this prison, have not bread to last us 
 one month, and our other provisions spent and gone for the 
 generality. "We are sorrowful to leave this place. Our 
 women's cries does daily increase beyond expression ; wliich 
 does not only fill our ears but oui- hearts full of grief." It 
 is pleasant to notice that most of those brave spirits who still 
 lingered in these places were of the earhest settlers and their 
 children. They had become identified with this spot ; here 
 had long been their home ; here they wished to live ; here 
 they wished to die in their nest, and be bmied amid their 
 kindred. Yes, truly did they say, " We are sorrowful to leave 
 this place." 
 
 Tliis petition was signed by those of the inhabitants who 
 were in garrison near the entrance of the present " centre 
 road ; " perhaps the precise spot, certainly very near to it, 
 where Laurence Waters erected his first house. These men 
 were — Jacob Farrar ; John Houghton, senior, and John 
 Houghton, junior ; John Moore ; John, Job, and Jonathan 
 Whitcomb ; and Cyprian Stevens. Those in the only remain- 
 ing garrison on the other side of the river join in the petition, 
 and add : " We are in like distress, and so humbly desire your 
 like pity and fatherly care, having widows and many fatherless 
 children." John Prescott, senior ] Thomas Sawyer, senior, and 
 Thomas Sawyer, junior ; Jonathan Prescott ; Thomas, John, 
 and Nathaniel Wilder ; John Rigby ; John Roper ; and 
 widows Wheeler, Fairbanks, and Roper. 
 
 A few weeks after this petition was delivered, a sufficient 
 force was despatched to remove these people to places of
 
 <)6 CENTENNIAL ADDRESS 
 
 safety ; and all were rescued, save John Roper, who, on the 
 very day of the removal, was slain by the enemy in ambush. 
 No sooner had they left the valley, and proceeded on their 
 way, journeying towards the sea, than all the remaining build- 
 ings in the plantation, two only excepted, were fired and 
 consumed. Not a white man was left on the territory of 
 Massachusetts west of Concord and Marlborough, and east 
 of the feeble towns upon Connecticut Biver. And thus it 
 was after ten years of laborious exertion, first finding favor 
 to begin a plantation, and to possess some corporate franchises, 
 and then slowly working its way to a condition of comparative 
 prosperity, through a period of less than twenty-three years, 
 — days of tranquillity and promise, — the whole settlement 
 was destroyed at a single blow, and the territory around 
 became a desert. More had been lost to the plantation in 
 one day by death and captivity than through all its former 
 years. Peace came at last ; but it brought no signs of human 
 life in any part of the valley. The wild beasts of the forest 
 again roamed at large through the fields and gardens lately 
 smiling with cultivation. They alone remained in security. 
 Man did not adventure here again for several years. 
 
 But, sad as was the fate of our people, that of the Nashaway 
 tribe was equally so. The remnant of the white men could 
 return, and others could come and rebuild the waste places ; 
 but not so with the poor natives. Once swept from their 
 homes, there was no return to them, in these pleasant places, 
 
 "Of 
 Day," or the sweet approach of even or mom, 
 
 Or sight of vernal bloom ; 
 
 But clouds instead, and ever-during dark."
 
 AT LANCASTEE, MASSACHUSETTS. 9t 
 
 It is very easy now to do them justice, however hard it 
 was during the war, and for many years after. I have sug- 
 gested several reasons why the Nashaways joined Philip j 
 but, after all, there may have been another and more cogent 
 reason. They were suspected ; all the Indians living near to 
 the English Avere suspected ; even the seven towns of Chris- 
 tian Indians were suspected; and Gookin tells us, in his 
 touching narrative, how unjustly and with what bitterness 
 they were treated. If the Christian Indians experienced such 
 hard measure, what could the feeble tribe of the Nashaways 
 expect, who had not the same protection ? Were we able to 
 gather contemporaneous facts, which we are not, I think we 
 should find, that however much they were inclined to peace, 
 and to kindly relations with the English, they were constantly 
 subjected to persecution ; and, if not early driven to war by 
 the necessity of their position, must assuredly have retreated 
 from their old neighborhood, when they found that the Chris- 
 tian converts, to the number of five hundred or more, were 
 torn from their homes, under circumstances of aggravated 
 cruelty, and confined on Deer Island in a state of suffering 
 wliich their liistorian has so feelingly described. 
 
 Sadly, but of necessity, as I would fain believe, the Nasha- 
 ways joined their countrymen, and fell with them. After the 
 peace, their last Sachem, Shoshanim, taken in the woods 
 beyond the Merrimack, was carried to Boston, and there was 
 tried and executed. The feeble remnants of the tribe dis- 
 persed to different places. Some of them, with the Nipmucks, 
 and other Indians, amounting to two hundred and fifty fight- 
 ing men, besides women and cliihbcn, fieoing in terror to the 
 13
 
 98 CENTENNIAL ADDRESS 
 
 westward, were overtaken between Westfield and the Hudson 
 river by the English troops. Many of their number were 
 either slain or taken captive. About two hundred escaped, 
 crossed the river below Albany, and were received by a 
 tribe of Indians in that vicinity, with whom eventually they 
 became incorporated. A large part of the tribe, however, 
 together with other Indians from the neighborhood of Lan- 
 caster, escaped to the right bank of the river Piscataqua. 
 Mingling with some of the Eastern Indians at Dover, they 
 were surprised by a detachment of the Massachusetts and 
 New Hampshire troops. Those of the prisoners who had 
 been involved in the war were separated from their compa- 
 nions, and were marched to Boston. The Sachem Shoshanim, 
 and several other leaders who were executed, avoided the 
 dreadful fate which befell their followers, of being sold abroad 
 to taste the bitterness of perpetual slavery, or, as was remarked 
 with cold cruelty, " to try the difference between the friend- 
 ship of their neighbors here and their service with other 
 masters." Harrington makes no mention of this circumstance ; 
 and we could wish, for the honor of human nature and of our 
 people, that it were not true. It was true. Perhaps some 
 of those very men, who in the lifetime of Sholan had joined 
 the good chief in welcoming the English, were delivered 
 into the house of bondage. Those who escaped capture took 
 refuge among the Pennecooks, and thenceforth disappear 
 from view. 
 
 Thus ends the last sad chapter of the brief and imperfect 
 history of this tribe. It is matter of regret that the worthy 
 Harrington, who delivered the historical sermon at the end
 
 AT LANCASTER, MASSACHUSETTS. 99 
 
 of Lancaster's first century, and whose venerable form some 
 few now present can recall, estimated so lightly the wants of 
 posterity, as to despatch the whole history of the tribe in a 
 few lines, and that of the town in a few pages. When he 
 stood up in the presence of yoiu' forefathers, one hundred 
 years ago, individuals, his parishioners, I think, were living, 
 of sufficient age to remember the horrors of 1676 ; and there 
 were many then Hving who must have had goodly stores 
 of narrative from their parents and other old people. Very 
 pleasant would it have been, very gratifying to this audience, 
 exceedingly so to those who claim kindred in blood with the 
 early inhabitants, to know something more of the history of 
 Sholan's tribe, the Nashaway Indians ; their numbers, tradi- 
 tions, habits, localities, the succession of their chiefs, anecdotes 
 of their intercourse with the planters, the reasons for their 
 joining against their old friends the English, how many 
 survived, and whether any of the poor creatures, who fled 
 from hot pursuit to the east or to the west, ever ventured back 
 in time of peace to visit the graves of their fathers, — with 
 all such particulars as, gathered up with a little dihgence, 
 might have been woven by a competent hand into an interest- 
 ing and instructive story. 
 
 Several years elapsed before the inhabitants had the heart 
 to return to their old homes. They came to a spot 
 whose gloomy desolation reminded them vividly of the great 
 mournful event of their lives, — of the murder of relative, 
 friend, neighbor. The same sun shone vipon them, the 
 forests put forth their tender leaves, and the orchards blos- 
 somed, as aforetime ; but little remained to give token of
 
 100 CENTENNIAL ADDRESS 
 
 a -former residence of rural peace and Christian civilization, 
 save the house of worshij), an humble building on yonder 
 hill-side, left unharmed amid the general destruction. By 
 the year 1682, there were some seventeen or eighteen families 
 in the town; a number not greater than was here in 1654. 
 These were chiefly the old settlers, turning back again with 
 willing steps ; with several others whom we now for the first 
 time recognize. The town began gradually to exhibit signs 
 of returning prosperity. Attacks were indeed made in subse- 
 quent Indian wars that would admit of a detailed narrative, 
 but they did not prevent the steady growth of the place. 
 No life was lost after 1710. 
 
 In 1701 a very large addition to the territory on the west 
 was obtained by a conveyance from George Tahanto, nephew 
 of Sholan. From this territory, Leominster was subsequently 
 taken, together with the larger part of Sterling. The title 
 to this land was confirmed by the General Court in 1713, 
 and the current of population in a few years began to set 
 towards it. Lancaster was now regarded as an old town ; 
 the general mother, whose children, declaring their ability 
 to take care of themselves, were rising up on either side, and 
 demanding their portion of the inheritance. First in order 
 came Harvard, whose beautiful swell of land, called Still 
 River, looking down upon this valley from the north-east, 
 had been under cultivation before the close of the seventeenth 
 century. Bolton soon followed, retaining within its Hmits 
 the range of hills that skirts Lancaster on the south-east, 
 together with the Wataquodoc, a name so familiar in oui- 
 local history. After Bolton came Leominster, carved out of
 
 AT LANCASTER; MASSACHUSETTS. 101 
 
 the new purchase. These three towns have each its separate 
 history of the old French war and the war of the Eevolution. 
 Their ecclesiastical history, in the great controversy of opin- 
 ion, is shared with Lancaster, Sterling, that had essayed in 
 1733, without success, to be an independent town, and became 
 the west precinct in 1741, remained a part of Lancaster until 
 1781. Her history is for a longer time and more intimately 
 identified with the parent-town, running all thi'ough the 
 exacting period of the French war, and the exhausting efforts 
 and sacrifices of the Revolution. The southerly part of 
 original Lancaster, and the northerly part of Shrewsbury, now 
 constitute the town of Boylston ; while Clinton, with Boylston 
 on her southern border, and much the smallest in superficial 
 extent, but growing with a rapidity unknown to the other 
 portions of the old territory, now rejoices in a separate organi- 
 zation. 
 
 It would be interesting, if practicable, to trace the progress 
 of population thi'ough successive stages in the town's history ; 
 but for a portion of the time, that is to say, from the resettle- 
 ment until 1764, a period of more than eighty years, the data 
 are not sufficient to enable mc to make an accurate estimate. 
 An ancient authority, I know not how much to be rehed on, 
 states that there were seventy-nine ratable polls here in MiU'ch, 
 1708. Taking the usual proportion assumed, of one ratable 
 poll to every four or four and a half inhabitants, we should 
 have in this year a population of three hundred and sixteen 
 or three hundred and fifty-five, or about the same number as 
 at the opening of Philip's war. I think, however, that it was 
 larger. It should be remembered that many of the old
 
 102 CENTENNIAL ADDRESS 
 
 planters, with their children and grandchildren, returned 
 about the year 1682, followed by divers new families. The 
 list of the subscribers to the minister's house, in 1688, con- 
 tains eighty names, chiefly of inhabitants, and most of these 
 were heads of families. By March, 1687, there had been 
 thirty births. In the settlement of garrisons in 1692, fifty- 
 four men are named as detailed to particular garrisons, with 
 their families. These facts lead to the conclusion that the 
 people were as numerous in 1692 as in 1675. We then 
 have sixteen years of growth before reaching 1708; constant 
 growth, I beheve, without any real drawback from inter- 
 vening Indian hostilities. In 1764 the territory originally 
 granted to Lancaster, together with the Tahanto purchase, 
 contained 703 houses, 763 families, and 4,884 inhabitants, 
 including 46 negroes and mulattoes, and one Indian ; giving 
 6.95 to a house, and 6.40 to a family. In 1790 there were 
 6,352 inhabitants ; 8,492, in 1840 ; and 12,615, in 1850. In 
 1764 Lancaster alone contained 301 houses, 328 families, and 
 1,999 inhabitants ; while in 1790 the same territory contained 
 2,880 inhabitants ; and Lancaster, as then diminished, 1,460. 
 The largest population of Lancaster was at the beginning of 
 the Revolutionary War, before the west precinct was made a 
 separate town. It then numbered, according to the best 
 estimate I can make, about 3,000 persons. In 1776 the rata- 
 ble polls were 672. The war occasioned a diminution of the 
 number of inhabitants ; the population was larger, by more 
 than one hundred, in 1775 than in 1781. In 1840 it was 
 2,019 ; and in 1850, owing to the erection of Chnton into an 
 independent town, it was reduced to 1,688.
 
 AT LANCASTER, MASSACHUSETTS. 103 
 
 The' number of slaves in 1754 was five. The census of 
 1764 does not distinguish between free blacks and slaves. 
 It classes them together, and they number twenty-six. 
 Several of them served faithfully and honorably in the Revo- 
 lutionary War for considerable periods ; among them, no less 
 a personage than " Julius Caesar " was in the three years' 
 service. In 1754 there were three slaves in Bolton, two in 
 Leominster, and none in Harvard. Lancaster, Harvard, 
 Bolton, Leominster, Sterling, Boylston, and Clinton, — divi- 
 ded, but still united J with common interests, pursuits, and 
 hopes ; mother and daughters, all in good accord and har- 
 monious intercourse, — may they feel no rivalship but for 
 the promotion of good institutions, the industrial arts, social 
 virtues, liberal culture, and enlightened religious faith. 
 
 The town, shorn of its territorial glory, at one time almost 
 sufficient for a German duchy, has reached a point, I trust, 
 where no further reduction will be demanded by any com- 
 bination of interests, real or imaginary. Well might the 
 inhabitants say, on any new application, as their fathers did 
 in 1741, when the people on the west were striving for 
 separation, and say it too with greater reason, that granting 
 the request will make the town " very irregular " in territory, 
 " and be the means of those living in the extreme parts of 
 the town applying also to be set off; whereby the descendants 
 of the ancient inhabitants that remain in the town, who un- 
 derwent the heat and burthen of a tedious and bloody Indian 
 war, will be left naked, and wholly destitute of that strength, 
 assistance, and ability to support the gospel ministry as they 
 should, and to defray other town-charges. There are iour
 
 104 CENTENNIAL ADDRESS 
 
 large bridges that must be kept in good repair, besides other 
 weighty charges the town has been wading through for many 
 years." It is not well to destroy the character and associa- 
 tions of an old town. They are valuable historically ; they 
 are valuable as a matter of sentiment, and for the large and 
 intense sympathies that have been gathering and clustering 
 around them for centuries, increasing with the successive 
 generations issuing from the primal heritage. This results 
 from the same law that rules the individual in his genealogical 
 tastes. In the one case, he would identify himself in blood 
 with an ancestral line ; in the other, with a locality hallowed 
 by the reminiscences of the ages in which that ancestry 
 lived and acted. For no light matter should a good old town 
 be divided and subdivided, till its identity is marred or lost. 
 The reasons should be cogent, unyielding, paramount. 
 
 Notwithstanding the general prosperity that prevailed after 
 Queen Anne's war, alarms from the Indian enemy were not 
 at an end. The troubles in Europe always vibrated across 
 the Atlantic through the colonies, and continued on this side 
 of the water after the war had subsided abroad. Lancaster, 
 however, had but little to fear for herself. Settlements 
 were rapidly extending beyond her frontier, and insured her 
 safety. But the border-towns were in constant apprehension ; 
 and Lancaster, so long trained to hostile encounter, must 
 furnish from her abundance for their protection. During 
 the years 1723, 1724, 1725, the larger part of the military 
 force of the town was engaged in scouting parties in search 
 of the enemy, through the forests and over the mountains. 
 One expedition proceeded beyond the Monadnock and the
 
 AT LANCASTER, MASSACHUSETTS. 105 
 
 head-waters of the Merrimack, to the north of Lake Winni- 
 pisseogee, stretching to the base of the White Mountains, and 
 returning by the valley of the Saco to the ocean. Again, in. 
 1748, after the Austrian war of succession "was at an end, 
 and also in 1749^ the same system was renewed. More 
 distant scouting parties were required, and a great amount of 
 military service was performed. Though but few men were 
 lost in these various expeditions, they were no holiday ex- 
 cursions. They were attended with hazard j the labor was 
 hard and exacting, and renewed, in a modified form, the toil 
 and exposure of the early settlers. 
 
 There were other calls to arms besides those I have 
 mentioned. Lancaster furnished her quota of men in the 
 unfortunate campaign in the Spanish war of 1739—40; at 
 the siege of Louisbourg in 1745, when one of her sons 
 commanded a regiment; at Nova Scotia in 1755, in which 
 expedition she furnished a captain and a large company of 
 soldiers ; as she also did commanders of regiments and other 
 officers throughout the French war ; with a host of hardy men 
 borne upon the rolls through the bloody scenes at Lake 
 George, Ticonderoga, and Crown Point, in the expedition un- 
 der Amherst in 1759, and in the last great battle on the Plains 
 of Abraham, that terminated the French empire on the conti- 
 nent of North America. Indeed, it would seem, from a cursory 
 examination, that almost all the men capable of bearing arms 
 were out during some portion of this protracted and san- 
 guinary contest. And they were no mercenary Swiss, but 
 the real brave yeomanry of the land, exchanging, at the call of 
 their country, the field of agriculture for the field of battle. 
 
 14
 
 106 CENTENNIAL ADDRESS 
 
 The same promptness, energy, and zeal became manifest 
 at the first bursting forth of the long-gathering storm of 
 the Kevolution. The votes at town-meetings, the resolves 
 passed, were not mere words, vaporing words, expiring 
 with the breath that uttered them, or fading away with 
 the ink that recorded them ; not like modern political re- 
 solves, — mere shams. Oh no ! they had substance ; they 
 had emphatic meaning ; they were carried out, even to blood 
 and to death. The general sentiment was all on one side ; 
 the time for action had arrived, and the town was ready for 
 action. 
 
 At the alarm on the 19th of April, the company of minute- 
 men, under Captain Benjamin Houghton, marched with all 
 speed for Lexington ; and the troop of horse, under Captain 
 Thomas Gates, pushed for Cambridge, joining the forces that 
 were intent upon driving the English troops into Boston ; 
 or, as his clerk phrases it on the company roll, " to stop the 
 regulars from coming out into the country, sent out by 
 General Gage." Ten men from this small troop enlisted in 
 the ser-vT.ce of their country. Lancaster soldiers, at present I 
 know not how many, were at the battle of Bunker Hill. One, 
 at least, was killed in the battle, and another died of his 
 wounds. The roll of Houghton's company, if in existence, 
 will probably show the number and names of the Lancaster 
 soldiers who fought on that memorable day. There were six 
 from this town who accompanied Arnold in his memorable 
 and disastrous expedition against Quebec, in the fall of 1775. 
 Large numbers enlisted in the Massachusetts regiments 
 before the Continental army was formed, and afterwards in
 
 AT LANCASTER, MASSACHTJSETTS. 107 
 
 the Massachusetts line in the Continental service. The 
 whole number of soldiers in the service, exclusive of those 
 who were at Lexington and Bunker Hill, exceeds three hun- 
 dred. This was about one-half of all the ratable polls, from 
 sixteen years and upwards. After deducting all the ratable 
 polls under eighteen years, and excluding those at the other 
 end of the scale, too old for service, it is pretty near to a 
 demonstration that almost all the able-bodied men were in 
 the field during the war. I find them distributed through 
 nearly all of the Massachusetts regiments in the Continental 
 army. Wherever these regiments marched, and they were 
 in most of the battles of the Revolution, there Lancaster was 
 represented ; and many of her oflacers were distinguished for 
 bravery. 
 
 Of the descendants of the early settlers in the male line 
 who " did the state some service " in the field, I enumerate, 
 independently of those who were engaged on the 19th of 
 April and on the 17th of June, no fewer than ninety-two, viz. : 
 of the names of Atherton, Divoll, Farrar, Prescott, one each ; 
 Beaman, four ; Fairbanks, five ; Gates, two ; Houghton, nine ; 
 Lewis, three ; Moore, five ; Hugg, five ; Roper, tkree ; Sawyer, 
 seventeen; White, fivej Whitcomb, seven; Willard, eight; 
 Wilder, fifteen. Doubtless the towns that issued from Lan- 
 caster, and other places where those names were found, would 
 add largely to this list. 
 
 I have no disposition to trumpet the part taken by the 
 people of the valley in the war for independence. It is not 
 necessary to make proclamation of services and sacrifices; 
 but I believe, in respect to contributions of men and material
 
 108 CENTENNIAL ADDRESS • 
 
 supplies, Lancaster would be found, on examination, to have 
 contributed her full part, and to have done so as freely and 
 promptly as any other town whatsoever. 
 
 It would be interesting to consider, at some length, the 
 various efforts that have been made by your predecessors, as 
 well as yourselves, in the great cause of education ; but I 
 must confine myself to a very few remarks. The whole 
 history of the public schools in this place for the first seventy 
 years, owing to the destruction of the records, is involved in 
 hopeless obscurity, with the exception of an incidental men- 
 tion here and there. At one time, the town was " presented " 
 for want of a schoolmaster ; but, " representing to the Court 
 their circumstances, and their care for instructing of youth," 
 their excuse was accepted. Some four years afterwards, they 
 were " presented " again, for want of a grammar-school ; but 
 were discharged on payment of costs, having satisfied the Court 
 that they had engaged "young Mr. Pierpont," a Cambridge 
 graduate, for their instructor. After 1725 the records are 
 entire : they show that some pains were taken with the 
 training of the children, though in a less degree probably 
 than at the present day, — less actually, I mean, not less in 
 proportion to their humble means. Among the instructors, 
 there have been many highly educated men, subsequently 
 distinguished in professional and public life. 
 
 Passing over all intermediate time, I will merely show 
 how Lancaster stands at the present day, compared with 
 other towns, in the facilities she furnishes for the education 
 of her children. The last and very excellent report of the 
 Board of Education affords the means of stating this with a
 
 AT LANCASTER, MASSACHUSETTS. 109 
 
 good degree of exactness. From 1841-2 to 1851-2, the 
 school-tax throughout the State has increased seventy-six per 
 cent. ; while the increase of population has been but thirty- 
 five per cent., including the concourse of foreigners, who have 
 poured in upon us like a flood. Again, according to the 
 census of 1840, the tax averaged seventy cents to every in- . 
 habitant of the State, while the census of 1850 gives ninety- 
 one and a half cents. In 1841 the sum raised for each child 
 between the age of four and sixteen years was $2.79 ; in 
 1851, for each child between five and fifteen years of age, it 
 was $4.49. 
 
 What, then, is the part taken by Lancaster in this progres- 
 sive improvement ? The report proves that you are above the 
 average in almost every respect. Of the fifty-eight towns in 
 Worcester County, Lancaster is the twelfth in length of time 
 of schools, the twenty-first in the average wages of male teach- 
 ers, and the fortieth in the average wages of female teachers. 
 In 1850—51 Lancaster was the twenty -ninth town in the State, 
 and the second in the county, in the sum appropriated for 
 each scholar, viz. $4-71^'^,* Worcester alone preceding her. 
 In 1851-2 Lancaster was the fifty-second town in the State, 
 and the third in the county in this respect ; Worcester and 
 Milford preceding her. We thus have the absolute sum in 
 each town, and the proportion of each. But the true test of 
 public spirit is the amount raised in proportion to the wealth 
 of the people. This is ascertained by the valuation of 1850, 
 much more accurate and more to be relied on than the valua- 
 tions of preceding decades, and this from a circumstance not 
 praiseworthy to our people. When the representation in the
 
 110 CENTENNIAL ADDRESS 
 
 Senate had reference to taxation, it was the practice of the 
 valuation committees, we are told, and I have no doubt many 
 present covild vouch for its truth, " to appraise the property 
 just high enough to prevent loss in their senatorial repre- 
 sentation, and just low enough to prevent an undue propor- 
 tion of taxes." The alteration in the Constitution before 
 1850, prescribing population for the basis in the Senate, 
 rendered that " artful dodge " no longer necessary. In the 
 amount of money raised in proportion to the means of the 
 people, the little town of Wellfleet, on the sands of Cape 
 Cod, stands at the head of the Commonwealth ; Milford, in 
 this county, stands second. Lancaster stands seventieth in 
 the State, and sixth in the county, — Milford, AVebster, 
 Clinton, Bolton, and Fitchburg only before her. In average 
 attendance upon school, Pelham, in the hill-country, with its 
 deep winter snows, stands first in the Commonwealth ; Lan- 
 caster, the ninety-third. In this county. New Braintree 
 stands first ; Lancaster, twenty -eighth, with an average attend- 
 ance of seventy-eight and a half per cent. 
 
 The ecclesiastical history of Lancaster is one of signal 
 peace. The six ministers who, in their service at the altar, 
 cover a period of a hundred and ninety-six years, >v-ill com- 
 pare very favorably with their fellows in any other town. 
 They were all men of pure lives and conversation, dwelling 
 in the tents of their people. Of the living it is not becoming 
 to speak. I hold converse only with the dead, — Rowland- 
 son, Whiting, Gardner, Prentice, Harrington, Thayer, — all 
 sons of Harvard. The three first were victims, directly or 
 indirectly, of the Indian wars. The term of service of the
 
 AT LANCASTER, MASSACHUSETTS. Ill 
 
 three last extends over a space of a hundred and thirty-two 
 years ; an average of forty -four years to each. May future 
 years evidence the same permanence in the pastoral relation, 
 the same mutual confidence, the same generous sympathies ! 
 
 What dispensation of the word was enjoyed by the 
 planters during a year or more after the incorporation of the 
 town, I think, is unknown both to history and tradition. 
 Master Joseph Rowlandson, sole graduate in the class of 
 1652, under the presidency of the glorious Dunster, was 
 the son of Thomas E.owlandson, of Ipswich, who took the 
 freeman's oath in 1638. He came to this plantation two 
 years after he left college, and continued to preach several 
 years before his ordination. He remained the j)astor until 
 the town was broken up in Philip's war, and he was driven 
 with his flock to seek refuge elsewhere. The heavy calam- 
 ity that befell him, not only in the loss of his property, but 
 in the death or captivity of his family and relations, is suffi- 
 ciently well known by those versed in your contemporaneous 
 history, and the simple narrative penned by his excellent 
 wife after her return from dreary bondage. He was a 
 popular preacher in the plantation. He received a unani- 
 mous call, with terms of settlement and accommodations 
 more liberal for the slender means of the few humble plan- 
 ters than is usually found in the richer heritage of the present 
 day. Tradition speaks of him as a worthy, faithful, useful 
 man. But of his ministerial gifts and graces we have no 
 record, other than what can be gathered from a few surviv- 
 ing facts. We may form some estimate of his wisdom and 
 sound judgment and liberality, from the cii-cumstance that,
 
 112 CENTENNIAL ADDRESS 
 
 when the strife was hot between the First Church in Boston 
 and the present Old South, — because the wives of. those 
 who formed the Old South Church were debarred from 
 communion in the First Church, for having partaken of the 
 service at the Old South with their husbands, — Rowlandson 
 was of the council called by the latter church.. All Boston, 
 all the Bay churches, were in a state of excitement. Social 
 life was disturbed, while there were no political troubles to 
 divide public attention. The council embraced some of the 
 most distinguished of the clergy in the colony. By their 
 " Result " they placed the First Church in the wrong, and 
 recognized the Old South as properly constituted, with 
 power to admit those women and others to their communion. 
 This was an important decision at that day, as affecting the 
 rights and independence of the Congregational churches. 
 Rowlandson preached for some time in Boston, and probably 
 in the other churches in the Bay. The topics of three of 
 his discourses, being all of which I have any note, may 
 perhaps show the tendency of his mind towards the rehgious 
 affections. These were — on divine influence in answer to 
 prayer, on the forgiveness of God, and on love to God. The 
 good man, having collected his family together after many 
 wanderings, went to Wethersfield, in the colony of Connec- 
 ticut, and there became the colleague of the Bev. Gershom 
 Bulkley. The committee who had been dii-ected to inquire 
 " after an able minister for the town " recommended Mr. 
 Bowlandson. "The town," so runs the record, being "very 
 desirous of Mr. Bowlandson's settling there in the work of 
 the ministry, in order to Iris encouragement thereunto, allow
 
 AT LANCASTER, MASSACHUSETTS. 113 
 
 him XI 00 per year, and the free use of the parsonage lands 
 and houses, during his continuance amongst them in the 
 work of the ministry." To this they added, " in order to his 
 procuring of a settled habitation for himself in the town," 
 the sum of one hundred pounds, " to be paid twenty pounds 
 a year for five years." But his career in Wethersfield was 
 short. He died on the 24th of November, 1678, amid the 
 general lamentation of his people, as is shown by their sym- 
 pathetic and unusual regard, for his widow. The record 
 continues : " Mrs. Eowlandson shall have allowed for this 
 present year Mr. Rowlandson's whole year's rate, which was 
 formerly promised, which will in all amount to six score 
 pounds ; and, from henceforth, the town shall allow the said 
 Mrs. Rowlandson thirty pounds a year, so long as she shall 
 remain a widow amongst us." 
 
 Mr. Rowlandson had a library valued at <£82 ; a much 
 larger library, I should suppose, than could be found in 
 most studies at that day. Hence I would infer that he was a 
 student, and kept up with the current of religious specula- 
 tion in dogmatic theology, and indulged himself perhaps 
 somewhat in the profane literature of the time ; not getting 
 rusty because he had been planted in a remote settlement 
 and almost wilderness-condition. He was an author too. 
 Cotton Mather, indeed, quaintly tells us, that he was an author 
 of " lesser composures out of his modest studies, even as with 
 a Cesarean section forced into light." Do not think -r- for- 
 bid it, shade of the departed ! — that this points to the matter 
 of his " composures ; " it regards theii' bulk only ; and they 
 may have been, in thought and expression, equal to the 
 15
 
 i 14 CENTENNIAL ADDRESS 
 
 larger, more ambitious '' composures " of the other divines 
 named by Mather. It cannot, of course, refer to the pas- 
 quinade, in rhyme and prose, which he posted up on the door 
 of Ipswich Church, while in the Senior Class at Cambridge.* 
 Cotton Mather may never have heard of that. 
 
 In the first Indian incursion, the town was destroyed, but 
 the minister survived. In a subsequent war, the town sur- 
 vived the attack ; but the minister lost his life. The Eev. 
 John Whiting, of the class of 1685, son of the Eev. Samuel 
 "Whiting, of Billerica, had preached nearly two years in the 
 town before he was invited to the cure. His people gave him 
 a new house and some pleasant acres, the spot on which the 
 second part of this day's celebration is to be enacted. He 
 lived in peace with his parishioners, that is, with all the town. 
 This is all I can say of his ministry. Seven years of good ser- 
 vice, after his ordination, had passed quietly away in parochial 
 ministrations, when the old enemy again invaded Lancaster, 
 and Mr. Whiting was slain. When attacked, we are told 
 that his life was offered to him if he would but surrender. 
 If the thought were for a moment entertained, that thereby 
 he might save his life, the second thought rushed in, that a 
 surrender would involve captivity, perhaps torture and death. 
 The resolution of refusal was at once taken. He was over- 
 powered when fighting valiantly, and fell, at the age of 
 thirty-three. His young wife, Alice Cook, from Cambridge, 
 survived him to mourn his loss during a long widow- 
 hood. 
 
 * See Appendix to the " Narrative of the Captivity and Removes of Mrs. Mary 
 Rowlandson." Sixth edition, published by Carter, Andrews, & Co. Lancaster, 1828.
 
 AT LANCASTER, MASSACHUSETTS. 115 
 
 After an interval of several years, Andrew Gardner, of the 
 class of 1696, discoursed to this people, much to their liking. 
 They invited him to remain with them. He accepted the 
 invitation. The appointed day for his separation and con- 
 secration for the work was approaching, when his death oc- 
 curred, — the most melancholy in the whole list of the deaths 
 of the clergymen of the town. He was slain, not by an enemy, 
 but fell by the hand of one of his own people. The Indians 
 had been abroad, all about Lancaster, a few months before, 
 and had killed several persons. At this very time a party of 
 them had been discovered at Still River.* The garrisons, 
 then numerous, were hastened to by all the inhabitants on 
 any alarm. Mr. Gardner's residence was a garrisoned house. 
 A near neighbor of his was set on the watch, with others, to 
 guard and protect the pastor, his wife, and household. The 
 sentinel, while all was quiet within and abroad, was walking 
 his lonely round inside of the fort, — now stopping to listen 
 for the almost noiseless tread of the Indian, as slight as the 
 rustling of a leaf in the lightest breeze, — when suddenly he 
 heard a noise, and, turning, dimly espied some one coming 
 down out of the " upper flanker." Supposing him to be one 
 of the enemy, the sentinel called, but no answer ; he called a 
 second time, but no answer. He fired, and the shot took 
 fatal effect. He rushed up to his wounded enemy, as he 
 supposed, when the dying groans of his pastor met his eai's.f 
 
 * Now Harvard. 
 
 t This account differs in some of its circumstances from the one given by Har- 
 rington. It is taken from the coroner's inquest, and must be considered conclusive. 
 All the accounts exonerate the sentinel from any rash haste. The inquest held him 
 guiltless, at the moment when the feelings of all were the most dreadfully lacerated.
 
 116 CENTENNIAL ADDRESS 
 
 No imputation rested upon the character of the unhappy 
 sentinel, the actor in this terrible tragedy ; but a life- 
 long burthen was his, — a suffering far greater and more 
 enduring than he had been the innocent cause of- inflicting. 
 A deep gloom settled down upon the whole plantation. 
 Their young minister, not yet thirty years of age, — beloved 
 by all, — on the eve of his ordination, — here, with his wife, 
 at his own home, with years of enjoyment and sympathy in 
 prospect, in the scene of his appointed labors, suddenly 
 passes to the spirit-land, and there is a general weeping and 
 lamentation. We know that he was beloved. *• His people," 
 says Harrington, "had an exceeding value for him." I will 
 show it from even more competent authority; ovit of theii' 
 own mouths, in their own simple language, as they gra- 
 duate each successive loss higher in the scale. " We have 
 lost," say they, " several hundreds of pounds estate by the 
 Indians, in their last attack, together with the loss of our 
 meeting-house, burnt by them; and more particularly that 
 late awful stroke of God's hand, the last week, in the loss 
 of our reverend minister, who was every way worthy and 
 desirable ; whose loss is ready to sink our spuits, — ha\ang 
 one minister slain by the Indians, and now another taken 
 away by a more awful stroke." 
 
 Mr. Gardner was son of Captain Andi'ew Gardner, who 
 was killed in the Canada expedition ; the same gentleman 
 upon whom Judge Sewall called, in 1686, to deliver to him 
 a commission. Gardner " disabling himself," Sewall told him 
 that " he must endeavor to get David's heart, and that, with 
 his stature, would make a very good ensign." The widow
 
 AT LANCASTER; MASSACHUSETTS. 117 
 
 of the minister was subsequently married to his successor, 
 the Rev. John Prentice. 
 
 No church-records remain, not a vestige, during the time 
 of Rowlandson, "Whiting, and Gardner ; nor am I aware of 
 any extant writing by any one of those gentlemen. I can 
 only say that they received the best education the covm- 
 try could give, and that they were willing to cast their lot 
 here, in this secluded spot, — to be cut off, in a great 
 measure, from the more cultivated and refined life around 
 the Bay, — and to devote their energies and their lives to 
 the sincere teaching of the word. 
 
 The lives of Whiting and Gardner were extinguished in 
 blood, youthful blood. A calmer day, a long day of summer, 
 arises upon the vision ; and all along its hours we witness 
 other and more enduring forms, — Prentice, Hai'rington, 
 Thayer, each fulfilling an extended mission, and each coming 
 to the " grave in a full age, like as a shock of corn cometh 
 in his season." 
 
 The first half of the last century had nearly closed when 
 Mr. Prentice died. For forty years he had been set for 
 the defence of the gosj^el in this place. The whole period 
 was one of profound calm in religious matters. A new 
 society had indeed been formed, but it was in the westerly 
 part of the town, now Sterling, and greAV naturally out of the 
 necessities of the people, from their numbers, and from their 
 distance from the place of public worship. They were 
 separated, but still united ; and the minister of the new parish 
 took to wife a daughter of Mr. Prentice. Harvard, Bolton, 
 and Leominster, from a like necessity, had been constituted
 
 118 CENTENNIAL ADDRESS 
 
 distinct towns ; and yet the old town continued large in 
 territory, population, and wealth. 
 
 The character of Mr. Prentice was that of a man of peace. 
 He was faithful to his convictions, forcible and plain as a 
 preacher, dignified in manner, and direct and earnest in his 
 appeals. His printed discourses do credit to the style of 
 preaching of that day. He was gentle, but yet very firm, 
 and exhibited the fruits of a good religious life in his daily 
 conduct. He was no innovator upon ancient forms, and 
 struck out into no new paths. Satisfied with the way of the 
 churches, he asked for no new guides. At least, I think so. 
 I do not know that his orthodoxy was questioned, or that he 
 had any tendency towards Arminianism. But, however this 
 may have been, his church, from year to year, was gradually 
 departing from the doctrine of the earliest churches in Mas- 
 sachusetts. In the controversy that rent in twain sundry of 
 the congregations in the province, in the latter part of his 
 ministry, caused by the advent of Whitefield, the church of 
 Mr. Prentice remained unscathed. Individually, he was 
 opposed to the course of that most eccentric, most eloquent 
 preacher, if I interpret aright the remark made by a brother 
 clergyman, that they " who knew him esteemed him for his 
 commendable steadiness in these uncertain times." Com- 
 mendable steadiness in these uncertain times. We cannot 
 mistake the meaning of this phrase, when we recollect that he 
 was one of those ministers who decidedly opposed the course 
 of Mr. Bhss, of Concord, a most earnest disciple of White- 
 field ; and that he joined with the Council in advising the 
 disafiected parishioners of Mr. Bliss to secede, and support
 
 AT LANCASTER, MASSACHUSETTS. 119 
 
 public worship among themselves, unless certain concessions 
 should be made. 
 
 Bitter, very bitter and unchristian as controversies have 
 since been in the bosom of the Congregational Church, they 
 were equally so — will not history bear me out in saying, 
 more so ? — at the time of which I speak. 
 
 The formation of a second parish led to the induction of a 
 minister, — the Rev. John Mellen who, for many years and 
 through various scenes, continued with his people until he 
 was rather unceremoniously, and not according to Congrega- 
 tional usage, ejected from his cui-e. After preaching for 
 some years to a portion of his old hearers, whose attachment 
 to him still continued, he removed to Hanover in this State, 
 where he remained in the ministry until the time of his death. 
 No name connected with the churches in this neighborhood 
 in the time of Mr. Mellen, is more fruitful of remark than 
 his. For talents and learning I should say that he was de- 
 cidedly at the head, though for martyr boldness he was not 
 to be compared with his brother in the ministry and by mar- 
 riage, — Rogers of Leominster, As the west parish became 
 an independent town, but more particularly as Mr. Mellen's 
 intellectual and theological character has been pretty fully 
 delineated by the faithful and accurate historian of Sterling, 
 the late Isaac Goodwin, I do not propose now to traverse the 
 same ground, or give my own view. The discussion would 
 occupy some time, and lead me away from the more appro- 
 priate consideration of that which has remained Lancaster. 
 
 The venerable figure and flowing white locks of the excel- 
 lent Harrington, as they have been described by some of his
 
 120 CENTENNIAL ADDRESS 
 
 people, and are recollected doubtless by some within the 
 hearing of my voicC; now pass before me in vision. "VVe 
 behold the man uniting in his numerous years a long past 
 age, with one but lately closed upon us, and partaking of the 
 character of both. Born early in the last century, when his 
 country was an integral part of the British empire, he lived 
 on in connection with this people through the old French 
 Avar, the war of the Revolution, the rebellion of 1786, — 
 down almost within view of the present century, — witness- 
 ing the greatest changes in our whole civil history, and in 
 our ecclesiastical history borne on vast surges of opinion, 
 whose strife has not subsided to the present day. Trained 
 at college under the administration of the catholic, mild, and 
 judicious Wadsworth, Mr. Harrington seems to have par- 
 taken of the same traits of character. His early course in 
 the profession, after he was installed in this town, exhibited 
 that theological tendency which continued through life ; that 
 " steadiness in those uncertain times " for which his prede- 
 cessor had been commended. The course of Mr. Bliss did 
 not please him. He justified the seceders from his church, 
 and manifested no spnpathy with the measures of Whitefield. 
 Not that he was without zeal, but rather that he possessed 
 it differently tempered, — possessed it as fused into and mo- 
 dified by the constitution of his own mind and afiections. 
 The key to • the ministerial course of Timothy Harrington 
 may be found in the text to the discourse preached at his 
 installation, — " And made myself servant to all, that I might 
 gain the more ; " servant to all in the good sense of the Apos- 
 tle, consisting with entire faithfulness and self-respect. The
 
 AT LANCASTER, MASSACHUSETTS. . 121 
 
 preacher concludes : " And now, Timothy, keep that which 
 is committed to thy trust, and make thyself as Paul did, a 
 servant to all, that you may gain the more." He received 
 from his people that hereditary respect which was then enter- 
 tained for those of his order, and, what was higher and better, 
 respect that he won for himself as a man and a Chiistian. 
 The whole testimony borne by those of his flock who knew 
 him well, and have lived to the present generation, is that he 
 possessed mildness of disposition with that fervor of spirit 
 which led him to rebuke iniquity. Loving peace for its own 
 sake, and because his temperament inclined him to it, and of 
 calm judgment, he was slow to adopt new theories, and take 
 a bold stand in their favor. One who knew him well — who 
 knew of what he affirmed — describes him as "a model of min- 
 isterial excellence j " as possessing "a good portion of scientific 
 attainments ; singular pertinency and fervor in the perform- 
 ance of devotional exercises ; a pattern of Christian cheer- 
 fulness and aff'ability, of sympathy with the sick and afflicted, 
 and of compassion to the j^oor." A man thus constituted 
 well deserves the appellation of the Christian gentleman. 
 
 It is true of Mr. Harrington, as of some others of the 
 clergy after the middle of the last century, that a change of 
 theological opinions took place. But I do not now and here 
 propose to open the old controversy of 1757, which has 
 excited some discussion of late, nor to inquire whether at that 
 time, when Mr. Harrington was of the Council that censured 
 Mr. Rogers, of Leominster, who had departed from the fiiith 
 of the New England fathers, his own opinions had become 
 modified, and if so how far. Perhaps he would not be able to 
 16
 
 122 CENTENNIAL ADDRESS 
 
 trace step by step the processes going on in his own mind, 
 as it was swayed in one direction and another by metaphysi- 
 cal questions and doubts, bristling up at every point. It 
 might well be, — and probably was, — that his opinions be- 
 came modified by very gradual stages. Meanwhile the old 
 theories, and the forms of words, consecrated by long and de- 
 votional association, would still hang about the doors of the 
 mind. It would be difficult, perhaps not possible, to mark 
 the precise time when the old opinions were beginning to 
 drift from their fastenings towards the wide sea of specula- 
 tion, and before the new-found safe and pleasant anchorage. 
 And what anxious trouble in the interval ! what fears, lest, 
 after all, the old, time-honored, and revered were true ; and 
 the new but the result of a weak understanding, a pre- 
 sumptuous imagination, and carnal reasoning ! The subject 
 was momentous, — momentous both to the pastor and to the 
 people of his charge ; for error might run down through 
 long lines of generations with soul-destroying influence. 
 And a pastor might be entirely conscientious in deciding 
 that a brother had departed from the faith, when certain 
 operations were going on in his own mind, imperfect as yet, 
 but shaking his traditions, and leading him in the end, by 
 an intellectual necessity, to the same conclusions. 
 
 The long career of Mr. Harrington's colleague and suc- 
 cessor * closed in ouj: own time, and within the fresh remem- 
 brance of many now present. He came to this place in the 
 palmy days of its social refinement, when it had recovered 
 from the depressing influences of the Kevolution, and pros- 
 * The Rev. Nathaniel Thayer, D.D.
 
 AT LANCASTER, MASSACHUSETTS. 123 
 
 perity and plenty abounded and harmony prevailed -within 
 its borders. He came from the office of instruction in our 
 venerable University, where he himself had been successfully 
 trained in all the learning there to be acquired. He came 
 with the reputation of sound scholarship, with a pleasing 
 address and conciliating deportment. All circumstances were 
 favorable, and justified that future, in labor and service ex- 
 tending over a long period, which already has become the 
 past, consigned to the province of liistory, 
 
 Possessing highly respectable and well-disciplined intel- 
 lectual powers, and distinct perceptions within their entii'e 
 range, he soon took a prominent stand in this pulpit. 
 Clearness of thought gave clearness of expression ; and he 
 felt no desire to stretch beyond the limit which God had 
 assigned, and indulge in dreamy speculations, grasping at 
 vague ideas that supplied no furniture to the mind, and 
 fiided away ere they could become subject to exact ap- 
 prehension. He was, I believe, entirely conscientious in 
 his views of truth in all matters of doctrinal theology, as 
 well as in the science of morals. With distinctive differences 
 of opinion, I have no concern on the present occasion j but I 
 doubt not that he brought his best faculties to the examination 
 of matters of faith, and that his convictions were strong as well 
 as sincere. These he maintained honestly and openly, under 
 all circumstances, through all contentions of opposing sects. 
 His discourses were calm, plain, practical, solid, — not the 
 issues of a fertile imagination, to which he laid no claim. If 
 deficient in wai'mth, as interpreted by some minds, they were 
 not deficient in earnestness, and in that zeal which is accord-
 
 124 CENTENNIAL ADDRESS 
 
 ing to knowledge. His temperament led him away from 
 impassioned appeals and exhortations, and led him as directly 
 to the inculcation of truth in the way best suited to that 
 temperament. A clear and distinct enunciation,' with great 
 gravity and solemnity in the conduct of the service, gave 
 power to the devotional spii'it, and additional weight and 
 authority to the spoken word. 
 
 Controversies of a sharp character were rife in the commu- 
 nity during a large portion of his ministry. When one side 
 was charged with exalting reason above revelation, it was met 
 on the other side with the argument, that the highest reason 
 was in every way consistent with revelation ; and sermons, in 
 consequence, took more generally the character of addresses 
 to the understanding in the inculcation of religious truth. 
 Ardent and quickening appeals to the affections and to the 
 fears were rather avoided ; and the whole of the great truth 
 was not evolved, that man believeth with the heart as well as 
 the understanding. This was the feature of that day ; the 
 necessary result, perhaps, of the state of the question then ; 
 and our pastor was formed upon that principle. A more 
 evangelical style of discourse, as it is termed, belonged to a 
 subsequent period, when the first great controversy had sub- 
 sided. 
 
 Among the preachers of his own denominational views in 
 this quarter, he was long regarded as a leading divine, and 
 his services were highly acceptable. He was looked to for 
 counsel by the young men of his faith, whose ready resort 
 to him was received in great kindness of spirit ; while the 
 opinion of his sound judgment, prudence, and practical good
 
 AT LANCASTER, MASSACHUSETTS. 
 
 125 
 
 sense, caused him to be sought very frequently to parti- 
 cipate in ecclesiastical councils. 
 
 He was not an easy recipient of new opinions ; and this, 
 not so much from dislike of change, or dread of the labor of 
 examination, but because he had reached his conclusions, his 
 conscientious convictions, after elaborate investigation. On 
 the other hand, he had no bigoted attachment to the past as 
 such, as if the wisdom of ages, so called, involved all truth, — 
 no dead conservatism ; but welcomed progress, if well assured, 
 from a right point of departure. Devoted to the interests of 
 his people, he sought no change of place, engaged in no 
 piu-suits that would draw him away from his appropriate 
 calHng, — sought only to live and die in the midst of his 
 labors here. Hence his contentment was manifest. He 
 did not ask wealth, or a large compensation for himself, 
 and suitable to the character of the town, — no compensation 
 is large for the clergyman who devotes all his time, talents, 
 affections, and sympathies, to the good of his people, — but was 
 satisfied in that respect with a very humble retui-n for a life- 
 long devotion to its interests. He had but little opportunity 
 for exact study ; for his parish was large in numbers and in 
 territory, and much time was taken up in visits of affection 
 and Christian consolation; much also in attention to the 
 numerous schools of the town, in which he ever took a deep 
 and active interest. Still I believe he kept up with the 
 history of theology, and the more solid reading of his day. 
 In his general intercourse with society, as well as in the more 
 intimate relations of private and domestic life, where the 
 man is revealed, he exhibited native dignity and self-respect.
 
 126 CENTENNIAL ADDRESS 
 
 a tender regard for the feelings of others, conciliating man- 
 ners, and Christian courtesy. He was charitable to the 
 extent of his means, eking out those means, beyond his salary, 
 in ways to which country clergymen are so often obliged to 
 have recourse. 
 
 He was eminently a prudent man; in temper mild, but 
 firm and well-disciplined; so that, controlling himself, he 
 could exert a large and healthful control over others ; hav- 
 ing his trials, too, amid a varied experience, verging upon 
 a half-century, like that of others in his walk in former and 
 later times. 
 
 As a result of tliis imperfect delineation of one possessing 
 so many qualities of worth and excellence, it will of course 
 be inferred that he was a cautious man. He was so. He 
 was cautious in forming his judgments of others, and very 
 charitable in those judgments. He would rather extenuate, 
 would rather win back the erring by gentle appliances, than 
 set down aught in harsh reproach and sharp denunciation. 
 He ever counselled peace. He was a man of peace, a great 
 lover of peace, willing to sacrifice much for it, — though 
 never to the sacrifice of his self-respect, — and was ready to 
 take a decided stand, when required by the cause of religion 
 and good order. 
 
 His career was long, prosperous, and useful. Until near 
 the close of his earthly labors, there was but one organized 
 religious society throughout this large territory. He won the 
 afiectionate regard of a numerous people ; he gained a wide 
 influence with the generation upon the stage, when he first 
 entered upon this field of his active work, — gained it also
 
 AT LANCASTER, MASSACHUSETTS- 127 
 
 with that generation which grew up with him, and gained it 
 with their children after them. 
 
 I have thus very briefly sketched the history of Lancaster, 
 but out of a large accumulation of material have been able 
 to seize upon only a few of the most prominent points in its 
 humble story. In its infancy, distant from other habitations, 
 we have seen its repeated difficulties, its first struggles into 
 life, and how long it was before the men who had ventured 
 to plant their stakes here began to feel a comfortable assu- 
 rance of strength in these pleasant places. Then, following- 
 down the line of time for some twenty years, we are startled 
 when the long calm is broken by the dreadful war-cry of 
 the savage ; when the garments of parents and childi'en are 
 rolled in blood ; and the town one general desolation, without 
 an inhabitant. Slowly the old planters, surviving the 10th 
 of February, — surviving captivity, surviving their resi- 
 dence in other towns, — are seen retiu-ning to these familiar 
 seats, and new faces appear of those who had no part in 
 the early labors of the plantation. "We have seen the 
 gradual growth of the town ; its vein of prosperity sometimes 
 at fault, broken in upon by the Indian enemy, but still with 
 its course onward in the last century, when fragment after 
 fragment of the territory had been broken off, each to revolve 
 on its own centre, "creating within itself its means of social 
 order and improvement, and leaving the old sun of this little 
 system to shine with diminished light; but without long 
 lament, and with final joy that so many little republics had 
 been wrenched from it by no unlincal hand. We have seen 
 its subsequent prosperity, its care for education, and its
 
 128 CENTENNIAL ADDRESS 
 
 interest in the well-being of religious institutions. We have 
 seen the peaceful temper and conduct of the people in all 
 matters of theological doctrine and parochial concerns. 
 
 Not being to the manor born, as a disinterested observer 
 I may claim for Lancaster a good name among her multitudi- 
 nous sisters. I think it will be found in the character of her 
 inhabitants, in their general observance of law, in their love 
 of a well-regulated liberty, in the promotion of the interests of 
 rehgion and education, in the exhibition of the amenities and 
 charities of life, in the long period through which we have 
 been looking back, that old Lancaster need not be ashamed 
 of her history, — nay, that she may rejoice that she has been 
 permitted by the blessing of God to bear a worthy part in 
 helping, in her humble sphere, those great influences which 
 have made historical Massachusetts what she is. 
 
 And here permit me to turn aside for a few moments, and 
 dwell upon the history of Massachusetts. How large the 
 theme ! How much worthy of record it embraces in the civil 
 and social condition of the State in all times ! To what other 
 Commonwealth, I would ask (in no boastful vein, but grate- 
 fully), does she stand second in historical importance, and 
 in present comparative influence ? Here the sacred fire of 
 liberty kindled from the old Puritan stock in England, like 
 the fire of Prometheus received from heaven, was cherished 
 and preserved. Here, from the earliest spark that warmed 
 and cheered our fathers, we can trace one long line of light 
 down the pathway of her history to the present day ; and, 
 running back on the same line, we reach at once the elements 
 whence her measure of success on this portion of the Western
 
 AT LANCASTER, MASSACHUSETTS. 129 
 
 Continent has been derived, — bravery in encountering peril, 
 resolution bearing her up under every difficulty, perseverance 
 carrying her through every adversity ; — in the stern struggle 
 of the great Indian conflict, in which almost every male 
 from sixteen to sixty took part, and fears were seriously 
 entertained for the very existence of the colony ; — in the 
 longer peril of the Revolution remaining steadfast, — sad- 
 dened at times, but never desponding, — buckling on the 
 harness with alacrity, taking courage and looking to God for 
 assistance. In her history, too, may be found the inception 
 and growth of that feeling and principle which may be truly 
 called revolutionary in a high and worthy sense, because 
 founded on self-reliance, self-respect, knowledge of individual 
 right, the equality of all men before their God, and a deter- 
 mined spirit of resistance against aggression, limited only by 
 the power to sustain it, or that could endure to wait patiently, 
 biding its time. We gather from her histoiy, in its very 
 beginning, a true notion of the dignity of labor. The stub- 
 born soil yields to diligent and long-continued effort ; forest 
 after forest disappears ; the solitary places change to smiling 
 towns and villages, the abodes of quiet and peace ; the re- 
 wards of industry appear on every side, and the refinements 
 of life spread through the whole mass. 
 
 And then behold her intellectual life, traced to the great 
 fountains of English learning, flowing through her learned 
 and accomplished sons, our liberally-educated ancestors, 
 each generation gaining upon the immediately preceding 
 one, till it is illustrated and developed in the fulness of the 
 stream tliat now gladdens all our borders. Consider her 
 17
 
 130 CENTENNIAL ADDRESS 
 
 religious institutions, free from papacy, hierarchy, and pres- 
 bytery, — from all external power and domination 5 and 
 remember that it was mainly for the enjoyment of these 
 institutions untouched, without being called to account 
 from any quarter, that your ancestors and mine came to 
 these shores; while enlarged civil rights, the equal rights 
 of all in presence of the law, were also in contemplation. 
 "We meet with earnest and long-continued controversies, 
 involving manifold forms of metaphysical speculation, pro- 
 found dogmas, and nice distinctions, which, however little 
 ■practical-'in their bearing, sharpened the faculties, and led, 
 by gradual stages, through many an encounter, to the estab- 
 lishment of entire religious freedom. For a long period, the 
 historian will find that all the great discussions taxing the 
 intellectual ability of the colony Were confined to theological 
 polemics, when they did not touch upon matters of civil 
 polity ; and, though the reader may marvel that men should 
 grow so hot and fight so hard and so long upon vanishing 
 points, he will be able to appreciate the scholastic vigor 
 manifested in these discussions, and to discern the strength 
 they gave to habits of thought, and the power they infused 
 into the great mind of the colony. These men reasoned high 
 indeed, with earnestness, with abiding belief in the vital 
 importance of the subjects in controversy to the honor and 
 stability of the church, and the good of mankind. 
 
 The history of Massachusetts, in its wide extent, is sub- 
 stantially the history of New England for a long series of 
 years. She was early the governing and guiding power. 
 Connecticut sprang immediately from her bosom, and at once
 
 AT LANCASTER, MASSACHUSETTS. 131 
 
 took her impress ; New Hampshire and Maine, over whom 
 she saw fit to extend her jurisdiction and government, 
 had occasion ever to bless her name for the salutary power 
 she exercised, — sharp, at times, no doubt, and stringent, 
 but wholesome to the building up of commonwealths ; while, 
 from a reflex influence, our little sister Ilhode Island, born 
 out of opposition, and, as some would say, persecution, has 
 been a sharer in the benefits bestowed by her elder sister.* 
 The influence of Massachusetts, thus leading and controlling, 
 moulded the character of the New England people into one 
 homogeneous whole, with the traits of energy, prudence, 
 thrift, sagacity, vigilance against every encroachment on indi- 
 vidual right in civil and religious matters, obedience to law, 
 and with sympathy for the oppressed. She was conservative, 
 and yet progressive ; sometimes in the wrong ; blinded at 
 times, but soon becoming clear-sighted ; of great heart, beating 
 with high impulses ; of noble purposes, carried out in noble 
 deeds ; of large enterprise, followed by individual and general 
 success. All this was derived from that State, " inferior to 
 many others in extent, wealth, and commerce," says^ a distin- 
 guished man out of our confines, " but superior to them all in 
 intellectual and social development." And for all this, for all 
 
 * Even good Roger Williams, whose exclusive spirit sensibly diminished on his 
 banishment, and who finally became well-tempered and wise, found his little colony 
 too turbulent for his comfort or control, and gladly would have come under the juris- 
 diction of the Massachusetts. In a letter which he addressed to the General Court, 
 15, 9 mo., 1655, as " President of Providence Plantations," he says: «' Honoured Sirs, 
 I cordially professe it before the Most High, that I believe it, if not only they " (viz. 
 four English families at Pawtuxet), " but ourselves, and all the whole country, by . 
 joint consent, were subject to your government, it might be a rich mercy." — Hutch- 
 inson Papers.
 
 132 CENTENNIAL ADDRESS 
 
 that we possess and enjoy, under the good providence of 
 Almighty God, we are more indebted to that first impress 
 stamped by the sturdy old Puritans upon our institutions, 
 upon Massachusetts' individual character at the start, than to 
 all else at all time. 
 
 The history of Massachusetts is still a fresh subject, — in 
 hackneyed phrase, is yet to be written. Hutchinson, whose 
 name has come down to us with so much obloquy, that justice 
 has not been done to his merits, was endowed with much 
 more than common ability, — a correct, impartial, laborious 
 writer, learned in all that pertained to his subject, careful in 
 examination, cautious in expression, and in many ways enti- 
 tled to great praise. He has preserved many facts that other- 
 wise would have been lost ; and many others he would have 
 preserved, but for the drunken, infuriated mob that destroyed 
 his mansion-house, with the accumulated historical treasures 
 of thii'ty years' gathering. In his last volume, covering the 
 whole period of the controversy before the Revolution, con- 
 sidering that he was act and part therein, that he was engaged 
 in exceeding bitter political warfare, and had often measured 
 swords with the great leaders of the revolutionary party, he 
 has observed a measure of impartiality and dignity truly 
 commendable. But Hutchinson's tendencies are more im- 
 portant to us in his preceding volumes, embracing the form- 
 ing period of the New England character and institutions. 
 He was a man of phlegmatic temperament — his portraits 
 show it — his work shows it ; — was of cold exterior like a 
 very Puritan, but not, like the Piu'itan, of intense purpose. 
 He was not of a nature to understand and delineate the
 
 AT LANCASTER, MASSACHUSETTS. 133 
 
 qualities of the progressive Commonwealth ; and, if he had 
 been, his false position and association growing naturally 
 out of the constitution of his mind, even when liberally in- 
 clined, would have defeated all generous views, and prevented 
 his success. He did not appreciate the magnitude of his 
 subject, nor comprehend the great elements of the people, 
 and the wonderful destiny to which they had been called. 
 He is hedged in by prerogative, — hampered by station, — 
 never committing himself to a full and free glow of feeling ; 
 and fails, therefore, in tracing the gradual development of 
 civil and religious liberty, working itself out to perfect form 
 through all "intervening obstacles. He construed the old 
 charter like a common lawyer touching the relations between 
 the colony and the mother-country. He viewed the colo- 
 nists early and late as mistaken in their theory of their rights, 
 while he expresses himself ready to excuse them, because 
 some of the nobility and principal commoners in England 
 early entertained the same theory. Dependence he regarded 
 as a duty under all circumstances, and could scarcely con- 
 ceive of a state of affairs — a degree of oppression — that 
 would justify resistance. Hence he wholly fails in estimat- 
 ing the constant sensitive feeling manifested in a long line 
 of instances, running through more than a century, against 
 interference from abroad. It became his greatest pride in 
 every event to exhibit the most devout loyalty of a subject ; 
 and all his love of country was at last absorbed in allegiance 
 to the crown. Mighty dreams of ambition laid fast hold of 
 him, and he fell — fell below the depth of plummet, as poli- 
 ticians untrue to a great and holy cause have fallen in every
 
 134 CENTENNIAL ADDRESS 
 
 age. His enlightened and valuable service for a long series 
 of years in the political affairs of the Province ; his ability 
 and impartiality in a high judicial station, once gratefully re- 
 ceived and freely acknowledged, were all sunk in the popular 
 estimation, and in the judgment of the wise, when, deserting 
 the cause of liberty in his native land, he looked to the 
 throne for promotion, wealth, and power. 
 
 But, in addition to all this. Governor Hutchinson's History 
 ends with the year 1774. Judge Minot, in his faithful and 
 excellent History, chiefly considers the course of events 
 from 1748 to 1765. We are without any worthy commemo- 
 ration of the old Commonwealth from the time of Hutchin- 
 son's departure for England, through the Revolutionary "War 
 down to the present generation. Meanwhile the materials 
 have been constantly accumulating. Winthrop's Journal, 
 the corner-stone of our history, existing in manuscript until 
 near the close of the last century, and known only to Hutch- 
 inson through the dilution of Hubbard, but now in the hands 
 of the public through the exact labors of its learned and ac- 
 complished editor, — the archives of the Commonwealth, — 
 county and town records, — town histories, — pamphlets, — 
 newspapers, — letters, — the collections of historical societies 
 printed and manscript, at home and abroad, — the treasures 
 of the Plantation Office, and other foreign sources, — afford 
 a mass "of authentic facts in rich profusion, all ready to 
 be combined, and to be moulded into form by a hand 
 competent to furnish a standard history from the first germ, 
 through every subsequent period of growth, to its full and 
 final maturity.
 
 AT LANCASTER, MASSACHUSETTS. 135 
 
 We now want the man, — Heaven grant that he may be 
 raised up to us ! — who will buckle on the armour for this 
 great work. Let no incompetent or imperfectly disciplined 
 hand attempt it. It is a task not to be lightly undertaken. 
 It is to be entered upon with no holyday or irreverent 
 feeling. There must be an entire consecration to the office. 
 The historian must be a ripe ahd good scholar, accomplished 
 at all points by the most careful and exact training. He 
 must live in the past, with all the lights of the present re- 
 flected upon it. He must be a son of Massachusetts, to 
 the question born, identified in feeling with every portion 
 of her great story ; all of which must lie as a well-delineated 
 chart in his mind. He must pierce through their garb and 
 whatever is repulsive in their bearing, and gain a thorough 
 insight into the character of the Puritans, — comprehend 
 their great virtues, their lofty principles, their incontestable 
 sacrifices. He must himself smack of the old stock, — have 
 the sturdy root within him ; while, in his port and bearing, 
 he gives evidence that the milder qualities and the refine- 
 ments of life have been superinduced. He must under- 
 stand the nature of the government here founded ; interpret . 
 its genius ; and find in the actual situation of our fathers, 
 outcasts as it were from the Old World, but with rights 
 as a Corporation giving them exclusive privileges, a justifica- 
 tion of much that is put down to the score of intolerance 
 and persecution. He must be able to show how, if they 
 had been less rigid, the colony would have been overrun 
 with adventurers, loose and profane persons ; deriding our 
 ancestral peculiarities, exercising our elective franchise, with-
 
 136 CENTENNIAL ADDRESS 
 
 out a stake in the country ] weakening public authority, and 
 endangering the very existence of the colony. He must 
 be able to trace, by the clearest deductions, the growth of 
 free principles through peace and war, till the final and 
 necessary result in the establishment of a well-balanced 
 state ; and to this work, to which he should be moved by 
 mighty forces from within, he must devote many of his 
 best years, — his entire and vigorous powers. Nothing less 
 can be demanded. The Commonwealth, the common mother 
 of our peace and joy, — with all her intellectual, moral, social, 
 and industrial developments, — will be satisfied with no less. 
 Descendants of the early Pilgrims of this valley ; citizens 
 of Lancaster, a place eminently " fit for a plantation ; " men 
 and women, wholly " meet for such a work," as part of the 
 general weal, as well as individuals of the town, bearing a 
 part in the institutions of the land ! you are called to great 
 privileges, and have corresponding duties. You can look 
 back upon a local history, not, indeed, marked with any 
 great events or portentous changes, but quiet, well-ordered, 
 and unpretending. The humble men who first took up 
 their abode here, seem not to have been contentious to any 
 extent, but generally harmonious and loving, — like one 
 entire family in mutual dependence ; with no special range 
 of thought or enlarged purpose^ but seeking to establish 
 themselves in those peaceful relations which they could not 
 find at home. They were attached to the soil by theii* daily 
 labors, and to the soil they looked for their support, and the 
 " enlargement of their outward estate ; " essaying what they 
 could, in their circumscribed condition, to build up the church
 
 AT LANCASTER, MASSACHUSETTS. 137 
 
 and school ,' gradually increasing in numbers, and set down 
 in larger sums in the rates, as their means widened out. They 
 lived in comfort ; for the earth yielded a liberal increase, and 
 the woods and streams furnished them out of their abund- 
 ance. Here they toiled, enjoyed, and suffered in their daily 
 round of duty, at a distance from the busthng world ; their 
 territory seldom traversed save by some Groton, Concord, 
 or Sudbury man, wending his way along the bridle path, 
 piercing the forest and fording the stream, to visit some 
 relative or friend, or ask some maiden in marriage, — or, 
 ever and anon, a more hardy rider passing thi-ough, from the 
 Bay to Connecticut, by the newly-discovered path, "which 
 avoided much of the hilly way." A silence reigned all 
 around the borders of the plantation, — the solemn silence 
 of nature, — broken only by the music of the bird, or the 
 howl of the wild beast. 
 
 The blood of these men and women flows in the veins of 
 many now present. May you emulate their industry ; prac- 
 tise, if need be, their self-denial; remain content with the 
 more agreeable lot that is yours, as they were content with 
 theirs ; not despising their day of small things, their scanty 
 learning, their limited means ; but endeavoring to build up, 
 as they did, to venerate all the great purposes of social orga- 
 nization, and to have regard to your Master-Rowlandsons, 
 as they had to theirs. From these men have proceeded 
 other generations, out of which have issued those who have 
 done good service in their day, in the learned professions, 
 and in civil and military office ; historians and poets ; men 
 skilled in the useful arts ; women, with the attractions of 
 18
 
 138 CENTENNIAL ADDRESS 
 
 literature, of pleasant culture, of domestic refinement, — 
 an intimate, ever-honored, distinguished portion of the social 
 fabric. 
 
 Your responsibilities are scarcely to be measured. They 
 are not here or there. They reach all time and place, centres 
 of ever-widening circles. They belong to the relations of 
 private life in your own households, where the holiest influ- 
 ences should abound, and be beautifully exemplified; and 
 out of which, in larger extent, should be touched the various 
 connections binding man to society; and through which 
 should be inculcated, in the pregnant words of our State 
 Constitution, " the principles of humanity and general bene- 
 volence, public and private charity, industry and frugahty, 
 honesty and punctuality in dealings, sincerity, good humor, 
 and all social affections and generous sentiments." As 
 citizens, be known as those who, by their efforts and example, 
 are ever ready to do good service to town and common- 
 wealth, in all their great departments and interests ; remem- 
 bering, that, however humble, every one has liis own sphere 
 of influence more or less extended, and that his obligation 
 to unremitting, beneficial work is paramount while life 
 lasts. As free, as men, be bold for the truth, never 
 encouraging a false public sentiment, never yielding up 
 your right of thought ; but consider it " a base abandonment 
 of reason " to resign it, whether for sneers or threats, the 
 opposition of the few or the many, the pomp and circumstance 
 of public station, or any other factitious condition. While 
 you gracefully yield to others their rights, never allow the 
 utmost freedom of opinion, and the expression thereof, to
 
 AT LANCASTER, MASSACHUSETTS. 139 
 
 be called in question by any man or body of men. If you 
 permit individual opinion to be crushed, much more if you 
 join in a bHnd crusade against it, remember your own danger. 
 It may be convenient for you now to denounce ; but the time 
 may come, — comes often, by universal experience, — when 
 your position will be reversed, and you will need that support 
 and protection which you have denied to others ; when the 
 cold demeanor and the averted look will teach you your 
 worse than folly in having failed to assert the right in your 
 brother's emergent occasion. Bound together by one invisi- 
 ble but enduring chain of dependence, having one duty and 
 one community, let general harmony abound, with individual 
 differences and peculiarities. 
 
 As a people, we have had our misfortunes and adversities, 
 suflPering from poverty and straits, from oppression and vio- 
 lence, all which have passed away. Long since, we have 
 come out of clouds and thick darkness ; and now, in our clear 
 sunshine, in the possession of national and individual wealth, 
 acquired with a rapidity almost unexampled iy the history of 
 the world, we are to be still more sorely tried. 
 
 In a common danger, when a common calamity is impend- 
 ing, men band together.and struggle against it, and come out 
 from it with the great elements of their character strengthened 
 aiid purified. But, in a time of abounding prosperity, men 
 are apt to -become hard, unsympathizing, selfish. This is 
 our danger ; this the peculiar trial and temptation we are 
 called upon to meet. Luxury and barbaric splendor are creep- 
 ing in upon us "vvith feai'ful power; intense love of the 
 pleasures of sense, a diseased passion for excitement, lioAage
 
 140 CENTENNIAL ADDRESS. 
 
 to money, low in its principle and degrading in its effects, are 
 influencing us to an extent hitherto unknown ; while there 
 is fear that the highest civilization, so called, is producing 
 the lowest forms of Christian belief and practice-, and sacri- 
 ficing the life of our spiritual nature to a deadly materialism. 
 Literature and art will not save a people ; for, while they 
 may refine in some respects, they may become the handmaids 
 of vice as well as of virtue, and be prostituted, as they have 
 been prostituted, to the worst uses. 
 
 Believing in progress, — believing that the world has made 
 great progress, and that vast good has come along side by side 
 with bad tendencies, — esteeming it a great privilege to live 
 in the present age, with our wide social relations and indivi- 
 dual rights, — let us bring up stern principle and undying 
 faith to every encounter ; let them underlie the whole man ; 
 and then, however sharply we are tried by a prosperous, as 
 our fathers were by an adverse condition, we shall, like them, 
 gain the "victory, and perpetuate what we now possess and 
 enjoy; then, if the thick cloud shall rise above our horizon, 
 and spread upward, threatening night, blessed hope will rise 
 still higher, and "play upon its edges," tinging them with 
 its own brightness, and bringing the assurance of perfect 
 day.
 
 APPENDIX.
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 At a town-meeting of the citizens of Lancaster, held Nov. 29, 1852, 
 it was unanimously voted, " That the town will commemorate the 
 two-hundredth anniversary of the incorporation of Lancaster, by 
 holding a celebration of that event in the year one thousand eight 
 hundred and fifty-three." 
 
 At the same meeting, a genez'al Committee of ten persons, in- 
 cluding the three clergymen of the town, was appointed to carry 
 out the purpose of the above vote. 
 
 It was also voted, " That all the towns which formerly composed 
 a part of Lancaster be invited to unite with us in the proposed 
 celebration." 
 
 The general Committee, after filling two vacancies made by 
 resignation and adding several new members, consisted of the 
 following persons : Rev. Charles Packard, Rev. Benjamin Whit- 
 temore. Rev. George M. Bartol, William Townsend, John G. 
 Thurston, Jacob Fisher, John M. Washburn, George Cnmmings, 
 Calvin Carter, Henry Wilder, Charles L. Wilder, Anthony Lane, 
 Matthew F. Woods, and John Thurston. 
 
 John G. Thurston was appointed Chairman of the Committee ; 
 and John M. Washburn, Secretary. 
 
 In pursuance of the design, whose execution had Ixn-n entrusted 
 to them by the town, the Committee held niuneroiis meetings, at
 
 144 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 some of which delegates from neighboring towns were, by invita- 
 tion, present to co-operate. Sub-committees were appointed, and 
 the following persons were chosen as officers of the day : — 
 
 Rev. CHARLES PACKARD, President; 
 
 Vice- Pres idents. 
 
 Rev. Benjamin Whittemore. 
 George Cummings. 
 John G. Thurston. 
 Jacob Fisher. 
 John M. Washburn. 
 Anthony Lane. 
 Chaexes Wtman. 
 
 Henry Wilder. 
 Calvin Carter. 
 Wilder S. Thurston. 
 Charles Humphrey. 
 Silas Thurston. 
 Charles L. Wilder. 
 Samuel W. Burbank. 
 
 John G. Thurston. 
 Jacob Fisher. 
 George Cummings. 
 
 Committee of Reception. 
 
 Calvin Carter. 
 
 Peter T. Homer. 
 
 George R. M. Withington. 
 
 Dr. John L, S. Thompson Chief Marshal. 
 
 Assistant Marshals. 
 
 G. F. Chandler. 
 Stevens H. Turner. 
 James Childs. 
 Joel W. Phelps. 
 
 G. W. Howe. 
 Warren Davis. 
 Charles J. Wilder. 
 
 H. C. Kimball Toast-Master. 
 
 The morning of Wednesday, June 15, rose clear and serene, and 
 was ushered in by the ringing of bells and the booming of cannon. 
 At an early hour, citizens from our own and neighboring towns, 
 with those who had come from more remote distances, assembled 
 at the Town House, to exchange greetings of welcome and con- 
 gratulation. 
 
 At about 10, A.M., a procession was formed, under the direction 
 of the Marshal, of those desirous of attending the exercises to be
 
 APPENDIX. 145 
 
 held at the meeting-house of the First Parish. The order of ser- 
 vices in the church was as follows : — 
 
 I. VOLUNTAKY BY THE CHOIR, 
 
 II. INVOCATION BY THE REV. GEORGE M. BARTOL. 
 
 III. READING OF SCRIPTURES BY THE REV. GEORGE M. BARTOL. 
 
 IV. PSALM LXXVIII. 
 
 Let children hear the mighty deeds 
 
 Which God performed of old ; 
 "Which in our younger years we saw, 
 * And which our fathers told. 
 
 He bids us make his glories known, — 
 His works of power and grace ; 
 
 And we '11 convey his wonders down 
 Through every rising race. 
 
 Our lips shall tell them to our sons, 
 
 And they again to theirs. 
 That generations yet unborn 
 
 May teach them to their heirs. 
 
 Thus they shall learn, in God alone 
 Their hope scciu'cly stands. 
 
 That they may ne'er forget his works. 
 But practise liis commands. 
 
 V. PRAYER BY THE REV. CHRISTOPHER T. THAYER, OF BEVERLY. 
 
 VI. ODE BY MISS HANNAH F. GOULD, OF NEWBURYPORT. 
 
 The dark forest frowned o'er the unopened sod ; 
 
 The scene was a ■wilderness howling, 
 With trails whero the wolf and the man-savage trod, 
 Unkno^ving alike of tlioir Maker and God ; 
 
 And each for his victim was pro\\ling. 
 Oiu: anthems arise where the wild-A\'ood air. 
 
 Moaning, wailing, 
 Hath shuddered the war-whoo]) to bear ! 
 
 19
 
 1 40 APPENDIX. 
 
 Our forefathers cried to the King they adored, — 
 
 " Jehovah our banner ! Jehovah ! " 
 They bowed at his tlurone in a holy accord ; 
 Then here bore for safety the ark of the Lord, 
 
 The drear oceiTii-waste roaming over. 
 Their harps, that had hushed on the willows hung, , 
 
 Sounded, joj'ful. 
 Till Nature's grand temple-arch rung. 
 
 Around their rude altar in trust as they kneeled, 
 
 A guard of strong angels attending 
 Spread o'er them, unseen, their bright wings, as a shield, 
 TiU darkness was chased by the Day-fount unsealed. 
 
 With streams of a light never-ending. 
 The desert was sweetened with Sharon's rose, 
 
 Thornless, blooming. 
 All fair and immortal that grows. 
 
 Two Centuries now hath our Lancaster seen. 
 
 And left not a cloud on her story : 
 "With eye clear and beaming, her brow is serene, 
 Her footsteps direct, and majestic her mien, 
 
 "While passing from glory to glory. 
 Her jewels unblemished will yet be shown, 
 
 Sliining, priceless. 
 And nimibered of God as his own ! 
 
 But how for het day she hath acted her part. 
 With wisdom, and beauty, and fitness, — 
 
 For cultmre of earth, of the mind, of the heart, 
 
 Por commerce and science, for letters and art, — 
 Let heaA-en, earth, and sea, bear her Avitness ! 
 
 Her children arise, and proclaim her blest : 
 Onward, upward ! 
 
 She points them for honor and rest. 
 
 May she, when her aloe shall blossom anew, 
 New beauties and poAvers be unfolding, 
 
 With ever-fresh blessings, like spring-showers and dew ; 
 
 And we, to whom earth must be then but review. 
 The lilies unearthly beholding ; 
 
 For circling to-day our old Home hearth-stone. 
 Stronger, brighter 
 
 Our ties where no parting is knoAvn !
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 VII. ADDRESS BY JOSEPH WILLARD, ESQ. OF BOSTON. 
 
 147 
 
 VIII. PRAYER BY THE REV. BENJAMIN AVHITTEMORE. 
 
 IX. PSALM CVII. 
 
 Where notliing dwelt but beasts of prey, 
 Or mep as fierce and wild as they, 
 God bids the opprest and jioor, repair, 
 And builds them towns and cities there. 
 
 They sow the fields, and trees they plant, 
 Whose yearly fruit supplies their want : 
 Their race grows up from fruitful stocks ; 
 Their wealth increases with their flocks. 
 
 The righteous, Avith a joyful sense, 
 Admire the works of Providence ; 
 And Avise observers still shall find 
 The Lord is holy, jiist, and kind. 
 
 X. BENEDICTION. 
 
 The singing was performed with taste and spirit by a large choir 
 of young ladies and gentlemen of Lancaster, finder the lead of Mr. 
 Osgood Collister. 
 
 The church was tastefully decorated with evergreens and 
 flowers. The names of the deceased ministers of Lancaster — 
 Rowland SON, "Whiting, Gardner, Prentice, Harrington, 
 Thayer — were fixed in evergreen upon the panels of the galle- 
 ries, with the dates 1653 and 1853 on the east and west sides of 
 the pulpit respectively, and the- words "Christ and the Church" 
 and " Welcome Home " on the gallery frynting the pulpit. 
 
 At the close of the exercises in the church, a procession, arranged 
 in the following order, was formed of those wishing to pai'take of
 
 148 APPENDIX. 
 
 the public dinner, which was spread under a spacious tent in 
 Chandler's Grove. 
 
 ESCORT. 
 
 The Committee of Arrangements. 
 
 President of the day, and Vice-Presidents. 
 
 Orator and Chaplains. 
 
 Invited Guests. 
 
 Adjoining To-wais, in the Order of Seniority. 
 
 Members of the New England i^ormal Institute. 
 
 Citizens of Laiicastei-. 
 
 With the soufid of music, the waving of banners, and the echo- 
 ing of cannon, the procession wound its way up Burial-ground Hill, 
 and entered beneath the protecting shade of the venerable trees. 
 An arched gateway, trimmed with evergreen, led into the grove ; 
 and the mottoes, " Welcome Home," " Though long absent not for- 
 gotten," were placed near the entrance. 
 
 About two thousand persons entered the tent to partake of tlie 
 festivities of the dinner. The tables were bountifully spread with 
 substantial comforts, and the hand of the ladies was apparent in 
 the graceful trimmings that everywhere met the eye, bountifully 
 furnished by the gardens and woods. Above the heads of the 
 guests were suspended the words, " Here friends and brothers 
 meet ; " " Here we venerate our fathers." 
 
 On an elevated platform, in the midst of the large assembly, was 
 seated the President of the day, with several of the Vice-Presidents 
 and invited guests on his right and left. The blessing was invoked 
 by the Rev. Hubbard Winslow,* of Boston. 
 
 The cloth having been removed, the following preliminary 
 remarks were made by the Rev. Charles Packard, President 
 of the day: — 
 
 Ladies and Gentlemen, — The duty has devolved upon me to 
 offer you, in behalf of the Committee of Arrangements, a few 
 words of congratulation and of welcome. You are awai-e that 
 the precise date of the incorporation of this town was (according 
 to New Style) on the 28th of May last. The Committee deemed
 
 APPENDIX. 149 
 
 it suitable, however, to defer the celebration to the 15th of June, 
 that we might enjoy the propitious skies of summer, and that 
 old Lancaster might present herself to, her children upon her 
 natal day in her most beautiful robes of green. And when, ladies 
 and gentlemen, during the century now justclOsed in the history 
 of this town, has a brighter or a more auspicious morning dawned 
 upon us than this ? As we were awakened from our slumbers by 
 the joyous song of the birds, the merry pealing of the bells, and 
 the booming of the cannon, who of us could repress the t^r of 
 gratitude and the prayer of thanksgiving to that benignant Provi- 
 dence, whose gracious smiles have enabled the Lancaster of to-day 
 to present such a brilliant contrast to the Lancaster of two hundred^ 
 years ago? 
 
 It is an interesting feature in our celebration, that we have the 
 hearty co-operation of the neighboring towns whose territory was 
 once included within the limits of this. The invitation extended 
 to them by the Committee has been cordially responded to. We 
 welcome the large and respectable delegations now present from 
 Harvard, Bolton, Leominster, Sterling, Boylston, and Clinton, 
 whom we may appropriately call children of Lancaster, and also 
 from our -grand-children Berlin and West Boylston. Sentiments 
 have been prepared, which, I trust, will call out the representatives 
 of all these neighboring towns. 
 
 I am happy, gentlemen and ladies, to recognize in this great 
 assembly a number of distinguished persons, who, although not 
 natives of this town, have acquired a strong interest in its welfare 
 and history, by a residence among us as teachers or pupils, or in 
 some other capacity. I hope soon to have the honor of introduc- 
 ing to you some whose names have been identified in various 
 departments of political and professional life, not only with the 
 best interests of the old county of Worcester and the old Bay State, 
 but of our National Union. Representatives are also present from 
 some of our historical societies, who exhibit their devotion to the 
 memories of the past, by improving the opportunity, ttiat will not 
 often occur to them in our newly settled country, of reviving the 
 reminiscences of two hundred years. •
 
 150 APPENDIX. 
 
 Natives of Lancaster ! allow me the privilege of welcoming 
 you to the joyous scenes of this day. We rejoice to see such a 
 noble company of the sons and daughters of this ancient town 
 under this canopy to-day. You have looked forward to this occa- 
 sion with joyous arfticipations, and now we are permitted to gi-eet 
 you. You have come to us from various and Avidely distant por- 
 tions of our extended reiiublic. We welcome you to the scenes of 
 your childhood, — to your native hills, — to the gi'and elm-trees 
 under which you once sported, — to the sweetly flowing Nashua, 
 upon whose banks you loved to wander in your boyish days ; and 
 those familiar objects, the memory of which will never be obliter- 
 ated by the lapse of time or the distance that may separate you 
 from them. Your presence to-day in such large numbers, not only 
 honors your native town, but honors also yourselves. It is a pledge 
 to us, that tbe bustle and business of life, its distracting cares and 
 anxieties, and the various experience through which you have 
 passed, have not alienated your affections from the scenes of your 
 early days. You can adopt, in regard to your native town, the 
 language of the poet : 
 
 " Where'er I roam, whatever realms I see, 
 My heart untravelled fondly turns to thee." 
 
 It is an interesting illustration of the enterprise of the old New- 
 England towns, that, although Lancaster has never comprehended 
 withiii'its present limits a population of seventeen hundred persons, 
 her sons and daughters may be found on the shores of the Pacific 
 and in the extreme portions of the country. The pen of a daugh- 
 ter of Lancaster, now an adopted daughter of the State of Florida, 
 has composed a worthy poetical tribute of affection, which we shall 
 soon have the privilege of presenting' to you as a part of these 
 exercises. 
 
 The spot on which this pavilion stands has been the theatre of 
 ome of the interesting .events that hsi\^ been so appropriately 
 alluded to by the orator of the day. As we passed along in the 
 procession from the church, we could have discerned on the left 
 hand (had not the railroad intervened) the site of the oldest
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 151 
 
 burying-ground, where not only " the rude forefathers of the hamlet 
 sleep/' but most of those early ministers of the town whose vener- 
 able names we saw inscribed in wreaths of evergreen on the walls 
 of the sanctuary. Still nearer the road, and on the brow of the hill 
 on which the present burying-ground is located, was the site of 
 the first meeting-house. Still farther west, on the right hand of the 
 road, and where we saw a flag displayed, was the site of the house 
 occupied by the Rev. Mr. Rowlandson, and which was burnt by the 
 Indians in King Philip's war. As we came still farther along, we 
 passed the mansion occupied for nearly a century by the Rev. Dr. 
 Thayer, and his predecessor the Rev. Mr. Harrington. The elm- 
 trees beneath whose shade this tent has been erected are upwards of 
 a hundred and fifty years of age. They were the ornament of the 
 second parsonage built in Lancaster, which stood within a few feet 
 of us until within the i-ecollection of some here present. The 
 water which has quenched our thirst to-day has been drawn from 
 the same well from which the venerable Prentice drank. On this 
 spot, the Rev. Messrs. Gardner and Whiting were both slain, — the 
 one by his own countrymen, who mistook him for an Indian ; the 
 other in dreadful conflict with the savages themselves. The very 
 ground upon which we now stand, therefore, is associated with the 
 most interesting historical recollections, that it is the great design 
 of these services to commemorate. 
 
 But I feel, ladies and gentlemen, after the protracted services in 
 which we have already 'participated, and especially as my humble 
 duty is simply to be the organ of the Committee of Arrangements 
 in introducing others to your notice, that it ill becomes me to tres- 
 l)ass any longer upon your attention. I, therefore, will conclude 
 by offering to you, in behalf of the Committee, the following sen- 
 timent, which they have placed in my hands : — 
 
 "Lancaster, — a happy mother surrounded by noble children. 
 Her old heart rejoices in their prosperity, while the memories of 
 two hundred years come over her of the struggles she endured 
 and the perils she encountered in deHuiding her own young life, in 
 this day's greetings."
 
 152 APPENDIX. 
 
 TOASTS. 
 
 1. The First Settlers of Lancaster; — Hallowed be their memories ! Where 
 they sowed in blood and tears, we reap in joy. 
 
 2. The Early Ministers op Lancaster. They have toiled nobly, and entered 
 into their rest. They were the Elijahs of the Past: may their mantles fall on the 
 Elishas of the Present ! 
 
 3. The Rev. Timothy Harrington. He appropriately noticed the close of 
 Lancaster's first century : his descendants are now with us to honor the close of 
 the second, 
 
 4. The Rev. Nathaniel Thayer, — affectionately remembered and deeply 
 lamented. 
 
 Remarks of the Rev. Edmund H. Sears, of Wayland : — 
 
 Mr. President, — You have intimated to me that there is a pro- 
 priety in my responding to these sentiments. I believe I am the 
 only living ex-minister of Lancaster ; and I think I might go fur- 
 ther, and say that I am the only ex-minister that Lancaster ever 
 had, so far, at least, as the ancient parish is concerned. The only 
 apparent exception that I can recollect is that of Father Rowland- 
 son ; and he only left when his parish had ceased to exist, and deso- 
 lation and solitude had overspread the town. But I shall not stand 
 here to eulogize the old ministers of Lancaster. Their monuments 
 are all around you, in the state of society, in the institutions, social, 
 educational, and religious, which have come down to you shaped 
 by their hands, and diffusing their blessed influences through this 
 beautiful valley. I have studied the characters and the history of 
 these good and venerable men, and have endeavored in some 
 measure to imbibe their spirit and principles. Rowlandson, Whit- 
 ing, Gardner, Prentice, Harrington, and Thayer, — it hardly 
 becomes me to utter their praises after the fuU delineation of their 
 characters which was given us by the orator this morning. Of 
 this line of pastors, the only one, of course, whom I ever saw was 
 Dr. Thayer; and I carry in my memory an impression of his 
 venerable form and .benignant countenance. Of the more ancient 
 ones, though they wrote little which has come down to us, yet they 
 were such men of mark that they appear to us through the haze of 
 the past with enough of distinctness and individuality. I suppose
 
 APPP]XDIX. 
 
 153 
 
 our reverence for their memory does not require of us to adopt all 
 their views and notions, without exercising a little discrimination. 
 Father Prentice was a genuine Puritan ; and I seem to see him in 
 all his severity of look, taste, and manners. But I think that none 
 of us would care to he subjected to a church-discipline quite so 
 stringent as his. "Why, sir, he excommunicated a member of his 
 church for criticizing one of his sermons. I am afraid, if ministers 
 now should adopt such a rule of discipline as that, they would find, 
 ere long, that they had not many church-members left to be excom- 
 municated. Father Harrington, we are told, had softened a little 
 the old theology and manners. I believe he was one of the best men 
 that ever lived, and I cannot but admire his Christian suavity and 
 benevolence. And yet it is somewhere stated in the recox'ds, that 
 he claimed for himself to be equal to one half of his church. Yes, 
 a little more than equal; for, when they had passed a vote, he 
 claimed the right to veto it, and set it aside ; and that would make 
 him a majority of the whole! I suppose, sir, you would not 
 consider that very good Congregationalism. Then, again, some of 
 these good old ministers had a way of showing their reverence for 
 the sabbath, which we should hardly consider in these days entirely 
 practical. I do not find how it was with the ministers of Lancaster, 
 but a contemporary of Father Harrington, who preached in a neigh- 
 boring town, and was pastor of the society to which it is my privi- 
 lege now to minister, had notions on this subject which I think 
 would rather more than satisfy the law of the Old Testament. 
 Children who were born on Sunday he refused to baptize, for he 
 said they broke the sabbath at their very birth. But it shows how 
 much personal feeling has to do in shaping our opinions, that after- 
 wards, when he had twin-children himself that were born on Sun- 
 day, he found that it altered the case entirely ; and these and all 
 past delinquents then had the privilege of the ordinance. "Well, 
 sir, we amuse ourselves with the peculiar notions of these good men, 
 just as our children, I suppose, will amuse themselves with ours. 
 But, when we come to the real substance and metal of which these 
 men were made ; when I contemplate their devotion to the supreme 
 and eternal law, before which they bowed in reverence, let kings 
 
 20
 
 154 APPENDIX. 
 
 and cabinets go as they would ; when I see the nearness of their 
 approach to the dazzling throne of Jehovah, so that all outward 
 distinctions vanished into nothing, that God might fill their whole 
 vision, and become all in all r when I see their serene faith in the 
 midst of dangers such as we never knew, and their majestic patience 
 under trials such as we never felt, — I forget all their peculiarities, 
 and bow before their lofty and magnanimous virtues. 
 
 I find it stated by the historian of Lancaster, that, among the 
 regulations which the first settlers of the town adopted, there was 
 one which excluded all heretics from settling among them. Heresy, 
 you know, means schism, division ; and I will not undertake to say 
 how much that regulation has had to do with the harmonizing 
 influences that have always prevailed here. But, coming up hither 
 on such a sweet June morning as we did to-day, and standing here 
 with such prospects lying around us, I could not help thinking there 
 were other influences which had done something in forming the 
 characters of the people here ; something in producing that warm 
 and genial sunshine of the heart for which they have always been 
 known. I believe that the scenery with which our minds become 
 familiar has not a little to do in our education ; and here nature, in 
 her loveliest moods and sweetest aspects, is ever passing into your 
 souls. I confess for myself, though not a native of Lancaster, that 
 its quiet scenery has become so wrought and pictured in my 
 memory, that I carry it along with me in life's journey, and live it 
 over and over in hours of soothing meditation ; and it has the same 
 influence with me as the reading of good books or the hearing of 
 good sermons. Not to transgress the rule you have prescribed, I 
 will close with giving you this sentiment : — 
 
 " The People of Lancaster, — May their minds and hearts 
 ever reflect the genial beauty and glory of the scenery amid which 
 they live ! " 
 
 The Eev. Christopher T. Thayer, of Beverly, also responded 
 as follows : — 
 
 Mr. President and Friends, — I say friends, because we are 
 gathered now as a great family, all the members of which are — by
 
 APPENDIX. 155 
 
 the impressive circumstances under whicli we are assembled ; by the 
 very genius of the place ; by ancestral memories ; by early and ten- 
 der associations ; by thoughts of present and of buried joys ; by 
 cordial greetings of old companions, and revisiting the spot hallowed 
 by the repose of kindred dust ; by common recollections, pleasures, 
 griefs, hopes — brought into near and friendly relations. After the 
 very interesting and felicitous response just made to the notices 
 which have been taken of the former ministers, I feel that for me 
 to attempt to add any thin^ to that would be as unnecessary as it 
 would be delicate from my filial connection with one of them. This, 
 however, I cannot forbear saying, from a full heart, that the honor 
 which has this day been paid to a name which will ever be among 
 the nearest and dearest to me has touched my deepest sensibility, 
 and receives my most grateful acknowledgment. 
 
 In the religious history of this town, its inhabitants, and all who 
 ai"e connected with it, may take a pride as well as gratification. It 
 has been marked by reverence for r.eligion and her institutions, 
 purity and elevation of character, an enlightened and liberal spirit, 
 and uncommon harmony of sentiment and feeling. Among my 
 pleasantest early impressions is that of nearly the entire town, 
 which then contained but one religious society, worshipping under 
 yonder central dome, in which seemed fitly embodied by the hand 
 of man the spirit of natural and moral beauty hovering over this 
 charming vale. And though, with the changes in opinion that 
 have taken place, a change may have come over this scene, yet I 
 trust that the true harmony which is founded on sacred respect for 
 the rights of conscience and humanity, to a good extent prevails 
 and will ever reign here. 
 
 The civil history of this ancient town has been alike creditable. 
 It has been distinguished by regard for order, by respectable main- 
 tenance of its local institutions, and by enlarged patriotism. I 
 remember well how my youthful fancy kindled at the narratives 
 I heard from the lips of some who had served in the old French 
 wars, and of others of its citizens who had been soldiers in the war 
 of our Revolution. So freely did the people contribute to carry on 
 that great conflict, that when, after repeated and heavy demands
 
 156 APPENDIX. 
 
 had been made on their resources, a new requisition for men and 
 money came from the government, and the Whig leaders began to 
 falter, a shrewd Tory stepped in, and turned the tables upon them 
 by moving and carrying triumphantly a vote of all the supplies 
 required. In the last war (may it ever be the last !) with our 
 mother-country, what a noble band was that, — familiarly called the 
 Silver-greys, composed of such as had passed the legal term of 
 service, — which was here enrolled and finely disciplined, and held 
 itself in constant readiness to go forth to the patriot's final duty, to 
 conflict and death ! Many present will, with me, vividly remember 
 it, — that venerable company of the silver-headed and grey-haired, 
 of the ancient and honorable, — as it marched in our streets, and 
 appeared on the field of review, — comprising, as it did, a large 
 proportion of the leading citizens, and commanded by that true 
 officer and Christian gentleman. Major Hiller, who had been asso- 
 ciated with Washington in the Revolutionary contest, and shared 
 extensively his confidence ; as a mark of which he was appointed 
 first Collector, under the Federal Constitution, of the port of Salem 
 and Beverly. 
 
 Not only patriotism and religion, but the interests of good 
 learning, have here, from the first, found friends and promoters. 
 The learned professions have been worthily represented. A goodly 
 number of the sons of Lancaster have enjoyed the advantages of a 
 liberal education. Her daughters have not been without the mingled 
 adornings of intelligence and refinement, while some of th'em have 
 helped to enrich and advance our country's literature ; and two of 
 them, as poetesses, have contributed liberally of their laurel wreaths 
 to the delights of this occasion. They have shown, that, if denied 
 a collegiate diploma, they could, by their own talents and applica- 
 tion, procure for themselves a good degree. The common schools, 
 a chief estate in our i-epublican realm, have been fostered with gi'eat 
 care, and have sustained a high rank. Of those who have here 
 been teachers of youth, I might mention the names of Joseph 
 Warren, the illustrious martyr of Bunker Hill; William EUery 
 Channing ; Jared Sparks ; and a host of others, some of whom we 
 gladly recognize in this assembly, who have been eminent in various
 
 APPENDIX. 157 
 
 walks of life. And there were pupils not unworthy of such teach- 
 ers. Just to allude to a few that readily occur to me, as having 
 been my early associates and friends, — there were Rufus Dawes, 
 whose poetic muse found a fitting theme in the valley of the 
 Nashua, where it was nursed, and which it loved so well ; Horatio 
 Greenough, a pride of our land, and of world-wide fame, whose 
 genius was scarcely less manifest when in boyhood he carved in 
 snow and wood, than afterward, when he immortalized himself in 
 marble ; Henry R. Cleveland, who, though departing all too soon 
 for the world if not for himself, has left a delightful moral image 
 for us to cherish, and some of the most exquisite literary produc- 
 tions ; Frederick Wilder, beai-ing in person and mind the stamp of 
 nature's nobility, than whom Harvard University rarely if ever 
 sent forth a more promising son, and whose early death learning, 
 virtue, and friendship alike and deeply deplored. 
 
 If the train of my remarks should seem to have partaken too 
 much of the personal and local, something must be pardoned to the 
 spirit of the place and the time, especially to the sentiment which 
 clings to the spot where we first drew our breath, and which is 
 invested with the ever-fresh hues of life's bright and rosy morn ; 
 and under the magnetic power of which we are drawn irresistibly 
 back to the spring-time of our being, and bathe anew in the dews of 
 our youth. As Sheridan Knowles beautifully says : 
 
 " Howe'er it changes with us on life's road, 
 The sunny start all intervals breaks through, 
 And warms us with the olden mood again." 
 
 Or as Cowper, with more graphical description, has said : 
 
 " We love the play -place of our early days; 
 The scene is touching; and the heart is stone 
 That feels not at that sight, and feels at none. 
 The wall on which wo tried our graving skill, 
 The very name we carved subsisting still ; 
 The bench on which we sat while deep employed. 
 Though mangled, hacked, and licwed, not yet destroyed ; 
 The little ones, unbuttoned, glowing hot, 
 Playing our games, and on the very spot, 
 As happy as we once."
 
 158 APPENDIX. 
 
 There is indeed an attachment to early scenes, and the home 
 which gave us birth, which, whatever may be the distance of space 
 or time from which we come back to them, makes us feel ready, as 
 I confess I do now, to fall down and embrace the very soil on which 
 we tread. Not a few that I see before me will, I know, participate 
 in this feeling. All present, will, I am sure, concur in the senti- 
 ment, the fulfilment of which, though we shall not be here at the 
 end of another hundred years to witness, it does our hearts good to 
 anticipate ; and in which I include, with the parent, all her offspring 
 towns, so happily gathered by their representatives at this hospi- 
 table and wide-spread board : — 
 
 "■ The History op Lancaster's past two Centuries affords 
 brisrht omens for that on which she now enters." 
 
 5. Our eldest Daughter, Harvard ; — we feel ia her a vital interest as she 
 lies close to the stream that flows through our heart. But she set the example of 
 clipping our wings, so that, if we are not a shire, we are a sheared town. 
 
 This toast was responded to by the Rev. Dr. Alonzo Hill, of 
 Worcester, who is a native of that place. 
 
 Dr. Hill said that he had come from, the small village of Quin- 
 sigamund, at the foot of the Bogachoag in the Nipmuc country, to 
 greet his friends, the Nashaways. But, 'Mr. President, ladies, and 
 gentlemen, since I have arrived here, I have found myself standing 
 on my OAvn soil, in the midst of my kindred and townsfolks, who 
 desire me to say a word for old Harvard. This I most cheerfully 
 do ; for I never hear her named, or look upon her green hills, but 
 my heart beats a little quicker, and my tongue is unloosed. 
 
 In the sentiment which has been read, you have been pleased to 
 speak of her as your oldest daughter. It is indeed true ; she is 
 your oldest daughter, — the first of your family whom you set up ; 
 and we thank you for the rich and noble dower which you bestowed, 
 when you sent her from her ancient home. For, I declare to you, 
 sir, I know of no spot on this earth fairer, or that overlooks a more
 
 APPENDIX. 159 
 
 charming' landscape, than yonder eminence, which once was yours. 
 I stand upon it on a beautiful summer's morning like this ; and 
 where can the eye enjoy a wider sweep or a more entrancing spec- 
 tacle? Turning west, it looks down upon these rich intervals, 
 waving in the summer's breeze, — studded with their ancient elms, 
 clustering villages, and spires of churches, and traced with the wind- 
 ing Avaters of the Nashua. Then rising and passing over a succes- 
 sion of pleasant farmhouses, it is arrested by the woody summit 
 of our own "Wachusett ; while, turning a little to the north, it rests 
 upon the rocky peaks of the Grand Monadnock and the Green 
 Mountains. We thank you for your ample dowry, when you sent 
 us from the shelter of your wing. 
 
 Since we have left you, Mr. President, we have done but little to 
 gain for us a name in the world. We are an agricultural peojile, 
 and have pursued the even tenor of our ways ; and yet we have 
 not been without a shai-e of the men whom we love to call to 
 remembrance. There is a long line of clergymen who preached 
 to the town, — a body of men at least as respectable as you will 
 find anywhere, — some of them worthy of an everlasting memorial 
 in the hearts of this people. There is Seccomb, the first minister, 
 settled a hundred and twenty years ago, — a man of education 
 and humor, — who wrote a witty poem famous in its day, — and 
 who, being told by his father-in-law that he would furnish as large 
 a house as he would build, reared that palace which still stands 
 with its long avenues of elms overlooking our beautiful little lake, 
 the ornament of the town. There is Wheeler, afterwards Register 
 of Probate for the County, whose numerous and highly respectable 
 descendants are spread over its central towns. There is Johnson, 
 the youthful patriot, who, when the sounds of battle reached him 
 from the plains of Lexington, seized his musket, and marched to 
 Cambridge; and there on its Common, stil^fresh with the blood of 
 the slain, he stood, as the old people remembe^-, with his hat hung 
 upon his bayonet, and offered a prayer in presence of the Continen- 
 tal Army which thrilled all hearts, and then laid down his young 
 life, — the early victim of disease, — one of the eariiest oiiiM-ings 
 on the altar of freedom. And there were Grosvoner, Emerson,
 
 100 APPENDIX. 
 
 and Bemis, — names all f'arailiai" and some grown famous through 
 their descendants. 
 
 Of civilians we cannot boast. We have had no man of mark, — 
 of civil or political eminence. But we have had our citizens, who, 
 in their day and place, did good service to the Commonwealth. 
 We had our man at the fight of Lovel's Pond, so celebrated 
 in early New-England ballads, and at the massacre of Fort William 
 Henry, so disastrous to New-England's sons. We had our man 
 in the train of Arnold, in his desperate march through the 
 wilderness to Canada. We had our man with Wolfe on that 
 night when he scaled the Heights of Abraham, — who stood by 
 his side in the next day's battle, and remembered the serene 
 countenance, and the long locks which hung upon his shoulders, of 
 which tradition has so often spoken. We had our man to guard 
 the prison of Andre and the tent of Washington, And we had 
 our scores of men in each division of the army, and in almost every 
 battle, of the Revolution. 
 
 But, sir, we must not indulge in these reminiscences. They are 
 of the past ; but we may be pardoned in dwelling upon them for a 
 few moments, for the present time has not been favorable to us. 
 We have but lightly shared in the prosperity which has enriched 
 our neighbors around. We have but little to tempt the young 
 people to remain on the old homestead. Beautiful as our village 
 is, we have found it too narrow for our wishes ; and we have gone 
 out into every quarter of the globe, and have obtained a home in 
 almost every city of the Union. But, wherever we have gone, we 
 have retained pleasing recollections of our native village : its quiet 
 fields and healthful breezes give a fresh impulse to our blood, 
 whenever we think of them. We love its Green, where the church 
 and the school-house have for a century stood. We venerate the 
 graves where the fathers lie. We delight to honoi', with her chil- 
 dren, the common parent of us all. I give you, therefore, as a 
 sentiment, — 
 
 " The Family Elm, — still green and fresh, and affording a 
 hospitable shade, while its shoots have been transplanted into 
 every soil."
 
 APPENDIX. 161 
 
 6. OtTK SECOND Daughter, ever attached to our eldest, quickly followed her ex- 
 ample, and bolted. As success has attended her, wc say Bolt-on. 
 
 The following remarks were made by the Rev. Richard S. 
 Edes, in response to the toast complimentary to Bolton: — 
 
 It is not right or proper, Mr. Chairman, that the second daugh- 
 ter of this venerable mother of several children should be indiffer- 
 ent to the maternal joy. Having, with her sisters, older and 
 younger, once more participated in the hospitalities and memories 
 of the old home, and with them bolted, Yankee fashion, the excel- 
 lent repast provided by the old lady's affection, and enjoyed, too, 
 " the feast of reason and the flow of soul," with which it has been 
 accompanied, she feels that she should not repress the kindly and 
 filial sentiments which she experiences, or put the holt on their 
 expression. While, with mingled emotions, she lingers, with her 
 parent, on the sometimes tender, sometimes stirring memories and 
 associations of the past, she would heartily congratulate her mother 
 Lancaster on her vigorous and healthful condition ; and that, not- 
 withstanding the cares she has had with so large a family, and all 
 the trials and hardships she has gone through, she is for from show- 
 ing any sign of decrepitude and old age. 
 
 Though the daughters no longer find their home beneath the 
 parental roof, but, like genuine, enterprising Yankee girls as they 
 are, have gone forth, relying on themselves, but trusting, too, in a 
 Higher Power, each one to seek, ay, and make her own fortune, 
 they are still far from being coldly alienated from her whose foster- 
 ing hand cherished their early years. By means of " the plough, 
 the loom, and the anvil," they still minister, as dutiful children 
 should, to her comfort, and, clustering around her, feel a common 
 interest in all that conduces to her happiness and jjrosperity. 
 Though Lancaster is, most assuredly, looked doicn upon liy most of 
 her children, it is, I am confident, with feelings very different from 
 those of contempt or disregard. Of the living streams of health and 
 plenty which circulate through their own hearts they pour largely 
 into her bosom ; and, reverentially rising up around her, and stand- 
 ing while she sits, each daughter pronounces the mother blessed. 
 
 21
 
 162 APPENDIX. 
 
 Ever fresh from the renewing hand of God, preserving largely 
 something of the beautiful simplicity of more primitive times, un- 
 contaminated by evil customs which a false refinement and luxury 
 ai-e apt to bring in, ever alive with all genial sympathies, and for- 
 ward in the career of improvement, may our dear mother live a 
 thousand years, and a thousand years after that ; having all along, 
 in the future as in the past, a history on which she may dwell with 
 honest pride ! And never, while these graceful elms wave in the 
 summer breeze, or toss their naked arms to the blasts of winter, 
 while the Nashua flows, and Wattoquottoc and Wachusett stand 
 sentinels around, may the family ties of interest and aiFection be 
 sundered ; never may the happy copartnership of mother and 
 daughters cease, while the continent stands, or the world revolves ! 
 
 7. Leominster ; — a favored branch of our family — ever right at heart ; afiford- 
 ing strong evidence in favor of Phrenology, as she has flourished abundantly by 
 attending to Combe's Philosophy. 
 
 The Hon. David Wilder, of Leominster, responded : — 
 
 Mr. President, — We have come down here to-day to unite 
 with the other branches of a numerous and happy family, in offer- 
 ing to the kind " Mother of us all " our hearty congratulations, on 
 account of the great age to which she has attained, and the good 
 health, prosperity, and happiness which she continues to enjoy. 
 
 Those of us who live on what was the Northern half of the 
 " New Grant," now the town referred to in the complimentary 
 toast which has just been read, beg leave to tender to her our 
 sincere thanks for the many favors which she has' conferred upon 
 us from our youthful days to the present time. And we rejoice 
 that, during the whole time, there has never been any " falling out 
 by the way," — never any unkind feelings between the parent 
 and the third daughter. We feel truly grateful to her for that ar- 
 rangement commenced in 1701, under which our lands were honor- 
 ably purchased of the original occupants, — honestly paid for, — 
 and as good a title thereto obtained as it was in the power of those
 
 APPENDIX. 163 
 
 occupants to give. That whole arrangement was wise and judi- 
 cious, and contributed very materially to the peace and success of 
 the first settlers and their successors. But few of the original 
 proprietors went themselves to reside there ; but they sent their chil- 
 dren by the half dozen or more from some of their large families ; 
 and for the most part they were men of strong minds, industri- 
 ous habits, and well fitted to make a good cause prosper. They 
 were, moreovei", conscientious and religious men, and early adopted 
 measures for the erection of a meeting-house, and the settlement 
 of a " godly minister." In a little more than three years after the 
 town was incoi-porated, Mr. John Rogers, a lineal descendant from 
 the martyr of that name, was ordained as the pastor of the church. 
 The solemn charge on that occasion was given by the Rev. Mr. 
 Prentice, then the aged minister of Lancaster. And if the inhab- 
 itants of Leominster have been even generally " right at heart," 
 it may have been owing to the fact that they have never been but 
 few months, comparatively, without a regularly ordained minister 
 to show them " the way." 
 
 For many years they were mostly agriculturists, and could not 
 devote much of their time to reading. The works of Gall and 
 Spurzheim were not to be found in their libraries. They took 
 pretty good care of their own heads, but did not trouble themselves 
 much with regard to any peculiar " bumps," or other things, that 
 might be on the heads of their neighbors. Previously to 1770, they 
 knew nothing of phrenology. But about that time Obadiah from 
 among the Hills (whether he was a prophet or not, I cannot tell) 
 introduced " Combe's Philosophy" In other words, he, and some 
 others who had come fi'om old Newbury, commenced the making 
 of combs. There are now about four hundred hands employed in 
 the business. It has been a source of wealth to the town, and of 
 profit to many of those engaged in it. And among the successful 
 is one of Lancaster's own native sons, a lineal descendant from the 
 Rev. Mr. Carter, the first minister of the good old town of Woburn. 
 
 But the inhabitants of Leominster have not confined themselves 
 wholly to '■^Combe's " work. Fourdrinier has attracted their atten- 
 tion. And, even while I have been speaking, there has probably
 
 1 64 APPENDIX. 
 
 been turned off in Crehore's mill a sufficient quantity of paper for 
 each individual in this vast assembly to write a letter on to his 
 friend. 
 
 Music, too, has occupied their attention; and with so great 
 facility are the different parts of certain musical instruments manu- 
 factured there, that in a very short time every lady in town might 
 be supplied. 
 
 It does not, however, become me to occupy much of your time, 
 otherwise I could refer to many acts of kindness that have existed 
 between the parent and the child. But I forbear. 
 
 In return for the highly complimentary toast that has been given, 
 I beg leave to offer the following : — 
 
 "The Ancient Tovtn of Lancaster. Her territory may 
 be set off on the east and on the west, — on the north and on the 
 south. But so long as the ' Old Common, — the Neck and the 
 North Village, — Quassaponiken and "Walnut Swamp, — George 
 Hill and New Boston' remain, so long she will continue to be 
 * Old Lancaster^ respected and beloved hy all the descendants of her 
 third daughter." 
 
 8. Chocksett, — the homely maiden-name of one fair daughter. Her change of 
 name was desirable, and every thing now within her limits bears evidence of Sterling 
 worth. 
 
 The Rev. Moses G. Thomas, of New Bedford, Mass., rephed 
 as follows : — 
 
 Mr. President, — The very fact which you have named," that I 
 am a native of Sterling, may lead you to repent of calling me out 
 on this occasion ; for natives and salvages were, with our fathers, 
 synonymous terms. Besides, I am not a hundred years old. I have 
 no centennial experiences. If, sir, you will let me be a " looker-on 
 in Venice " this time, and take the trouble to look me up on your 
 next centennial anniversary, I may perhaps do as well as others. 
 
 Yet there are reasons which ought to give me a peculiar interest 
 in your celebration. The blood of two of the ancient names
 
 APPENDIX. 165 
 
 recorded on the walls of your church to-day, together with that of 
 the first minister of Sterling, now flows in the veins of my family. 
 A daughter of your venerable Prentice became the wife of the Rev. 
 Mr. Mellen, the first minister of Sterlmg ; and from that union, in 
 the second generation, sprang my " better half," as we are taught 
 to say ; and the blood of your second minister, the honored Whit- 
 ing, through my mother, now flows in my own veins. 
 
 But, Mr. President, you spoke of Sterling as a daughter of Lan- 
 caster. I am disposed to demur to the appellation. Sterling has 
 ever seemed to me more like an overgrown and somewhat rebellious 
 son ; and was it not owing to this spirit that she became a separate 
 town ? The good people of Chocksett had long felt that they were 
 too heavily taxed for the support of the many bridges over your 
 beautiful rivers, and the paupers belonging to this moi'e ancient part 
 of the settlement, and that at the same time they had received but a 
 small share in the honors and emoluments of oflice. In the neigh- 
 boi'hood of 1776, you know, sir, that taxation without representation 
 was not much in favor. Under these circumstances, on the recur- 
 rence of a town-meeting, the people of Chocksett summoned to the 
 ballot-box all who could legally vote, and appropriated to them- 
 selves the lion's share. They took to themselves all the othces, 
 emoluments, and honors of the town. They removed all the public 
 offices and records far up under the shadow of Wachusett. They 
 summoned future town-meetings there, and Lancaster began to find 
 she wasn't anywhere. She accordingly concluded, like one of old, 
 to " let the people go ; " and Sterling was incorporated in April, 
 178L 
 
 The prime minister, I mean, Mr. President, the first Christian 
 teacher, in Sterling, seems to have shared the independent spirit of 
 the people. He was one to whom the often-quoted line of Horace 
 was peculiarly applicable, — 
 
 «« Justum ct tcnacem propositi virum." 
 
 Nothing could tui'n him from his sense of Justice or his purpose, 
 and his spirit entered largely into the eai'ly ecclesiastical history 
 of the town.
 
 106 Al'l'KNDIX. 
 
 The good people of Bolton, one of the offshoots of Lancaster, 
 had passed through a long controversy with their minister, which 
 councils had failed to adjust. The parish had finally taken the case 
 into their own hands, as beyond help from councils, and thrown 
 their minister overboard, without " benefit of clergy." The neigh- 
 boring clergy, regarding this as a high-handed offence on the 
 part of the laity, assembled a large and respectable council, and 
 laid the entire church of Bolton under a ban of excommunication, 
 until confession and repentance. In this state of affairs, six of the 
 excommunicated brethren, resolving to test their right to Christian 
 ordinances, presented themselves at the communion-table in Ster- 
 ling, under the ministration of Mr. Mellen. Observing their 
 presence, he refused to administer the rite until they should with- 
 draw. The question was now fairly open between laity and clergy, 
 and Mr. Mellen's own church voted that the Bolton excommunicates 
 should not withdraw. The contest grew high, even over the sacred 
 memorials of Jesus. At length, the good minister, wishing to avoid 
 actual violence, and perhaps remembering the lines of the poet, — 
 
 " He that fights, and runs away, 
 May live to fight another day," 
 
 left the church. Of course, the obnoxious brethren were de- 
 feated. 
 
 As is usual on such occasions, although the pastor gained his 
 point, he lost his parish. A division in the parish followed. A 
 lai'ge and respectable council was convened, and decided in Mr. 
 Mellen's favor ; but a bare majority of the church and society 
 refused to submit, ignored the decision of the council, and turned 
 away their minister. After continuing to preach eight or ten 
 years to the faithful few who adhered to him, in his own house and 
 in a school-house, he received a call at Hanover, Mass., and 
 removed from Sterling. But though we see a good deal of inde- 
 pendence, both on the part of clergy and laity, in the early history 
 of Chocksett, yet, since these early strifes, the good people of Ster- 
 ling have reposed as peaceably among their neighbors as have the 
 quiet waters of the Washacum ponds among their hills.
 
 APPENDIX. 167 
 
 But, Mr. President, clear to me as is my native Sterling, I also 
 love old Lancaster. It is fondly associated with cherislied memo- 
 ries of my boyhood. My father's farm lay on the southern declivity 
 of Redstone Hill ; and, when the freshets had swollen your streams 
 and covered your intervales, I used to lie upon the fresh green 
 grass in the door-yard, and watch the shimmering of the sunlight 
 upon what to me seemed your boundless waters. 
 
 Almost all my school-days were spent in dear old Lancaster. I 
 have angled along your river, listening to the wild notes of the 
 blackbird and the robin, the planting-bird and the merry bobolink. 
 Indeed, I seldom look upon your beautiful river to this day, but it 
 recalls to my mind those lines of Smollett, in his " Ode to Leven 
 Water," — 
 
 "Pure stream! in whose transparent wave 
 My youthful limbs I wont to lave, 
 No torrents stain thy limpid source, 
 No rocks impede thy dimpling course." 
 
 In winter, too, on the skater's ringing steel, we coursed your 
 stream, gathering drift-wood for the burning pile, around which we 
 whooped and hallooed like the sons of red royalty of yore. Our 
 early teachers too, — Sparks, Emerson, Miles, — oh ! do I not 
 remember them ? I especially bear in mind the admirable Emer- 
 son, because it Avas my good fortune to be longer a pupil of his 
 than of either of the others ; and, among our school-mates, the 
 Greenoughs (Horatio the sculptor, and Henry), the Tyngs, the 
 Chandlers, the Thayers, the Clevelands, the Higginsons, and more 
 than we can pause to mention now. 
 
 But for your ten minutes' rule, so necessary under tlxe circum- 
 stances, I could scarce forbear to speak of the native female poets 
 of Lancaster, whose contributions are among the gems of this 
 occasion. But I cheerfully give place to others, Avith a sentiment 
 of united regard for both Sterling and Lancaster : — 
 
 " Sterling, — full-grown and manly now, — yes, too raanly to 
 forget the good old mother."
 
 168 APrENDIX. 
 
 9. BoYLSTON took to horsclf Shrewsbury's leg, and ran away from her mother. 
 But her industry and many virtues have done honor to herself and her parentage. 
 She is here, and can speak for herself. 
 
 Remarks of James Davenport, Esq. 
 
 We, who constitute the family of the fifth daughter of our good 
 mother Lancaster, in having her permission to "speak for our- 
 selves" at this great family gathering, respond. Since 1G53, 
 Lancaster, then a little one, has become, not a thousand only, but 
 more than fifteen thousand. So many reminiscences of olden time 
 crowd themselves into my mind at this moment, that I can only touch 
 upon one or two of them. Lancaster, as it Avas in 1779, was the 
 place of my nativity, and there I have spent sixty years of my life. 
 My ancestors came here in 1730 ; and some of them still occupy 
 part of a tract of land granted to Richard Davenport, sometimes in 
 history called the " Commander," Avho came to this country with 
 Governor Endicott in 1628. This tract consisted of six hundred 
 and fifty acres, granted by the " Great and General Court," and 
 surveyed by John Prescott and Jonas Fairbank : part of the present 
 occupants are the seventh generation. 
 
 Since I first heard of the intention of Lancaster to celebrate this 
 two hundredth anniversary of the incorporation of the town, I have 
 felt a deep interest in the subject. I am called upon to respond to 
 a sentiment offered by the committee of the parent town, which is 
 somewhat equivocal in its character, the latter clause being highly 
 complimentary ; but our virtues seemed to be cast somewhat into 
 the shade, when the first clause charges us with having taken 
 " Shretvsbury's leg" and ran away from our mother. We plead 
 " not guilty " to the charge of taking the leg : true it is, we ran away 
 from our mother, but ran upon our own legs, upon which we yet 
 stand ; but we send the charge of taking Shrewsbury's leg back 
 upon our mother ; for records show that she herself took it in 1768, 
 which was eighteen years before we had a legal existence, which 
 was not till 1786. In this instance, our good old mother, like some 
 other mothers, seems inclined to charge her own mistakes upon her 
 family ; but Ave excuse her at this superannuated time of life, being 
 this day two hundred years of age : we, being a hundred and thirty-
 
 APPENDIX. 169 
 
 three years her junior, would not be guilty of disrespect to her, or 
 of filial disobedience. The wonder is, that, after setting out so 
 many daughters, and giving each of them a handsome slice of her 
 territory, she should still have left to herself this beautiful plain, 
 and, under these noble elms, should have a home in which to receive 
 and entertain this large family of descendants. Here is truly a 
 family meeting, upon holy ground, for it has been moistened with 
 the blood of the pioneers ; — a meeting, with which a stranger inter- 
 meddleth not. We are assembled with the descendants of the 
 Prescotts, the Wilders, the Haughtons, the Fairbankses, the Saw- 
 yers, the Joslins, the Moores, and others, whose fathers and 
 mothers converted a wilderness into a " fruitful field," and caused 
 the "desert to blossom as the rose." We would not leave this 
 ground till we feel our fraternal and filial graces strengthened and 
 hallowed by the reminiscences of the occasion; and we, male 
 descendants of the pioneers, would not forget, on this interesting 
 and never-to-be-repeated anniversary, woman, the heljJ-meet pioneer 
 of our fathers, the " last, best gift of Heaven to man." By her 
 assistance was Lancaster made what we see it to-day; by her 
 taste and her fingers was yonder church so beautifully orna- 
 mented ; and without her, without Avoman, we have no right to say, 
 that Lancaster would at this day be known ; for without her, 
 without Isabella, can we say that America would have been dis- 
 covered, and Columbus have given a new world to the kingdoms of 
 Castile and Leon ? I have spoken of woman by her proper name, 
 — the name her Creator gave to her at her creation. God made 
 woman in the beginning. He did not make ladies : they are made 
 by milliners. And, if she has not all her rights, I trust the present 
 Constitutional Convention will employ their wisdom in the investi- 
 gation of them, and adoption of them into the new Constitution. 
 
 The fifth daughter now closes what she has time to offer on this 
 occasion, by a prayer, that, as the two branches of the Nash- 
 away, which flowed separately all the way from Ashburnliam on 
 the north and Holdcn on the south, at diiferent distances, till they 
 arrived at Lancaster, did not leave the place till they had united 
 into one, and flowed placidly together towards the Merrimack in an 
 
 22
 
 1 70 APPENDIX. 
 
 unbroken union ; so may this meeting have the effect to cement the 
 good feelings of this great family, till the Nashaway shall cease to 
 flow. 
 
 10. Otjr toungest Daughter, Clinton. Like some other daughters, she was 
 tired of being tied to her mother's apron-strings : she therefore bought her time, and 
 set up for herself. Although she has the pride of youth, she is industrious, and, like 
 the mothers of old, is not ashamed to spin and weave. 
 
 This sentiment was responded to by Horatio N. Bigelow, Esq. 
 
 Mr. President, — It is with peculiar embarrassment that I rise 
 to respond to the sentiment just offered ; as you are aware, sir, I am 
 more accustomed to spinning yarns for cloths than public speeches. 
 Moreover, the extreme youth of Clinton should entitle her to a place 
 at this board as a silent guest ; but it is an old saying that the 
 youngest is the pet of the family, and in great danger of being 
 spoiled by indulgence, and such, I fear, may be the fate of Clinton 
 on the present occasion. 
 
 It is but right and honorable, sir, that Clinton, the youngest child 
 of this numerous family of towns, should (by the largest delega- 
 tion of them all) manifest a warmth of filial love and affection 
 around this festive board, that no other members of the family may 
 feel ; for it is now but a few days more than three years since we 
 were of the same household ; and what child, when he has once 
 for all time left the parental roof, remembers the little bickerings 
 of childhood, or ever forgets the endearing associations of home, 
 which have grown with his growth, and strengthened with his 
 strength ? It is therefore a peculiar interest that we feel in coming 
 around this table to unite with our elder sisters in celebrating the 
 two hundredth anniversary of our parent town. 
 
 Clinton is that territory known for many years after the towns 
 of Sterling, Boylston, "West Boylston, and Berlin were incorporated, 
 as the South Village of Lancaster. It was in this village, upon 
 South Meadow Brook, that the old Prescott mill stood. It is 
 there that the Prescott mills of 1853 stand, with kindred estab-
 
 APPENDIX. 171 
 
 lishments around. It was there that the red man delighted to 
 hunt and fish. It was there, amongst the red men, that John 
 Prescott located himself, and ground corn for the region round 
 about ; followed in turn by the Sawyers, the Rices, the Burdetts, 
 the Lows, and the Harrises. 
 
 The power of the little stream referred to has been used for the 
 purposes of propelling mills for more than one hundred years ; as 
 (if no other evidence was at hand) a stone monument recently 
 found indicates the fact, by its marks, that John Prescott there lived, 
 and owned large tracts of land, as early as 1667. 
 
 In 1812, Poignand and Plant, early pioneers in the cotton- 
 manufacture, commenced their works, and continued in a pros- 
 perous business until 1835 ; when these, having become old, were 
 sold into other hands. The sale attracted to the time-honored 
 spot the attention of other youthful adventurers in the manufac- 
 turing business, who obtained control of the "place, and com- 
 menced their operations in the spring of 1838 ; the population of 
 what is now Clinton being, at that time, not far from two hundred. 
 
 With the establishment of new woi-ks commenced the rapid 
 increase of population of the South Village, and with the increase 
 of population came new wants and requirements; new roads, 
 bridges, and schools were called for ; the rapid increase of popula- 
 tion made the demands imperative, — so much so, that the old 
 settlers began to have some fears as to what the result was to be ; 
 the wants of a concentrated manufacturing population being so 
 different from those of an agricultural community, that the demands 
 of the South Village were thought hard. The farmer did not 
 wish to pay his highway tax in money, any more than the manu- 
 facturer wanted to work his out upon the highway. The political 
 power of the South Village beginning to show itself^ it became 
 apparent to many that some change in the management of town 
 affairs must take place. Consequently, the people of Cliutonville 
 (for that was the name adopted by the village) petitioned the mother- 
 town to be set off as a separate town, and receive their inheritance ; 
 but the old town replied, " We cannot let you go ; we have nursed 
 you and brought you up at great expense ; wc camiot consent."
 
 172 APPENDIX. 
 
 Many objections were raised ; amongst others, were the expensive 
 bridges, roads, aTtid a town debt; but all could not satisfy the 
 people of Clintonville. They perseveringly pressed their claims ; 
 and, although entertaining the highest regard for the old town, 
 felt that something must be done, and, if possible, in a -manner not 
 to break friendship with the mother-town. They therefore re- 
 sorted to the expedient, referred to in the sentiment, of offering to 
 buy their time. This was considered generous. This touched 
 the noble heart of the old settlers of the town. They said, " If they 
 are thus in earnest, we must consent. We will meet them, and 
 make an arrangement." And accordingly a meeting was held. 
 
 It was then agreed, that, in consideration of the large number of 
 bridges and great length of road that would be left to Lancaster, 
 she should retain all the town-property, and that Clinton should 
 pay her ten thousand dollars. In consideration of which, it was also 
 agreed that the old town of Lancaster should not appear before 
 the Legislative Committee to oppose the granting of the prayer of 
 the people of Clinton for an act incorporating them as a separate 
 town within . the limits agreed upon, which embraced about five 
 thousand acres of the twenty-five thousand then remaining to the 
 town of Lancaster. Thus you will see, Mr. President, that the 
 good old mother did not bestow upon Clinton the fair inheri- 
 tance in lands which she had done upon her elder children; and, 
 when our elder sister Harvard boasts here to-day of her beautiful 
 possessions of hills and valleys, we have nothing to show in com- 
 parison but sandy plains, a large debt, and tolerable water-power. 
 But, sii", Clinton does not complain; for all this was a mat- 
 ter of mutual agreement, and Clinton has faithfully fulfilled her 
 part of it. 
 
 Having thus, Mr. President, bought our time, and cut loose from 
 the old lady's apron-strings, we have gone on our way rejoicing, 
 increasing our manufactures, until we now produce ginghams, 
 quilts, coach-laces, carpets, machinery, machine castings, combs, 
 hay -forks, carpet bags, and many other small wares ; the aggregate 
 amount of all our manufactures being annually more than two 
 millions of dollars, — our population, "in the mean time, having
 
 APPENDIX. 173 
 
 attained to about 3,500. With these means of thrift, Mr. President, 
 Clinton hopes to spin, weave, hammer, and pitch herself out of debt. 
 
 Clinton, sir, amid all her business cares, has not forgotten the ^ 
 good example of her good old mother, but has established her 
 churches, built her school-houses, and jjrovided good ministers 
 and school-teachers, — so that all her people may assemble and 
 listen to instruction from the word of God; and her children may- 
 early learn what is taught in our public schools, believing, with the 
 mother-town, that in the naorality and general intelligence of the 
 people rests the security of our free institutions. She has estab- 
 lished a large library, and maintains public lectures during the lec- 
 ture season. She has provided a rural cemetery, lunple for the final 
 resting-place of all her citizens. She provides liberally for the poor 
 within her borders. In short, Mr. President, the prosperity of the 
 child has been all that the mother had a right to expect. 
 
 In conclusion, permit me to say to our good old mother Lan- 
 caster, we are happy to be with you at this family gathering to- 
 day. We rejoice, that, while you have contributed largely of your 
 territory on the north, south, east, and west, to foi'm new towns, 
 you still enjoy the enviable position of one of the most beautiful 
 townships of land in the good old county of Worcester. You sit 
 as a princess upon her throne, proudly looking out upon all her 
 children ; and, so long as there shall be a sun in the heavens, may 
 old Lancaster be, what she is to-day, the pride of all her children ! 
 
 Allow me, sir, in conclusion, to propose to you this senti- 
 ment: — 
 
 "Lancaster, — the honored parent of many sons and daugh- 
 ters. May she ever be blessed in her children, and may none of 
 them be left to disgrace her fair' name ! " 
 
 A native resident, in behalf of the modicr, made llie followini,' 
 reply to her several daughters : — 
 
 Mr. President, — Our youngest daughter, Clinton, has stated, 
 that, instead of giving her a dower, we gave her a debt ; a remark
 
 174 APPENDIX. 
 
 which seems to me to need an explanation, lest it may lead this 
 audience to believe that she was not fairly treated. I think, sir, 
 that, when the facts in the case are fairly represented, we shall be 
 justified in the course we took when she made known her desire to 
 leave. I therefore ask you to allow me time, not exceeding five 
 minutes, to state the circumstances under which our several daugh- 
 ters have left us. 
 
 In the first place, sir, our five eldest, from time to time, as they 
 arrived at proper age, asked us to allow them to leave, and set up 
 for themselves. We knew them all to be judicious and discreet, 
 and therefore not only cheerfully consented, but gave each of them 
 a large and good farm outright ; and we are happy to announce to 
 this assembly, that they have each husbanded their favors well ; 
 made great improvements upon them, by which the value has been 
 enhanced to an amount almost beyond calculation ; and there is not, 
 to my knowledge, a mortgage of a dollar upon any one of them. 
 
 Thus stands the condition of our five eldest. 
 
 Qur youngest daughter, Clinton, left under very different circum- 
 stances. She was young, we thought quite too young and inexpe- 
 rienced to manage for herself; and we therefore objected, and told 
 her at the outset that she should not have so large a farm as her 
 sisters had had on any terms ; and that we would grant even the 
 small farm she asked for, only on condition that she should pay 
 us a thousand dollars a year for ten years, and that a failure of 
 prompt payment should annul the contract. We thought, sir, that 
 such a condition would settle the matter, and stop her entreaties. 
 But, sir, instead of that, she assented to our terms so promptly, 
 that, feeling a deep interest in her welfare, we were almost fright- 
 ened, and probably should have tried to hire her to recant, had we 
 not supposed that the bargain would soon be annulled by her failing 
 to make prompt payments. But, so far from being delinquent, she 
 has already paid seven-tenths of the debt; and, having a much 
 smaller farm than any of her sisters, has turned her attention to 
 other pursuits, is in a thriving condition, and has already outgrown 
 her mother and most of her sisters. This, sir, is a true history of 
 the character and condition of our five daughters ; and I will assure
 
 APPENDIX. 175 
 
 you that we feel proud of them, and rejoice in their presence on 
 this occasion. 
 
 And now, Mr. President, I take this occasion to give notice, 
 that, in case we should ever be blessed with another daughter, we 
 have lately made ample provision for her education, and will sup- 
 port her handsomely, and in good style, at home ; but, if she leaves 
 us, she must shirk for herself, for we are determined that the old 
 homestead shall never be reduced another rod. We mean to keep 
 it large enough to accommodate all our children and grandchildren 
 who may favor us with a call at our next centennial. 
 
 11. Old Grandmother, Lancaster. If she is proud of her children, she is no 
 less so of her children's children; and, without Berlin and AVest Boylston, would 
 have the family gathering incomplete. 
 
 The Rev. T. C. Tingley, of West Boylston, responded to this 
 sentiment. 
 
 Mr. President, — The duty of resjionding to the call of our 
 beloved grandmother devolves on myself, as the gentleman first 
 appointed for that purpose, who is a native of West Boylston, is 
 not present; and his substitute, who has long been favorably 
 known as an adopted citiz'en, is necessarily absent. 
 
 Though I thought it very desirable that a response should be 
 made by a native, or at least by one long resident in the town, 
 yet, as I have been very cordially adopted into the family of the 
 granddaughter, and received much kind treatment from the mem- 
 bers of that family, I therefore yield to existing circumstances, and 
 reply to the sentiment so kindly expressed. 
 
 But as grandparents are proverbially indulgent to their grand- 
 children, I hope to receive a share of that indulgence on the 
 present occasion. Being comjiaratively a stranger among you, I 
 have not the advantage of a flxmiliar acquaintance with your his- 
 tory ; for I have not the lionor of being a native of West Boylston, 
 or even of Massachusetts, but am a son of little Hhoda, tlie smallest 
 of the thirty-one Sister States. I have felt, however, a deep interest
 
 176 APPENDIX. 
 
 in the town of Lancaster, from the time that I read, in the days of 
 my childhood, the affecting story of Mrs. Rowlandson ; and I well 
 I'emember how my spirit kindled with indignation at her recital 
 of savage cruelty, and often did I task my young mind as to how 
 I should manage to kill an Indian. But these feelings of vengeance 
 have long since, I trust, been subdued by a holier influence. Little 
 did I anticipate, when first perusing that narrative, that I should 
 ever be called to address an assembly like this, on the very ground 
 "where occurred those scenes of terror and blood. 
 
 I feel a still deeper interest in your history, from the fact, that, 
 in the destruction of this town, and the captivity and slaughter of 
 your ancestors, the Indians of my native state bore a very promi- 
 nent part. When, upon the morning of the 10th of February, 
 1676, on yonder now green and^ lovely spot, the garrisoned house 
 of the Rev. Mr, Rowlandson, your first minister, was surrounded 
 by infuriated savages, his family driven by the flames from their 
 burning dwelling, his little Sarah mortally wounded in her mother's 
 arms, — and when these fields were crimsoned with the blood and 
 strewn with the mangled bodies of his flock, and the shriek of 
 terror and the groan of death mingled with the appalling war- 
 whoop, the red men of Rhode Island were some of the fiercest 
 spirits in that scene of horrors. 
 
 . It was a Narragansett Indian who seized Mary, the eldest 
 daughter of the Rev. Mr. Rowlandson, at the door of the burning 
 garrison, and who held her for a time as his property, and then 
 sold her to another Indian for a gun. Rhode Island, too, was the 
 land of King Philip, who led on that desolating host of barbarians. 
 But all those dark sons of the forest have long since passed from 
 the shores of time. I have sailed on the beautiful Narragansett 
 Bay : Mount Hope, once the royal residence of the proud Sachem 
 of the Wampanoags, still looks down upon those waters ; but King 
 Philip is gone, the crown is fallen from his head, his painted war- 
 I'iors sleep in death, and Lancaster mothers no longer tremble, and 
 press their babes closer to their bosoms, at the shout of the savage 
 and the alarm of war. 
 
 When, in the earlier French and Indian wars, Lancaster was
 
 APPENDIX. 17*7 
 
 again made a battle-field, on which some of her noblest sons poured 
 out their life-blood, and the Rev. Jolui Whiting, then the minister 
 of this town, sank in his fearful death-struggle against overwhelm- 
 ing numbers, there was then living a child, whose son, in the 
 closing war with the French and Indians, when he was but fifteen 
 years of age, — an age at which it may seem more suitable that 
 he should have been in his mother's arms than in the field of battle, 
 — enlisted in the army destined for the invasion of Canada ; thus 
 " carrying the Avar into Africa," and attacking the enemy at the 
 very seat of his power. And, with the combined forces under 
 General "Wolfe, he ascended the St. Lawrence ; climbed, in the dark- 
 ness of night, the rugged steeps which lie beneath the Plains of 
 Abraham ; and when, at daybreak, our troops were seen mar- 
 shalled for battle before the walls of Quebec, that youth stood in 
 those ranks, shoulder to shoulder with England's warriors ; and, 
 before the setting of the sun, he saw that victory won, which 
 brought the Canadas under the sway of Britain, and made the 
 fear of French and Indian massacre in Lancaster pass away for 
 ever. That youth was my paternal grandfather. Oft have I 
 listened, with lively interest, to his descriptions of those soul- 
 stirring scenes. Thus, although from my native State have flowed 
 many of the woes of Lancaster, yet my iamily liave born<! a 
 part in arresting the tide of invasion and ruin. 
 
 But as children and grandchildren, when assembled at the old 
 liomestead after a long absence, are usually expected to give a 
 report of their doings, it may be expected that West Boylston 
 will give an account of herself to " Grandmother Lancaster " on 
 the present occasion. 
 
 Though the history of youi- granddaughter contains few facts of 
 general interest, it may be proper to state, that, when she attempted 
 to commence a separate establishment, slic found great diilicuUy 
 in effecting her purpose, on account of the refusal of your daugiiter 
 Boylston, her mother, to give her consent. 
 
 In consequence of this, much unpleasant feeling was excited, 
 and many unkind words were uttered. But a better state of things 
 soon succeeded ; and the mother and daughter now dwell side by side 
 
 23
 
 178 APPENDIX. 
 
 in harmony and love. "When she commenced housekeeping, she 
 had about six hundred people on her territory ; now she has not far 
 from two thousand. She owns between seven and eight thousand 
 acres of land ; has three meeting-houses, and four or five cotton 
 factories ; and carries on a large business in boot-raaking. She 
 takes an interest in moral and political subjects. She remonstrarted 
 against the embargo under Jefferson's administration ; but her 
 remonstrance did not open a single port. She protested against the 
 last war with Great Britain ; but the war went on, and floating 
 batteries met in fierce encounter, and hostile legions rushed to the 
 field of death. 
 
 Your granddaughter has a number of children still under her 
 care ; one of whom, called Oakdale, is a boy of considerable spirit 
 and enterprise. He has gi-own rapidly within a few years ; and, it 
 is thought by some, that he is desirous of quitting the old home- 
 stead, and setting up for himself. And though the time for such 
 a step does not seem as yet to have arrived, it is hoped that his 
 prosperity may be such, that it will be expedient, at no very 
 distant day, for Oakdale, like your youngest daughter Clinton, to 
 commence a separate establishment. 
 
 Reference has been made, by gentlemen who have preceded 
 me, to some remarkable changes in manners and customs within 
 the last two centuries. Times have, indeed, changed ; and people 
 change with the times. In the early days of Virginia, young 
 ladies were imported from England, and furnished to the settlers 
 for wives, at the rate of one hundred and fifty pounds of tobacco 
 per head ; and, in a contract for settling a minister in one of the 
 towns of this State, it was stipulated that he should receive annu- 
 ally, in addition to other articles, so much wood and so much 
 grain, and thirty gallons of good West-India rum. Truly may it 
 be said, " Old things are passed away ; and behold some things 
 have become new !" 
 
 Permit me, in closing, to offer the following sentiment : — 
 
 " Grandmother Lancaster. Though she is two hundred 
 years old this day, yet her eyes are not dim, nor is her natural 
 vigor abated."
 
 APPENDIX. 179 
 
 The same sentiment was also responded to by Josiah Bride, 
 Esq., of Berlin. 
 
 Mr. President, — I arise, not to make a speech, but to make 
 an excuse. I had no expectation of being here to-day until last 
 evening, and but little until this morning; not because I had no 
 interest in this occasion, but because, on public days like this, I am 
 seldom able to get beyond the limits of my school-room. And I 
 stand before you to make this response, because it is a position 
 which I cannot avoid. I stand here because I must. 
 
 I have, since I came into this tent, been very forcibly reminded 
 of my own paternal grandmother. When I was a boy, my brothers 
 and myself used to make her frequent visits. I remember them 
 well. Especially do I remember how, upon the sabbath, during 
 the interval of divine worship, we used to go over across the pas- 
 tui'es to call on her, after she had passed the age of ninety years. 
 We always found her with a cheerful countenance, under the plain 
 but neat cap that characterized those days, and ready to give us a 
 cordial welcome. The table was soon set, and the bread and cheese 
 laid upon it for our repast. How natural that these reminiscences 
 of my youth should be forced upon me on this occasion ! Grand- 
 mother Lancaster has here spread her table ; not like the little 
 round table of my grandmother, to which I have referred, but the 
 long and extended table that fills this spacious tent, loaded with the 
 bounties of Providence. • 
 
 We would not be egotistic ; we do not wish to speak of self; but, 
 when I have listened to the honored names and cherished virtues 
 of those venerable men of olden time, especially those of Hari'ing- 
 ton and Thayer, the deep feelings of my soul have been stirred 
 within me, not only by the history of the former and a personal 
 and affectionate remembrance of the latter, but by the remem- 
 brance of another, better known to me, whose praise was in all the 
 churches, and who was their cotemporary and friend. And I know 
 that grandmother will not feel her clergy dishonored, if 1 register 
 with them, in the view of her whole family, one no less honorable 
 and no less honored than Dr. Reuben Puffer, of Berlin.
 
 180 APPENDIX. 
 
 Dr. Puffer was prevailingly taciturn, serious, and dignified ; yet 
 few men could be more sociably interesting than he, whenever his 
 thoughts could be drawn up from the deep study in which they 
 appeared almost constantly merged. In youth, I was fond of social 
 interviews ; but most of the evenings spent socially with my com- 
 panions have become more or less obscured by the lapse of time, 
 and many of them have faded entirely from my memory. But the 
 evenings spent in listening to the cheerful conversation and pleasant 
 anecdotes of that venerable man will ever stand out distinctly upon 
 the tablets of my recollection. If any one would know something 
 of him as a preacher, let him read his valedictory discourse on 
 leaving the old meeting-house, his sermon at the dedication of the 
 new, or one of two or three other sermons reluctantly given for the 
 press ; or let him go to his time-worn and time-honored widow, 
 who yet lingers upon the shores of time with us, and select one 
 from the bushels of sermons which he left, and he will know some- 
 thing of the doctor as a sermonizer ; but the half would not be 
 known or felt, unless he could imagine the eloquence, the gravity, 
 and the warmth with which they were delivered. Ordinary occa- 
 sions seemed frequently to be converted into extraordinary ones by 
 the pathos and approj)riateness of his prayers ; while, on occasions 
 really extraordinary, his excursive mind was sure to bring every 
 circumstance to the mercy-seat ; and his petitions were offered with 
 so much fervency of spirit, that I may say of him, as Wilson said of 
 the bird he Was describing, " His whole soul seemed to expire in the 
 elevated strain." 
 
 An anecdote, which I will relate as I have heard it, will illustrate 
 this point: — 
 
 Through the influence of Judge Brigham, of Westborough, then 
 a member of the Legislature, and an admirer of Dr. Puffer, he was 
 appointed to preach the Election Sermon. It was customaiy in 
 those days for the clergyman who officiated on that occasion to 
 write out his prayer and commit it to memory, not daring to trust the 
 moment for recollecting so many topics necessary to be mentioned. 
 The doctor in this particular followed in the steps of his predecessors, 
 and committed his prayer to memory ; but he had not proceeded far
 
 APPENDIX. 181 
 
 when he found himself in an uncomfortable dUemma, and unable to 
 tread the path he had marked out. At this moment, a friend of 
 Judge Brigham, who sat by his side, with a significant jog of the 
 elbow whispered, " And that is your minister ? " The judge felt as 
 uncomfortable as his minister, but kept silent. Soon the doctor 
 threw off the trammels of his written form, and gave himself up to 
 the current of his own present, gushing thoughts. The transition 
 was great ; nothing that should have been thought of was forgotten ; 
 and the moistened eyes and deep feeling of the audience, at its close, 
 testified that it was no unsuccessful effort. The judge now felt free 
 to return the elbowing, and to reply, " That is my minister." By 
 an accommodation of this language, we beg permission to say exult- 
 ingly, if exultation be proper on such a subject, Dr. Puffer tvas our 
 minister. But I must turn from the dead to the hving. 
 
 I agree with the gentleman that has referred to the affection 
 that exists between grandmothers and grandchildren, and we are 
 very glad to visit grandmother Lancaster to-day. We are glad also 
 to find so many of our relatives here. We come to take our mother 
 Bolton by the hand, and to assure her that we ever hope to have 
 mother " bolt on " in the right ; and are glad to know, that, in these 
 peaceful times, instead of elevating her generals and training her 
 riflemen, she is disposed to educate her family, — that she is de- 
 termined to educate every member of it, without exception or 
 invidious distinction. 
 
 We have come to greet aunt Harvard. We rejoice that she is 
 satisfied Avitli her dower ; and, when we have heard her speak of it 
 in the form of geographical elevations, the spontaneous desire has 
 arisen in our hearts, that her intellectual and moral elevation may 
 not be inferior to her geographical. 
 
 We shake hands to-day with aunt Leominster. Aunts are some- 
 times pretty severe : it may be so with her. At any rate, slic is 
 constantly combing us ; but we receive it witli all due submission, 
 and are much consoled by the reflection, that, however severely she 
 may comb us, she combs all the world beside. 
 
 We are glad to make ourselves better acquainted witli aunt Ster- 
 ling; and take pleasure in expressing to her the hope, that the
 
 182 APPENDIX. 
 
 woilh of Sterling, and Sterling worth, may ever be synonymous 
 terms. 
 
 Aunt Clinton, too, we are glad to see here, and are happy to 
 cultivate her acquaintance. She is much younger than ourselves ; 
 but, Mr. President, you, know it is nothing strange in. human events 
 for the aunt to be younger than the niece ; and we beg leave to 
 assure her that we have to-day been more fully convinced of the 
 truth of the oft-reiterated remark, that the youngest members of a 
 family are frequently the brightest. Towards Aunt Boylston and 
 cousin West Boylston we also cherish sentiments of kindness and 
 respect. 
 
 But, Mr. President, the principal object of our coming here to- 
 day is to see our grandmother. We have not been so conversant 
 with her of late years as formerly. We used to see her annually 
 upon the muster-field, to which she was much attached. The field 
 must be here, and she must be upon it. This was perfectly natural. 
 Surrounded as she was in her youth by the savage Indians, and 
 obliged to employ the means of self-defence, it was very natural for 
 her to acquire a military spirit of no ordinary strength. 
 
 But a great change has come over the community; and the 
 muster-field, and the spirit which it tended to foster, are in a great 
 measure passed away. It gives us much pleasure to know that 
 she is now turning her attention towards the education of her 
 numerous family, and the community at large ; and that she is 
 employing for this purpose the best teachers that the country 
 afibrds. 
 
 We congratulate her upon this effort, and anticipate great good 
 as the necessary and happy result ; feeling assured that this whole 
 region will be both intellectually and morally elevated through her 
 instrumentality. 
 
 We felt anxious to know whether grandmother wears spectacles. 
 We never had any doubt of her intellectual ken, and we have 
 never heard that her natural vision was impaired ; but we believe 
 she wears spectacles that are both useful and ornamental. We 
 think we see them in her lofty trees and magnificent edifices, her 
 flowing streams and verdant, wide-spread intervales. But, what-
 
 APPENDIX, 183 
 
 ever may be said of the spectacles that she wears on ordinary- 
 occasions, one thing we know, her countenance is to-day enlivened 
 by one of the most beautiful spectacles we have ever beheld, more 
 splendid than silver or gold. 
 
 Mr. President, the scenes of this day remind me of an incident 
 that occurred under my observation two years ago, which, although 
 trifling in itself, was to my mind so interesting, and so fully illus- 
 trates our feelings on this occasion, that I cannot forbear to relate 
 it. As I was riding leisurely up a slight elevation near the village 
 of Feltonville, I overtook two little girls, whose ages might vary 
 from three to six years. They looked at me with much interest, 
 and finally collected courage to speak. Tliey seemed to be so full 
 of their subject that they could not remain silent. The elder, after 
 a conciliating courtesy, straightened herself up, and exclaimed with 
 enthusiasm, " I have been to grandmother's." The younger, elevat- 
 ing herself upon her toes till she had attained nearly the height of 
 her sister, repeated the exclamation, "I — I have been to grand- 
 mother's too ; " when both repeated, with simultaneous voices, 
 " We've both been to grandmother's." I think, sir, we shall go 
 home to-night, feeling very much like these little girls. Again will 
 be heard the enthusiastic exclamation, or at least the spontaneous 
 effusions of the heart will be, — "I have been to grandmother's, and 
 I have been to grandmother's too, and we have all been to grand- 
 mother's." 
 
 Mr. President, I have no sentiment to present. I have not had 
 time to prepare a speech or write a sentiment ; but the sentiments 
 of affection and regard expressed in these remarks, we leave with 
 you, assured that the scenes of this day will never be erased from 
 our memories till our hearts cease to vibrate, and we are gathered 
 to our fathers. 
 
 12. The Savages, — the deadly foes of the fathers; the valued friends of the 
 children. 
 
 The Hon. James Savage, of Boston, as representing tlie Massa- 
 chusetts Historical Society and its President, responded to this 
 sentiment as follows : —
 
 184 APPENDIX. 
 
 Mr. Chairman, — I gratefully acknowledge the honor done me 
 in this last toast ; but it was wholly unexpected, and must be inade- 
 quately repaid. At your invitation, the Massachusetts Historical 
 Society, last Thursday, deputed five members to partake in your 
 festive solemnity to-day ; and my friends, Dr. Bartlett,'of Concord, 
 the late President Spai-ks, of Cambridge, and the late Governor 
 Evei'Ctt, of Boston, were of that number, whose other engagements 
 deprive them of the pleasure of appearing for the Society, with the 
 orator of this occasion and myself. Might I not, sir, well claim to 
 be exempt from contribution to your feast, when my brother of that 
 Society, whose command brings me here, has this morning labored 
 more than two hours for your amusement and instruction ? And if 
 any lady or gentleman of this vast assembly is unsatisfied with that 
 exhibition, it can be told me next week ; but greatly will it sur- 
 prise me. 
 
 Yet, Mr. Chairman, the profound interest of this anniversary 
 stirs every spring of pleasant emotion within me ; and, in honor of 
 Lancaster, most heartily would I pour out 
 
 " A merrier tuue 
 Than the lark warbles on the Ides of June." 
 
 For though, before to-day, I never but once passed an hour in 
 your beautiful town, and only half a day then, a strong sympathy 
 with the early fortune of this Nashua valley is among the first of 
 my youthful associations. More than sixty years since, the good 
 Boston family that had the charge of my orphan state being com- 
 pelled to exchange one dwelling for another three different times 
 in one year, I well remember the doleful exclamation of the female 
 head, that she feared to suffer as many removes as old Mother 
 Rowlandson, — so widely had the proverbial expression been dif- 
 fused. Who Mother Rowlandson was, in that my fii'st year at the 
 town school, I knew as little as of your geography, or other scenes 
 of her distress. But one year more, and the instruction came. By 
 the current events of our Indian war, the defeats of Harmar and 
 St. Clair, the shocking massacres and wide conflagrations in the 
 Ohio valley, all the sufferings of the prior century became matters
 
 APPENDIX. 185 
 
 of frequent convei'sation, especially with those whose relations or 
 friends had recently fallen. The war of King Philip, and the 
 humble narrative of disasters by those who outlived the tortures of 
 captivity, were rendered " familiar as household words." Details 
 of the whole Iliad of your infant woes fastened with bewitching 
 bonds on my imagination, and ever since have been fresh in my 
 memory. 
 
 Still the virtues and the suiFering of ancestors that have endeared 
 this happy valley, though worthy of perpetual remembrance, need 
 not, sir, confine our regards exclusively on this occasion to a con- 
 templation of occurrences two hundred years back. You had 
 solemn commemoration of the origin of your town, as from our 
 orator we learn, one century ago ; and for the second time are 
 met to reverence that event, in far happier circumstances. May 
 we not, therefore, decently reflect on the lapse of only the last half 
 of your lifetime, and consider merely how the past century has 
 made its mark for or against us ? Glorious things are told in our 
 glad ears, as they were this morning, of the earliest hundred in the 
 sun's annual returns on your municipality, when the deep founda- 
 tions of a people's character were laid in poverty and peril. Now 
 let us ask ourselves, how came we to this wonderful state of 
 national wealth, of federal power, of individual and universal 
 security, such as no human experience, in so brief a period, ever 
 equalled ? 
 
 Mr. Chairman, it is only one hundred years, precisely that, last 
 February, since George Washington came into active and respon- 
 sible life by attaining his age of twenty-one ; and from that time, 
 through the vast extent of our country, in its almost infinitely 
 diversified relations, what measure of good, I appeal to all who lioar 
 me, what measure of good can be seen in the whole (hat shall not 
 be confessed to have intimate reference to him ? A lieutenant of 
 the Virginia militia, he was, the very next year, directing the ope- 
 rations on one side that began that splendid contest for empire 
 between the two greatest nations of the other continent, the battle 
 of life or death, for the mastery of this. In one year more, when 
 the army of General Braddock, with all ihi- supplies that the wealth 
 
 24
 
 186 APPENDIX. 
 
 of Britain could furnish to her regular troops, was defeated with 
 such tremendous slaughter as shot a thrill of trepidation through 
 our long Atlantic border, from the Savannah to the Kennebeck, the 
 hardihood and sagacity of this militia-major seemed alone to avert 
 the terrible consequence. From that hour to his death, the story 
 of his life is engraven on your memory ; for it is the history of his 
 country in every moment of her most complicated, her most dan- 
 gerous, her most successful, her most honorable situations. Let it 
 be, in any threatening aspect of our future, a perpetual encourage- 
 ment in the tenfold more fearful temptations of national glory ; a 
 beacon warning, as more than once we feel it was, when our coun- 
 try was saved, on the perilous verge of ruin, at one time by the 
 firmness, again by the wisdom, and best of all by the integrity of 
 Washington. Of his virtues, you have no need to learn from the 
 records of the past, that hardly an equal, never a superior, graces 
 the annals of humanity ; but to the proofs of his consummate saga- 
 city, my friends, I recommend a more general recourse. To his 
 civic wisdom, after the petty perils of war were dissipated, to his 
 greatness of forecast in guiding us through the stormiest years 
 of convulsion in opinion, extravagance in theory, and recklessness 
 in action, — often overruling the majority, that, to gratify their 
 cherished prejudices, would have run to destruction ; whose head- 
 long impulses derided his counsel, and obeyed the dictation of a 
 foreign state, until the ever-present sense of his integrity calmed 
 their passion enough to enable them to see their interest, and almost 
 to fulfil their duty, — to the rare union of such virtue and such 
 . wisdom do we owe most of our present happiness, if not even our 
 national existence. His greatness was of a kind that desires not 
 the glittering array of publicity : he needed not to call on his fellow- 
 citizens to see how wise was his plan, to behold how sagacious were 
 his methods, to inquire into the infamy that threw aspei'sion on his 
 motives. Now we can observe that his whole character is beyond 
 all defence, for it is above all assault. From the enlightened con- 
 versation of all foreigners, as by my own remark on the feelings of 
 the people universally in Great Britain, I have fixed in my mind 
 this conclusion, that the richest inheritance we have received, the
 
 APPENDIX. •187 
 
 surest bulwark we can erect, is, that Washington was ours. "When- 
 ever we desire to weigh public men, to discriminate between a 
 statesman and a politician, how can we be at a loss, how err in the 
 decision ? Constantly have succeeded, thank Heaven ! a few in the 
 land, who truly reverenced the principles of our first President, and 
 advised the republic of the safety of his example. But a wish is 
 sometimes indulged by those who could not imitate, that the lustre 
 of his virtue may not impede their course. In the days of prosper- 
 ity, you may suppose that there is no call for such stern statesmen 
 as will not bend right to expediency, and prefer to utter rather the 
 true than the pleasant ; you will have ci'owds to seek your favor, 
 who will affect the name, without the service, of patriots ; who 
 regard not the honor that belongs to a ruler, so much as the profit 
 of a politician ; who would strain after office for its emolument, and 
 most justly slight the vain hope " to read their history in a nation's 
 eyes." In the deeds of that man, in the long years of his duties, 
 who built up our renown and our happiness to their unexampled 
 height, Avithout selfish thought of his own happiness or glory, you can 
 discern the true test of a public servant, and learn by contrast how 
 deep should be your contempt for the ever-ready candidate, with no 
 other qualification than the arts of a huckster demagogue. Think, 
 my friends, when you have an honor to bestow, of him " first in 
 war, first in peace," and you will not mistake in your judgment of 
 the meanest reptile that crawls, nor be cheated by the most dis- 
 honest of all traders, — a tradmg politician. 
 
 But I must not, Mr. Chairman, further abuse the indulgence of 
 this numerous meeting. Time is too precious for me to do any thing 
 more than to express my confident anticipation, that when your 
 children of the third and fourth generation, a hundred years hence, 
 celebrate this birthday, Lancaster will be seen, in her agriculture, 
 her manufactures, her edifices, public and private, her groves, her 
 fruits, her flowers, — in every thing that now occupies the thoughts 
 of her people, except the training of her children, which can hai-dly 
 admit of improvement, — to be as far above the mark of her pres- 
 ent felicity, as is the present superior to that of a hundred years 
 back ; and I will cease rambling longer by proposing a sentiment :
 
 188 APPENDIX. 
 
 " May the next centennial celebration here be as happy in refer- 
 ring to its chief glory in the path of a hundred years, as we of ^.his 
 age have been in our possession of Washington ! " 
 
 13. Levi Lincoln. Fearless amid the stormy trials of political life, the kindness 
 of his heart and the graces of his manners have encircled with a crown the hours of 
 his retirement. 
 
 The honorable gentleman responded to this sentiment in a few 
 eloquent remarks. 
 
 14. The American Antiquarian Society. 
 
 In reply to our request for the response to this sentiment, we 
 have received a letter from the Rev. Edwakd E. Hale, which 
 will be found under the head of " Letters." 
 
 15. The Medical FACTJiiXr of Boston. 
 
 Dr. J. V. C. Smith, a native of Leominster, though a resident 
 now of Boston, replied to this toast, but has not furnished us with a 
 copy of his remarks. 
 
 16. The Ancient Town of Salem. The pioneer town of Worcester County sends 
 greeting to her pioneer sister of Essex. 
 
 The following remarks were made by the Hon. Chakles W. 
 Upham, of Salem : — 
 
 Mr. President, and Ladies and Gentlemen, — In obeying the 
 call to respond to the sentiment in honor of the city of my abode, 
 allow me to say that it gave me the liveliest satisfaction to hear 
 that the people of Lancaster were preparing to observe with due 
 ceremonials, and with the festivities and mutual congratulations it 
 demands and deserves, this its second centennial anniversary.
 
 APPENDIX. 1 89 
 
 It is well for the Massachusetts towns to observe commemo- 
 rative occasions. We have a noble ancestry : we ought to keep 
 them alive for ever in our memory. The incidents of our early 
 annals were, in many respects, very remarkable : they were romantic 
 and affecting to the highest degree, — often distressing and fearful 
 at the time, but, in their remote influences and final effects, most 
 benignant and auspicious. They suggest grateful and salutary 
 reflections, and lead the meditative thought to the recognition of an 
 overruling Providence, more than almost any other chapter of 
 human history. 
 
 Local attachment, — a love for the homes of our childhood and 
 youth, for the scenes that witnessed the experiences and contain the 
 ashes of our fathers, — is instinctive in the human breast ; and 
 every wise and good man cherishes it. It is one of the most etli- 
 cient and auspicious elements of national character ; and nowhere 
 ought it to be cherished more fervently than in these Massachusetts 
 villages, — nowhere more than in Lancaster. 
 
 Where in the annals of the world, — where on the face of the 
 earth, — has a spectacle been presented to the eye or the heart of 
 man more delightful and animating, more soul-elevating and sublime, 
 than this lovely village presents to-day? Surely nature never 
 wore so deep or so rich a green, — never did she breathe a more 
 benignant influence upon the heart of the beholder, than here at 
 this hour. I call upon our travelled friends, upon Mr. Savage and 
 Dr. Smith, to say whether, in all their wanderings in the father-land 
 or the remote East, their eyes ever fell upon a scene surpassing in 
 loveliness that which surrounds us. Where is there a sweeter 
 field than yonder meadow, shining in beauty and teeming witli fertile 
 fragrance, on the sides of the Nashua, as it winds through the thick, 
 overhanging foliage that almost veils from sight its placid and 
 mirror surface? Where can any thing be found approaching the 
 majestic, wide-branching, towering, and graceful elms, that adorn 
 these fields, and line these broad roads ? The sun, as he rose in 
 the splendors of this summer morning, greeted by tlie booming 
 cannon and the pealing bell, and by grateful throngs gathering to 
 the scene of their fond recollections, and as he has circled tiie
 
 190 APPENDIX. 
 
 heavens, has not shone upon a purer, deeper, more rational happi- 
 ness than we are experiencing to-day. 
 
 The circumstances of my early life, like those of my friend Mr. 
 Savage, to which he has referred, allowing no permanent place of 
 residence, enabled me to regard Lancaster as entitled, as much 
 perhaps as any other place, to be considered as my local habitation. 
 My summer college vacations were spent here. Many of my early 
 impressions of the beauties of nature and the pleasures of rural life 
 were received here. The types and models, which memory has 
 ever recalled in subsequent years, of loveliness of landscape, were 
 originally derived from this " happy valley." I can see now, in the 
 visions of the long past, the summer cloud, as it gathered around 
 the base of Wachusett, and, thickening as it advanced, parted at the 
 iurbaned summit of George's Hill, and poured out its showers 
 and spread its rainbows, as it sailed off on the north and south, and 
 disappeared in the eastern horizon. 
 
 With these recollections and these associations, I felt myself as 
 strongly and as warmly addressed by the " Welcome Home " 
 inscribed on your walls to-day, as any native of the spot. 
 
 Further, Mr. Chairman, I felt that I had a right to accept the 
 invitation with which I was honored, to be present at the great 
 family gathering of old Lancaster ; for I helped to educate one of 
 her fairest daughters. I taught a district school in Bolton ; and so 
 I did in Leominster, in the district to which the Hon. David Wilder 
 belongs. While he was making his admirable speech, I felt like 
 crying out, " That is my thunder." I claim, indeed, to be at home 
 in this whole region, am proud of its virtues, rejoice in its pros- 
 perity, and participate in the fond affection with which its inhabi- 
 tants cling, and its children return, to it. 
 
 We are assembled beneath the trees, and on the land, of the late 
 Captain Samuel Ward. More than a quarter of a century has 
 elapsed since his removal from the scene ; but his memory, I am 
 sure, is as fresh in the hearts of all the elder inhabitants of the 
 town as it is in mine. He was the friend of my father, and the 
 friend of my youth. Upon hearing of my being in college at Cam- 
 bridge, he sent for me, and gave me a home under his roof. He
 
 APPENDIX. 191 
 
 was a gentleman of the old school, in the best sense of that expres- 
 sion. His mansion was conseci'ated to a generous and simple 
 hospitality, and was frequented by the best society of all parts of 
 the Commonwealth. The circle of his friends embraced the prin- 
 cipal persons of his day. For cordial and unaffected kindness, for 
 keen but most benignant humoi*, for acute and never-erring discern- 
 ment of character, he had a reputation that extended far and wide, 
 and still lives in choicest traditions, and in anecdotes that will never 
 cease to be cherished and repeated. His influence upon this town 
 and parish was invaluable. At that time, sir, the town and parisli 
 of Lancaster were identical. Long after every other town had 
 been divided and broken into fragments of contending sects, the 
 people of Lancaster, up to the period of my recollection, adhered 
 to the beautiful usages of the olden time ; and, with one mind and 
 one heart, worshipped, under one roof, the God of their fathers. 
 To the preservation of this union and harmony, Captain "Ward most 
 emmently contributed. By his wisdom, his wit, his kindness, and 
 his vigilance, alienation and disagreement were nipped in the bud. 
 He was a conservator of the peace, a " man of Ross : " — 
 
 "Is there a variance 1 Open but his door, 
 Ealked are the courts, and contest is no more." 
 
 He was a benevolent man. In the use of his abundance, he contrib- 
 uted to the relief and the aid of many. I will only mention, in 
 illustration of his wise and beneficent liberality, that he enabled a 
 young relative, a son of Worcester county and "Worcester city, to 
 obtain an education at Harvard University, which, based u])0ii 
 superior natural endowments, and followed up by great subsequent 
 culture and opportunities, has resulted in giving to the conntry and 
 the world the " Historian of the United States." 
 
 There is one other person in the history of Lancaster, to whom 
 my feelings compel me on this occasion to bear a grateful testimony, 
 la my youth, I enjoyed the friendship, the liospitality, the cniiuscl, 
 and the patronage of the late reverend and vcneraVile Natlianicl 
 Thayer. He was indeed a good man, a devoted [)astor, and a true 
 Christian. ' His character has been traced to-day by a Ju-I :tnil
 
 192 APPENDIX. 
 
 discriminating pen. His virtues have been recalled to mind by 
 various allusions and associations. My heart, with its deepest sen- 
 sibility, unites in every ti*ibute to his memory, in every testimonial 
 of his worth, in every recollection of his honored name. 
 
 In the sentiment to which I am called to respond, you were kind 
 enough to associate the county of Essex with the county of Wor- 
 cester: allow me, in taking my seat, to give the following: — 
 
 " The County of Worcester. It is generally spoken of as 
 the Heart of the Commonwealth. We, who live in other sections 
 of the State, cheerfully and cordially acknowledge that the heart is 
 in the right place." 
 
 17. A Paradox. — The Master Printer, who has always been a 'Prentice (Pren- 
 tiss), a Type of a Rev. Prototype. One was a faithful watchman in the Church of 
 Lancaster; the other has been a Keene Sentinel among the hills of New Hampshire. 
 
 The Hon. John Prentiss, of Keene, having been called on, 
 responded. 
 
 Mr. President, — I am not a native, neither have I ever resided 
 in Lancaster. I am therefore indebted, for this courtesy, to the 
 simple fact of being a descendant, " the type of a reverend proto- 
 type ; " " one who was a faithful watchman in the church of Lan- 
 caster," — a 'Prentice, yes, " a workman that needeth not to be 
 ashamed." You have referred to me, sir, as having been a " Sentinel 
 among the hills of New Hampshire." Your toast is full of figures, 
 — I must get clear of them as fast as possible. It is true that, 
 for forty-eight years, I had the oversight of a press. It does not 
 become me to speak of the good I may have done in this long 
 period ; but I will take the liberty of authors and publishers, by 
 appending the recommendation of an excellent friend who lately 
 died in the insane hospital. He was earnest in commending Uie 
 Sentinel as really one of the very best newspapers published. " In 
 the domestic department," he said, I was "judicious in my selec- 
 tions " [probably from industriously collecting all the horrid murders,
 
 APPENDIX. 193 
 
 shocking railroad and other accidents, of the week]. In the foreign 
 I was capital, keeping every reader well posted up ; " but in the 
 moral and religious department," said he, " he 's a lohaler." So 
 much for the type and the prototype. 
 
 During several years of the last century, I resided in the nei"h- 
 boring town of Leominster, and then well knew many of your 
 excellent townsmen, — your Sprague, your Stedman, Rice, the 
 Whitings, Fisher, your distinguished surgeon Dr. Carter, and your 
 beloved, then sole minister, the late Di'. Thayer. Dr. Thayer wa3 
 present at two ordaining councils in Keene ; officiated in forminf 
 the Unitarian church there, in 1825 ; and baptized a beloved 
 daughter, who lingered but a few hours after the ordination services. 
 With General John Whiting I had pleasant business relations in 
 after years. He was one of nature's noblemen ; but, although he 
 could readily face the bullets or the bayonets of an enemy, he could 
 never march up to the official and dignified outward bearing of his 
 excellent brother, 'Squire Timothy. 
 
 Many of our citizens in Keene, who have now departed, highly 
 respected and worthy men, emigrated from Lancaster. Deacons 
 Abijah Wilder and Elijah Carter were of the number ; also the 
 venerable Abel Wilder, still among the living. We count also 
 many excellent mothers, living and dead, natives of Lancaster. 
 
 Mr. President, this is a day for pleasant reminiscences, and my 
 allotted minutes are fast slipping away. My maternal grandfather 
 was the Rev. John Mellen, of Chocksett, now Sterling, and one 
 of the numerous children of Mother Lancaster. He married a 
 daughter of the Rev. John Prentice. He was a strong man of his 
 times, with sound learning ; one of the " olden time," — stern in 
 his manner; orthodox, in the general acceptation of the term, as his 
 numerous printed discourses show (as were all his contemporaries 
 at that period, excepting Mr. Rogers of Leominster *) ; and I well 
 
 * An excellent History of Leominster, by the Hon. David Wilder, of Leominster, 
 has just been published, containing the charges and results of Council in Mr. Rogers's 
 case. His views, not materially dilToring from those of a large body of Christians 
 at the present day in this Commonwealth, were then deemed heretical, and he was 
 deposed. He preached to his few adherents, however, for many years afterwords. 
 
 26
 
 194 APPENDIX. 
 
 remember that no wig exceeded his in size. He took part in the 
 memorable controversy, before the Revolution, about faith and 
 works (in Worcester County), Arminianism and the Jive points ; 
 and had for a competitor the elder John Adams, then a student at 
 law and schoolmaster in Worcester.* 
 
 I shall cut nobody's corners, I trust, by relating a reminiscence 
 of old Confederation times. At this period, it was common for one 
 of the deacons to line the hymn, as it was called, in church. There 
 were then but few books, and fewer imported singing-books. My 
 grandfather had for some time been dissatisfied with the mode, and 
 perhaps this was heightened by the bad reading of his deacon ; for 
 there were but very few good readers in that day, as in this. 
 On a cloudy day, we will presume, he gave out Watts's psalm, 
 commencing, 
 
 " Along the Idumean road, 
 Away from Bozrah's gate." 
 
 The good deacon may not have rubbed his spectacles that morning, 
 or his book may have been thumbed too long ; but he read the 
 two lines on this wise : 
 
 " Along the Idgemugeon road, 
 Away from Boozy's gate." 
 
 This was too bad, — quite beyond endurance. The parson set 
 about forming a choir, and the lining of the hymn was soon dis- 
 pensed with. But many of the old people could not forgive him ; 
 
 * His son, the late Chief Justice Mellen, of Maine, once informed me that his father, 
 as he advanced in age, did not adhere to all the theological opinions of his middle 
 life. After he settled in Hanover, about the year 1795, his children, seven in number, 
 all housekeepers, and residing within the limits of Massachusetts and New Hampshire, 
 met together, with the parents (sixteen in the whole), adopted rules and regulations, 
 chose a President and Secretary, and agreed to meet annually at the house of some 
 one of the members in succession, and spend at least two days together. By one of 
 the articles, vacancies by death were to be filled from the next generation. These 
 happy meetings, where a record was kept of births, marriages, and deaths, and other 
 important events, were continued more than thirty years. In our family, as the 
 elder branch, are preserved excellent portraits of the father and mother. The can- 
 vas strikingly speaks out prominent traits of character.
 
 APPENDIX. 195 
 
 and, with some other troubles, he took up his connection with the 
 parish ; as my good old aunt informed me thirty or forty years 
 ago, " he gained his point, but lost Ms parish." He resided several 
 years in Cambridge, and was afterwards settled in Hanover, where 
 he continued until advanced age caused him to ask to be relieved. 
 In his last years, he resided with my mother, then a widow in 
 South Reading. The mind was doubtless somewhat impaired with 
 the body. The family consisted principally of females ; and the old 
 gentleman, at times, was somewhat difficult to please. At any 
 rate, things did not always go right. One day he was overheard 
 talking to himself, — " Solomon, Solomon ! they call him the 
 wisest man that ever lived. He was the greatest fool, or he would 
 never have had so many women about Mm." His monument, 
 erected by his children, is in the old burying-ground at South 
 Reading. 
 
 Mr. President, I give you as a sentiment : — 
 
 " Time-honored Lancaster." Her " lines have fallen to her 
 in pleasant places." 
 
 18. The old Schoolmasters op Lancaster. We remember them with gratitude. 
 To their labors and faithfulness we are indebted for much of our prosperity. We 
 expect some of them to rise and answer like a Proctor. 
 
 The remax'ks of the Hon. John W. Proctor, of Danvers. 
 
 Mr. Chairman, — I am under great obligations for that kindness 
 which has for thirty-five years borne in mind my name in connec- 
 tion with the schools of Lancaster, though I had not anticipated 
 being called on to answer in their behalf. But, sir, when our New- 
 England schools are mentioned, I do not feel at liberty to be 
 entirely silent ; notwithstanding there may be others much better 
 entitled to respond for the Lancaster School {s). 
 
 It was my privilege, sir, to succeed Mr. Sparks in the caro of the 
 school established in this place by the Messrs. Cleveland, Tliaycr, 
 Higginson, Ward, and others, which for a time had some reputa-
 
 196 APPENDIX. 
 
 tion ; and which, if judged by its fruits, is still worthy of remem- 
 brance. Its history affords a striking illustration of the remark, 
 that 
 
 " Large streams from little fountains flow," 
 
 when we bear in mind that the President of Harvard College, the 
 biographer of Washington, and the most eminent historian of 
 America, once occupied the humble tenement on yonder old Com- 
 mon, in which this school was begun. I remember, sir, when I 
 first came into town, and sought the place in which I was to labor, 
 I found it necessary to make my obeisance before I could enter ; 
 and when in, with the boys around me, to be careful how I turned 
 about, lest I should tread upon their toes. No desk of mahogany, or 
 cushioned chairs, were there ; but the pine-table and the three-legged 
 stool were the best accommodations afforded. Nevertheless, progress 
 was made ; and I am not quite sure it was any the less for the want 
 of the greater conveniences of the present day. Where there is a 
 will, there is a way ; and those who are determined to learn will 
 learn, whatever may be the obstacles interposed. 
 
 Of the schools of the town at this time, my own observation will 
 not authorize me to speak. But,. if they are to be judged by the 
 reputation of those who have watched over them, they will at no 
 time be found to have been wanting. 
 
 When I came into town to-day, sir, I inquired for my old school- 
 room, and found that it had disappeared ; and so with the building 
 that next followed it. But, sir, I was gx-atified to learn that the 
 stately structure on yonder eminence, almost rivalling the beautiful 
 church that came into being while I resided here, is a seminary for 
 the qualification of teachers. I know of no place better suited 
 for such an institution than this beautiful vale of the Nashua, with 
 its magnificent elms, and extended meads clothed with luxui'iant 
 verdure. Central as it is, in the midst of a population distinguished 
 for industry and intelligence, I can see no reason why the sun of 
 science shall not radiate its beams from this place through the 
 land. 
 
 When first advised of this bicentennial gathering, my sympathies
 
 APPENDIX. 197 
 
 were deeply enlisted, as I had just been engaged in reviewing the 
 historical events of that part of old Salem from which I come ; one 
 of the very few towns in Massachusetts of older date than Lancas- 
 ter. While Lancaster was smitten with the tomahawk and scalping- 
 knife of the native sons of the forest, Salem was still more griev- 
 ously smitten with the cruder vagaries of misguided fanaticism, to 
 which my friend, the late Mayor, has so eloquently alluded. I was 
 most happy, sir, to hear him award ample justice to that emi- 
 nent citizen of your town, in whose beautiful grove we are now 
 assembled. He was indeed a gentleman, whose urbanity and intel- 
 ligence are worthy to be perpetuated on the brightest page of your 
 history. But, sir, while we call to mind the sufferings endured by 
 our fathers in their frontier settlements, by what was deemed the 
 cruelties of the savage, are we to forget entirely the provoca- 
 tions the savages had for these cruelties? Look at them, sir, in 
 the quiet possession of their own corn-fields, fishing-streams, and 
 hunting-grounds, gradually crowded away from them all ; and, 
 what is worse, deprived of their reason by the use of the intoxica- 
 ting liquors diffused among them by the white men, — and who will 
 dare to say that the red men of Massachusetts, with the brave 
 Philip at their head, ever inflicted unreasonable cruelties ? 
 
 Bearing in mind your salutary admonition, " Be short," 1 beg 
 leave to congratulate you, and all concerned, on the splendid success 
 of this day's celebration ; and to propose as a sentiment one that 
 I had the honor to announce one year ago, at our celebration in 
 Danvers. 
 
 " Education, a debt due from the present to future genera- 
 tions." 
 
 19. The Citizens of Lancaster, — so excellcut in character, that oven their 
 Wilder sons and daughters, both at home and abroad, are and have been highly 
 esteemed. They are represented hero to-day by their Marshall. 
 
 The Hon. Marshall P. Wilder, of Dorchester, inadt- the 
 following remarks : —
 
 198 APPENDIX. 
 
 Mr. President, and Ladies and Gentlemen, — It gives me 
 unfeigned pleasure to respond to your call, and gratefully to 
 acknowledge the honor conferred on me by the sentiment just 
 announced. 
 
 At no small personal sacrifice, I am here to-day to exchange 
 mutual congratulations, and to participate in the festive and intel- 
 lectual entertainment of this occasion. When I first received the 
 cordial invitation of your Committee, I felt that it would be impos- 
 sible for me to indulge myself with this privilege ; but the more 
 I thought of you, and my kindred still residing among you, — the 
 more I thought of my venerable ancestry, and of the place which 
 has given most of them both birth and burial, — the more I felt 
 drawn towards you by an invisible power ; and I am here for the 
 plain reason that I could not resist the inducements to be present. 
 To have remained at home, and have taken no part in the proceed- 
 ings of this interesting occasion, would not only have done violence 
 to my own feelings, but would have been an apparent disregard 
 of the memory and worth of my fathers. 
 
 I am allied, Mr. President, to the good people of Lancaster and 
 Sterling, not merely by a common humanity and citizenship, but 
 by the closer ties of consanguinity and a cherished ancestry. My 
 honored father, who has resided in Rindge, N. H., for more than 
 sixty years, was born among you, and here passed the first sixteen 
 years of his life. He was the youngest of a large and respectable 
 family, some of whom still remain ; and, God be praised, he is here 
 to-day, with others of the Wilder family, some of whom have come 
 up from a distant part of our country to participate with us in the 
 pleasures of this meeting. 
 
 My grandfather, Captain Ephraim Wilder, inherited the place of 
 his father, a gentleman of the same name and title, and resided in 
 the first house in Sterling, on the main road, just after you pass 
 the boundaries of this town. This estate was originally in the. 
 second precinct of Lancaster, and has been in the family for a cen- 
 tury or more, and I hope will always remain in the hands of my 
 kindred. Captain Wilder was a member of the Massachusetts 
 Convention for the adoption of the Constitution of the United
 
 APPENDIX. 199 
 
 States in 1787, and one of the only seven members from Worcester 
 County who voted in favor of this memorable document. He was 
 also for many years a representative from the town of Sterling in 
 the Massachusetts Legislature, and died at the age of seventy-two, 
 universally lamented ; and his memory is cherished to this day. 
 
 In the presence of so many matrons and maidens, it would be 
 unpardonable did I not allude to my excellent grandmother. She 
 was Miss Lucretia Locke, the sister of the Rev. Samuel Locke, 
 President of Harvard College, also one of the citizens of Lancaster, 
 of the stock of John Locke, the great metaphysician and philosopher, 
 and who first, if you will permit the paiody, v'S-Iocked the " Human 
 Understanding." 
 
 The Wilders were among the earliest settlers of this town, as we 
 have been informed by the orator of the day. They were also 
 engaged in the Indian and Revolutionary Wars ; and some of them 
 sacrificed their lives and their fortunes in defence of their rights, 
 their homes, and their c6untry. Time will not allow me to speak 
 of other branches of this extensive family than those with which I 
 am immediately connected ; and, besides, there are distinguished 
 representatives present who need no man to speak for them. They 
 are abundantly able to speak for themselves. I may, however, be 
 permitted to quote, in relation to the Wilder family, what the editor 
 of the "Worcester Magazine" (vol. ii. p. 45) is pleased to say, 
 " that of all the ancient Lancaster families, there is no one that has 
 sustained so many offices as this," — a fact which may be ascribed 
 either to their abilities or to their laudable ambition ; and you will 
 permit me, their lineal descendant, but unworthy representative, to 
 appropriate, with some modification, the words of one of old, " Seeing 
 that others glory in their ancestry, I more, the Wildest of the 
 Wilders." 
 
 So fai' as my knowledge extends, our worthy ancestors lived here 
 in all good conscience and perfect peace among themselves. I 
 never heard of but one quarrel among them, and that was in the 
 church ; and whether it ought to be accounted an honor or a 
 reproach, you shall judge when you have heard the story. 
 
 When recruits were called for to quell the Shays Rebellion, the
 
 200 APPENDIX. 
 
 citizens of Lancaster assembled in their meeting-house. The pre- 
 liminaries having been arranged, the drum was beat through the 
 aisles of the church for volunteers. One of our family, afterwards 
 a most worthy deacon of Rev. Dr. Thayer's church, and well known 
 to many who now hear me, was the first to volunteer ; and, although 
 but eighteen years of age, filed in immediately after the drummer. 
 As the music mai'ched round and round, a distant relative 
 reproached him for his youth and rashness, to whom my uncle gave 
 the caution not to repeat the offence. But, when he marched round 
 again, and heard the remark renewed, he stepped from the ranks 
 into the pew, and gave the offender a few blows from the rod of 
 retributive justice, not perhaps exactly in accordance with military 
 discipline. This exhibition of buoyant spirit so awoke the courage 
 of the company, that the complement of volunteers was soon mus- 
 tered ; and the next mox'ning the young hero was on his way in 
 pursuit of the rebel, and contributed his full share in suppressing 
 the insurrection, and restoring public order and peace. 
 
 But, Mr. President, he, and the venerable men whose precious 
 memory we have met to embalm, and whom we delight to honor, 
 have ceased from their labors ; but surely their works do follow 
 them. The institutions which they founded are our richest inherit- 
 ance. 
 
 As we turn from the fathers to the children, how wonderful the 
 improvements which everywhere salute our eyes ! The wilderness, 
 once terrible by the howling of savage beasts and more savage men, 
 has become a lovely landscape, with highly cultivated fields, fruitful 
 orchards, and smiling gardens. Those rude huts and log-cabins 
 have given place to these commodious and elegant houses ; those 
 bloody hostilities have yielded to public order and domestic peace ; 
 all around, extensive manufactories, the industrial arts, schools 
 and churches, an enterprising and afiiuent population, greet our 
 eyes. 
 
 Who can estimate the debt of gratitude we owe to the men who 
 have laid the foundation of domestic peace and social order, and 
 of the literary, civil, and religious institutions which bless the com- 
 munity in which we live ?
 
 APPENDIX. 201 
 
 True, they did not anticipate the abundant harvest we gather 
 from the seed of their sowing. And, indeed, who of us can predict 
 the progress of society in the next hundred years ? Ere that day 
 shall arrive, we shall have joined them in their silent repose. 
 Others will then assemble, to celebrate a third centennial. Who 
 can tell us what shall then be the population of this town ; — what 
 new or improved arts it shall then prosecute ; — what shall be the 
 amount of its resources, intelligence, virtue, and happiness ; — much 
 less what circle shall then bound our rapidly extending country ; — 
 what shall be the measure of her prowess and prosperity ; — or 
 whether, ere that morning shall dawn, the American Republic shall 
 not be commensurate with the American Continent — with the 
 entire globe — by her institutions made free, intelligent, and happy, 
 and brought into the liberty and light of millennial day ? 
 
 Mr. President, I have exhausted my full share of the time, and 
 I will bring my remarks to a close. 
 
 Standing, sir, as we do, on the line which divides the past from 
 the future, let us extend the hand of gratitude to the fathers who 
 have gone before us, and that of right cordial welcome to the 
 descendants who shall come after us ; and, as none of us will be 
 present at the next centennial of the town of Lancaster, I propose 
 to submit, for the adoption of this assembly, the following sentiment, 
 to be presented on that occasion. I give you, ladies and gen- 
 tlemen : — 
 
 "Beloved Descendants of the Inhabitants of Lancas- 
 ter, — "Welcome to the i-ich inheritance which we have received 
 from our fathers. "Welcome to the liberty which they purchased, 
 and which we have preserved. "Welcome to the fields which we 
 both have cultivated ; to our orchards and gardens ; to our comforts, 
 homes,- and hearts ; to all our institutions, civil, literary, and reli- 
 gious ; and, having acted well your part in the great drama of life, 
 welcome to our sepulchres, and to a participation with us in an 
 inheritance incorruptible and eternal." 
 
 26
 
 202 APPENDIX. 
 
 The Hon. John G. Thurston, >vho, after the President had 
 retired, occupied the chair, being called upon, said : — 
 
 Ladies and" Gentlemen, — We cannot but feel that we are greatly 
 privileged in being upon the stage to behold this great and joyful 
 family meeting, and in witnessing an occasion of such' deep and 
 thrilling interest. I have looked forward for years with the fondest 
 anticipations to the time when the friends of our youthful days, now 
 living, should be gathered under the old roof-tree, and join in this 
 glorious revival of olden times ; and, although I have anticipated 
 much, I can truly say that my expectations have been more than 
 realized. 
 
 The occasion has served to strengthen the ties that bind one 
 generation to another, and to awaken in each heart more kindly 
 feelings ; and there is no one present, I hope, but can say that " it 
 is good for us to be here." 
 
 If there are any among this vast assembly who had any idea that 
 Lancaster had no distinguished sons who could speak for her, I 
 hope the remarks you have this day listened to may have dispelled 
 the illusion. 
 
 Our friendly gathering reminds me of the reply of the Roman 
 matron to a lady, her guest, who showed her jewels, inviting 
 praise of their beauty. She called in her children on their 
 return from school, and, presenting them, said, " These are my 
 jewels." 
 
 In the two cases there seems to be this difference, — The cele- 
 brated lady of ancient times, as her children were still young, 
 placed her glory somewhat in embryo ; while, our children being 
 of age, and having this day spoken for themselves, the glory of 
 Lancaster has been consummated. 
 
 Remarks of the Hon. Charles Hudson, of Boston. 
 
 Mr. President, — At this late hour, after the exhibition of stir- 
 ring eloquence, noble sentiment, and sparkling wit, with which we 
 have been regaled, I do not intend to make a speech. Your ten
 
 APPENDIX. 203 
 
 minutes' rule, which has operated so severely in some instances, is 
 just suited to my case. I will not violate the rule. "While I can- 
 not claim this town as my birthplace, I can trace my ancestors to 
 Lancaster. Daniel Hudson, the father of most, if not all, who bear 
 that name in this country, emigrated from England about 1640; 
 and, some twenty or twenty-five years afterwards, came to Lancas- 
 ter, and purchased a proprietor's right of Major Simon Willard. 
 He had a number of sons, some of whom, with their descendants, 
 remained here for a long period. I do not learn that they were 
 particularly distinguished while they remained among you ; though 
 I believe that your records show that one of them received a bounty 
 from the town, in 1687, of six acres of land, for killing wolves. My 
 grandfather, the fourth in descent from the original emigrant, lived 
 in the town of Northborough. Pie had seven sons, all of whom, 
 together with their father, were in the service of their country 
 during some part of the Revolutionary War. So, Mr. President, 
 though I cannot claim any royal lineage, I think I may claim the 
 glory of having descended from the town of Lancaster and the 
 American Revolution. This is honor enough for me. 
 
 The occasion which has called us together naturally leads us to 
 contemplate the past, a,nd to compare it with the present. The 
 wilderness to which our fathers emigrated, and which was at that 
 time the home of the savages, has long since been converted into 
 cultivated fields, the abodes of civilization and refinement; and, 
 from the exhibition I have witnessed here to-day, I am convinced 
 that the wolves with which my ancestor contended have given place 
 to fawns and lambs. .The changes which have taken place in this 
 country since the first settlement of this town are calculated to fill 
 us with astonishment. What have two hundred years accomplished ? 
 But we have no need, in this country, of reviewing events by 
 centuries. With us a decade is as a century in other countries. 
 Within my own recollection, a wonderful change has come over "the 
 spirit of our dreams." I can remember when some of our bold and 
 adventurous citizens actually emigrated to the New State, as Ver- 
 mont was tlien called ; and some of the reckless rovers even dared to 
 start for the Far West^ viz. for Wliitesborough, or the German Flats.
 
 204 APPENDIX. 
 
 Then came the Ohio fever, and many were disposed to try their 
 fortune in that "Western World. But though some were willing, in 
 the language of the emigrant's song, 
 
 " To settle en the banks of the pleasant Ohio," 
 
 none were presumptuous enough to think of crossing the Mississippi. 
 But in a short time came Michigan and Wisconsin and Iowa, as 
 places of attraction ; and these were followed by Oregon and Cali- 
 fornia ; so that now the Mississippi is the centre of the country, and 
 the West is beyond the summit of the Rocky Mountains. Or if we 
 turn our attention eastward, going to Europe is but crossing a ferry ; 
 so that for invalids, and seekers of pleasure, to visit the Eastern 
 Continent is but going home to thanksgiving. And all these mighty 
 changes have taken place within the memory of many who are here 
 to-day. 
 
 But, while we rejoice in the extent of our country and the 
 spread of our population, we should never forget our own blessed 
 New England. Let our citizens, if they will, emigrate to the Far 
 West ; let our sons, if they must, leave the land of the Pilgrims to 
 seek " a log-house beyond the mountains : " too many of them will 
 find that they have gone from home. Give me a place beneath the 
 shade of your majestic elms, and they may regale themselves in 
 the oak-openings of the West. Let me look upon your intervales, 
 blooming under cultivation ; and they may gaze upon their vast 
 prairies, teeming with wild luxuriance. Give me a home on the 
 banks of your beautiful Nashua ; and they may settle upon the 
 Ohio, the Mississippi, the Missouri, the Columbia, or the golden 
 Sacramento. They may find more extensive prairies, denser 
 forests, higher mountains, and larger streams, than exist among us ; 
 but they cannot find a purer moral atmosphere or better institu- 
 tions. They must give up, in some degree at least, what makes 
 New England what she fs, — the district school and the village 
 church. These are our jewels ; these have made New England 
 the pride of the country, the praise of the world. Let the Califor- 
 nian rely upon his golden sands, to sustain and support that infant
 
 APPENDIX. 205 
 
 State, — that first-born on the Pacific ; we, of New England, will 
 rely upon our schools and our churches, as the ark of our safety. 
 These are the monuments of our fathers' wisdom, and to these we 
 look for temporal and spiritual prosperity. 
 
 " New England, my country, I love thee for these." 
 
 20. The Carter Family, — early connected with the history of Lancaster; nume- 
 rous in its branches ; respected at home, and honored abroad. 
 
 To this sentiment, James Coolidgb Carter, Esq., of New 
 York, responded ; but the Committee have not received a copy of 
 his remarks. 
 
 A sentiment being offered complimentary to the name of Fletcher, 
 the lion. Thomas Fletcher, of Philadelphia, responded: — 
 
 Ml'. Chairman, — After I had retired from the assembly, I was 
 informed that you had called on me to respond to a toast compli- 
 mentary of the Fletcher family. I therefore, in conformity with a 
 fixed rule of the Fletchers, "never to flinch from duty," have 
 returned, not to make a speech, — for I had no elspectation of being 
 called on, — but to thank you for the honor you have done us, and 
 to give you some reminiscences of the Fletcher family. 
 
 My great ancestor, Joshua Fletcher, came from Chelmsford 
 about the year 1G80, and settled on George Hill^ directly iiortli of 
 the present brick meeting-house ; and his house is still standing, 
 and in possession of his descendants. His son John was born in 
 the house ; and his son Joshua, my grandfather, was born and died 
 there, at the age of ninety, without ever having travelled forty miles 
 from home. But he was, in truth, a Lancaster man ; for, at the 
 commencement of the troubles of the Revolution, he was one of 
 the Committee of Safety ; and, Avhen the news reached him of the 
 battle of Lexingt6n, he left his plough in the furruw, mounted his
 
 206 APPENDIX. 
 
 horse, and j^roceeded without delay to Concord, to join the " rebels." 
 Several of his sons were called out by the stirring times ; among 
 them my uncle Peter, who volunteered at sixteen years of age. 
 My father then lived at Grafton, and kept a store, which he left for 
 awhile, and shouldered his musket. Afterwards, in that dreadful 
 winter of 1778, when General "Washington's army were lying at 
 Valley Forge, in Pennsylvania, without shoes or clothing, my 
 father, Timothy Fletcher, volunteered to proceed through the snows 
 of the "wilderness, leading his horse, afoot and alone, with such 
 supplies as the town could raise ; and was fortunate enough to reach 
 home in safety. But the war did not leave the defenders of their 
 country any immediate reward for their toils : they were impover- 
 ished, and their children scattered over the country. Only a small 
 portion of the family now remain in old Lancaster, I will conclude 
 with thanks for your kind remembrance of our family. 
 
 The Rev. Hubbard Winslow, of Boston, being present, was 
 called upon to address the assembly, and naade the following 
 remarks : — 
 
 Mr. President, — I thank you very sincerely for inviting me to 
 speak, although I rise not without some hesitation ; since, not 
 claiming, the honor of nativity in this town, I fear standing in the 
 way of those having a prior claim. As it has been my lot to pass 
 a portion of my recent life among you., I am glad of the opportunity 
 to express the deep interest which I shall ever cherish in this 
 beloved town. Every hill and valley, every pond and stream, 
 every gi'ove, and every winding walk and drive through these 
 beautiful and wide-spreading groves, eveiy one of these glorious 
 old elms, speaks to my heart of hapj)y days passed here. More 
 especially, these familiar faces remind me of the affectionate sympa- 
 thies and the abounding kind hospitalities realized by myself and 
 my family during my residence among you. This was to us a 
 " green spot " in life, which nothing but duty could have induced us
 
 APPENDIX. 207 
 
 to leave. We shall ever count it a privilege to remember aud to 
 be remembered as having a place among you. 
 
 But I must not dwell upon these personalities; in respect to 
 which, however, I could not persuade myself to say less. We have 
 to-day enjoyed a repast of precious remembrances of two hundred 
 years. The respected gentleman who furnished the entertainment, 
 while sitting by my side in the car on the way here last evening, 
 remarked to one of his venerable college class-mates near him, that 
 he was in Lancaster two hundred years ago, and delivered the first 
 public address here. The particular mode of his presence on that 
 occasion, I leave it for that gentleman's metempsychosis to explain. 
 His ancient friend replied that he recollected hearing of the fact at 
 the time, being also himself then on the stage; and that, if his 
 memoiy served him right, the address was reported to have been a 
 very indifferent performance. I confess to some anxiety then felt 
 by myself in anticipation of this morning. But I had not sat long 
 under his voice in the church before my anxieties were dispelled 
 by a convincing demonstration that our truly venerable orator had 
 not lived two hundred years in vain. His faults seem to have been 
 of the kind mentioned by Pitt, — those which time cures. A diligent 
 student and a careful observer for two centuries, he has laid the 
 hoary ripeness of his intellect before us to-day, as a truly massive 
 and rich bicentennial offering. Should he go on as he has begun, 
 I should covet to be one of his favored auditors two hundred years 
 hence. » 
 
 But, sir, to be sobei-, if we are indebted to his diligence, he is not 
 less indebted to the subjects which the last two centuries have fur- 
 nished. It is not so much, after all, that he is two hundred years 
 older, as that the last two hundred years have furnished facts of 
 transcendent interest to enrich his pages, that we are chiefly to 
 consider. 
 
 The history of our New-England fathers ! What a theme ! 
 Never will it be exhausted ; never can it cease to interest. As 
 their portraits were passing in review before us this morning, all 
 hearts instinctively rose in gratitude to Heaven that we are their 
 children. To them we owe not only the debt of filial gratitude,
 
 20S APPENDIX. 
 
 but the richest of blessings. Oui- ears have been entertained 
 at this table with some pleasantries touching their traditional 
 foibles. I do not object to a little humor, but I am disposed to be 
 sparing of it on this occasion. When looking through a powerful 
 magnifier, we see small spots in the sun ; but, when we consider 
 our indebtedness to that glorious orb for light and warmth, for all 
 that makes creation bright and lovely, and even for our existence 
 itself, we are little inclined to speak of its spots. They are buried 
 and lost in the flooding brightness of its beams. 
 
 Our fathers ! Their works praise them. Look at these unequalled 
 civil, religious, and educational institutions, which they have planted 
 and reared ; look at these charming towns and villages, rising up 
 under their hands from the dark bosom of the wilderness ; survey 
 the scene of surpassing beauty and loveliness spi-ead before us 
 to-day ; and consider that all these are the gifts of the wisdom and 
 piety, ay, and of the tears and blood of our fathers ; and then say 
 if it becomes their children to speak lightly of them, even for the 
 commendable purpose of treating ourselves with a dish of wholesome 
 humor. It is of little avail that we gravely admonish our children 
 to honor their ancestors, after they have seen us making ourselves 
 merry at their foibles. Our fathers are superior alike to our apo- 
 logies and our praises. They are like the angel standing in the 
 sun ; and they challenge the homage, and defy the ridicule, of all 
 men to the end of time. 
 
 Our thoughts have here been directed mainly, to our fathers in 
 the pastoral office. This is well, as evincing in our regards the 
 predominance of the religious element. But there are others to 
 whom we are scarcely less indebted. The rulers, counsellors, 
 judges, legislators, mechanics, and the great generic class, including 
 nearly all others, — the " planters," — call for our boundless grati- 
 tude and everlasting remembrance. The wisdom and firmness, the 
 patriotism and self-sacrifice, the industry and perseverance, which 
 framed our government, established our schools, fought the bat- 
 tles with our enemies, red and white, and converted the howling 
 wilderness into fruitful fields and gardens, shall never be recalled 
 but with grateful admiration. We would do justice to all, remem-
 
 APPENDIX. ■ 209 
 
 bering that they are members of one body, mutually dependent. 
 Of the several classes, there is one, including the " spinners and 
 weavers," to whom my friend from Clinton has referred, which is 
 rapidly rising in consideration. In New England, especially, 
 manufacturers of all kinds seem destined to share, if not to hold, 
 the most important rank. But the men to whom I would at this 
 moment more particularly refer are the farmers, — the " planters," 
 as they were formerly called. 
 
 These are the true original nobility of New England. They 
 first laid the keen edge of the axe to the roots of its trees, and 
 plunged the glittering spade into its virgin soil. Their hardy sinews 
 smote down the forests, and their industry has made the wilderness 
 bud and blossom as the rose. By their patient toil and sweat, we 
 all eat our bread, and enjoy our savory viands and delicious fruits. 
 As I look out in every direction through the uplifted curtains of 
 this spacious tabernacle, I behold on all sides the most brilliant 
 exhibitions of their taste and industry. To them we owe these 
 green, sloping pastures, covered over with flocks ; these rich mead- 
 ows ; these waving corn-fields ; these beautiful lawns and gardens ; 
 these orchards and nurseries ; and even these majestic elms, vying 
 in antiquity with our venerable orator himself. 
 
 More than all, to them we look for the sober thinking, the sound 
 common sense, which, in these days of ultra notions and transcen- 
 dental vagaries, must regulate our social and religious institutions. 
 Farmers seldom err in judgment on these subjects, unless their 
 credulity is imposed upon, and they are thus misled by designing 
 demagogues and innovators. Give them the facts in their true 
 light and bearing, and they usually make the right use of them. 
 Hence, the honest politician, the true lawyer, the faithful pastor, 
 finds his best friends among the farmers. This is the reason why 
 the palmy days of the pastoral oilice, and of the other learned pro- 
 fessions, were precisely those in which the farming interests of New 
 England held the pre-eminence. 
 
 We have always been accustomed to look to Worcester County 
 as the heart of Massachusetts ; and to her farmers, especially, as 
 models of republican wisdom and stability. If any have been 
 
 27
 
 210 APPENDIX. 
 
 misled by dazzling speculations and distorted facts, we especially 
 congratulate the farmers of this noble town, that they have, as a 
 body, continued sound in the faith of their fathers. We are also 
 confident in the belief, that the time of " sophisters and innova- 
 tors," who would subvert our precious institutions, is approaching 
 its end; and that all the fai*mers of this great and glorious old 
 county will soon again see with ^e same eyes as the immortal 
 men who framed our constitution, fought our battles, and estab- 
 lished our liberties. 
 
 Were I to offer a sentiment in this plaee, it would be to this 
 effect : — 
 
 " The Farmers of Worcester County. Of noble birth and 
 noble calling, may they ever do honor to both ! " 
 
 The following remarks, by Professor Russell, were made in 
 answer to a toast referring to the New-England Normal Institute : 
 
 On behalf of my coadjutors in the enterprise on which we have 
 entered, and which has just been so warmly welcomed, I should be 
 happy, were it in my power, adequately to express our wa^m 
 acknowledgments of the kind and liberal reception which our pro- 
 posals originally met from the people of Lancaster. Unsolicited 
 we came among you, asking for house-room for a school of a pecu- 
 liar order, such as has sprung into existence in our own day, and 
 which, in other countries, as well as in this, is as yet but a species 
 of experiment, — a school for the training of teachers. "What!" it 
 was asked by my friends in New Hampshire, where I had had the 
 pleasure of introducing and conducting, for several years, such a 
 school, the only one in that State, — " What ! propose to establish 
 another Normal School in Massachusetts, where the State already 
 supports some three or four ? " Yes ; because the very fact of the 
 liberal procedure of the State towards its own public schools suggests 
 the probable prosperity of a private normal seminary for the teachers 
 of private schools, whose wants differ in their nature somewhat 
 from tlwse of the instructors of our common schools, and for whose
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 211 
 
 higher and more expensive preparatory professional training the 
 State can hardly be expected to become responsible ; and what 
 harm would be done, if, in our elementary courses of instruction, 
 we should happen to afford opportunity for enterprising young 
 persons to defray the expense of their own professional training, 
 and so relieve the State of that charge ; although, in our more 
 advanced departments, we should be, at the same time, engaged 
 in our more immediate design of preparing teachers for the highest 
 class of our various seminaries of learning ? 
 
 The experiment was proposed to a community capable of appre- 
 ciating and sustaining it. The ample success with which it is 
 already crowned, has stamped its legible sanction on the under- 
 taking ; and we, whose daily duty is to uphold it by our personal 
 labors, have nothing left to wish for, but the continuance of the 
 generous countenance hitherto extended to us, and the lapse of 
 all-trying time to raiify, with his indelible imprimatur, the work 
 whose inception you have now so warmly hailed. 
 
 We are young as an institution ; and modesty peculiarly becomes 
 us. We could not afford to boast if we would. But may I not 
 be permitted, as a resident of Lancaster, to congratulate my fellow- 
 citizens on the introduction among them of an establishment for 
 education, which, by a favoring Providence, has secured the instruc- 
 tion of some of the most eminent teachers of our day in science, in 
 literature, and in art ? 
 
 Let me conclude with a sentiment, which, though expressing 
 but the wishes of an individual, has, I am sure, the sympathy of 
 many hearts : — 
 
 "The Elms of Lancaster, which now shelter and adorn 
 so many happy homes. May their shades henceforward be also 
 the recognized resorts of the dispensers and the recipients of * the 
 treasures of science, and the delights of learning ' ! " 
 
 The Rev. Charles Brooks, of Boston, offered the following 
 remarks : —
 
 212 APPENDIX. 
 
 Mr. President, — There is no time now to say mucb, and I have 
 not much to say if there was time. I hope that this occasion will 
 result in giving an extended history of Lancaster to the world. 
 I am sorry to know that the records, made by our ancestors in 
 many of our New-England villages, have been little valued, and 
 therefore, in many cases, destroyed. Mr. President, I should as 
 soon think of destroying the portraits of my deceased parents. 
 These old records of the early times show us facts, which no one 
 else can show us, and testify with the accuracy of a geological 
 fragment, of a bird-track, or a fossil. When they are destroyed, 
 where are the authentic data for a proper New-England history ? 
 That history is yet to be written ; and the records of each town 
 are necessary to its completion. Will you allow me to illusti'ate 
 by a single fact? I was recently examining the records of an 
 ancient town in Middlesex County, and I found its inhabitants as- 
 sembled, by warrant, two hundred years ago, for the sole purpose 
 of deliberating about the establishment of a school. Grave debate 
 ensued ; and, at last, with entire unanimity, they vote that " a 
 school shall be established for three months." But did this vote 
 cover their whole purpose 1 Oh, no ! In an emphatic parenthesis 
 they add, — "and this school shall be free." Prophetic 
 parenthesis ! We of 1853 can see that an Anglo-Saxon race, on 
 these shores, who began their political existence with free schools, 
 must soon come to a declaration of their political independence. 
 These old records show us the fountains from whose sweet waters 
 we are daily drinking health and hope. They show us, that we 
 are oftentimes only thinking our fathers' thoughts after them. Let 
 me ask you all to look after the early records of your several 
 towns, and see that they are not only preserved and new-bound, 
 but carefully copied, and a copy deposited in the archives of the 
 Massachusetts Historical Society. 
 
 Mr. President, there are many here who feel a deep and growing 
 interest in this subject ; but no one feels a juster concern than the 
 gentleman whose health I shall have the honor to propose to you. 
 He loves every thing that belonged to our Pilgrim Fathers, and his 
 pen has done noble justice to their names. A specirnen of his good
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 213 
 
 judgment and historical accuracy you have witnessed in the model 
 address to which you have listened this morning. Let me, then, 
 give you — 
 
 " The Okator of the Day. We admire the historical accu- 
 racy and good . scholarship of his head; but we, more than all, 
 value that moral electricity of his heart, which he must have re- 
 ceived from the Leyden jar." * 
 
 21. The Castalian Fountain in Lancaster. Those who have drunk of its 
 waters have not lost by absence the influence of its early inspirations. 
 
 Remarks of B. A. Gould, Esq. of Boston. 
 
 Mr. President, — Though honored by the intimation that a word 
 is expected from me in acknowledgment of the compliment intended 
 for a lady nearly related, I cannot but regret that common usage 
 confines the speaking to gentlemen. Yes, sir, for the first time in 
 my life, I feel like advocating the Bloomer spirit, and requesting 
 the lady to acknowledge the courtesy, and to do for herself what 
 she can do much better than her brother can do for her. 
 
 On returning to the place of our birth and our childhood, after 
 an absence of forty years, how changed was the scene ! The trees 
 had been felled which sustained the far-spreading vines, purple with 
 cart-loads of grapes. The alders had been cut from beside the 
 bi'ook, where formerly sported the speckled trout ; and the stream 
 itself had been degraded to a straight and narrow ditch. The sur- 
 rounding wood had disappeared. The fiery engine, Avith its iron 
 hoof, had trodden down the grass and the grain ; and even the hills 
 and the hollows seemed to ai)proach a common level. The old 
 buildings were gone; and, where one house stood, a village had 
 grown up. The face .of nature seemed changed. But onei thing 
 remained the same ; and that is " our father's well." It was a shaft 
 sunk deeply into the earth, more than half a century ago, terminat- 
 ing in a living spring of ice-cold water, which heeds not the drouth, 
 
 * This was given instead of the regular toast of " The Orator of the Day."
 
 214 APPENDIX. 
 
 nor the freshets above. This was stoned up with slate-stones, laid 
 flatwise, having their edges smoothly cut in a circular form, present- 
 ing from above a beautiful hollow cylinder. The deep, cold spring 
 still flows silently at .the bottom, — 
 
 "Labitor ct labetur in ormie volubilis Eevum." 
 
 " Though all be changed around it, 
 
 And though so changed are we. 
 Just where our father found it. 
 
 That pure well-spring will be. 
 Just as he smoothly stoned it, 
 
 A close, round, shadowy cell; 
 Whoever since has owned it. 
 
 It is ' our father's well.' 
 And, since that moment, never 
 
 Has that cool deep been dry: 
 Its fount is living ever. 
 
 While man and seasons die." * 
 
 I take it, Mr. President, that " our father's well " is the " Castalian 
 Fountain " alluded to in the toast ; for, if any water can give inspi- 
 ration, I think it may fairly be expected from that. 
 
 But, Mr. President, though I can claim no inspiration from the 
 Castalian fountain, I do most gladly avail myself of this opportunity 
 to state how deeply I sympathize in the emotions called forth this 
 day. Who, after a long absence, could return to his native town 
 unmoved by the kind, the touching " Welcome Home " that greeted 
 his first entrance into the church ? How beautifully and how 
 tastefully was that church adorsed ! and how eloquent and how 
 instructive was the recital there of the struggles, toils, and suffer- 
 ings of the first settlers of the town, and of the blessings which have 
 followed ! I cannot adequately express my admiration of the plan- 
 ning and carrying out of this delightful festival. And I beg leave 
 to thank the Committee for their considerate attention, and for the 
 privilege of being present, and of uniting with you in this interesting 
 celebration. For I feel, Mr. President, that it is good for us to be 
 here. It is good for us to pause a moment, and to look around us ; 
 to look backward as well as forward ; to consider the blessings we 
 
 * Miss H. F. Gould's Poems, vol. iii.: 1841.
 
 APPENDIX. 215 
 
 enjoy, and the evils and the sufferings from which we are exempted. 
 For who can contemplate the life of toil, of privation, and of danger 
 to which the first settlers of this town were exposed, without emo- 
 tions of gratitude and words of thanksgiving that we have been 
 spared like sufferings ? 
 
 The occasion on which we meet is an epoch in our life. It 
 affords an eminence from which we can view the current of events 
 which has borne us on, with accelerating motion, from infancy to 
 the present time. And who of us all cannot profit by the retro- 
 spect? For who cannot recall many mistakes, many errors in his 
 life, as well as many unimproved opportunities of doing good ? 
 And thus the occasion may be turned to good account. But, 
 aside from the emotions which a visit to the scenes of one's child- 
 hood is calculated to inspire, after an absence of nearly half a 
 century, there are other considerations which render this centennial 
 celebration useful as well as jileasant. It is calculated to keep 
 alive the spirit of patriotism ; and it behoves us, as Americans, to 
 look well to this. What is patriotism but a love of one's country ? 
 And where does the love of one's country burn brighter than ufjon 
 the domestic altar? Is it not to the home of his childliood that the 
 long-absent wanderer feels his fondest hopes, his most ardent yearn- 
 ings, tend ? 
 
 " Breathes there the man with soul so dead. 
 Who never to himself hath said. 
 This is my own, my native landl " 
 
 Sir, it was this love of country that encouraged our fathers to 
 endure privation, exposure, and death, rather than abandon the 
 rights of freemen. 
 
 It is this holy flame that from age to age has inspired the 
 eloquence of the orator and the strains of the poet. Yes, the last 
 lingei'ings of consciousness in the dying exile hang around his na- 
 tive city. 
 
 "Dulces moriens reminiscithr Argos." 
 "Dying, he remembers his dear native Argos." 
 
 But, sir, we are living in an age of innovation ; an agfc of revolution
 
 '1 1 6 APPENDIX. 
 
 in principles hitherto considered fixed and settled ; an age when 
 unhallowed hands are laid upon things most sacred. 
 
 The rapidity and ease with which all parts of the globe are 
 visited, the interchange of thought for thousands of miles with the 
 celerity of lightning, tend to weaken local attachments.. Even now 
 the wires are being placed, which are to unite China and the 
 remotest Indies with London in one electric circle. And may we 
 not expect to witness the fulfilment of the promises of fiction, — 
 
 " I '11 put a girdle round about the earth 
 In forty minutes " 1 
 
 In times like these, how does it become every reflecting mind to 
 resist this spirit of innovation, and to hold fast that which is good ! 
 Why, sir, this wild spirit of the times has already changed some of 
 our patriotic citizens to cosmopolites. They have already merged 
 their love of country in a theoretic love of mankind. They openly 
 advise the abandonment of the wise and prudent counsel of our 
 fathers, — to observe equal justice with foreign powers, and keep 
 free from all entangling alliances, — by which we have so greatly 
 prospered. Yes, sir, they recommend the intervention of the United 
 States in the affairs of European powers ! They have become citi- 
 zens of the world, and would regulate the world's affairs. 
 
 It is hoped the number of such is small. For, in attempting too 
 much, they jeopardize all that has been gained. Should we not, 
 therefore, strengthen the ties of home, cherish the associations of 
 youth, and keep alive the spirit of patriotism ? 
 
 These centennial celebrations, I think, have this tendency ; and 
 I hope every town and city, not only of this Commonwealth, but 
 throughout the Union, even to the shores of the Pacific, may follow 
 the example. Yes, good old Mother Lancaster, eldest daughter of 
 the county! long may -your children gather round you and greet 
 you on your birthdays^ as circling centuries roll ! Long may you 
 remain, as now, rich in the townships you have endowed, which 
 encompass you around ; rich in your soil, your placid lakes, and 
 silver streams; rich in your industrial pursuits and exhaustless 
 resources ; but, like Cornelia, richer far in your jewels, — your
 
 APPENDIX. 217 
 
 bright progeny, dispersed throughout the land, and carrying with 
 them industry, enterprise, literature, science, and the useful arts. 
 
 22. The Memory op General Henry Whiting, — the brave and humane sol- 
 dier, the accomplished scholar, and, in every relation of life, the gentleman and the 
 Christian. 
 
 The Committee feel especial gratification in being able to asso- 
 ciate with this tribute to the memory of one of Lancaster's worthiest 
 sons, the following note and the accompanying poem, sent to them 
 by his sister, Mrs. Caroline Lee Hentz, of Quincy, Florida : — 
 
 J. M. Washburn, Sec. 
 
 Dear Sir, — Accompanying this, yon will receive the poem, ^vTitten to com- 
 memorate the Anniversary you are about to celebrate. 
 
 Will you say to the Committee, of which you are the voice, that I consider 
 it an exalted pri\'ilege to be permitted to mingle my spirit -with theirs on so 
 interesting an occasion ? I earnestly hope, that what I have "UTitten may prove 
 an acceptable oifering. 
 
 Perhaps I have allowed private feeling to have too great a sway in the 
 tribute I send to the memory of my beloved brothers. If so, I pray to be 
 forgiven. 
 
 I trust it may not be too late for the purpose designed. 
 
 Most sincerely and respectfully yours, 
 
 Cakoline Lee IIextz. 
 QuiNCT, May 27, 1853. 
 
 Two hundred times the summer flower 
 
 Has bloomed and faded since the horn* 
 
 Our hardy ancestors subdued 
 
 The Avild, uncultured sobtudc, 
 
 And stole from Nature's savage hand 
 
 This emerald of ovx granite land. 
 
 Yes ! just two hundred years ago, 
 
 Lancastria bent her virgin brow, 
 
 While rites of consecration shed 
 
 The dews of baptism on her head. 
 
 What though Time's chariot- wheels have rolled 
 
 Ilnpaiising o'er her bosom's mould ? 
 
 StiU, in eternal youth and bloom, 
 
 She smiles as when from ibrest gloom, 
 
 Like the shy Indian maid, she came, 
 
 The gUttering gems of art to claim. 
 
 28
 
 218 APPENDIX. 
 
 Six generations, like the sheaves, 
 Golden and ripe, that autumn leaves, 
 Cut down by reaping death, liave fed 
 The soil that, living, gave them bread. 
 Their dust is mingling with the clay- 
 That makes the grave-clod of to-day ; 
 With new-born life it tluobs and glows 
 In the sweet foldings of the rose. 
 And waves in majesty and power 
 In every glorious elm- wood bower. 
 Hark ! — 'mid the long grass gently stirred, 
 The whispers of the past are heard. 
 On winds, that clouds of fragrance waft. 
 Are borne its accents low and soft. 
 And where the rustling branches wave 
 Comes the deep music of the grave. 
 
 Methinks, the tide of time rolls back 
 With mm-muring flow, baring the track 
 Of centm-ies. At first 't is traced 
 By Indian steps o'er forest waste. 
 Lord of the mlderness, his throne 
 The rock-ribbed hill, the moss- wreathed stone. 
 His crown the bleeding scalp of foe. 
 His sceptre the unslackened bow, 
 The red man stormed the wild beast's lair. 
 And reared his wigwam palace there. 
 But soon, like drifting leaves, the race 
 rhes withering from the white man's face, 
 Before whose pallid gleam, each shade 
 Of darker life is doomed to fade. 
 
 Of many a spot, in this sweet vale, 
 Tradition teUs a bloody tale. 
 The captive wife, the murdered sire. 
 The slaughtered babe, the burning pyre. 
 The smoking roof, the rifled home. 
 The plundered, desecrated dome. 
 In characters of blood and flame. 
 The red man's savage wrath proclaim. 
 But o'er this path, by ruin traced. 
 Science, religion, genius, taste. 
 With gilding steps have roamed, and cast 
 Fair blossoms o'er the blighted Past. 
 Earth blooms afresh, with charms restored, 
 It smiles, the garden of the Lord ;
 
 APPENDIX. 219 
 
 And man, than angels only less, 
 
 To a new Eden turns the howling -wilderness. 
 
 Hail, day of jubilee ! in gathering bands 
 They come to greet thee. Some from distant lands 
 Stretch the soid's wings, o'er mountain, river, plain, 
 To bear to thee a gratulating strain. 
 Oh ! they are present in the spirit's power, 
 And share the deep joy of this festal hour ; 
 Conquerors of space, their native air they breathe. 
 Though round them, still, fair southern garlands "vvTeathe. 
 Hail, Lancaster ! dear, lovely, native vale ! 
 With glowing hearts thy children bid thee hail. 
 From north and south, from east and Avest, they come, 
 Faithful to thee, then* fu'st and earliest home. 
 Steeped in thy piuity, their souls disdain 
 Each grovelling pui-pose, each allm-ement vain. 
 Vice could not tempt where thy pure image beams, 
 The guardian angel of life's darker dreams. 
 
 Beautiful valley ! whether robed in mist. 
 By diamond stars or silver moonbeams kissed. 
 Or wearing noonday glory on thy broAV, 
 While flowers and leaflets, trembling vassals, bow 
 Low at thy footstool, — fairest of the fail'. 
 Thy brow must still the palm of beauty wear. 
 The gentle river, winding through thy heart, 
 In azui'e veins, that vernal life impart ; 
 The grand old trees, that spread their hundred arms, 
 In shade and shelter, o'er thy bashful charms ; 
 Thy velvet greenness, the divine repose 
 That golden sunset o'er thy bosom tlu'OM's, — 
 Where shall we find, though searching lauds and seas. 
 The elements of beauty such as these ? 
 Ah ! Avhile the young, the noble, and the gay 
 Are tluronging here, to grace this festal day. 
 Are there no missing forms ? Why come they not. 
 In sacred fellowship, around this spot ? 
 Where is the Pastor, who was wont to bear 
 The heavenward spuit on the wings of prayer ; 
 Whose voice of solemn music, deep, sublime. 
 Comes echoing down the sounding aisles of Time ; 
 Whose eye serene and holy, like the star 
 Of hazy skies, seems shining from afar ? 
 Why comes he not, to bless his waiting flock ? 
 — Silence and death the asking spirit mock. —
 
 220 APPENDIX. 
 
 Tiirn to yon tomb, and on its granite face, 
 
 Through, •weeping boughs, the mournfiil answer trace. 
 
 "Where ai'e the Soldier- Brothers, born and bred 
 
 Witliin this vale, — why waits their stately tread ? 
 
 They who, where'er their warrior-steps might roam, 
 
 StiU tiirned in spirit to their native home, 
 
 And ke^it each household feeling green and fair, 
 
 As if they were some fostering angel's care, — 
 
 Oh ! where are they, the noble and the brave, 
 
 "Wlien, for their gi-eeting, starry banners wave ? 
 
 Alas ! the grave reijlies, — in whose dark cell 
 
 Lancastria's gallant sons in silence dwell. 
 
 "Where are the lords and tillers of the soil, 
 
 "Who, with their souls of strength and hands of toil. 
 
 Turned into gold the earth, and bid it rain. 
 
 In showers of plenty, o'er the smiling plain ? 
 
 "Where is the good, the holy, saintly band 
 
 Of God's beloved, — the worthies of the land, 
 
 "WTio for two hundred years have walked in white 
 
 Through these green paths, and left their tracks of light ? 
 
 Are they not present ? Does no thi-illing spell. 
 
 Breathed on the soul, of power unearthly tell ? 
 
 Oh ! by the ashes in thy bosom laid. 
 We bless thee, Lancaster. Thy shrine is made 
 A Mecca, where the pilgrim-spirit turns. 
 To bring its offerings to thy sacred urns. 
 And by the living, who tliis day surround 
 Thine ancient altar, by one interest boiuid. 
 We bless thee, Lancaster, "WTien Time has shed 
 Two centiuries more on thy vmfaded head, 
 Mayst thou still shine in loveliness and power. 
 And crown with blooming youth that far-seen ho\u- ! 
 And may thy childi'en then with pride retrace 
 The worth and glory of the present race ; 
 And when their sti'ains of jubilee arise, 
 Like thine, to meet the blue and bending skies. 
 May votive Memory to that shrine repair. 
 And hang with reverent hand her garland there !
 
 APPENDIX. 221 
 
 LETTERS, 
 
 [Among the many letters which have been received, the Committee regret 
 that they are able to publish only the following.] 
 
 Aug. 15, 1853. 
 The Committee of the American Antiquarian Society, who were 
 present at the celebration of the Lancaster Centennial, have heard 
 with great pleasure that a permanent record of the proceedings of 
 that day is to he prepared by the citizens of Lancaster. We can 
 only wish, as your orator on that occasion did, that a hundred years 
 since a like record had beeil left by those whose attention was then 
 called by their own pastor to the first century of the history of their 
 town. 
 
 Nothing occurs to us which we can ask you to add, in this record, 
 to the learned address of Mr. Willard, or the reports of the addi'esses 
 made at the dinner. We are convinced that every new investi"-a- 
 tion into the history of the first planters of Massachusetts Avill show 
 that their influence was deeply felt in the world's history, on each 
 side of the ocean, even in their own time. The essay which Mr. 
 Haven has prefixed to the Colonial Records, lately published in our 
 Transactions, has brought into clear light the efforts which the mem- 
 bers of the Massachusetts Company made in the great English 
 Rebellion. In this connection, we recollect 1G53 as a year of 
 interest to our fathers here, because it was of stirring interest to 
 Englishmen still " at home." The General Court, Avhich incorpo- 
 rated Lancaster, outlived the Rump Parliament; which, at that 
 very time, Cromwell was driving from its seats, " to give place to 
 honest men." And the first news from the old country which your
 
 222 APPENDIX. 
 
 first Puritan settlers heard in their log-cabins, after their incorpora- 
 tion, was probably the eventful tidings of the great naval victories 
 which made England, under Puritan governors, the first maritime 
 power in the world. 
 
 Such reminiscences remind us of a connection between the two 
 Puritan Commonwealths of that day, England and Massachusetts ; 
 which, when the history of Massachusetts is written, — as your ora- 
 tor hoped it might be, — will a^jpear on every line. The men who 
 were most active here were most active there. Here they had no 
 enemies but the forest and the savage. There they had the preju- 
 dices of centuries to meet and to overthrow. The Commonwealth 
 of Massachusetts lives therefore. The Commonwealth of England 
 fell. But we here ought not to forget that the men who failed there 
 in statesmanship were the men who succeeded here. 
 
 For the Committee, 
 
 Edw. E. Hale. 
 
 To the Gentlemen of the Publishing Committee, Ac. &c. 
 
 Cambridge, June 7, 1853. 
 Gentlemen, — I duly received your kind invitation to be present 
 at the two-hundredth anniversary of the incorporation of Lancaster, 
 for which I beg you will accept my thanks. I have many agree- 
 able associations with Lancaster, and should be happy to revive 
 them on so interesting an occasion ; but my engagements at the time 
 will not permit. 
 
 I am. Gentlemen, with much respect and regard. 
 
 Your obedient servant, 
 
 Jared Spabks. 
 
 Boston, June 1, 1853. 
 
 Gentlemen, — I am greatly obliged by the invitation, which you 
 have done me the honor to send me, to be present at the celebra- 
 tion of the two-hundredth anniversary of the incorporation of the 
 town of Lancaster ; and I regret that my engagements are such,
 
 APPENDIX. 223 
 
 at the time appointed, as to prevent my having the pleasure of 
 being one of your company on the occasion. 
 
 I believe I have always been fully sensible to what is worthy of 
 admiration in your good town, as regards the charms of its scenery 
 and the character of its people. It is connected by the most 
 honorable associations, as well as romantic incidents, with the 
 early history of our country. It was the chosen residence of our 
 Pilgrim Fathers, and very soon took a prominent position among 
 the settlements of New England. To me it has a personal interest, 
 as the spot to which my own ancestors removed soon after coming 
 to the country. I heartily sympathize with you in the objects 
 of your meeting. In thus doing honor to the memory of your 
 fathers, you take the best means of recommending their example 
 to the imitation of their descendants. And we can have no better 
 wish than that the piety, integrity, and courage, which they 
 showed, in establishing our glorious institutions, may be showed by 
 our own and by coming generations in maintaining them, — main- 
 taining them no less against domestic assault than foreign violence ; 
 the latter, strong as we are, the less dangerous of the two. 
 
 With sentiments of great respect, 
 I remain, Gentlemen, 
 
 Your obliged and obedient servant, 
 
 Wm. H. Pbescott. 
 
 Nashville, N. H., June 14, 1853. 
 
 Gentlemen, — Allow me to return you my thanks for your invi- 
 tation to be present at the celebration of the two-hundi'edth anni- 
 versary of the incorporation of the town of Lancaster. 
 
 I had promised myself the pleasure of uniting with you on that 
 occasion, but am unexpectedly prevented by professional engage- 
 ments. 
 
 I recognize, in the respected and accomplished gentleman who is 
 to address you, one of the instructors of my youth ; and there are 
 many associations, interesting at least to myself, which connect my 
 regards with your ancient town.
 
 224 APPENDIX. 
 
 James Atherton, an ancestor of mine, came to Lancaster two 
 centuries ago. Dr. Israel Atlierton, my father's uncle, I Can 
 remember, who was long a practising physician there. In my boy- 
 hood, I attended the academy, then kept on the old Common, 
 under the charge of Holman and Proctor, and of that distinguished 
 scholar, President Sparks, — boarding part of the time on the 
 Common, but most of the time domesticated in the family of the 
 Rev. Dr. Thayer, his wife being my mother's sister. The walks to 
 school from Dr. Thayer's, across the fields and across the Dr. 
 Atherton bridge ; the fishing in the Nashua River, which, uniting 
 its branches at the Centre Bridge, flows on until it reaches the 
 Merrimac, near my present residence ; the boating on its placid 
 waters ; the rambles over your verdant intervales and gently- 
 sloping hills ; the pastime under the shade of your noble elms ; the 
 September gale which uprooted one of the large trees before Mr. 
 PoUard's window, where I was then standing, and which gave us 
 boys a holiday ; the services on Sundays at the old meeting-house ; 
 the laying of the corner-stone of the present brick meeting-house ; 
 the trumpet-tones of Dr. Thayer ; the rich and unctuous voice of 
 chorister Newell, — all these recollections of my boyhood throng 
 now freshly upon me ! Happy days of boyhood ! which carry with 
 them no sorrow, except that they pass so quickly, and never 
 return ! 
 
 With all these incitements, you, gentlemen, will scarce need the 
 assurance of the disappointment which I feel in being obliged to 
 decline your invitation. 
 
 Wishing you all the enjoyment which such an occasion is so 
 eminently calculated to call forth, 
 
 I am, very respectfully, 
 
 Your friend and servant, 
 
 C. G. Atherton. 
 
 Chaelestown, Feb. 15, 1853. 
 Gentlemen, — Your obliging favor, inviting me to attend a meet- 
 ing at Lancaster, the 15th of June next, to commemorate the two-
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 225 
 
 hundredth anniversary of the incorporation of tliat town, has been 
 received ; for which attention please accept my thanks. 
 
 The proposed celebration excites my peculiar interest; and I 
 shall be present if not prevented by events now unseen, and then 
 out of my power to control. I shall come up to this filial gathering 
 with the sentiments and affections of one returning, after a long 
 absence, to the paternal hearth, to visit a venerated mother on her 
 natal day. 
 
 Though one-third of a century has elapsed since I went forth 
 from that home of my infancy and youth, for a new residence and 
 untried scenes ; and though, in the interim, I have been constantly 
 surrounded by pressing occupations, — I can truly say, that no one 
 day has intervened without a vivid reminiscence of my native toAvn, 
 and of paany dear ones there, both the living and the dead. 
 I am, Gentlemen, very respectfully, 
 
 Your friend and obedient servant, 
 
 Paul Willard. 
 
 Boston, June 14, 1853. 
 
 Gentlemen, — I have seldom received an invitation with more 
 pleasure than I have yours, to attend the celebration of the two- 
 hundredth anniversary of the incorporation of the beautiful town of 
 Lancaster. It seems to me a most appropriate addition to the very 
 few holidays in which we working Northerners indulge ourselves ; 
 and no celebration can be more proper for free men, who value their 
 institutions, and rejoice in the blessings which come from them. 
 
 A New-England town, such as Lancaster is, is the only perfect 
 democracy in the world. A town-meeting is the best place in the 
 world for the discussion of the great principles of liberty. There the 
 whole body of citizens meet ; and every one has a riglit to bring 
 forward and advocate whatever he thinks for his own good, or for 
 the good of his fellow-citizens ; and every other individual has an 
 equal right to oppose, modify, or disprove whatever has been 
 advanced. The questions which come up are the most important 
 
 29
 
 226 APPENDIX. 
 
 that can come up in the intercourse of men ; questions of merely 
 private rights, such as arise on the subject of fences, cattle, and the 
 like ; questions concerning social rights, such as those suggested by 
 roads and bridges ; and questions involving the highest principles 
 of human progress, — questions as to the location, management, 
 and instruction of schools ; and questions relating to churches, and 
 the worship of God. 
 
 A New-England town thus becomes itself a great school, the 
 noblest conceivable, in which a young man may learn to under- 
 stand, to value, and to defend all his rights and privileges, as an 
 individual, as a citizen, as an intelligent being, and as a creature of 
 God, born for immortality. 
 
 I believe it was this universal training in the knowledge of rights, 
 this great town-influence, which made our ancestors capable of 
 carrying through the Eevolutionary Wai-, and which now keeps 
 them capable of understanding and maintaining their liberties. 
 
 For these reasons, and many others, which must all, like these, 
 have occurred more vividly to yourselves, I regard this as one of 
 the most suitable and reasonable celebrations possible. I hope it 
 may be as pleasant as it promises to be. I am very sorry to be 
 obliged to add my sincere regret and disappointment at not being 
 able to attend it. 
 
 Very respectfully and truly yours, 
 
 Geo. B. Emerson. 
 
 Andoveb, May 7, 1853. 
 Gentlemen, — The extreme sickness of my brother. Professor 
 Farrar, of Cambridge, and the probability of a fatal issue, must 
 forbid my indulging the hope of participating in the festivities of 
 the anniversary commemoration to which you kindly invite me. It 
 would give me great pleasure to meet many who were my pupils 
 sixty years ago, and of whom I have always entertained an interest- 
 ing recollection ; and to revive the remembrance of many families, 
 both in the George Hill and the Neck Districts, of whom I have
 
 APPENDIX. 227 
 
 many happy reminiscences. I have always looked back upon those 
 two winters that I spent in Lancaster, in the years 1792 and 1703, 
 if I recollect right, as among the most pleasurable periods of my 
 life ; and it would now give me great pleasure to meet many who 
 were my pupils in those schools. My advanced age (being now 
 in my eightieth year), together with the peculiar situation of my 
 brothei-, obliges me to deny myself the pleasure of accepting your 
 very gratifying invitation. 
 
 With great respect. Gentlemen, 
 
 Your friend and obedient servant, 
 
 Saml. Farrar. 
 
 Speingpield, July 4, 1853. 
 Gentlemen, — Your letter of July 4th was received in due time, 
 and for several days I purposed to comply with your request, to 
 furnish a copy of the remarks I intended to make at the late centen- 
 nial celebration ; but unavoidable engagements have prevented me 
 so long that I j)resume it is now too late. My sentiment loould 
 have been — 
 
 " The Schoolmaster ; " 
 
 and I should have expressed, in an entirely spontaneous manner, 
 my high and profound sense of the obligation I shall feel, while life 
 lasts, of the liberality with which the citizens of my native town 
 have always provided men of high character and qualilications to 
 discharge the duties of instructors of youth. I should also have 
 expressed the fresh and lively recollection I retain of the venerable 
 gentlemen to whom I am indebted for imparting to me and my 
 associates, half a century ago, the necessary instruction to lit us for 
 the ordinary duties of life. Several of those gentlemen are now 
 living, and enjoying a "green old age;" two of whom — Samuel 
 Farrar, Esq., of Andover, who was ray first male teacher ; and 
 Ethan A. Greenwood, Esq., of Hubbardston, who was my last school
 
 228 APPENDIX. 
 
 instructor — I have had the pleasure of seeing and conversing with 
 recently. I have thought it proj^er to say thus much by way of" 
 apology for not answering your polite communication sooner. 
 
 With very gi-eat respect, I remain, 
 
 Your obliged servant, 
 
 Charles Stearns. 
 
 West Point, Feb. 1, 1853. 
 
 Dear Sir, — Great as is the desire I feel to visit the home of 
 my forefathers, and to be present at the interesting anniversary, 
 to the celebration of which you have kindly invited me, I feai* that 
 I shall be unable to gratify my wishes on that occasion, as I shall 
 be unavoidably engaged at that time in the labors of our semi- 
 annual examination. 
 
 While expressing my sincere regret that I cannot be present at 
 this gathering, permit me to express briefly, but truly, my hearty 
 sympathy with those who will then be drawn together by their 
 affection for the good old town of Lancaster. 
 
 Yours very respectfully, 
 
 J. W. Bailey. 
 
 Boston, June 12, 1853. 
 
 Gentlemen, — I regret my inabihty to comply with your kind 
 invitation to be present on the 15th instant, in commemoration of 
 the two-hundredth anniversary of the incorporation of Lancaster. 
 It would have given me much pleasure to have been present ; for, 
 though I am not a descendant of a Lancaster family, yet,- being 
 slightly tinctured with antiquarianism, I can most readily and heai't- 
 ily join in paying my respects to the memory of all of olden time, 
 of whatever name or place. Those of the present day have a 
 duty to perform to the pioneers who first explored New-England's
 
 APPENDIX. 229 
 
 wilds, and who there planted the seed whose germination has pro- 
 duced the smiling fields that we now inhabit. But, aside from this 
 general reverence I have for the past, I feel a more particular 
 interest in your celebration, because it was the early home of one 
 whose name I bear, and whose family was connected with many of 
 Lancaster's most respectable families. In collecting materials for 
 a genealogical and historical work which has just been published, 
 I gathered up many things that were interesting about some of 
 the Wilders, Harringtons, and others. They were men of note in 
 olden time : they left their mark behind them, and descendants to 
 do them honor. 
 
 But that other man, whose name I should have been pleased to 
 represent, will have none to speak for him. The descendants 
 of three granddaughters, now scattered, are aU that remain of 
 his family. Most gratifying would it be to me if I could be present 
 at your meeting, and exhibit the evidence I have procured, that 
 Samuel Locke, President of Harvard College, was a man of 
 great learning, and of talents of the very highest order. He was 
 "fitted" for college by Parson Harrington, and with him after- 
 wards studied divinity. He was elected to the Presidency of the 
 first college in the country at an earlier age than any who went 
 before him, or who succeeded him ; " a station for which," says 
 the elder Adams, "wo man was better qualified; and "over which," 
 says a contemporary, " he presided four years, with much repu- 
 tation to himself, and advantage to the public." 
 
 But I am growing prolix, and will close by wishing all that may 
 assemble, a happy meeting. * 
 
 I am respectfully yours, 
 
 John G. Locick. 
 
 P.S. I will ofier as a sentiment tlie following: — " Oui: Fouk- 
 FATHERS. He who regardjs not the memory and character of hi.s 
 ancestors deserves to be forgotten by posterity."
 
 230 APPENDIX. 
 
 The Committee have also received responses to their circular 
 and note of invitation from the following persons, some of whom 
 were present at the celebration : — 
 
 His Excellency John H, Cmffokb ; His Honor Elisha Huntington ; the 
 Hon. Samxtel Hoak, Concord; the Hon. Ebenezer Toreey, Fitchburg; 
 the Hon. Ira M. Barton, Worcester; Richard J. Cleveland, Esq., and 
 Horace W. S. Cleveland, of Burlington, N. J. ; Willlim H.. Brooks, 
 Boston ; Sidney Willard, Cambridge ; Henry Fletcher, Louis\iIle, Ky. ; 
 Alexander H. Wilder, Worcester ; Alexander Fisher, Akron, O. ; T. 
 H. Carter, Boston ; Dr. J. H. Lane, Boston ; S. V. S. Wilder, Elizabeth- 
 town, N. J. ; J. White, Lowell ; Nathaniel Wilder, Rockford, Dl. ; Nath. 
 Peck, Lynn ; Luke Wilder, Leominster ; James Tower, Lowell ; Merrick 
 Wilder, Fort Edward, N.Y. ; Alden Spooner, Athol ; Augustus Wilder, 
 Lawrence ; Mrs. Luke E,ugg and Cliildi'en, Ottawa, 111. ; Asa D. Whitte- 
 MORE, Worcester ; Nancy W. Garfield, Troy, N.Y. 
 
 THE END.
 
 N O T E. 
 
 Tlic following corrections ;iT(! to lie uiiulc iu the AppciKlix ; tli(^ first error only Iwin;,' :n 
 error of the press ; — 
 
 Ou page 150, line 4th from bottom, for " ome •" read some. 
 
 On page 151, line 2d from bottom, after " life " insert the words " she 
 
 feels richly repaid for all." 
 On page 205, lino 9th from bottom, for '' north " read wc.--t. 
 On page 224, line 15th from bottom, tor '• Newell '' read JVnrliall.
 
 n 
 
 THE LIBRARY 
 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 Santa Barbara 
 
 THIS BOOK IS DUE ON THE LAST DATE 
 STAMPED BELOW. 
 
 Series 9482
 
 3 1205 02528 6467 
 
 UC SOUTHERN RFfiinrjAl LIBRARY '^r^rnjTy 
 
 AA 000 874 628