FOXBOROUGH'S OFFICIAL W' CENTENNIAL RECORD. CoxboT ^ rrrtSTTTT-nivt- ^ ■ ■'- i >"i ) v v t-h^^^^Ct;. , FOXBOROUGH'S OFFICL\L CENTENNIAL RECORD, SATURDAY, JUNE 29, 1878. Ui' t/t;v, PUBLISHED BY AUTHORITY OF THE TOWN CENTENNIAL COMMITTEE. 1879. At a meeting of the Centennial Executive Committee, held August 15, 1878, the Committee on Publication reported "that the Official Record of Foxborough's Centennial Celebration, containing a full and complete record of the proceedings of the day, together Avitli verbatim reports of each of the speeches, sentiments, responses, .etc., be compiled and published by the Clerk of this Committee." Report accepted and adopted. A true copy of record so far as it relates to the matter of publication. Attest : ROBT. W. CARPENTER, Clerk. Errata. On page 70 (32d line), for " 1843" read " 1838. 4;|^BDST0H.GfAi . , h /^ 7 CONTENTS. Town's Records Report of Committee Favoring the Celebration .... 5" Report of Committee to the Town after the Celebration . 11 Treasurer's Report . . • • • • ■ • • ■ . U Acceptance of the Report by the Town and action thereon . . 20 Resolution in regard to the accident 20 Programme of the day Marshal's Orders, Route of Procession, etc 23 The Celebration How the Programme was carried out 25 Fatal Accident 2o The Procession ^" The Decorations ^^ Unabridged Report of the Literary Exercises .... 34 The Prayer by Rev. Bernard Paine 34 Address of Hon. Otis Cary . . . ^ 37 Address by Mr. Fred. H. Williams 38 Act of Incorporation .....•••• '*^ The Centennial Hymn . . . ' ^^ Historical Oration by Hon. E. P. Carpenter 47 Thk Centennial Memorial. 76 Address by Rev. Wni. H. Spencer 77 Hymn . . • • . • • • • • ■ .8-^ The Collation ^^ Invocation by Rev. W. Harrison Alden, D.D 83 After-Dinnek Exercises 83 The Centennial Poem 84 Sentiments and Responses 100 Addresses of Governor Rice, Hon. Marshall P. Wilder, Hon. H. W. Paine, John Winslow, Esq., C. W. Sumner, Esq., A. T. Starkey, Esq., J. E. Pond, Jr., Esq., Rev. Bernard Paine, Rev. William R. Tompkins, Hon. J. B. D. Cogswell, Ellis Ames, Esq., Joseph E. Bartlett, M.D 100-155 Greetings from Absentees ........ loo Letters from Mrs. C. E. Page, Rev. Otis Cary, Jr., Rev. E. Y. Garette, Rev. Wm. Barnes, D. C. Winslow, Esq., Com. H. D. 4 FOXBOROUGU CENTENNIAL RECORD. Smith, George Copeland, Esq., Mr. Eldridge H. Packard, Mr. Henry Hodges, Rev. James H. Little, Mr. Wm. L. Penney, Rev. James Eastwood, Jolin G. Jones, Esq., Mr. Frank O. Cole, Samuel S. Warren, Esq., Mr. Alexander Boyden, Mr. Aaron Hobart. 155-1G8 The Illumination and Close of the Festivities .... 1G9 Newspaper Clippings .......... 170 Extracts from " Foxborough Times," Boston "Advertiser," "Her- ald," "Journal," "Post," "Transcript," and "Traveller" . 170-174 Sunday Services 175 Synojjsis of Religious Services and Temperance Meeting . . 175 The Museum 183 A description of the Exhibition, with names of many Contributors, by Mr. Amos J. Bo_yden, Secretary of Museum Committee . 183-194 Address to the Centennial of 1978, by Mr. Amos J. Boyden . 195 APPENDIX 199 Memorial Record of the Patriotism of our Soldiers and Town. Address delivered before Post 91, G.A.R., May 31, 1877, by Hon. E. P. Carpenter 199-219 Roll-Call of Foxborough's Soldiers, 1861 to 18G5 . . . .220 Patriots of 1776 229 Soldiers of 1812 229 Roll of Honor, 1861-1865 . . 230 Our Honored Dead .......... 233 Roster of the "Veterans of the War " ...... 233 The Minute-men . ' 234 Statistics 237 Area, Population, and Valuation ....... 237 Delegates to Constitutional Conventions ...... 237 State Senators 237 Representatives to General Court, 1778 to 1878 .... 237 Justices of the Peace ......... 238 Selectmen and Town Clerks during the Century .... 239 Settled Ministers 241 Changes in Boundary Lines ........ 242 Index to and Description of Illustrations ..... 242-248 Fac-simile of Invitations ..... . . 249-252 FOXBOROUGH CENTENNIAL RECORD, I. TOWN'S EECORDS. The following appears on the Town Clerk's records of a Town Meeting held August 20, 1877 : — " Voted, That a committee of seven be chosen to take into consideration the celebration of the Centennial of Incorpo- ration of the Town, and report at next annual meeting. Committee to be chosen by ballot, and E. P. Carpenter, W. T. Cook, Otis Cary, Joseph A. Kingsbury, James Capen, C. ^N . Hodges, and R. W. Carpenter, were chosen such committee." This committee, at the annual meeting held March 18, 1878, presented the following REPORT. At a Town Meeting held August 20, 1877, it was ''Voted, That a committee of seven be chosen to take into consideration the celebration of the Centennial of the 6 FOXBOROUGH CENTENNIAL RECORD. Incorporation of the Town, and report at the next Annual Meeting." Accepting the spirit, rather than the letter, of the above vote, the committee-elect have not only taken into considera- tion the celebration of the Centennial, but have taken such action as it appeared requisite to present a report on which the town could act understandingly. It is the unanimous opinion and decision of the committee that the town should, in a creditable manner to itself, cele- brate the One Hundredth Anniversary of its Incorporation, not only as a matter of local pride and interest, but to evince our appreciation and gratitude for the "goodly heritage " bequeathed to us by our ancestors, whose self- denial, courage, fortitude, and patriotism are worthy of our commemoration ; and their record should not be lost, but handed down by us to generations that may come after, that they, too, may better appreciate and perpetuate the blessings of a free government established at so great a sacrifice. This matter appeals not only to our ancestral pride, but to our present local pride and interest. Foxborough has no compiled history beyond the town records, which for the first twenty-five years are in a most dilapidated condition. A most favorable opportunity was lost when the town neglected to accept the recommendation of Congress, in- dorsed by the Legislature of our own Commonwealth : " That the people of the several States assemble in their several counties or towns, on the approaching Centennial Anniversary of our Independence ; and that they cause to have delivered on such day an historical sketch of said county or toAvn from its formation, and that a copy of said sketch may be filed in print or manuscript in the clerk's oflUce of said county, and an additional copy of said print or manuscript be filed in the oflSceof the Lil)rarianof Congress, to the intent that a complete record may be obtained of the FOXBOROUGH CENTENNIAL RECORD. 7 progress of our institutions during the first centennial of their existence." Such a record could have then been obtained at a nominal cost, and the value of such an opportunity to make a public and official record of the town's history cannot be stated or estimated, for it never was presented before, and never can be again under the same circumstances ; but your committee have l;iopes that our centennial record may find a place with the more enterprising towns that accepted the recommenda- tion to make their record in the history of the progress of our institutions. Our town has been unfortunate in its public record ; the Census of Massachusetts for 1875, under the head of "Manu- factures and Related Occupations," gives this town the space of three lines only, — less than any town in the county, and less than any town in the State that makes any claims to manufacturing interests. This official record, which is made every ten years, specifies, under the head of Manufactures, only " packing-boxes " and "straw goods," without naming other interests or occupations ; leaving the town, officially, for the next ten years, without a blacksmith, painter, paper- hanger, carriage manufacturer, wheelwright, tinman, soap manufacturer, grist-mill, shoe-maker, photographer, mason, printer, carpenter, harness-maker, and other varied and important interests. The importance of having a correct and official record can be understood and appreciated by all, for it is the history of our day and generation to those that follow us, and to those of our oAvn day who may be interested in our welliire. As we have no reason to be ashamed of what has been done in the past, Ijut accomplished much that we may well be proud of, a more appropriate or fitting time coidd not be selected to make our official record than the centennial anniversary of our town's incorporation. The social and family relations connected with such a cele- 8 FOXBOROUGII CENTENNIAL RECORD. bration appeal to past and pleasant associations that will be renewed as avc welcome those who have gone out from among us, who will be happy to return and exchange greet- ings ' and congratulations, and with us revicAv the past, making a joyous day in life's journey that all will remember with pleasure as Foxborough's Centennial. To make the celebration a success every person in town should take an interest ; for all are directly interested, and the history of a town is the history of its citizens. Every town is what its citizens individually and collectively make it, and its record for enterprise, public spirit, industry, patriotism, moral and religious element, makes up the char- acter of its people. The town cannot afford to forget the sacrifice made by its founders, or leave unwritten its past history, and all its citizens should be united in making its centennial one of commemorative historical and social interest, — a day not only for the renewal of old acquaintances and friendships, but a day of revival of public spirit and enterprise, that shall be a pledge for the future growth and prosperity of the town. The committee have assumed that, in a matter of such general interest, a large majority of the inhabitants will participate in the celebration ; and that there will be, of the five hundred or more former or native-born residents that have gone out from among us, with other invited guests, a large attendance, not less, perhaps, under favorable circum- stances, than two thousand people. A celebration that contemplates this number of people, or even fifteen hundred, makes it necessary to have the exercises of the day in a tent, having no hall or audience room that would accommodate even the smaller number. To provide for the entertainment of so large a number was a problem that, at first, was a serious obstacle in the minds of the committee ; but having decided on the picnic plan for FOXBO ROUGH CENTENNIAL RECORD. 9 a collation, the general details of the celebration were readily and nuanimously agreed upon. The committee at first considered that the 10th of June was the proper day to celebrate, it being the centennial anniversary of the date of the signing of the Act of Incor- poration ; but, on consulting the town records, found that the tirst Town Meeting was held June 29, 1778, and it being for many re.isons a day that would probalily call out a larger number, and a day just as proper for our centennial anniver- sary, the committee recommend the coming 29th day of June as the day for the celebration. That we can have a celebration without expense is not to be anticipated or expected ; but 3'our committee are not un- mindful that our centennial has come to us with hard times, and that any unnecessary expenditure for any purpose is not in keeping with public sentiment, and economy of expendi- ture has been the study of the committee. A celebration that will be creditable to the town, according to careful estimates, will cost some seven hundred and fifty dollars, wdiich would amount to about twenty-five cents for each in- habitant, or one-twentieth of one per cent, of the assessed valuation, and about half the amount the town is authorized to appropriate under the law that was passed giving to towns authority to spend money in celebrating centennials. The principal items of expense will be for salute, use of tent, entertainment of invited guests, music, printing, tables in tent, and a Memorial-Rock. The committee may be too sanguine in their expectations of the will and pleasure of the people in this matter ; but if the general expression of interest that has been manifested on the part of those that the committee have consulted with, in public and in private, are any true indication of public sentiment, we are led to believe that there is a union of feeling at the present time, and will be developed, that will make a page in the history of Foxborough that will be a 10 FOXBOROUGH CENTENNIAL RECORD. credit to the town, and that its citizens will never regret that they lived to see and participate in its centennial. E. P. CARPENTER, WM. T. COOK, OTIS GARY, JOSEPH A. KINGSBURY, JAMES CAPEN, C. W. HODGES, ROBERT W. CARPENTER. " Voted, That the report of the committee be accepted ; that the expenditures of the committee be limited to the sum recommended by themselves, and that the same com- mittee be authorized to carry out their recommendations." « " Voted, To appropriate seven hundred and fifty dollars toward celebrating the Centennial Anniversary of the Town's Incorporation." At the adjourried meeting held March 23d, it was " Voted, That the report of the Committee on the Centennial Celebration be entered upon the Records of the Town." " Voted, That a sum not to exceed seven hundred and fifty dollars be ajapropriated toward defraying the expenses at- tending the celebration of the Centennial Celebration of the Town." FOXBOROUGH CENTENNIAL RECORD. 11 REPORT CENTENNIAL COMMITTEE TOWN, IN TOWN MEETING, SEPT. 14, A.D. 1878. A full and detailed report of the committee's doings would be a presentation of the records made by the clerk of the committee, who has performed the duties incumbent on the position in a most feithful and satisfactory manner ; and they should find a place, when fully completed, in the archives of the to^m, that all who are to come after us and did not wit- ness or read the records in Foxborough's successful celebra- tion, may find its history in the records thus preserved. Your committee, having been authorized to carry out the recommendations made at the annual meeting in March last, continued under the same organization, — E. P. Carpenter, Chairman, Robert W. Carpenter, Clerk, and elected as Treasurer, C. W. Hodges. Your committee held thirty- seven sessions, and their proceedings have ever been char- acterized by harmony and unanimity ; and we are pleased to add that we have had the hearty cooperation of all the com- mittees connected with the celebration ; and the citizens at large have seconded the plans and efforts of the committee to a degree which made it, what it should be, the TOWN'S Celebration. The committee made the following appointments as Officers of the Day, Chaplains, Orators, Reader, Poet and Poetess : — Chief Marshal, C. F. Howard ; President, Otis Cary ; Chap- 12 FOXBOROUGII CENTENNIAL RECORD. lains, Rev. Bernard Paine, at Opening Exercises ; Eev. Q. H. Shinn, at Memorial-Rock ; Rev. William Harrison Alden, D.D., at Invocation. Welcome Address by Fred H. Wil- liams ; Centennial Hymn by Miss Hannah W. Paj^son ; Act of Incorporation read by Robert W. Carpenter; Oration by E. P. Carpenter ; Memorial-Rock Address by Rev. \Vm. H. Spencer ; Original Hymn by Miss H. W. Pay son ; Poet of the Day, Rev. John. T. Pettee ; Toast Master, Rev. W. H. Spencer. They appointed committees to arrange details of the cele- bration as follows : — Memorial-Rock. — James Capen, Ezra Pickens, and Pres- ton A. White. Invitations. — Benjamin B. Shepard, Kate B. French, Sarah B. Doolittle, R. Walter S. Blackwell, Sarah T. Cary, Wm. D. Carpenter, and Ira B. Richmond. Reception. — William Carpenter, Willard P. Turner, Junius B. Mowry, Elisha White, Carmi Richmond, Virgil S. Pond, L. Bryant Wilber, Mrs. Wm. Carpenter, Mrs. Jane Kerr, Mrs. E. P. Carpenter, Linus E. Carpenter, Mrs. L. E. Carpenter, W. E. Horton, Isaac P. Carpenter, J. G. S. Hitchcock, Benjamin F. Boyden, 2d, Lemuel Dickerman, George C. Forrest, and Erastus Grover. Procession. — L. Porter Faught, Henry T. Comey, Daniel W. Folsom, Ezra Pickens, Abram J. Nichols, A. T. Starkey, Ernest S. Mann, Albert L. Pond, Frank I. Sherman, Charles Dunbar, James A. Morse, Albert J. Daniels, and Henry G. Warren. Salute. — Wm. H. Torrey, Edwin P. Jewett, and A. Frank Belcher. lUuminations. — Michael Ryan, Joseph Richards, L. E. Gray, Gardner A. Carpenter, George A. Fales, Joseph H. Alden, Wm. H. Falvey, Virgil C. Pond, George M. Fillc- brown, Fred E. Butterworth, Geo. F. Williams, A. W. Gilson, Ezra C. Comey, Edward M. Phelps, and Herbert Inman. FOXBOROUGFI CENTENNIAL RECORD. 13 Decorations:. — Linus E. Carpenter, Fred S. Lane, Wil- larcl W. Turner, George S. Walcott, James W. Brennan, Sylvester M. Cushman, and Wm. H. Falvey. floral Decorations. — Mr. and Mrs. David Carpenter, Mr. and Mrs. A. Frank Belcher, Sylvester M. Cushman, Horace Carpenter, Mrs. Susan Fuller, Miss Minerva Torrey, Miss Augusta Shaw, Miss Frank Jewett, Miss Mary A. D wight. Miss Lou Hitchcock, Miss M. Alice Phelps, Miss Sarah Shepard, Miss Lillie Bassett, Mrs. Abby Washburn, Richard S. Carpenter, and Warren A. Carpenter. Tents. — Y.. P. Carpenter. Seats and Tables. — Virgil S. Pond, Francis D. Williams, C. Warren Lane, Wm. Leonard, Thomas B. Bourne, Azel H. Drake, and Horace B. Hartshorn. Martial Music. — Wm. T. Cook, Charles F.Howard, and Wm. H. Youno;. Vocal Music. — Albert F. Pettee, George D. Hunt, and Miss Annie M. Johnson. Toasts. — ^Vm. H. Spencer, A. T. Starkey, J. E. Pond, Jr., and Edwin W. Clarke. Museum. — Lewis Pond, Mrs. E. P. Carpenter, Mrs. L. E. Gray, Mrs. Jane Kerr, Amos J." Boy den, Mrs. John Garside, Ira G. Nichols, S. Irving Carpenter, Miss Lizzie Gray, and Wm. B. Crocker. Dnfertaimnent. — Eli Phelps, Edward O. Nichols, George A. Thayer, Wm. Hart, Ebenezer W. Allen, James W. Alden, Miss Martha Seaver, Mrs. O. C. Pettee, Mrs. P. A. White, Mrs. Lovisa S. Maddocks, Mrs. Albert F. Pettee. Mrs. David Morrill, Mrs. C. F. Howard, and Mrs. Walter H. Fisher. Religious Services. — Charles N. Morse, Thomas B. Bourne, Elisha White, E. G. P. Guy, C. W. Lane, and Chester F. Morse. Hoive Monument. — Otis Cary. The committee had been very guarded in their appropria- 14 FOXBOROUGII CENTENNIAL RECORD. tious, determined not to exceed the amount at their conunand, and felt assured that the town's appropriation, with the sums donated by individuals and received from Concert and Museum funds, would defray all expenses incurred by order of your committee ; and it was not until the twenty-second of the month that it became evident, beyond any contingency, except bad weather, that the provisions for the accom- modation of the invited guests and people must be very largely extended ; and to meet this emergency the committee assumed the responsibility of increased expenditures, under the conviction that it would be far better for the committee to suffer the censure of the town than that the town should suffer the discredit with the public in its well-earned reputa- tion of liberality and hospitality. Referring ( o the report made b}^ the committee at the An- nual Town Meeting, and comparing the estimate then made of what might be the numbers that would attend the cele- bration, and the former and native-born residents, with other invited guests, and. the actual results, we find that we not only greatly under-estimated the numbers of former and native-born residents, but the interest which was de- veloped by our own citizens and the public at large. The Committee on Invitations, under instructions to invite as guests of the town the former and native residents, and names submitted by the committee as ofiicial and distinguished guests, issued, with postal cards inclosed, directed to " Cen- tennial Invitation Committee," with words "Accept" and "Decline" on the back, the following form of invitation.^ The cards returned, and received up to the evening of the 28th, were, in all, eleven hundred and ninety-two accept- ances, two hundred and ninety-seven declining, and quite a number of each came on the day of, and after, the celebra- tion ; in all, more than fifteen hundred, and of this number there were less than one hundred ofiicial and distinguished 1 Fac-siinile of invitation inserted at close of this volume. FOXBOROUGH CENTENNIAL RECORD. 15 guests. There were very many letters received with, or in addition to, the cards returned, expressing a deep interest in the celebration, and in the town's welfare ; and many pleasant and happy greetings were also found upon the cards ; and, what is most remarkable, the town has its representatives in nearly every State and Territory in the country, and quite a number in foreign lands. The invitations were issued at an early date, that an ap- proximate estimate might be made of the number to be pro- vided for ; and it became evident to the committee, two weeks before the celebration, by the number of acceptances received, and the general interest manifested by our own citizens, and the great demand for tickets, that more ex- tended provision for the invited guests and citizens than had been provided by the committee must be made to give any degree of satisfaction, and make it, what all seemed most desirous that it should be, a complete success. Provision for the entertainment of twenty-five hundred had been made, but the order for the "picnic-boxes" was increased seven hundred and fifty-seven, — the total number reported by Richmond & Co., of New Bedford, the caterers, that they had, or could provide at so short a notice. . One hundred and sixty-three boxes were also ordered filled upon the morning of the celebration. (The bill for the pic- nic-boxes was seven hundred and fifty-one dollars and foj'ty-one cents.) . . . The large tent and small mess- tent were furnished by R. M. Yale & Co., of Boston. The Boston & Providence Railroad transported the tents, and all other freight that came to the town, free of expense. As the large tent and the Good Samaritan tent, which were loaned free of charge, would not seat over twenty-five hun- dred, it became necessary to provide another tent, and, with this tent, the necessary tables, seatings, crockery, etc., and Messrs. Yale &, Co. were again applied to. (The total bill for tents was one hundred and eighty-two dollars.) The 16 FOXBOROUGII CENTENNIAIj RECORD. crockery was hired at specified rates for use and breakage, and the bill for use was fifty-six dollars and ninety-six cents, and for lireakage twenty-one dollars and forty cents ; in all, seventy-eight dollars and thirty-six cents. In the matter of lumber for tables, seats, etc., your connnittce confess that their judgment was entirely at fault as to the loss which wx)uld be made on the sale of the lumber after its use, or that the public did not appreciate its value ; for fifty dollars was the amount estimated to cover the depreciation in value of the lumber used in the large tent ; Init the amount used, on account of the increased order for tent-room, w-as more than double what was at first estimated, and the loss on the whole was two hundred and nineteen dollars and eighty-six cents. It was at first arranged that the tea and cofiee should be made by our own people, but the quantit}^ required was so large that it was deemed impracticable,' and it was decided to intrust this matter to practical and experienced parties, and the charge for coffee and tea and making w^as sevent}'- two dollars and fifty cents, and for the concomitants, thirty- six dollars and forty-five cents. The extra loss on the increased amount of lumber and extra expenses of providing entertainment, aside from the picnic-boxes, of course, cannot be ascertained; but the in- creased cost and losses sustained, that have been referred to, are quite sufficient to account for the expenditures in excess of funds at the hands of the committee. Fifty dollars was appropriated for decoration of town buildings and twenty-five dollars for decoration of the tent ; but the Connnittee on Decorations ol)tained quite a large subscription from citizens, paid all their l)ills, and returned to the committee three dollars and seventy cents. The com- mittee who had in charge the Centennial Concert paid into the hands of the treasurer one hundred and sixty-eight dol- lars and thirty cents, of which one hundred and twenty-five FOXBOROUGII CENTENNIAL RECORD. 17 dollars was paid to Foxboro' Brass Band, three dollars and fifty cents to memljers of the Continental Band, and thirty- six dollars and thirty cents for expenses of the concert. No appropriation was made to the Committee on Illumi- nation ; but they obtained, by subscription, the sum of two hundred and fifty dollars, and all who witnessed the result of their labors have only words of commendation and praise. The treasurer's report, which is appended, shows the total receipts and expenditures, and the amount the committee has exceeded the appropriation made by the town, and amounts received from dificrent sources, to be seven hundred and seventeen dollars and ninety cents. To congratulate the town upon the very great success of its Centennial Celebration is only to repeat what is acknowl- edged by all who witnessed the day's proceedings; our expectations were more than realized, our local pride and ambition fully satisfied, and a page written in the history of Foxborough that the living witnesses will never forget, and the generations that are to come after us will read with interest. But all these pleasant considerations and historic interest would have counted as nothinsr if it could have been known that the salutation which ushered in our town's new-born century was to be the death-knell of John A. Davis, one of our fellow-citizens, for all would have proclaimed with one voice and heart, " Better, far better, that the history of our town's centennial day should never be written, but remain a blank forever, than that one life should be sacrificed in its celebration ! " The committee do not feel that they should be held responsible, in any measure, for the sad accident, for arrangements had been made with the State authorities to furnish guns, and men to man them, for firing the salutes, and it Avas not until after the organization of our veteran soldiers and sailors into a company to perform escort duty, 18 FOXBOROUGII CENTENNIAL RECORD. that the plan was changed, and then only by the request, through a committee, that they should command the salute, with the special pleadings that " their experience in battery service in the late war ought to be sufficient guarantee that they could fire a salute in the celebration of their own town's centennial." To deny their request was to them a reflection upon their record as soldiers, and, as an acknowledgment of their interest and commendable spirit to serve the town in its celebration, the committee, after consulting State authori- ties, consented to deleoate the charge of firing the salutes to the Veteran Volunteers. It would be most unjust, nay, cruel, to charge upon Davis or his comrades any blame for his untimely death ; for they shared together the risk in the discharge of their duty, and, under the circumstances, it was most providential that others were not injured or kilted. It is not the province of this committee to instruct the town in its duty. The fact that John A. Davis was killed at his post of duty in the service of the town, leaving a widow and two children without the care and protection of a hus- band and father, carries deeper conviction to the heart of every citizen of his responsibility and duty than any words of recommendation that mio:ht come from this committee. 'O* E. P. CARPENTEE, WM. T. COOK, OTIS GARY, JOSEPH A. KINGSBURY, JAMES CAPEN, C. W. HODGES, ROBERT W. CARPENTER. FOXBOROUGH CENTENNIAL RECORD. 19 Synopsis of Treasurer's Report in Account with Centennial Fund. Dr. Amount of appropriation . Contributed by Oliver Carpenter " "A. Taylor Carpenter " " F. E. & David Hartshorn Proceeds of Centennial Concert " " Museum " " sale of collation tickets . " " sale of lumber, crockery, etc Received of Decoration Committee . " B.C.F.&N.B.R.R. discount on bill, Cr. Expenses of Memorial-Rock " " repairing Howe Monument . Printing, postage, advertising, stationery, etc. Concert, bauds, costumes, and band-stand ex penses . . . . . . Ribbons for bado^es .... Decorating Town Hall and Common . Expenses of Rev. J. T. Pettee to and from Con necticut . . . . . Carriages ..... Cartridges, and freight on ffuns R. M. Yale & Co., on account of tents and deca rations ..... Rent of Home School lot . Clearing lot, carting settees, labor on seats, tables, etc. ....... $750 00 25 00 20 00 10 00 168 30 55 77 387 00 116 70 3 70 10 00 $1,546 47 $19 25 10 45 106 03 274 00 2 25 50 00 10 00 80 00 111 47 100 00 15 00 72 64 20 FOXBOROUGH CENTENNIAL RECORD. S. P. Richmond & Co., on account of collation boxes $500 00 Tea, coifee, sugar, milk, ice, use and breakage of crockery ....... 187 31 V. S. Pond, on account of lumber bill . . 5 75 Cash on hand ....... 2 32 Amount of outstanding bills Cash on hand . Deficiency $1,546 47 $720 2 22 32 $717 90 The report was accepted, and the Selectmen were author- ized to draw on the Treasurer for funds to settle all bills due on account of the celebration. At a Town Meeting held on Saturday, September 28th, the following resolution was adopted : — ''Whereas, a citizen of this town, John A. Davis, while acting at his post of duty, in the service of the town, on the morning of Foxborough's Centennial Day, lost his life, leaving a widow and two young children, be it '■'Resolved, That the citizens of the Town of Foxborough feel it incumbent upon them to provide for the widow and orphans by appropriating a sum of money in their behalf; and that a committee of three be chosen to petition the Legislature, in behalf of the town, for permission to make such appropriation." "Voted, That the Selectmen be that committee." II. PROGRAMME OF THE DAY. OEDER OF EXERCISES ADOPTED BY THE EXECUTIYE COMMITTEE, TUESDAY EVENING, JUNE 25, 1878. Salute of one hundred guns and ringing of bells at sunrise. Salute of seventeen guns on arrival of Governor. At 8 o'clock, A.M., procession forms, and moves at 9.30, or on arrival of Governor Rice and suite, over route of procession given in the Marshal's orders. ORDER OF EXERCISES IN THE TENTS. , 1. Prayer, by Rev. Bernard Paine. 2. Address of Welcome, by Mr. Fred H. Williams. 3. Music, "Gloria," Mozart's 12th Mass, by the choirs. 4. Reading Act of Incorporation, byRob't W. Carpenter, Esq. 5. Original Hymn, by the congregation. 6. Address, by Hon. E. P. Carpenter. 7. Music, "America," by the choirs. The procession will then re-form and march to the Com- mon, where the Memorial-Rock will be unveiled, according to the following programme : — Prayer, by Rev. Q. H. Shinn. Address, by Rev. W. H. Spencer. Music, original hymn, by the choirs. 22 FOXBOROUGH CENTENNIAL RECORD. COLLATION. All having tickets will then return, at 1.30, P.M., to the tent, where the collation will be spread. Immediately after dinner there will be — Selected music. Poem of the day, by Rev. J. T. Pettee. Toasts and responses, by Rev. W. H. Spencer, Toast Master. Music, etc. Reunion of families, old friends, and acquaintances. One gun at sunset. Grand illumination and promenade concert in the evening. BAND CONCERT PROGRAMME. 1. Military March — " From East to West." 2. Selection — " Le Barbier de Seville." 3. Waltz — " Lily of the North." 4. Selection — " Le Pre Aux Clercs." 5. Polka — Trombone. (Performed by Mr. Chas. Graff.) G. Overture — " Le Italiana in Algieri." 7. Polka — " Young America." (Performed by Mr. H. C. Brown.) 8. Waltz — " Morgenblatte." 9. Selection — " William Tell." 10. March — " Spirit of 76." Cornet Soloist. — Mr. H. C Brown. Leader and Conductor. — W. F. Freeman. The Town Hall will be open during the day for the recep- tion of invited guests, as their head-quarters. A collection of most interesting and curious articles of olden and modern times comprise the Museum of Antiquities in Lower Town Hall. The Executive Committee will be designated by badges of purple ; head-quarters at Town Officers' Room. Reception Committee, blue badges ; head-quarters at Town Hall. J. C. Mullaly. Rossini. C. II. R. Marriot. Ilerold. A. . Boulcourt. Rossini. J. Levy. Strauss. Rossini. J. H. Woods. FOXBOROUGH CENTENNIAL RECORD. 23 Committee on Procession, scarlet badges. Entertainment Committee, pinlc badges. Members of the press are invited to make their head- quarters at ante-rooms of Town Hall. MARSHAL'S ORDERS. FORMATION AND ORDER OF PROCESSION. The Procession will form at 8 o'clock. First Division on Liberty street, the right resting on Central street, in the following order : — ^ Platoon of Continentals mounted. Chief Marshal and Aids. W. H. Torrey and A. F. Belcher. Continental Band. Escort, consisting of Soldiers and Sailors, authorized by his Excellency the Governor and Commander in Chief to organize *for the occasion as "Veterans of the War." Foxboro' Brass Band. Executive Committee, Town Officers. The President, Poet, and Orator of the day. His Excellency Governor Alexander H. Rice and Staff. Members of the Executive Council, Officers of the U. S. Army, County Officials and Town Officers from the neighboring towns. Invited Guests, former residents, and citizens generally. Second Division on South street, the right resting on Liberty street, in the following order : — 24: FOXBO ROUGH CENTENNIAL RECORD. Marshal, A. J. Nichols. Aids, B. B. Shepard, G. F. Williams. Middleboro' Brass Band. Engine Company, with Steamer "Foxboro'." Cocasset Engine Company, with Engine. Representatives of 1778, momited. Soldiers and Sailors of 1812. School Committee, Members of the Public Schools. Third Division On Market street, the right resting on South street. Marshal, L. P. Faught. Aids, H. T. Comey, B. F. Browning, Ernest Mann, C. C. Sumner, 2d, George Fillebrown, Herbert C. Faught. Will consist of the representations of the Industries of the town . The Procession will move promptly at 9.30, or on the ar- rival of the Governor and Staff. The route of the procession will be from Liberty street to Central; through Central, across South, to School; through School, Bird, Baker, Chestnut, Main, School, Central, to Wall; through Wall, Cocasset, Leonard, Central, to South; through South to Cocasset ; through Cocasset to Main, where the official guests will alight and review the procession, which, on passing Main street, will be dismissed. The re- viewing party will then be escorted to the tent. All persons holding collation tickets, not in the procession, are requested to assemble on the Common, and, under the direction of Deputy Marshal W. II. Torrey, join the procession on its march to the tent. The owners and drivers of teams in the Trades Division are requested to call on either of the Marshals, on or before Friday, the 28th inst., to learn their positions in line. C. F. HOWARD, Chief Marshal. III. THE CELEBRATION The opening of the Second Century of Foxborough was to have been ushered in by a sunrise salute of one hundred guns and the ringing of church and factory bells ; but this was suspended, after a few discharges, because of the hap- pening of a most deplorable accident which cast a gloom over the entire community. By the premature discharge of one of the saluting cannon, which was located near the depot of the B. , C. , F. & N.B. E.R. , one of the Veterans of the War, who was assisting in the salute, John Anthony Davis, a most excellent man and esteemed citizen, received injuries which caused instant insensibility and almost immediate death. At an early hour in the morning the streets were thronged with residents and visitors, and at 8 o'clock the formation of the procession was commenced, in accordance with the Marshal's orders, and at 9.30 the line was ready, and would have marched had the Governor and suite been present. These official guests left Boston at 8 o'clock, in a special car, under the immediate supervision of Superintendent A. A. Folsom, of the B. & P. R.R. and were met at Mansfield by Hon. E. P. Carpenter and Hon. Otis Cary, of the Executive Committee, and Messrs. William Carpenter and Virgil S. Pond, of the Reception Committee, and were joined by the Middleboro' Brass Band, which played "Hail to the Chief," and other selections, on the route to Foxborough. At Fox- boro' depot the party entered barouches, and were escorted, 26 - FOX BOROUGH CENTENNIAL RECORD. by the Foxboro' Brass Band and the Veterans, to the residence of Mr. AVilliam Carpenter, where they alighted and rested a few minutes before entering the procession. Their escort then conducted them to the head of the column, and at 10 o'clock THE PROCESSION Moved in the following\order : — First Division. Platoon of Continental Cavalry. Chief Marshal, Maj. C. F. Howard, Aids, Capt. Wm. H. Torrey and Lieut. A. Frank Belcher. Continental Band, Alonzo H. Bond, Leader. Eight Pieces. Veterans of the War, commanded by Capt. Henry C. Lind- ley ; 1st Lieutenant, James S. Carver ; 2d Lieutenant, David Scott. Two Color-bearers and forty- four muskets. Foxboro' Brass Band, Wm. F. Freeman, Leader. Twenty-three Pieces. Pleasure barge " Wachusett," drawn by six plumed horses, containing Messrs. E. P. Carpenter, Wm. T. Cook, James Capen, Joseph A. Kingsbury, Charles W. Hodges, and R. W. Carpenter, of the Executive Committee ; N. F. Howard, of Board of Selectmen ; A.J. Daniels, of Board of Assessors ; Rev. J. T. Pettee, Poet of the Day ; Rev. W. H. Spencer, Memorial Orator ; J. E. Pond, Jr., and A. T. Starkey, of Toast Committee; Rev. W. H. Alden, D.D., Rev. Bernard Paine, and Rev. Q. H. Shinn, Chaplains ; David A. Part- ridge, Esq., of House of Repre- sentatives ; Fred H. Willfams and Charles W. Sumner, Esqrs., Orators. FOXBOROUGH CENTENNIAL RECORD. 27 Barouches containing Official Guests, Reception Commit- tee, etc. , as follows : — His Excellency Alexander H. Rice, Adjutant-General Cun- ningham, Colonel Hutchings, and Hon. Otis Cary. Councillors Harwood and Childs, Col. Tower and Mr. Wm. Carpenter. Councillors Hall and Baker, Col. Lyman and Mr. V. S. Pond. ' Col. Rice, Asst. Adj. -Gen. Kingsbury, Gen. Blackmar and Councillor Tweed. Hon. J. B. D. Coggswell, Pres. of the Senate ; Treasurer Charles Endicott. Hon. Marshall P. Wilder, Pres. N. E. Agricultural Society and Councillor Haynes. Rev. Mortimer Blake, of Taunton; Rev. Jacob Ide, Jr., of Mansfield, and Rev. Wm. R. Tompkins of Wrentham. Speaker John D. Long. Oliver Carpenter, Albert Alden, and Arthur Alden. Hon. F. D. Ely, of the Senate; Henry W. Paine, Esq.; Hon. Nathaniel F. Safford, County Commissioner ; Erastus Worthington, Esq., Clerk of Courts ; John H. Burdakin, Esq., Register of Deeds ; Jona- than Cobb, Esq., Asst. Register of Pro- bate ; Ellis Ames, Esq., and many other distinguished guests and citizens, in carriages. Second Division. Deputy Marshal, Capt. A. J. Nichols. Aids, Benjamin B. Shepard and George F. Williams. Middleboro' Brass Band, J. M. Carter, Leader. Twenty Pieces. »/■ -r-r,/-,r>/-')\" . T r^'iiT. -iC Tno.r. rarraaiKr^ IL "IT, S, Blat^rweH ^Esi^^ ami Mr ^ sua «ar-i . - - uc-jm iai:, i^-_ -_:--_ . iia^ft ^saif- lijiTmr :ajf scionl n 'vani^ "ferr ^WiJ/oiE^i. Tqpt -wei* jnf^ 'Trt'K '-H'.i: rVr-oiffTA^ Sifflr»r£L- anioxcu ^2Be xnmsii ^rlnna FOXBOROrOH CEXTEXyTAL RECORD. 29 Szcoyjj I>'TZfejrEDLATE. " ^V'e are the Pioneers of tne next Centennial." FiksT PKncAET, " Gire ns Boom, or we will Take it." Secoxd Pbimart, " We are in onr Infancy. So was Fox- borongh once : " and " AVait for Us." PLiMprox SoHOOL. motto, " Onward and Upward." Caey School, motto, '^ Xo Steps Backward." Besides, there was c-arried bv Miss Mabel Turner, of the Second In- termediate School, a banner representing a school seene, which was first carried in a school procession fifty years ago by the grandmother of 3Ii5s Tomer. Two of the piqnls of the Plimpton School, whose fonrteenth year began npcm this day, joined in carrjing a banner inscribed. "We %liaTl be 113 years old at the next Centennial." Thled Dmsioif. ^Marshal, L. Porter Faoght. Aids, Henry T. Comey, Bartlett F. Browninsr. Ernest S- Mann, Charles Calrin Samner, Gieorge M. FiUebrowa, and Herbert C. Faoght. This Division consisted of representations of the rarioiis industries of the town, and was estimated to be more than one mile in length. At the head of the line appeared a Model of the First Meetins'-hoiise in FoxboTDagh, followed by Farm wauzon, filled with ancient and modem agricoltinal implements, among which was a plough 117 years old. beloag- ing to Warren S. Bacon, drawn by six yoke of oxen. "Exports of Foxborongh, 1778," represented by a load of charcoal and a load of ho2"shead hoops, intended for the West India trade. '" Imports of 1778," being teams filled with barrels of Xew England rum. hogsheads of molasses, and codfish. 30 FOXBOROUGII CENTENNIAL RECORD. Silk banner inscribed, ''Industries of the Union Straw Works," "Nvith figure of female bearing a sheaf of wheat. Foreign straw braid and hats, with the names of the coun- tries from which they are imported displayed on the wagon. FolloAvers of Betsey Baker preparing and braiding do- mestic straw, showing the various processes through which the straw passes, and contained one of the old braiders of domestic straw, in the person of Miss Betsey Pettee. Manufacturers' wagons, including those of E. White, C. Richmond, J. Castilo, C. C. Sumner, D. W. Folsom, G. A. Thayer, tilled with braid, blocks, tickets, thread, etc., show- ing the manner in which the straw is distributed among the sewers in the neighboring towns. Making and finishing straw goods by hand, as the busi- ness was originally prosecuted. Making and finishing straw goods by machinerj". On this wagon were four machines for sewing braid, two for binding hats, one for lining, and one for wiring hats, at which female operatives were at work ; also a hydraulic pressing machine and Fales' patent blocking machine. The machinery was driven by a belt attached to one of the wheels of the wagon. Load of straw goods in cases ready for shipment to the salesrooms of the Union and Bay State jNIanufacturing Com- pany. Load of linen-board (a substitute for leather, used in the manufacture of boots and shoes), moulded into boot and shoe counters. Seven wagons, drawn by twenty-five horses, all blanketed and flagged alike, belonging to Virgil S. Pond, and repre- sentino; his business from be^inninj? to end, as follows : The first was a load of " saw logs in the rough," just as they come from the woods ; 2d, sawed lumber, shingles, boards, etc. ; 3d, steam saw-mill in operation, sawing box-boards, fitting and nailing boxes, reels, etc. ; 4th, manufacturing paper boxes and crowns and printing tips for packing straw goods ; FOXBOROUGII CENTENNIAL RECORD. 31 5tli and 6th, loads of boxes ready for market ; 7tli, load of refuse, kindling', etc. The men were at work upon the route filling a hona-fide order from O. M. Draper's jewelry house in Attleborough. One of the best representations was the wagon of John Garside, bearing a monster coffee-pot, with steam issuing from the spout. White & Grover, large blocks of granite, and cutters at work. Foxboro' Foundry and Machine Co. Crocker & Shepard, large, handsomely trimmed wagon, exhibiting their immense line of dry goods, and a separate wagon containing a beautifully arranged shoe department. B. F. Boyden, 2d, large four-horse wagon, loaded with a beautiful "trim-out" of goods in the same line. Wm. Igoe, blacksmith shop, with forge in "full blast." Jos. Taber, immense blacksmith shop, with two horses on board, and process of shoeing in operation, making horse- shoes and working at otlier branches. "Foxboro' Times," prettily trimmed, with press in opera- tion, printing programme of the day. A. C. Dean, boots and shoes. W. II. Youug, fine carriages ; one team with carriage- building going on ; two others, loaded with carriages, sleighs, etc., exhibiting beautiful samples of completed work. R. W. S. Blackwell, printer, two heavy teams, containing case-rack, type, presses in operation, and load of A. N. Hoxie's soap, from manufactory of Mr. Blackwell, ready for the market. S. Blaisdell, stone-cutter. A. F. Belcher and N. S. Small, florists, each with car- riages beautifully decked with plants and flowers. Milk-wagons of II. G. Warren, J. A. Comey, and Hersey & Warren. G. H. Stifi', painter. 32 FOXBOROUGH CENTENNIAL RECORD. John Guiney, harness-maker. John Falvey, boot-making in operation. Foxboro' Steam Laundry, two teams. C. P. Grovcr, watches and jewelry. Charles Dunbar, extracts and medicines. J. Rundell, two teams, J. C. Mears and Davidson & Hartshorn, fish. R. H. White & Co., Boston, dry goods. C. L. Dunbar and G. Winslow, soap. C. C. Jones, paper boxes. Dr. H. H. Bowles, dentist. L. N. Lowe, meats, three wagons. William Castilo, ice. Boyden's Mill, grain and flour, three teams. Godfrey & Comey, groceries, two teams. T. G. Peirce, dry goods. C. F. Morse, coal. Ryan & Sumner, grain and groceries, three teams. A. H. .Messenger, groceries and hardware, two teams. E. W. Allen, merchant tailor; shop in full operation. Butterworth's Clothing House, represented by team loaded with ready-made clothing, gents' furnishing goods, etc. Guy & Bros., furniture, flour, tea, and coffee; two wagons. J. A. Kingsbury, groceries. F. D. Williams, coal, etc., and express business, two wagons, neatly placarded. C. W. Hodges, carpets and furniture, two well-gotten-up wagons. Guy & Bros., paper hangings. THE DECORATIONS on the route of the procession and vicinity were elaborate, and exhibited much thought and labor. The Town House was decorated with bunting and a beautiful equestrian picture of FOXBOROUGII CENTENNIAL RECORD. 33 Washiiii^ton, while in front of the entrance were the dates " 1778 " and " 1878," surrounded by flags and bunting. Tlie display inside was very tine, the flags of all nations being suspended, with various army badges and coat of arms of all the States. In a prominent position was the motto, " Our Honored Guests, Foxborongh Ceutennial." The Soldiers' Memorial Hall and engine-honses were also handsomely draped with the national colors. The Common was hung with bright and gaudy paper lanterns, flags and streamers. The M^isonic Building, Cocasset House, and all the public buildings, manufactories, and places of business were covered with bunting and mottoes. The decorations at the works of the Uniou and Bay State Manufacturing Co. were very fine. In front of the building was the large and characteristic motto, "We cover millions," and dates made of straw hats, " 1778" and " 1878." In front of the gate a beautiful arch, with the word " Welcome " inscribed upon it. The boarding-houses of the corporation were also handsomely trimmed. Among the many other places particularly noticeal)le were the Lincoln Block, Avith dazzling star and the motto, "Welcome Veter- ans ; " Samaritan Hall Building ; Union Building, with the mottoes, " One Country, one Constitution, and one Destiny," and "Liberty and Union, Now and Forever, One and In- separable : " the Depot, with the inscription " Welcome ; " the stores of Guy & Bros., Eli Phelps, John Garside, the residences of Wm. T. Cook, E. P. Carpenter, Williams Leonard, C. W. Lane, Dr. L. Dickerman, Albert Fisher, J. E. Carpenter, Ezra Pickens, Henry T. Comey, Lewis Pond, J. E. Pond, Seth Sherman, Wm. Carpenter, V. S. Pond, L. P. Faught, Wm. H. Young, John Garside, Wm. Igoe, Batholomew Brennan, F. D. Williams, L. E. Carpen- ter, and many others too numerous to mention. Yale's mammoth tents, covering over twenty-two thousand square feet of ground, and the Samaritan Club's tent, cover- ing two thousand four hundred feet more, which had been 34 FOXBOROUGH CENTENNIAL RECORD. erected on the " Home School lot," had flags flying from their mast-heads, and were prettily draped with bnnting inside and out, thus giving them a gala-day appearance. The route of the procession was from Liberty street to Central; through Central, across South, to School; through School, Bird, Baker, Chestnut, Main, School, Central, to Wall ; through Wall, Cocasset, Leonard, Central, to South ; through South to Cocasset ; to Main, Avhere the official guests reviewed the procession, which, on passing Main street, was dismissed. The reviewing party was then escorted to the tents, where accommodations had been provided for nearly thirty-five hundred people. Persons holding collation tickets, and who did not join in the procession, marched from the Common to the tent under direction of Deputy Marshal W. H. Torrey. THE EXERCISES AT THE TENTS Were opened, after the assemblage had been called to order by the President of the day, by PRAYER By the Rev. Bernard Paine. Our Heavenly Father I we adore Thee, as the Author and Preserver of all things. We praise Thee, for Thou art greater than all. Thou dost superintend alike the worlds of space and the aflfairs of men. Thine are all our ways. We rejoice and praise Thee that Thy care and providence cover the his- tory of every town, that Thy sympathy and help are manifest in the whole current of human life. We rejoice and thank Thee for Thy signal goodness to this town, from its first settlement. We thank Thee that Thou didst oversee its early organization. We rejoice to-day as we remember the good FOXBOROUGH CENTENNIAL RECORD. 35 men and the true that were in the very beginning of things here. We thank Thee to-day, as we remember the Christian men, the men of high principle and men of integrity, who led the events of this town ; that among its first institutions was the Christian Church. We thank Thee, O Lord, for all the good men, the men of faith, that were in these early days. We thank Thee, O God, out of fervent hearts that Thou didst send the ministry of reconciliation, the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, and that it was preached from year to year from the first unto the generations past of the century. We thank Thee, O Lord, for all the good that has come out of the Church of Christ here. We bless Thee also for the faithful labors of Thy servants who have already passed to their re- ward, and for the great number who we trust to-day have ascended on high, and are casting their crowns before Thee. O Lord God, we gratefully remember also that Thou hast caused to be established a course of instruction for the children and youth. We thank Thee for schools, — for the common-school system, that is so congenial to our civil government and our nation. We thank Thee for all the in- stitutions that have been developed in connection with the young and rising generation, and that the Sabbath school was established in this town, after half the century had passed away. We bless Thee, O Lord, to-day, also for the men of true reform to be remembered ; that even when the Washing- toniau movement came among our States, it also came and rested its ark over this people, and that from that time to the present there have been men to stand up for true reform and temperance. We thank Thee that now there is such an out- gushing of the temperance movement and the temperance feeling in this place. We thank Thee, O Lord, also for the enterprise and business capacity that Thou didst give those who have lived in this town, in the past, who have enriched it, and have added to its prosperity. We rejoice to-day, O Lord, for all the outcome of this enterprise and this business 36 FOXBOROUGII CENTENNIAL RECORD. capacity which Thou has granted in Thy provitlence. We thank Thee also, O Lord, for loyal sons and daughters, for love of country. We bless Thee that we have the record of the noble deeds and the valor of those who went forth and sacrificed their lives for the country's safety and honor. Our Father, to-day, as now we gather on this centennial anniver- sary we look to Thee for Thy special blessing. We thank Thee for this bright and clear morning ; for this beautiful air. And yet, O God, our hearts are still tender and sad for the accident of the early morning. Thou hast taken one away from life and friends and family. O God, l)e very near to that afflicted circle. Many hearts have been saddened to-day by this calamity. Wilt Thou send peace and comfort, O God ! And now, Father, we commend all here present unto Thee. Especially let Thy blessing rest upon the Governor of this State and all that are to-day in authority. May his life and health be very precious in Thy sight, and may still many years of usefulness and honor be granted unto him. We pray that Thou wilt now grant Thy blessing upon all those who are to take part in this service. Bless, we pray Thee, the President of the day. Bless, we humbly beseech of Thee, him who is to speak to us of the past ; and as we shall listen, oh, grant that rich blessings may come to us, and that we may be led to rejoice to-day, more than ever, in Thy good providence and grace. Our Father in Heaven, we also ask Thy blessing upon all the families in this town. We thank Thee that Thou hast been good to our fathers ; and that here there have been Christian homes and families. Let Thy blessing be upon the families gathered here. Remember those who are scattered, — some who are far away in distant places, and are unable to be present ; yet Thou knowest them, and we commend them unto Thee and Thy care. Remember Thine aged servant who has passed her one hundredth birthday at her home in Boston, and is too feeble to be here to-day. We commend her to Thee, and pray that Thou wilt comfort her heart and send her sweet FOXBOROUGH CENTENNIAL RECORD. 37 memories of the past. Remember all here present, O God, as Thou seest they require. Relatives and friends of those who have been here and labored for the good of the people, — O God, be Thou with them, we pray Thee, and may our fathers' God be with theirchildren even unto the end. O Lord God, we only wait before Thee now for Thy blessing. As we enter upon another century in the history of this town, we humbly beseech of Thee that all the growth of the past may be but anti- cipatory of the future, that shall be still bright and glorious, and more and more progressive in every good thing ; fill us all with the truth of the Gospel ; and, finally, we ask it as Thy chiefest blessing, gather us with the fathers who served Thee faithfully on earth, among the redeemed in Thy heavenly kingdom ; and to the Father, Son, and Holj^ Spirit we will give all the praise, evermore. Amen. Hon. Otis Gary, as President of the day, then introduced the literary exercises in the following words : — Ladies and Gentlemen, Friends and Fellow-Citizens, JVatives of Foxhorough and their Descendants, and Former Residents of Foxhorough : It gives us great pleasure to meet you here to-day on the '' Old Homestead," near the spot where our fathers met just one hundred years ago to organize the town and choose the first Board of Selectmen. We meet to speak and hear of the vast changes and improvements that have been made, and to show some specimens of the present prosperity and enterprise of the town ; and we bid you a hearty welcome to our town and to the festivities of the day. We feel honored by the presence of His Excellency Gov- ernor Rice, and other members of our State Government ; also the President of the Senate and Speaker of the House of Representatives, with many members of l)otli branches of past and present legislatures, county and town officers ; with many other distinguished men of our own and other States, 38 FOXBOROUGH CEXTEyyTAL RECORD. who are with us to-day, and whose voices we expect to hear before we part. To one and all we extend our thanks for your attendance and a cordial welcome to this the one hun- dredth anniversary of the organization of our town. But it is not my province to say more at this time. We believe in bringing our young men to the front, and thus to interest them early in public atfairs. I therefore will introduce one of Fox- borough's young sons, F. H. Williams, who will speak to you wonis of welcome, and make the fornuil address. [Ap- plause.] Mr. WiLLLLMS delivered the folio wina: ADDRESS OF WELCOilE. On this the one hundredth anniversary of the incorporation of the town of Foxborough, it is my pleasant duty, in behalf of the Committee of Arrangements, to extend to you all the hand of greeting and the voice of welcome. Foxborough has just arrived at the first centennial milestone of her career as a town. What a flood of recollections rushes before the mind ! What memories are awakened ! One hundred years ago our ancestors, inspired with a desire for the worship of God and tjetter educational advantages, took the initial steps which secured to us this town, in which we now take so much pride. That hundred years now belongs to the past ; the men of that time are now dead, and in a hundred years this day will be but a single event in history'. What, then, could be more fittinsT than that we should ^ther about our firesides, renew acquaintanceship, revive old associations, and reanimate our- selves with the spirit which actuated our forefathers ? Accordingly we are right glad to see you, on this the natal day of Foxljorough. We receive you all with open hands and warm hearts, and invite you to participate in the pleasures and festivities of this occasion. "Ye fathers, with hair bathed in molten silver ; ve mothers, with names dearer and holier than FOXBOROUGH CESTEySIAL RECORD. 39 any earthly name ; young men, with vigor crowned, and maidens 'foirer than the light,' — one and all, welcome, a thousand times welcome I " We greet with pleasure His Excellency the Governor of this Commonwealth, the Council, and other officers who rep- resent the majesty of the State. It is unnecessary to say that Foxborough always has stood, and so long as a breath of life remains, she always will stand, in the front rank of towns in response to every call of State or Country. And the heart of every citizen of Foxborough responds with animation to that sentiment dear to every loyal son of the Old Bay State, " God Save the Commonwealth of ^lassachusetts ! ~ We gladly welcome the citizens of the neighboring toAvns, and trust that the spirit displayed and the scenes enacted to-day will serve to bind us closer in the support of our common country. We offer hearty salutations to the citizens of Walpole, Wrentham, Stoughton, and Stoughtonham, the towns of which we were once a part ; and while we con- gratulate ourselves upon our noble origin, yet we feel that, as you think of the men who went forth from yoifr borders and have built up a town rivalling in spirit and beauty her parent towns, — in short, the acknowledged "gem of the county," — you can but regard their going forth as an irreparable loss. Ye who have gone forth from your native town in the pur- suit of wealth and reno^vn, and who now return to your paternal hearth, welcome, thrice welcome, to this our home and yours I Home I What word in the language can arouse such feelings in the human breast ! What magic must that little word contain for you who now revisit the scenes of your birth and childhood ! May you — not as the prodigal, but rejoicing in the favors of a kind Providence, and with a pros- perous foitune smiling upon all your undertakings — may you ever return to your home in Foxborough as to a '• Perpetual feast of nectar'd sweets, Where no erode surfeit reigns ;" 40 FOXBOROUGH CENTENNIAL RECORD. and as you depart to your several callings and duties, may this ever be your song : Old Foxborough — " Where'er I roam, whatever realms to see, My heart, untravelled, fondly turns to thee." Those of yoM who have become citizens l)y the marriage rite, the calls of business or pleasure, we welcome with grateful hearts ; for we feel assured that you would certainly have chosen Foxborough for your birthplace if your wishes had been consulted, and we do not blame you for the un- avoidable decrees of fate. To our absent friends, wherever located, of whom some one has said, though not " with us " they are yet "of us," we send cordial greeting. Many whom we Avould gladly welcome are standing upon " That silent shore, Where billows never break nor tempests roar." Yet, if it is ever granted to the spirits of the departed to re- visit the scenes of their former usefulness and activity, who ' can doubt but that the shades of all the noble sons of Fox- borough are with us to-day as invisible auditors? God grant that their memory may ever be revered, and their example ever be present to the coming generations ! We point with pride, and welcome you to our churches, " whose spires point with silent finger to heaven," testifying that the motive which prompted our ancestors to found a ueAV tt)wn has ever been present to the minds of their de- scendants ; and that with our progress in civilization there has been a movement toward a corresponding improvement in morals and religion, which Southey says is necessary to save a peojDle from ruin and destruction. "We point to our Memorial Hall, commemorative of those who offered up their lives upon the altar of their country that we might live FOXBOROUGH CENTENNIAL RECORD. 41 in peace ; Avhere you will also read, upon the " roll of honor," the names of those who have answered their country's call at every time of danger, and who, in defence of country, signified their willingness to take their places beside their brothers in gloiy. Fit resting-place for that library whose light is diffused through every class of society, and Avhose influence as a public educator cannot be told, — "a shrine where all the relics of the saints, full of true virtue, and that without delusion or imposture, are preserved and reposed." We point to our schools, manufactories, public buildings, and things innumerable, — evidences, as we believe, of our thrift, energy, wealth, refinement, and moral and' intellec- tual culture. Children of the public schools, Ave welcome you. To you the nation is looking with anxiety and interest ; for you, past and present generations have prepared this country as a heritage, and upon you must soon devolve the duties of citizenship, and of maintaining this government. See to it that you are well prepared for those duties. Fel- low-citizens, I congi'atulate you in the possession of this town, upon the progress you have made in the last century, and upon the spirit of local pride and respect for the memory of your ancestors which has prompted you to the celebra- tion of this day. But we should celebrate this day in vain were we to devote ourselves wholly to pleasure, and not remember that it should also be a time for sober thought and serious reflection. Throu2:hout the leno;th and breadth of this land there is an urgent demand for men, not mere pup- pets, wafted about like feathers hj every gust of wind ; but live, energetic men, endowed with a strong will, a cultivated intellect, and a strict regard for right. This demand appeals to us with ever-renewed emphasis ; for, as Napoleon said, "The man must make the times, and not the times the man." There can be no shirking. If we desert our duties, we shall be traitors to society and to country. The responsibilities are great, and should be well understood. Therefore it be- 42 FOXBOROUOH CENTENNIAL RECORD. hooves US to drink in the lessons of the hour, and so conduct ourselves that our flag may float far above all others as the embodiment of everything that pertains to a civilized and prosperous people. Let the progress of the past century be an earnest of what is to follow, increased an hundred-fold. Let us this day be stimulated to renewed activity and aroused to new endeavors in maintaining the institutions we have inherited, in fulfilling the sacred trusts which devolve upon us, in preserving the fliir name and honor of old Fox- borough, and thus add many bright jewels to her already brilliant diadem. Grand old Foxborough ! may you ever be the admiration of your sons and daughters ; may they never by word or deed bring a stain upon your fair escutcheon ; but rather may they so live and act as to be not only the pride of their native town, but an honor to the country whose flag floats over them ; may their names be inscribed on Fame's immortal roll as true men and women. As the mother of 'such children, your name will descend to poster- ity, without the aid of letters, borne by tradition from generation to generation. The united choirs of all the churches then sang " Gloria," from Mozart's 12th Mass, Mr. Albert F. Pettee, leader ; Miss Annie M. Johnson, organist. The organ was a powerful one, of rich tone, loaned to the town by the Smith Organ Co., of Boston. THE ACT OF INCORPORATION OF THE TOWN was then read' by Robert W. Carpenter, Esq., from an original volume of acts and laws, printed in 1778, as follows : — FOXBOROUGH CENTENNIAL RECORD. 43 In the Year of our LORD, 1778. Town of Foxboroiigh. ACTS and' LAWS, Pafsed by the Great and General Court or Afsembly of the State of the Mafsachufetts-Bay., \\\ New- England : Begun and lield at Bofton., in the County of Suffolk., on Wednefday the Twenty-feventh Day of May., Anno Domini, 1778. Chap. i. An Adl for incorporating certain Lands in the County of Suffolk^ formerly belonging to the Town of Dorchef- ter., but now to the Towns of Wrenthatn, Walfole., StotightoH, and StottghtonhaiJi with the Inhabitants liv- ing thereon, into a Town, by the Name of Foxborough. Whereas a Niimber of InJtabitants belo?igi?ig to the preamble. To-wns of Wrentham, Walpole, Stoughton and Stough- tonham, have reprefented to this Court the Inconven- iences they labour tinder on account of their Diftance frojn the Places of Public Worship in the feveral Toxvns to which they now belong., and have earneftly attd repeatedly reqjiefted that they may be incorporated into a Town : Be it therefore enacted by the Couttcil and Houfe o/^partof the Reprefentatives in General Court afsembled., and by the Towns of Authority of the fame., That fuch Part of the Towns of -yy^jip^ig^ Wre?ztham^ Walpole., Stoughton and Stoughtonham.,'?^^ stoughton, ,,,. , -,, . -r-, 1 . T-,.. and Stough- are mcluded m the followmg Bounds, viz. Begmnuig at ^^1^,^^^^^ j^^^ the County Line by Skull-meadow., fo called, and from corporated thence proceeding in the Range Line that runs over Cow ^^^^^^ ^ Hill., until it comes to the Norton Road, and from thence the Name of fa traight Line to the Southeaft Corner of Benjamin ^^^'^^' Fairbank's Home Lot ; and from thence running North- weft and Northeafterly in the Line of faid Fair-bank's Farm, until it comes to the Weft End of the Furnace Dam, excluding the Furnace Land, and Buildings to Stoughton- ham ; and from thence a ftraight Line until it comes, to the Bridge by Capt. Elkajiah Billings's., and from thence 44 FOXBOROUGH CENTENNIAL RECORD. on the Road Southwardly, until it comes to the Line be- tween Capt. Sa^nncl Billings^ and his Son ; thence on the Line between them to the Northweft Corner of Capt. Sa7}27iel Billings' s Pafture ; thence the fame Courfe in the Line of Alajor Samuel Billings's Land, until it comes to Col. Royal's Farm, (excluding the Home Lot that was Capt. Elkanah Billings's., to remain to the Town of Stoughto)iha7n., and the Home Lot of Nathan Clark., jun. to be included within the New Incorporation ;) from thence on the Line of Col. Royal's Farm, until it comes to the Northeaft Corner ; thence on the Northwardly Line of faid Farm, until it comes to the Northweft Corner of it ; from thence a ftrait Line to Dedham Rock, fo called, or Walpole Corner, to the Line of the Land of Thomas Alanti ; thence with the Line of the Land of faid Thomas Mann., until it comes to a ftrait Line from the Crotchet Black Oak Stump, ftanding by the Road leading from Sto7ighton to lVrentha77iy which was Do7'cheJ~te7-''s Old Line, to Attlebo7'07igh Corner ; thence a ftrait Line to faid Attleborough Corner, where it meets with the County Line, (excluding and leaving Tho9f7as B7'astovj., with his Buildings and Home Place, and alfo fo much of Tho7)7as JSIa7Z7i's Land as now joins to his Home Place to remain and belong to the Town of W7'enthain., and where it shall fo happen that this incorporating Line divides the Land of any Perfon living near the fame (fo far as it concerns the Inhabitants of Wrenthatn and Foxborotigh^ faid Lands shall be held to be Taxed on that Side the Line that the Proprietor Dwells,) and from thence turning Eafterly and running on faid County Line, until it comes to the firft mentioned Bounds, be, and hereby is incorporated into a Town, by the Name of Boxbo7-oiigh., and invefted with all Powers, Privileges and Immunities that Towns in this State do or may enjoy. Certain per- And be it jf7i7'ther e7iacted., That Eleaze7' Robbi7is., sons s a X)a7iiel Mo7'fe., Elisha jMo7-fe. Widow j\Ia7-y Patte7i. remain to »' ' -^ ^ ^ ' the Town to David Patte7t, Widow JMa/y Boyden., Soloma7t Mo7-fe., which they ij^.i^j^ Athe7-ton, Sa77i7iel Mo7-fe, Jofiah Hodges, Ben- now belong. ^ ' ./ ^' o ja77ii7i Hodges., yoh7i Eve7-ett., Eliphalet Hodges., Jofiah Bla7zcha7-d., Ifaac P/'att., yofeph Pratt., foj'cph Gilbert., FOXBOROUGn CENTENNIAL RECORD. 45 with their Estates, shall remain to the Towns to which they now belong ; and all fuch Perfons as are included in the aforefaid incorporating Line, which were formerly an- nexed to the North Precindl in Norton., now Mansjield., to do Duty and receive Privilege, refpecSing Divine Wor- ship, shall ftill enjoy the fame, unlefs any of them shall choofe to belong to, and join with the Inhabitants of Fox- borough for that Purpofe which they shall have Liberty fo to do, provided they or any of them give in their Names to the Town Clerk of Foxborotigh., any Time within the Term of Eighteen Months from the pafsing this a6t, in fuch Cafe fuch Perfon or Perfons shall not be held to pay Taxes to the Town of Mansjield for the Support of a Minifter, but to the Town of Foxborough. And be it further enacted., That the Inhabitants of faid Town of Foxborough shall pay their Proportion of all State, County and Town Taxes already granted to be raifed in the feveral Towns refpectively to which they lately did belong, and be held to raife their Qiiota of Men for the Continental Service, and to pay their Proportion of the Charges of Reprefentatives for the Year paft in the feveral Towns aforefaid. Be it alfo enacted., That the Inhabitants living within the Bounds aforefaid, (who are not included in the above Exceptions) and who in the late Taxes in the feveral Towns aforefaid were rated one Half Part fo much for their Eftates and Faculties as for one single Poll, shall be taken and holden to be qualified, and be allowed to Vote in their Firft Meeting for the Choice of Officers, and fuch other Meetings as may be called in faid Town oi FoxborougJi., imtil a Valuation of Eftates shall be made by Afsefsors there. And be it further enacted.. That Benjamin Guild., Efq ; Benjamin be, and he is hereby authorized and required to ifsue his Guild, Esq; Warrant to one of the principal Inhabitants of faid Town, caiHn'^the authorizing and requiring him to Warn the Inhabitants fii'st '"*^^'- qualified as aforefaid, to meet together at fuch Time and Place as shall be exprefsed in faid Warrant, to choofe fuch Officers as Towns are authorized by Law to Choofe, and tranfad: other lawful Matters as shall be exprefsed in fajd Warrant. 46 FOXBOROUGH CEXTEXXIAL RECORD. The choirs and audience then joined in singing, to the tune of " Old Hundred," three verses of the FOXBOROUGH- CENTENNIAL HYMN. Bt Miss H. W. Patson. (Tune : Old Hundred.) Thine are the years, O God ! they stand Enriched with mercies from thy hand ! Thy works the centuries unroll ! Progress, majestic, marks the whole. By thee our fathers, hither led, Their tents in faith securely spread ; Abundance crown 'd their gen'rous toil, And strength rose strength 'ning from their soil. The hills rejoice, the valleys sing ; The bended trees ovations bring; Yet midst them all we turn to pray For more exalted good to-day : That mantled in thy truth we tread, - A righteous honor to our dead ; And bringing down on those to be A benediction, Lord, from thee ! So may we build for future time. That they may reach a height sublime, And ripen in a century's sun. Richer for what our hands have done. And while beneath thy shadowy hand This grandly solemn hour we stand, On our bowed heads a blessing pour That we shall feel forever more. Hon. E, P. Carpenter, Orator of the day, then delivered the follotvins: FOXBOROUGH CENTENNIAL RECORD. 47 HISTORICAL ADDRESS. Mr. President, y^ Governor of 3Iassachusetts, if Honorable State Officials, Ladies and Gentlemen, Friends and Fellow- Citizens : — The echo of the school boy's declamation of fifty years ago — " You'd scarce expect one of my age To speak in public on the stage," comes to me to-day with the same feeling of fear noAv as then, only intensified, that I may fail to perform the task assigned me. I am convinced from experience that the honors of Orator and Chairman of Executive Centennial Committees should not be bestowed upon the same indi- vidual, and would advise our friends of the next Centen- nial to improve upon our programme in this respect. The present hour will not permit me to read the Annals of Foxborough, which, nevertheless, we hope to preserve in permanent form, in connection with the record of this memorable day in her history. jNIy present aim is simply to tell the story of the origin and growth of the town, unaccompanied with minute details. Foxborough was incorporated June 10, 1778. The title reads, "In the year of our Lord 1778. An Act for incor- porating certain lands in the County of Suflblk, formerly belonging to the town of Dorchester, but now to the towns of Wrentham, AValpole, Stoughton, and Stoughtonham, with the inhabitants living thereon, into a town by the name of Foxborough." The act recites that the lands formerly belonged to Dor- chester, but such portion as was previously included within the limits of Walpole had never been a part of Dorchester. Walpole, incorporated December 10, 1724, had before been a part of Dedham, incorporated 1636, which had here- 4:8 FOXBOROVGH CENTENNIAL BECORD. tofore been called "Contentment." But by far the largest part of this territory was once Dorchester. The original Dorchester, incorporated 1630, — "Mattapan," — comprised only the little region between the Neponset river, the town of Boston, and the bay ; but in 1636 the General Court granted to the Dorchester Plantation the " Unquety Grant,'' containing some six thousand acres, from the south bank of the Neponset to the top of the Blue Hills, from which was carved Milton, incorporated in 1662 ; and in the following year the Court annexed to Dorchester the "New Grant," so called, being all the territory, not before granted, between Dedham and the line of the Plymouth colony, about which line there was a dispute long unsettled. The southern boundary line of Dorchester was first marked in 1664. It was run a^ain bv the aoents of Dor- Chester from " Angle Tree," upon the line of Attleborough, to "Accord Pond," on the borders of Hingham, Abington, and Scituate, " twenty-five and a half miles and twent}" rods." This old boundary line was confirmed to Dorchester l\y the General Court in 1720. Dorchester then extended from Dorchester Point (now South Boston) to within one hun- dred and sixty rods of the line of Ehode Island ; about thirty-five miles as "y® road goeth." The dismemberment began in 1724, when the south-west portion of the south precinct was set otf to Wrentham, formerly a part of Dedham, incorporated in 1673. The petitioners gave for cause, "that they lye thirty miles from the old meeting house, and fifteen from the southern meeting house of Puncapaug, so that they are under great disadvan- tages for attending the public worship there." The part thus set ofi* to AVrentham M^as larger, than one-half of the present town of Canton. Two } ears later the remainder of the "New Grant" was sctofi", and incorporated as Stoughton, so called for Gov. William Stoughton, of Dorchester. When the question was before the townof Dorchester, thirty- FOA'BOROUGH CENTENNIAL RECORD. 49 four voted in favor of the partition, twenty-nine against it. The first precinct or parish of Stoughton, being the northerly portion, was, in 1797, incorporated as Canton. Previously, however, i.e., in 1765, the northerly portion of the west part of Stoughton, or Massapoag, had been incor- porated as a district by the name of Stoughtonham ; and by the provisions of the general act of 1775 that district bet-ame a town to all intents and purposes. In 1783 it became Sharon, Stoughton remaining a town by itself. Thus, from Dorchester came Canton, Stoughton, and Sharon entire, Foxl)orougli substantially, and a large portion of Wrentham. When Foxborough, as such, was created, all this territory belonged to the County of Sufiblk ; but it was all set ofl' to the present County of Norfolk when incorporated, March 26, 1793. John Shepard was born February 25, 1705, and died April 3, 1809, aged 104 years, 1 month, and 6 days. He was born in what was then Dorchester, now Foxborough ; and a most respectable a^itiquarian has recently once more given currency to the story that he had been (through legis- lative changes) a resident of three different counties and five difterent towns, and yet lived in the same house all the time. As we have seen, Foxborough was carved in 17 78 from Wrentham, Walpole, Stoughtonham, and Stoughton ; princi- pally from the two latter towns. It is natural, therefore, to inquire what the conduct of these two towns had been during the revolutionary struggle. Stoughton had been a little backward in support of the Boston Committee of Correspondence in 1773 and the early part of 1774, but the County Congress was held at Doty's tavern in Stoughton, now Canton, August 16, 1774, and Joseph Warren Avas present, and there was no hesitation afterwards. The town was represented at the famous County Convention at the house of Daniel Vose, in Milton, Septem- 50 FOA'BOROUGH C EXT EX XI A L RECORD. ber 9, 1774, -when Warren saitl, " On the fortitude, on the Avisdom, and on the exertions of this ini[)ortant day is sus- pended the fate of this new worUl and of unhorn millions." Then the " Suflblk Resolves" were unanimously adopted. On the 19th of April, npon the "Lexington ahirm," nine companies, or four hundred and seventy men, marched from Stoughton and Stoughtonham. Among these it is easy to distfnguish the Foxborough names. July 10, 1775, Stoughton and Stoughtonham assembled together, and elected Thomas Crane as their representative to the General Court, to be holden at AVatertown, July 19, 1775. Our act of jncoi-poration establishes the territory we have been discriminating, " with the inhabitants living thereon," "into a town 1)V the name of Foxborough." It is said to be the only town of that designation in the world, so that there can be no mistake as to our identity. AVhence the name? The name itself proves the inhabitants loyal to liberty. Charles James Fox, born 1749, son of Lord Holland, in Parliament before he was twenty years of age, was already an eminent man when, in 1774, he opposed the Boston Port Hill and defended the conduct of the colonies. He said, in 1775, of Lord Xorth, the prime minister of George the Third, "The King of Prussia, nay, even Alexander the Great, never gained more in one campaign than Lord North has lost. He has lost a whole continent." One of Fox's biographers says : " During the whole American "war, Mr. Fox successively protested against every measure of hos- tility directed against the colonies." Of him the Foxborough soldiers, who marched in quickstep at the "Lexington Alarm." and to Bunker Hill and Dorchester Heights, had heard, and, whatever the faults of that famous British states- man, no friend of American independence need blush to bear his name. ^lay 22, 1776, the town of Stoughton passed this resolve : FOXBOROUGH CENTENNIAL RECORD. 51 "That if the honorable Continental Congress should, for the safety of this colony, declare us independent of the King- dom of Great Britain, we, the inhabitants, will solemnly engage, with our lives and fortunes, to support them in the measure." But it is not necessary, at this time, to indicate the revo- lutionary patriotism of the people of Foxborough. The memorial address delivered here May 30, 1877, was partic- ularly intended to illustrate the military portion of our his- tory, and should be .printed with the record of this day. The separate town action, after incorporation, will appear from the records. It ma}' not be out of place, however, to add here the tradition that Seth Bojden (then eighteen years of age), Ebenezer Forest, Samuel Forest, and Oliver Pettee (father of Martin Pettee), of Foxborough, were, in the last year of the Revolutionary war, taken by a British fleet while cruising on an American privateer, and were thrown into the prison-ship at New York, whence they were released at the close of the war. Of Abijah Pratt, who was afterwards a lieutenant in his company, his descendants re- late that, enlisting as an undersized lad of sixteen, he stood on tiptoe behind the other recruits in an agony lest he should fail to pass the military inspection. But who were the inhalntants incorporated? How many were there of them? Whence did thev come, and how lono- had the}' been here? These questions are not easily an- swered, because the town records contain no list. A dis- tinguished antiquarian has furnished a list of those males of sixteen years and upwards, supposed to have resided on the Foxborough territory January 1, 1777, collated by him from an original schedule, prepared at that time by Mr. Hill, one of the Selectmen of Stouofhtonham. It is su»>-- gested that there may not have been so many residents ; but it is thought useful to preserve the list, in all, one hundred and six in number : — 52 FOXIi on (> I'd U CENT EN MA A li ECORD. "January 17, 1777 Nchcmiah Curpciilcr, in fiimily Jacob Cook, Josiali Robbins, " Jacob liciiard, J()8('[)b Wood, John Coraey, John Sumner, Job Willi.s, Zclmlon Dean, WmIow Elizabeth Payn, Wm. Payson, y" lirst, " Spencer Ilod.n'i's, Thomas Kiehardson, " John Richardson, l):miel Robeson, Selh Rol>eson, Joseph Payn, Wilhani Payn, 2d, ,Jacol) Payn, John Payn, III " LtMii. Payn, KU'a/.er Peh-her, elosiaii Planchard, David While, Samuel liaU^mi, Joseph Tilhey, David Forrest, Wni. Chirk, FJiJMh Mors, Joseph Rhodes, Nathaniel Clark, " Major Samuel Uillinjis, Josiah Farringlt)n, FOXBOROUGII CENTENNIAL RECORD. 53 Ebenezer Billings, in family 3 Levi Morse, ' 1 Ebenezer Hill, ' 3 Elijah Billings, 2 David AVood, ' 3 Tim Clap, 1 Ezekiel Pierce, ' 1 Jethro Wood, ' 1 Capt. Xat. Morse, * 2 John Smith, ' 1 Lem. Lyon, ' 2 Lieut. Ezra Morse, ' 2 Wm. Billings, ' 1 AA'm ' 3 Z Uriah Atherton, ' 1 Wm. Clapp, 1 Wm. Comey, ' . 2 Capt. Israil Smith, ' 1 Beriah Billings, ' . 1 Jeremiah Rhodes, ' . 1 Jonathan Billings, 2d, ' 1 Jonathan Billings. ' . 3 John Basset, ' 1 Wm. Wright, 1 Samuel Bradshaw, ' 2 David Wilkeson, * . 1 Thomas Poir^e, ' . 1 Joseph Rhodes, ' 1 Stephen Cobb, ♦ . 3 Ephraira Shepard, ' 1 Nathan Clark, 2 lOt) Man}' of the residents upon the present territory of Fox- 54 FOXBOROUGH CESTEXyiAL RECORD. borough, previous to 1778, are knoAYu, and their places of residence cau be identified. In 1713 the proprietors of the outlying lands in Dorchester were incorporated into a distinct body from the town, and were henceforth called, " The Proprietors of the Undivided Lands " This body held its meetings until after 1770, and from it the title to much of the lauds in Foxborough was derived. Previous to either of these dates, however, i.e., about 1G69 and 1(570, there was laid out to AVilliam Hudson two tracts of laud adjoining each other, containing live hundred acres, an- nexed from Dorchester to Wrentham in 1824, but now in Foxborough, and known as " Shepard's Farm." "William Hudson conveyed the tract to "Thomas Platts, of Boston, butcher," Oct. 21, 1(576, in consideration of £275, "the same situate, lying, and being in the wilderness, between Dedham and Seaconet, commonly called or known by the name of 'Wading River Farm.'" Under the will of Thomas Platts, probated Aug. 8, 1692, the farm passed to his son Thomas Platts, of Boston, victualler, wlio l)y deed dated July 1 1, 1704, conveyed it to "Jacob Shepard, late of ^Mystic (now Medford), but now of Wading River, planter." Thus Jacob Shepard was certainly here in the wilderness in 1704, and, so far as any known record, nuist have been the lirst set- tler of Foxborough ; and if I were one of the audience, a citizen of Foxborough, and not orator, I should propose and give three cheers to the memory of Jacob Shkpard, the FIRST Settlek of Foxbouougii ; for if he had half the trouble in discovering his place of settlement that I have had in establishing the fact that he was the pioneer settler, he nuist have been endowed with a large share of perseverance and })atience. In 1718 his widow administered upon his estate, inven- toried at £1,339 19.S-. (5r/., and in 1727 partition of the lands was mad*' between the w idow, Mi-rcv, John, Tluunas, Joseph. FOXBOROUGH CEXTEXXIAL RECORD. 55 and Benjamin. His son John is the patriarch John, before spoken of as born here in 1705. and possibly, nay probably, "vviis the iirst white-l)orn child of Foxborough. The cellar is still to be seen over which that honse stood. Afterwards, Timothy ^lorse, of Walpole, bought of Ed- ward and Samuel Capen three hundred acres of land, late in Dorchester, luit then in Stonghton. — the south-easterly end of the forty-seventh lot in the twenty-tifth division. This must have been subsequent to 172<). Timothy sold to his son Timothy, in 1749, who became a settler. A portion of this land is now owned by Jarius ^lorse. The name of Timothy ^lorse. Jr., appears in the tax list of 1742 ; that of Eleazer Bobbins, from Walpole. appears in the same list. Bobbins owned about one thousand acres of Avhat is now called East Foxborough. He had three daughters. One of them married one Dr. Winslow, from Freetown ; another mar- ried Abijah Pratt, of Foxborough (to whom we have alluded) : and the third married Kingsbury, the great-grandfather of our present worthy citizen, Joseph A. Kingsbury. Bobbins' house stood nearly opposite of the present Kingsbury home- stead. Of Dr. Shadrach Winslow, one of our former worthy townsmen, now nearly eighty-six years of age, writes, '' He was a man of marked mind, and was probably the most scientilic individual who ever resided in the town of Foxborough. After graduating at Yale Colleae, and re- ceiving the best medical education the country could afford, about 1778 he embarked as surgeon on board a privateer, made several trips successfully : but was at length taken prisoner and carried to England and confined in Dartmoor prison for several months, where, by exposure, he sustained injuries which greatly impaired his health, and from which he never recovered. His profound knowledge of his pro- fession led him to despise quackery in all its forms, and to which he never descended. He became a citizen of Fox- borough about the vear 1781. Xotwithstandinir his talents 56 FOXBOROUGH CENTENNIAL RECORD. and high attainments he declined all participation in govern- mental affairs, not accepting even a town office. He loved retirement. Books were his companions and friends. He was social and courteous to all his friends. He was a Gentle- man in the full sense of the word." The Morses and Boydens came from JSIedfield ; the Capens from Dorchester, now Stoughton ; the Belchers from Stough- tonham, now Sharon ; the Everetts from Dedham ; the Carpenters from Rehoboth. Seth Boy den's name appears in the tax list of 1742. He was the ancestor of all the Foxborough Boydens. The record shows that he bought a tract of some two hundred and forty acres (now what is known as the Amos and Seth Boyden es- tate), about 1738. Ebenezer Warren, the brother of Gen. Joseph Warren, removed here about 1779, from Roxbury, where he was born in 1749. A son of Gen. Warren, visiting his uncle, died, and Avas buried in the old burj'ing-ground ; but his remains were removed, some years since, in a most un- ceremonious, not to say uncivilized, manner, in a raisin-box for a casket. Ebenezer Warren was a staunch patriot and true man, and always a leading citizen, but of obstinate and unyielding temper. He was its delegate to the State conven- tion which adopted the Federal Constitution, the magistrate of the infjint town, and was for man}' years a judge of the County Courts. The old mansion house is now owned and occupied by one of his grandsons here present. The Clarks, Everetts, Bakers, Carpenters, Pratts, Pettees, and Belchers, settled here after 1750. In 1776 the annual town meeting of Stoughtonham was held March 11. Of those then elected to the town offices, the folloAving became, two years after, citizens of Foxborough, viz. : Ebenezer Hill, Selectman ; Nathaniel Clark, of the Committee of Correspondence, Inspection and Safety ; Ne- hemiah Carpenter, Constable, as he was for many years in this town ; Jonathan Billings, 2d, Surveyor of Ways. Seth FOXBOROVGH CEXTEXXIAL RECORD. 57 Boyden was Collector for the second ministerial precinct in Stoughton in 1750, as appears from the rate-book, now in the hands of his descendants. That precinct included the present Stoughton, Sharon, and a large part of Foxborough. They also have " the records of the proprietors of a lot of land, being y® forty-tifth lot in y^ twent^'-five divisions of land (so called), lying, and being in y*' Township of Dorchester, and now in y° Township of Stoughton, in y^ County of Suf- folk ; and is held in common by the said proprietors, — Be- gun the tenth day of April, 1739." This record was kept by Seth Boyden, as the "Proprietors' Clerk." This lot was parth' in the present Sharon, and partly in Foxborough, and contained the iron-ore bed, worked so long. The sixth article in the warrant, issued March 4, 1738, by Jonathan Ware, Esq., of AVrentham, is, "to determine in what man- ner y° Iron oar and stream in s"^ land shall be divided or disposed of." Capt. Preserved Capen was moderator of the first two meetings, held respectively at the house of Mrs. Mary Billings, widow of Beriah Billings, innholder, and Capt. Samuel Billings. Both Beriah and Capt. Billings lived in what now is Foxborough. It was voted that the iron "oar," then or thereafter found, should be reserved to the use of all the proprietors, according to their interest ; each of whom might between the last Tuesday in August and October " dige oar annually, and at no other time of the year." " The Brook or Stream " was also reserved for the use of the proprietors "to build a mill and dam on, provided they do not raise such a head of water as to float the adjacent lands or meadows, at any other time of the year than be- tween y« first day of October and the 20th day of April, an- nually." And in the same custody we find a bond of Nathan Clark, Jr., "Bloomer" (or maker of ironblooms), and Na- thaniel Clark, " Cordwinder " (cordwainer or shoemaker), for £100, dated Dec. 20, 1760, and conditioned upon draining off 58 FOXBOROUGH CENTENNIAL RECORD. "their forge pond, by Jioy sting the gates hy the first day of May, so long as it is improved for a forge pond." Nathan Clark and Nathaniel Clark (the Stoughtonham Connnittee man of 1776) lived on what after became Foxborough terri- tory, and the sureties named in the bond were Elkanah Bill- ings (one of the proprietors), Josiah Morse, and El>enezer Hill, Foxborough men. The said forty-tifth lot of land con- tained 437 acres, of which 232^ acres were set off to Seth Boyden, with an additional allowance for " bad land," in the whole probably nearly 270 acres. By this record of the last meeting of the proprietors, held Sept. 12, 1757, it appeared that Daniel Bacon had " duge and carried oil", without leave, seventeen tuns seventeen hundred and fifty pounds of iron oar, and Michael Woodcock nine tuns and fourteen hundred of iron oar, without proper leave." By Boyden's account he received 75 tons of ore as his proportion in the years 1740 to 1755, inclusive. It was at this forge and from this iron ore that the first cannon were cast for the war of " '76," by one Uriah Ather- ton ; and the " grog ciqjs " used on the occasion are now in the hands of one of his descendants. This honor is claimed by Bridgewater ; but there is a well-authenticated tradition that the " Bridgewater folks " came here to learn the trade, and proved themselves ready apprentices. A cannon ball cast by Atherton at this forge is deposited in Memorial Hall. Boyden was a man of intelligence, and held a full share of ofiices in Stoughton before the incorporation of Foxborough, as the ancient papers we have to-day would show. Among them is a warrant addressed by the Selectmen of Stoughton, April 25, 1768, to Seth Boyden, directing him "to take care of and award the wages, ' viz. : "All y*' roads lying in that part of Stoughton called Kobinses Corner" (i.e., Robbins), as the part of Foxborough where Boyden lived appears to have been then called. He was to give the highway tax- payer the profi'er of doing their proportions, etc., etc., in FOXBOROUGH CENTENNIAL RECORD. 59 labor at "£0 2s. 4(Z. a clay for a man, and £0 4s. 8cZ. a day for a man and yoke of oxen and cart." Amos Boy den was early a surveyor in Foxborough, as ap- pears from a warrant addressed to him in the second year of incorporation (^.e., 1779), directing him " to take and award all y'^ highways or roads in your squardren," etc., etc. Also, " all y® other roads belonging to y*^ town of Foxborough in that part that of late belonged to Stoughton." The expense of the school in " Eobinses Corner " is shown by the following receipts. It was, perhaps, as burdensome to our fathers proportionally as to us ; but we find no record of complaint for what are called "public burdens." The Town of Stoughton to Seth Boy den, Dr., March, 1772. By Cash paid to Jeremiali Fisher for keeping School in Robinses Corner six weeks the sum of thirty-six shil- lings £ s d 1 16 To boarding sd School Master two weeks in February and March, 1772, at five shillings and four pence per week ten shillings and eight jjence, 10 8 2 6 8 Stoughton, July je 10, 1772. Per me, SETH BOYDEN. The schoolmaster's wages were six shillings a week. Sept first 1773 Received of Seth Boyden fifteen Shillings for Keeping School in Stoughton five weeks in July and August in the year 1773 Rec^ by me LYDIA MORSE. Lydia received three shillings a week. Judging by the name, she was of the neighborhood talent, and boarded "to hum." But the paper, of which I now read a copy, suggests a query as to the delinquency of the usually correct Seth Boy- den, as well as the other signers : — 60 FOXBOROUGH CENTENNIAL RECORD. Stoughton Jan 6 1757 We the subscribers promise and oblige om*selves to Eleazer Robins to bear our Equal part and Proj^ortion Either in Money or Labour to- wards fencing in of our Burying Place sometime between this and the sixth day of June next. As witness our hands Seth Boyden, Timotity Morse, his Daniel Morse, Josiah X Hodges, mark John Forrest, Jr., John Sumner, John Comee, John Pattin, Elisha Patridge, Soloman Morse. This paper is in the handwriting of Seth Boyden, and either he or some other interested party has written at the foot of it, wdiat is true, " This paper is of no account ; " for after one hundred and twenty-one years, nothing has yet been done in pursuance of this pu])Hc-spirited agreement as to this burying-place ; and in the name of tlie people of Foxborough I call upon the well-to-do descendants of the signers to redeem the good faith of their ancestors by some useful memorial. According to the list, wdiich has before been given at length, there were, at the time of incorporation, sixty-four families, containing 106 male inhabitants, sixteen years of age and upwards, in that portion of Stoughtonham which became Foxborough. This makes no account of the inhabi- tants living upon the lands of Wrentham, Walpole, and Stoughton, incorporated with those of Stoughtonham. The names of quite a number have been named of those who, before incorporation, dwelt upon the lands of Stoughton and Wrentham. In 1765, Stoughton, including the present Stoughton, Sharon, Canton, and all of Fpxborough [except such por- tions as once belonged to Wrentham and Walpole], con- tained a pojiulation of 2,295, and 567 male inhabitants, sixteen years and upwards, or almost exactly one in four of FOXBOROUGH CENTENNIAL RECORD. 61 the whole. In 1777, Stoughton contained 532 males, six- teen years and upwards ; Stoughtonham, 300. In 1778, Stoughton had 504 polls in valuation ; Stoughtonham, 209, and Foxborough (now appearing in census for the first time) had 113. Stoughton and Stoughtonham had each lost to Foxborough, and all three had doubtless lost by the ravages of the war. According to the proportion of Stoughton and Stoughton- ham, the population of Foxborough, at its incorporation, must have been about 450. In 1781, it had 133 polls, and had perhaps nearly 550 inhabitants. In 17i)0, the census gave the town a population of 640 ; in 1800, 779 ; in 1810, 870; in 1820, 1,004; in 1830, 1,168; in 1840, 1,494; in 1850, 1,880; in 1860, 2,879; in 1875, 3,168. At a town meeting held November 11, 1832, a committee, appointed to consider the expediency of building a town-house, re- ported that " the whole number of voters are supposed not to fall much short of 200, and we may confidently anticipate that at no distant • period that number will actually attend town meetings." The expectations of the committee were more than realized November 9, 1840, when, under the stimulus of the "Log Cabin Campaign," the town polled 252 votes ; but that number was not again reached for years. In 1875 the population of Foxborough was 3,168, and its polls numbered 695. It has, therefore, increased about seven- fold since its incorporation, in these respects. The soil of the lands set otf as Foxborough, better known as " Foxbery " at that time, was not rich or productive ; and the people Avho dwelt upon them were poor also, and rather looked doAvn upon by their wealthier neighbors of Walpole, W'rentham, Sharon, and Mansfield. In 1781 the State tax of the town was less than that of any town in Suffolk County save Hull. In 1796 its State tax was the smallest paid by any of the towns in Norfolk County ; in 1810 the smallest except that of Dover ; in 1820 the smallest except that of Dover and 62 FOXBOROUGH CENTENNIAL RECORD. Stoughtou [the mother town] : and in 1830 the smallest, still excepting Dover. In 187 G there were twenty-four towns in Norfolk County ; of these, fourteen towns had a greater valuation than Fox- borough, nine had a less valuation. In amount of taxable property it surpassed its neighbors of Sharon, Walpole, Mansfield, and AVrentham. In population it is the twelfth town of Norfolk County. Of the first settlers of Foxborough as a town, John Everett was a blacksmith, Aaron Everett a carpenter, Joseph Everett, a tanner and currier and a glove- maker. One citizen made hats and another stamped calico. Swift Payson was the first town clerk, 1778 and 1779. He was son of the Kev. Phillips Payson, pastor of Walpole, one of the eleven candidates voted for, in 1729, for minister of the Church in Dorchester. The good parson established his son as a farmer in Foxborough. This Swift Payson was a humorous, whimsical, but kindly character. Passionately fond of music, his first accumulations, as a boy, were devoted to the purchase of a violin. Horrified at the sound of the instrument, accidentally heard after a long concealment, the father cried, ''Where did you get that fiiddle?" — "I bought it, sir," was the apparently innocent reply. " Then sell it at the first opportunity ; let me never hear it again." Shortly the Ministerial Association met with Mr. Payson, to whom, sitting in the parlor, demurely entered the lad with his violin. " Gentlemen, would either of you like a first-rate fiddle ? My father says I may sell it, and I thought it only right to give you the first chance." It is to be hoped the boy's wit saved his fiddle. It may have done good service in Foxljorongh, for tradition says our people, in the midst of hardship and privation, Avere yet gay and pleasure-loving, and "often danced on sanded floors to the scraping of the cat-gut ; " and the discovery of red ears at huskings was the same then as now, and I think I hear some of these gray heads say, "Oh, that history would repeat itself!" Joseph FOXBOROUGII CENTENNIAL RECORD. 63 Hewes lived in tlie house afterwards occupied by Col. Heniy Hobart, well remembered as one of the strongest and most reliable citizens of Foxboroiigh. Joseph Hewes practised medicine, and removed to Providence, K.I., where he accumulated considerable property. John Everett, the blacksmith, lived in a large house, sheltered by two fine old trees, an elm and a white wood tree. Upon a limb of the last he hung a tavern sign which welcomed the wayfarer. The place is now owned by Mr. Luther Grover. Joseph Comey was the village shoemaker ; Simon Pettee was a gunsmith; Stephen Pettee, a farmer; William Pettee, a laborer and a famous singer ; Benjamin Pettee lived in what is known as Daniel Carpenter's " old house ; " Forrest, Guild, and Jedecliah Morse lived in what is now called " New State." David Stratton, the Shepards, Sherman, and ClatHin (another shoemaker), lived in the southern part of the town. On the great road from Worcester to Taunton lived Grover, Shaw, the Paines, Seth Robinson, Ebenezer Warren, Spencer Hodges. On the road leading to Mansfield (through East Foxboro', or "Robbinses Corner," before the roads through Witch Woods or over Robinson Hill was laid out) lived Robins, Kingsbury, Pratt, Bird, Comey, Sumner, and Leonard families. Near Sharon lived the Boyden, Clap, and Clark families. Near the north-east corner of the town lived Elcazer Belcher, who cultivated a farm, made potash, and kept a little store. Before Belcher, however, Joseph Rhoades, living a' mile from any other person, kept a store in his corn barn. The Morses lived near Swift Payson, on the road to Walpole, or what is and was one hundred and twenty-five or one hundred and fifty years ago called '' Crack Rock." Another branch of the family lived at Robinses corner. At the Centre were Leonard, Cook, Jeremy Hartshorn, Sanniel Baker, and Nehemiali Carpenter. 64 FOXBOROUGII CENTENNIAL RECORD. It is said that the okl Deacon Baker House, alias Bird House, has sheltered six generations, and always k)3'al except in one instance. The old Ironside Patriots, Baker and Bel- cher, who lived there at the time of the tea tax, declared " Tea shall not be drank in this house ;" but Mrs. Belcher's taste for the cup was stronger than her patriotism, and, detailing her daughter as guard at the door, she would indulge in a " sij) " of tea in the absence of her liege lord. The disloyal cup still exists, but in the hands of loyal subjects. Moseley was a deserter from an English man-of-war, who hid himself in Foxborough, where, long after, his Avife joined him. He bought a piece of land of Samuel Mann, in the dense woods, for which he paid four dollars. On it he built a log cabin with one room and loft reached l)y a ladder. Afterwards a rude shelter was put up for cow and pig. Near by was a never-failing spring. A flat rock was the door-sill, upon which played successively eleven daughters, some of whom became mothers of highly respectable families. Roses long grew spontaneously where the rude home of the sailor fus^itive had been. Francis (or Francois) Daniels was a Frenchman, from Normandy ; a Protestant, deeply religious. He came to Boston as a " stow-away," and was advertised and sold for one hundred dollars to pay his passage. He was purchased by John Hewes and brought to this town, and not only re- deemed himself from servitude, but poverty, l>y his industry and perseverance, breaking up quite a large farm with the rudest implements ; the farm is now owned by one of his descendants, and his blood flows in the veins of many of us. You can see here to-day his sabots, or wooden shoes, that he wore when he came to this town. The first school-house in the town was not more than tourteen feet square. There were on one side three seats, running the whole length of the building, except a space at each end to enter. There was an entry just large enough FOXBOROUGH CENTENNIAL RECORD. (j^ for the door to open and shut without injury to the children. The room was lighted by three windows, one on each of three sides, each containing twelve panes of small glass, (j X 8 inches. There never was such an. article as a desk for the teacher. Private kindness furnished a small table, with a single drawer, and a comfortless chair. A male teacher kept the Avinter school, and was expected to teach reading, writing, and arithmetic, with something of English grammar ; but the female teacher of the summer school was allowed to dispense with the latter of the ''three R's." But she must understand how to knit and sew, for the accomplishments of young ladies in that age were the markino- of linen, making thread lace, and embroidering muslin. All the people west of Foxborough Centre sent their chil dren to this school-house, which was always full. The children wore coarse homespun cloth, stout leather shoes, and yarn stockings, and the girls had striped shawls pinned beneath the chin. For, as has been said before, the Foxborough people at that early day were very poor, and money was ex- ceedingly scarce. The women spun w^ool and flax, and wove cloth. When the good dame had a few yards of linen, or some spare sheets, she took them to the calico artisan, who stamped them with bright colors for dresses. Carriages were very rare in the country towns. In 1753 a tax was imposed upon them, for the purpose of encouraging the linen manufacture. In 1757 there were six carriao-es iu Stoughton ; but it may be doubted whether either of these was owned in that part of Stoughton which was incorporated in Foxborough. Two women often rode on the back of one horse, wdiich they caught, saddled, bridled, and mounted at the horse-block, without masculine assistance. The simplicity and rude fashion of living one hundred years ago gave to our fathers "An undergoing spirit to bear up Against whatever ensued." 66 FOXBOROUGH CENTENNIAL RECORD. The act of incorporation has been read, and it has doubt- less been noticed that the motive recited by the Legishiture for passing it is substantially as that passed fifty-two years before by the ancestors of some of them, for Ijeing set off from Dorchester to Wrentham : — "Whereas, a number of inhabitants belonging to the towns of Wrentham, Walpole, Stoughton, and Stoughtonham, have represented to this Court the inconveniences they labor under on account of their distances from their places of publick worship in the towns to which they now belong, and have earnestly and repeatedly requested that they may be incorporated into a town, be it therefore," etc., etc. The controlling suggestion then was the inconvenience of the petitioners in attending "publick worship." Probably some of them lived at least ten or twelve miles from the meeting-house, the stated services of which the law com- pelled them to support, and which alone they had a right to attend, save l)y a courtesy, then rarely expected or extended ; for it must not be forgotten that until lb33 all tax-payers were compelled by law to support public worship in the towns Avhere they resided. In that town and no other did they pay, or could they pay, for preaching. There and nowhere else had they a right of property therein, or felt themselves at home. There was no skrinkage of creed to till the pews. To transport the large family of those days over such roads as then were, twenty or twenty-five miles, to meeting and home again, was, indeed, a Sabbath day's journey. It was an intolerable grievance. It was so great a grievance in the Foxborough case that the earnest and re- peated request must have been effectual long before probably, but for a reason about to be given. It appears that as early as 1757 the royal policy was adopted of opposing the incor- poration of new towns, because thus the size of the House of Ilepresentatives was increased, — a body that was generally hostile to the king's prerogative ; and so, when absolute FOXBOROUGH CENTENNIAL RECORD. G7 necessity seemed to require n new organization, it was con- ferred in the shape of a "district" instead of a township, Avithout the right of representation, as in the case of Stoughtonham, in 1765, and Mansfield, in 1770. Hence, if Massacliusetts had remained a province, the Governor would have been reluctant to organize Foxborough as a district, and pretty certainly would not have assented to its incorporation as a town. Its people were uninfluential, poor, and patriotic. They were such " As dare to love their country and be poor." After the expulsion of the Royal Governor there was, of course, no longer any objection of a similar character to the incorporation of towns. But the years 1775-G and 7 were busy and crowded years, full of labors and terrors, for both people and legislature, and in this way it probably happened that Foxborough was not made a town till 1778. It was not customary, certainly, to incorporate a town or district until it was clearly in a situation to provide "publick worship " for itself. In almost every such case its capacity to that end had been previously tested as a precinct or pai-ish. Foxborough had not been a precinct, but it had a meeting-house, or an apology for one, supposed to have been erected as early as 1763 ; perhaps about the commencement of the effort for separate organization. Nchemiah Carpenter and Jei-emy Hartshorn gave the land for a common, on which to build the church, and fbr a bury- ing-ground. It was centrally located, but was covered with rocks, shrub- oaks and bushes, with a few sterling oaks, that should have been spared. The building was spacious enough, but the people were too poor to finish it. At the first town meeting 68 FOXBOROUGH CENTENNIAL RECORD. it was voted " to choose a committee of three persons to provide for the laying the floor and making the doors of the meeting-house, and to provide for the glazing so many of the windows as the committee shall see fit." It had been used for religious services without doors or windows, as a mere shelter from the storm. It was better than worshipping on the naked hills or under the shrub-oaks. It was many years before the ceiling or walls were jjlastered, or the most ambitious thought of painting it. It grcAv dark with exposure, and seen on the plain by the traveller, from north or south, it looked like a black cloud. " What house is that ? " asked a stranger. " It is the Lord's house," answered the citizen. "Ah, I thought it was the Lord's barn," retorted the irreverent stranger. All the town meetings were held in the meeting-house, as was customary ; indeed, everywhere the town was the parish, and immediately took upon itself (as indeed the law obliged it) the care and expense of providing for "publick worship." The meeting-house was, for many years, the only public building in the town, and scarcely any town meeting occurred in which there was not something done about it. " Pew spots," i.e., flooring upon which to erect pews, were many times sold to obtain money for necessary repairs or improve- ments, as (March 2, 1791)) "will purchase stuff" enough to finish of y'' meeting-house," No committee on public buildings ever had more thought or care. Plans of improve- ments were submitted ; pews were constructed in the gal- leries ; a porch was built on one side, and long after on the other side. "The town voted to sell the two hinder seats on the floor at publick vendue." The town chose a committee to seat the singers in the meeting-house. In 1788 it was voted that " Serviors clear the bushes from around the meet- ing-house, and allow the men the same price for their labor as they worked on the highway." Aaron Everett got six- pence half-penny per square, in 1790, for mending the FOXBOROUGIT CENTENNIAL RECORD. 69 windows. In the same year leave was granted to build horse- sheds ; and, long after, to erect a horse block " the fore side of the meeting-house, they defending the same ; " and so on, again and again. Clearly the town thought it owned the meeting-house ; and perhaps, legally, it did, as well as the land under it. But the town had not originally built the building, as it was erected before any town was incorporated. In 1821, Rev. Thomas Williams, being about to leave the society, offered it $500 (the amount of his original settle- ment) if it would erect a new meeting-house. The offer was at once accepted hj a bare majority. The work of tearing down the old building began the next morning by volunteers, amid wild excitement, and denunciation by some. Dec. 22, 1821, the Selectmen, by their warrant, warned the town to assemble at their meeting-house on jNIonday, the 4th day of January, 1822, "to see," among other things, "if the town will repair their meeting-house, or do or act anything relative to the premises." The record of this town meeting mournfully conniiences : "Pursuant to the foregoing warrant the town assembled on the spot where the meeting- house stood. Voted, to direct their treasurer not to pros- ecute any person or persons on account of the parish taking down their meeting-house." The town's " meeting-house " had disappeared, and they certainly never had any other. They were not permitted to use the new brick meeting-house, built in 1822, and taken down in 1855 or 1856, and for many years a place was hired for the transaction of the town's business. A hundred years ago the minister was the most important and influential person in a New England town. Foxborongh was not fortunate. A strong pastor would have given stability to the people and been a natural leader, in temporal as well as spiritual things. Rev. Mr. Biitt supplied the pulpit, perhaps before as well as after the incorporation, and 70 FOXBOROUGH CENTENNIAL RECORD. for many years the town chose a committee to procure preachers. Several clergymen declined overtures for settle- ment, apparently on account of a want of harmony in the proceedings. Rev. Mr. Kendall was ordained in 1786, with great unanimity, and dismissed with greater unanimity in 1800. Then the Rev. Daniel Loring was called by the cast- ing vote of old John Shepard, when near one hundred years of age, and in two years dismissed, serious disaffection having meanwhile occurred. The only useful and successful man among the early ministers was Rev. Thomas Williams, before alluded to, who came from Providence to Foxborough. Church psalmody made the usual dissension in Foxborough, and the peace-loving Mr. Williams found it necessary to employ the diplomacy of a Talleyrand in introducing music to the choir. The first bass-viol was manufactured by Marcus Everett, as to the wood-work, and finished by George Holbrook, a bell- maker by trade, and a famous music teacher. It cost four dol- lars, and was an excellent instrument. When it was brought into the choir the old Frenchman, Francis Daniels, was horrified. In vain did some learned in Scriptures reason. There might be biblical authority for the harp, and even the viol, but certainly none for the bass-viol ; and the onl}' com- promise attainable was that he should quit the church when the profane performance began and return when it was over. The first intruding denomination was the Baptist, next the Universalist, and lastly the Catholic. The first Baptist meeting-house was located near the entrance of the road to "Witch Woods," and the house no^v occupied by Ashaol Dean was the parsonage. It was re- moved early in May, 1843, to the site of the present town hall or house, and enlarged and otherwise improved. When their present church was built it was sold at auction, and was converted into a box manufactory, Avhich was destroyed some two years since by fire. FOXBOROUGII CENTENNIAL RECORD. 71 The Catholics are now building their third house of wor- ship, the others having been destroyed by fire. In the early part of the century the Foxborough Female Benevolent Society, afterwards the Ladies' Charitable Society, was established, and became the source of much good. Dues were paid either in money or straw braid. Want of time forbids us to dwell, as had been intended, upon the original bounds of Foxborough, as fixed in the incor- porating act ; or to speak of the disputes which afterwards arose about them and their settlement, or of the changes which have been made by legislative enactment. • The same reason prevents our dwelling upon the school districts and school-houses, with the gradual improvement in education. After some years George Stratton became owner of the iron foundry. He also kept a store at Foxborough Centre, and his son kept the tavern, once conducted by Benjamin Comey. From Stratton the foundry passed into the hands of General Leach, of Easton, and at his death to those of Martin Torrey and Otis Cary. In the first years of its organization, being the last of the war, the town sufiered severely from the State and conti- nental charges and burdens. Papers in the Massachusetts archives show that the town was more than once relieved from excessive and disproportionate rates and quotas. Like other towns, it in vain attempted to regulate the "price of things," constantly rising with the depreciation of the cur- rency. To show how great that depreciation was, we need only give one or two illustrations. In 1780, the town voted £4,068, or more than $20,000, for mending the highways and bridges, paying some $60 per day for labor. In 1776 it voted $1,100 for highways and bridges. In 1780 the State tax of Foxborough was £16,411, or more than $80,000. Sept. 4, 1780, the town voted to raise £21,000, or more than $100,000; but afterwards reduced the amount to 72 FOXBOROnill CENTENNIAL HKCOIW. Xlt;.()(»0. Oct. 1>. \\>(c(l (*) K'vv i'l. ■),()!)() to procure lu-cf on « rciinisitioii tor the armv, ainl to ilotVay other town charu'es. \\\\{ tlic following year tlu're was an atti^mpt to resume specie payments, t'or it was voted to raist^ "100 Spanish miHe (h>preciation was s\\v\\ that a hundriHl pa[)er (U)llars wert> worth ahout oni' th)nar in specie. For three ditleri-nt years the town trt'asurcr of Hon-hes- ter paid out ihoiisaiuls nu>re than \w i-ecei\i>d, — so vapid was th(Mh>w niall of curriMu-y. May IS, 1 7Sl, the town ti'i>asurer owed Foxhorongh l'l.'),l)7lt. In 17S2 the rate oi Fleazer Fish(>r was remitttul ; rate IT 1*4 10s., silv(>r rate £0 lis. -Id. It w ill not l»e alteiupti'd at this linu' t(» produce much from tht^ town vt'cords. A futile a(tcm|tl was niaile as early as 1782 to support preaching by vi)lnntary contributions : " Voted, To havt^ contributions every Sunday after divine ser- vici> is o\er, to [tay miuisti>rs." The plan has otten failed sincc\ There was t'ri>i|uent legislation against crows and black- birds. Thert> was a t*>w!A defaulti'r as early as 1785, and to settle the ilefalcatiou tlu> town took a farm ami tradeil the same for i)reai'hing. In ITi'l the Selectnu'ii were voted a I'onnnittet^ to open a subscription t'or the relit>f of sutt'erers by tiri> in tlu^ t*>wii ^^( l»oston. As will be obsm'ved. Fox- borough early adopted many })opular measures. In 171KS the town voted 'To allow ttl> eents for eight hours' \vork, and $1.33 t'or eight hours' Avork of a man and a team sutHeient to earry a ti)n weight." This was an eight-hour law . April (!, 1801, " I o/*^(/. To admit tlu' use of iustruuieuts o( nnisic in public worship." In 1803 it was " Voted, Mot to let the swine nm at large," but the pigs had intluenee enough to proi-ure a reeonsideraliou of this Ac>te, and ran at large sometime longtu". In 1801, '■ Voted, That the Selectmen vendue Lenuiel FOXBOBOUGH CENTENNIAL RECORD. 73 White and wife, two of the town's poor, or snpport them the best way they can devise." May 5, 1804, " Voted, to purchase a hearse." The town had already l)ouo;ht "a i>-rave cloth," and it was soon voted to build a "lierse house," to be under the care of the Select- men, and March 2, 1812, voted to paint the "horse house." Jan. 9, 1826, " Voted, That the Selectmen be instructed to remove Daniel Dassance, as soon as convenient, from the House of Correction, at Dedham, and build a cage and place it within his mother's house, and him the said Dassance therein, under the care of the Selectmen." Dassance was a poor, insane person, whom the town was treating according to the custom or necessity of the time, who w^as afterwards provided for in the hospital at Wor- cester. May 3, 1830, " Voted, That in our opinion the wearing oi mourning apparel ought to be discontinued." Jan. 7, 1833, " Voted, The towni express their cordial approbation of the sentiments contained in President Jack- son's Proclamation." Hard drinking was almost universal when Foxborough was incorporated. Hum raised a meeting-house or a barn, or built a bridge. Every employer furnished it ; every W'Ork- man drank it. The only mechanical interest was the iron foundry. It w^as a densely-wooded region, and the great specie-raising industry was charcoal-making. It was said that " the only export was charcoal, but that the imports were threefold, molasses, codfish, and J^ew England rum. Kuin fell upon the best men in the town, and the town itself. Distress was universal. The straw manufticture, then in its infancy, somewhat mitigated suffering ; for by its aid the mother and little children, whom the husband and father had abandoned, w^ere enabled often to keep the " wolf from the door." Rev. Mr. Williams, Melatiah Everett, Esq., and Stephen 74 FOXBOROUGll CENTENNIAL RECORD. Rhodes, are entitled to great credit, not only because they clearly appreciated the necessity of reform, but had the courage to undertake it against discouragement and tierce opposition. The movement to suppress intemperance began in 1817, much earlier than in most cases, and was trium- phant. Rum had conquered New England ; but the manli- ness of her people overthrew the tyrant, as it is to be hoped it will yet again. Perhaps increasing prosperity had much to do, also, with the improved tone and increased self-respect of the people of Foxborough. We have just alluded to the straw manufacture, of which it is now possible to speak onh" in the briefest manner. The honor of being the first American manufacturer of straw bonnets is ascribed to Betsey Metcalf, of Providence, R.T., who imitated an imported Dunstable. She then was a girl of twelve years ; but, as Mrs. Baker, she afterwards carried on the business, at first as a monopolist, but soon Avith com- petitors. It is said that Eunice, daughter of Aaron Everett, made the first bonnet in Foxborough. Soon after, Sally Mann made one. The straw was at first cut with a pair of scissors. Straw bonnets soon became common in Foxborough and Wrentham, where Amariah Hall, who kept store, took them, paying in goods. Cornelius Metcalf, coming to Foxborough, married Hepsebeth Sumner, and bought the place formerly occupied by the first minister, Mr. Kendall. Mrs. Metcalf had great skill in making the straw bonnets. She adopted several children, took apprentices and carried on the business in a small way. Metcalf Everett first made straw goods for the New York market. Elias Nason then kept a store, pay- ing for straw goods partly cash and partly in other goods. Nehemiah Carpenter was afterwards associated with Nason in this business. Daniels Carpenter and John Corey afterwards separately manufactured straw goods on a much larger scale, paying cash for labor. FOXBOROUGII CENTENNIAL RECORD. 75 John Corey, who owned this spot of ground and lived in yonder house, was h)st in the l)urning of the steamer Lexing- ton, on Long Island Sound, in the winter of 1840. Edson Carpenter and Milton, JohnE., and Henry H. Sum- ner, sons of John Sumner, afterwards carried on stores, where straw braid and bonnets were received in payment for goods. The Sumner brothers, under the firm of J. E. Sumner & Co., also manufactured largely of straw goods, and sold imported stock to smaller manufacturers. Dr. Gardner Peck, formerly a successful physician in Fox- borough, engaged in the manufacture. Thus gradually the business grew and developed, until, in 1844, Oliver, Warren, and E. P. Carpenter, as associates in business, built what then Avas considered a marvel of a straw factory, or Avorks. It was what is now the "Verandah House," used as a boarding-house. The business increased rapidly, and after several additions and alterations the first works Avere found altoofether too limited, and in 1853 the Union StraAv Works were established ; but the growth of the business made it necessary to enlarge its limits, which Avas done in 1856. The business increased from $75,000 in 1844, to nearly the amount of $2,000,000 in 18G5. Foxborough has made, through its straw business, a name that in many foreign places is known better than the City of Boston itself. Certainly to this business Foxborough is indebted for her modern prosperity. The day we celebrate is the Centennial Anniversary of the 29th of June, 1778, Avhen the inhabitants of Foxborough first assembled in toAvn meeting, in pursuance of the Avarrant issued by Benjamin Guild, a magistrate of Wrentham, at the request of Benjamin Pettee, Swift Payson, Xehemiak Car- penter, Jacob Cook, Jacob Leonard, Amos Morse, and Samuel Baker. Josiah Pratt Avas moderator of the meeting ; Swift Payson, clerk; Josiah Pratt, John Everett, Benjamin Pettee, Daniel Robinson, and Joseph Shepard were chosen 76 FOXBOROUGII CENTENNIAL RECORD. Selectmen ; Nehemiah Carpenter was chosen treasurer, and eTohn Comee, constable. They " Voted to adjourn the meet- ing for one hour and a half, then met " and chose live sur-4 veyors of highways, three for a committee of correspondence, five assessors, two tythingmen, two fence viewers, two field drivers, one sealer of leather, two hog reeves, — a full com- plement of town ofiicers. The 29th of June, 1778, was a period of gloom and doubt in the revolutionary struggle. But our immediate ancestors were ready to play their part like men. In 1780 they said, in their petition to the General Court, "We are willing to sacrifice our all in the common cause, if it should be necessary." On this day, comparatively so bright and prosperous, may we, the descendants of those ha^i'dy sires, pledge our vows of devotion to the nation they created for us and our posterity. So, only, can they hail as a " smiling morn,"' the second Centennial of Foxborough I After the oration had been delivered, by invitation of Wm. T. Cook, Esq., Gov. Rice, Councillors Ilarwood, Haynes, Childs, and Tweed, Asst. Adj. -Gen. Kingsbury, Judge-Ad- vocate Gen. W. W. Blackmar, and Messrs. Tower, Hutch- ings, Rice, and Lj^nian, of the Governor's staff, were taken in carriages and driven to High Lawn Stock Farm, the sum- mer residence of Mr. Cook, situated about a mile north of the village, where they were handsomely entertained for a short time. At the close of the oration the choir sang "America," after which the procession re-formed and marched to the Common to assist in the unveiling and dedication of the Centennial Memorial. This Memorial Rock is a boulder of granite in its natural state, weighing from four to five tons, and inscribed on a panel, "1778, Centennial Memorial, 1878." It is located FOXBOROuan centennial record. 77 near the flag-staff and upon the site of the old meeting- house. At this point, the vast multitude having assembled, prayer was oflTered by Rev. Q. H. Shimn, and Kev. W. II. Spencer delivered the folio wiu"" MEMORIAL ADDRESS. We meet to day, my friends, for an ol)ject of no ordinary interest. Day by day our paths cross in this beautiful Common, as we go to and fro on errands of business or pleasure ; but to-day a common impulse brings us hither, unlike any that ever impelled us before. Hitherto we have, been unconsciously making our history ; to-day we pause to contemplate the record, and, in the midst of our Centennial celebration, to set up a Memorial. We lay claim to nothing new or original in the idea of a memorial rock. From the earliest times men have sought to perpetuate the memory of their deeds, and to mark off the events of their history, by raising monuments of some kind, from the rude cairn which Joshua erected in Gilgal, to commemorate the passage of the Jordan by the tribes of Israel, to the granite needle on yonder hill in Charlestown, which will remind future generations of the struii'^rle for liberty, which gave renown to the name of Bunker Hill. In imitation, then, of a custom which is sanctioned by antiquity, and by more recent usage as well, we set up, to-day, a memorial rock to tell its story to the generations which shall come after us. But what story has it to tell? When your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, "What mean ye by this stone ? " what shall the answer be ? This question carries us back to the days of old. It revives the memories of a time long past, more than a hundred years ago, when the spot where we now stand was known as the Dark Swamp, 78 FOXBOROUGir CENTENNIAL RECORD. named from the dense shadows made by the oaks and pineg of the forest primeval ; when most of the land now occupied by this village was covered with shrub-oaks, and when, throughout the town, the sun only here aud there looked down upon clearings, which showed the signs of man's improving toil ; when men were few and the land was stubborn. In the simple annals of those times we meet with one fact of prime significance : The people that settled this region feared God, and among their first necessities was the need , of a suitable place for public worship. Hither, then, while they were yet a feeble band, they came, and, levelling with their axes the tall trees that grew on this spot, they built their rude temple to Jehovah. That ancient structure was not a model of church architecture. More like a big barn it looked than like a house of God. And yet we doubt not that its bare rafters echoed praises as sincere, and words of instruction as true, as the groined arches of cathedral or abbey ever did. Its shingled sides grew darker every year with weather-stains, but men's hopes grew brighter and clearer as they gave heed to the message of life, which was proclaimed from the lofty pulpit within. We know how large a place his religious thoughts and afiections held in the mind of the New England settler. They were bound up with his instinct of freedom ; they shaped his politics. His first concern was for liberty; his next aim Avas to secure the blessings of religion ; and he considered these two ol)jects as not only in harmony with each other, but as necessary to each other. The same build- ing served for town-hall and meeting-house ; and thus the meeting-house represented the New England community in its intensest life and its noblest aspirations. If, then, we are to select a spot for a memorial, with an eye to fitness and real significance, we shall seek for that place which the people first hallowed by their approaches to God, where FOXBOROUGII CENTENNIAL RECORD. 79 they met as common subjects of a King whom all desired to reverence. It has been found impossible to identify the exact locality of that ancient building, on account of the great changes that have taken place in the surface and the surroundings of this Common. But, from a comparison of the opinions of old men Avho saw it demolished fifty-six years ago last winter, it has been decided that the spot marked by this rock cannot be many feet from some portion of the old meeting-house, if, indeed, it does not mark the very spot where the pulpit stood. Here, then, we raise our memorial. It commemorates no battle-tield, no thrilling exploit of pioneer colonist, but simply the peaceful beginnings of the life of a community rooted in Christianity. This is our first mile-stone. And as we look backward over a hundred years, and upward to Him who has brought us forward on our way, a well-remembered strain of an ancient Psalm of Life comes to mind, — "A thousand years in Thy sight are but as yesterday, when it is past, and as a watch in the night." A word or two about this rock. It was brought from the locality known as High liock, from the woods west of the old stone building in Happy Hollow. It lays no claim to beauty. It is designed to serve as the simplest possible memorial of an age of simple tastes and manners, and of our humlile but solid beginnings. And if it shall remind any one of the old-time roughness of this Common, when it was encumbered with huge boulders, so much the better. As soon as the record of this clay's proceedings shall be completed, they, with other papers, will be deposited under- neath this memorial stone, there to repose until the men of 1978 shall bring them again to the light of day. Here, then, let this rock remain for a memorial of the growth of this town, and of the devolopment of its material resources. Here the seed of the village was planted. 80 FOXBOROUGH CENTENNIAL RECORD. Around this centre the slow but solid growth went on. Forests vanished, and dwellings sprung up around this sacred spot ; and as the tide of prosperity swelled, it left its marks here. Rocks were dug out and the rough places were made smooth ; old trees were felled and the shrubs cleared away ; until to-day we look upon a scene that iitly answers to the happy changes that a century has wrought in the physical comfort and prosperity of the town. Let this rock remain as a memorial of the simple virtues which wrought the changes and improvements that we see. There was solid worth of character in the days of old. There were straightforward honesty and unbending prin- ciple. Men and women believed in living on the fruits of their own industry, and within their means ; and, therefore, their growth and prosperity were as sure as God's ordi- nance of the seasons. Let this rock stand for a memorial of the sure and abid- ing hopes that sustained the pious hearts of the generations past. For fifty-nine years this spot was holy ground. Hither, every Sabbath, from near and far, through the woods and over the crooked roads, on foot and on horseback, single and double, in plain and rustic garb, came your grand- sires and grandmothers, to listen to the word of God ; and here they heard of the only sure fcnrnflation of human hopes ; here they wxu-e told of a treasure that never faileth ; here they were taught to look for a better country. Well may we set up a stone for a memorial, as once of old the patriarch Jacob did, saying, "Surely, the Lord was in this place." We have referred to the changes that a century has Avrought ; but Avho can forecast the changes that shall be witnessed during the hundred years to come ? What will remain a century hence of all that meets our eyes to-day ? What structures will look down upon this green sward? What kind of church edifices will lift their spires heavenward in the 'places where these now stand? What manner of fir FOXBOROUGII CENTENNIAL RECORD. 81 people will gather to celebrate their bi-centennial ? What will they think and say of us that clay? It is vain for us to seek to lift the veil ; but it rests with us, in no small degree, to say whether that distant genera- tion shall carry on worthily the work begun by the fathers in the Dark Swamp. It is for us to transmit to them the legacy, wdiich we enjoy, of the hardy virtues, simple tastes, sound principles, and exalted faith of the fathers, leaving behind their faults and errors. AVhether or not that noonday sun, a century hence, shall look down upon a free and united people, building on the foundations cemented by the blood and tears of a heroic ancestry, we know not; but we know that much will depend upon how we build. Little can we imagine what shall be the great political issues a hundred years to come ; but the greater issues of life are ever the same, and our great-grandchildren will be dealing, as we are, with the mysteries of human existence and the great moral issues, which never change. We greet you, children of a distant future. Across the century we extend to you the hand of fellowship and con- gratulation. Yours will be an enviable lot. Every day the earth is yielding up her treasures to the magical touch of science. Fresh discoveries and inventions are ever multiply- ing the sources of enjoyment and of good on every hand. Purer morals and a sounder philosophy, based on a better apprehension of the Divine Revelation, will make life richer and nobler in your time. For we — " Doubt not through tlie ages one increasing purpose runs, And the thoughts of men are widened with the process of the suns." May it, indeed, be yours to witness the nearer glories of the day of universal peace on earth and good-will towards men. The choirs then joined in singing the following 82 FOXBOROUGII CENTENNIAL RECORD. HYMN. By Miss H. W. Payson. (Tune: Russian National Air.) Pause we here in solemn gladness, Turning back the leaves of time, Listening to the fathers' voices, — Voices, like their deeds, sublime ! See we there the uncut forest ; See the stealthy savage creep; See the smoke ! the rush of armies ! See the doomed aroused from sleep ! Look ! the fearless men have silenced Savage shout and British gun ! God has helped our valiant fathers ! Freedom's darkest work is done ! Praise Him in tliis open temple ! Praise Him in the homes He gave ! He oppression's arm hath broken. He alone our land can save. Those holding tickets then returned to the tents for their dinner. THE COLLATION was provided under the tents for about thirty-three hundred persons, — about one hundred more than the number given in the last census as the population of the town, — and is deserving of more than passing notice, on account of its novelty and excellence. Provision was made for each person by placing on the table in front of them neat boxes of heavy Manilla paper, three inches deep, four inches Avide, and six or eight inches long, each containing one Japanese napkin, four ounces pressed meat, ham, tongue, or corned beef, neatly enveloped in tissue paper ; three French rolls, one large doughnut, one slice fruit cake, two slices plain FOXBOROUGH CENTENNIAL RECORD. 83 cake, two seed-cakes, two macaroons, one piece of meat-pie, and one piece of apple-pie ; for drink, there Avas furnished hot tea, liot and iced cofl'ee and ice water. The school children were provided with dinners, upon the same plan, in the Samaritan Tent, which had been pitched for their accommodation near the southerly end of the large tent. Rev. W. II. Alden, D.D., of Portsmouth, N.H., asked Divine blessing, as follows : — Our Heavenl}'' Father, we recognize Thee as our Creator, Preserver, Benefactor, and Friend ; we recognize Thy hand in all the blessings that we enjoy, — social and intellectual, civil and religious. For the supreme blessings falling upon us through the century, we thank Thee. We thank Thee for this pleasant occasion which brings us around this social board to renew the recollections of our earlier years ; culti- vate that sympathy for each other which will leave us in a band of l)rotherhood, and encourage us in the pursuit of whatsoever things are lovely and of good report. And, now, be pleased to command Thy blessing to rest upon us as we surround these tables ladened with the bounties of Thy providence. Add to this blessing of Thy providence the richer blessing of Thy grace, and grant that we, in enjoy- ing and participating in this entertainment in Thine earthly kingdom, may be prepared to enjoy and participate* in the higher, richer, and more delightful entertainment in Thy heavenly kingdom. We ask it, for Christ's sake. Amen. THE AFTER-DINNER EXERCISES were opened by the Foxboro' Brass Band, which played the "Fluer d'Alsace Waltz," and were immediately followed 84 FOXBOROUGH CENTENNIAL RECORD. by the poet of the day, Rev. J. T. Pettee, of West Meriden, Conn., M^ho delivered THE CENTENNIAL POEM. To Him Avho inspires the Psalmist's lay, A thousand years are but a day ; The centuries, gliding from His hand. Are smaller than the grains of sand Which form the ocean-bounding shore, To Him who lives for evermore. To mortal man how long appears The cycle of a Hundred years ; How slow the Centuries seem to raoye. As if by Heaven designed to prove That human life is but a span — That God is God, and man is man. All who behold its morning ray The flying century bears away ; Of all who see its evening close Not one on whom its morn arose ; A fragment 's all that man can claim Of any century for his name. 'Tis wisdom, then, with joy to crown The First Centennial of our town ; With booming guns to usher in What we shall ne'er behold again ; With speech and song and music sweet Go out the Century to meet — Salute the Second in His name. Whose love the First, and all, proclaim. A Hundred years ago to-day Our fathers fought in deadly fray ; Three years of freedom's war were gone, ' When they became a corp'rate town. The year of Seventeen Seventy-Eight Was pregnant with the nation's fate ; , Events momentous crowd its page ; A few our passing fhoughts engage. FOXBOROUGH CENTENNIAL RECORD. 85 The Frenchman, from his lofty throne, Our nation's Independence owned; The mighty Pitt succumbed to years, The proudest of the British peers ; At first our friend, at last our foe, His dying speech was big with woe. The sun of Seventy-Eight looked down Upon the fight of many a town ; It saw the British army fly From Philadelphia's frowning sky ; And 'neath our suffering army's tread The snows of Valley Forge grow red ; And to the year we sadly sing Belongs the tale of Wyoming. One Hundred years this very morn. Our army waited, weary, worn With Monmouth's bitter, bloody fray, The coming of the eventful day, To join anew the doubtful fight, And prove the patriot yeoman's might ; But, under cover of the night. The British foe makes good his flight. Or else the Twenty-Ninth of June, Which saw the birtli of this fair town. Had seen a battle which had stood The reddest on the rolls of blood. Our fathers, on that peaceful morn. When first they met our town to form, In thought and speech could they ignore The battle of the day before ? Bless you, my hearers ; in that day The battle-field was far away, — Three hundred miles ! a month before Its thrilling tidings reached their door ; No light'ning flashed it o'er the wires ; No steamer bore it in its fires ; No stage-coach e'en — or mail-bag — no. We sing a Hundred Years Ago. When our good sires convened that morn, To mark the birth of Foxb'rough town, 86 FOXBOROUGH CENTENNIAL RECORD. If their discourse was on the war, It ran on battles fought before : On Bcnninj^ton and Brandywine, On Trenton, Brooklyn, and tJie time When Warren fell on Bunker Ilill ; 'Kound these their mem'ries linger still; Nor the bold fights forget so soon, Of Concord and of Lexington. Back to that day — that summer morn — The Twent3'-Ninth of leafy June, From hill and valley, farm and hill. From Crackrock, Shackstand, Quaker Hill, From Foxb'rough Furnace, Witches' Wood, From where the ancient school-house stood ; From High Rock and the Devil's Den, . Through wood and cornfield, brake and fen, Fording where'er the Muniford gleams, Neponset or Cocasset steams, W^e meet the fathers, coming down To organize the new-made town. No coach or carriage in that day ; Our fathers walked their weary way, Or rode on horseback — bare at that, Unless their meal-bags served as seat. No silk hats glistened in the sun. But honest broad-rims round them run ; Or cocked hats, handsome then and now. Adorned our fathers' maidy brow. No " boughten broadcloth" clothed our sires, But homespun, woven by their fires ; Wide flowing vests, and breeches tight, And buckles sparkling in the light; The flowing wig, or braided cue. Exposed their noble heads to view. And nobler heads are seldom seen Than those then worn by Foxb'rougli men. No Town Hall, with its bell-shaped dome, Received the voters from their home ; The Meeting House, its outer door, Ope'd to receive them, and no more ; FOXBOROUGH CENTENNIAL RECORD. 87 Its inner doors had not been made, Its oaken floor had not been laid, And window-glass, we learn, as yet, Within its sash had not been set, — The Meeting House, owned by the town, And built before the town was born, Which stood where now the Boulder lies, Presenting front to eastern skies. And porches to the north and soiith, •■ To galleries leading ; for the youth. And for our townsmen, then too poor To build upon its oaken floor. Old oaken church of blackened wood ! I love the spot on which it stood : I love, by aid of ancient dame. To plan, and draw, and seat the same ; Its square box pews, the deacon's seat, Tlie benches where the broad aisles meet; Its towering desk, and sounding-board To emphasize the sacred word. One sounding-board, on rod suspense, Increased the sound, if not the sense ; Anothered answered from the wall, ^nd echoed to the preacher's call ; The last from earth, the first from heaven, Were we to wicked rhyming given ; So, viewing matters all around, The Foxb'rough Church was doubly sound. No organ thundered from the choir ; No fiddle ever trifled there ; A " big fid" once was borne a spell. But nameless brother did rebel ; Soon as the horse-hair scraped a string, Before the choir the psalm could sing. The good man left the portals wide. Yet all its music heard outside ; For, soon as fiddler dropped his bow, He sought again his godly pew. " How could he know," the people said, " Unless outside he heard it played? " And " Why have been a lesser sin To hear without than hear within? " 88 FOXBOROUGH CENTENNIAL RECORD. And here I love, on Sabbath morn, To see the gatliering people come ; The children barefoot, shoes in hand, Until within its shade they stand ; The maidens, in red cloaks and hoods. The matrons riding 'hind their lords ; And here, in stately, square-box pews, To hear the word, or tell the news ; While, in the costume of those days, A Kendall or a Skelton prays ; Nor does it much his reverence move To know that powder'' s stored above : The church is safe from shock abrupt — It may blow down; it can't blow up. When this old church succumbs to years, What reverence for the law ajipears, — Which leaves the warrant of the town, But tears the ancient structure down ! Those, who the sacred pile would spare, Said to themselves, " They will not dare To tear a legal warrant down. Defiant of the State and Town ; " And so, without a moment lost. They nailed their warrant to the post. Behold our sires' respect for law ! Around that post they cut and saw — The timbers crash, the rafters fall — Destruction reigns from roof to wall ; And when Destruction's work is done. Behold the door-post stands alone ; The warrant, rescued, flaunts the skies, The church around in ruin lies. Outside the church we take a look, By bushes bounded and shrub-oak. What these odd looking things we see? This post? these stocks? a mystery! Let Lightfoot, Thrasher, such, explain : They both have felt the wholesome pain These mysteries give to thieves intent, On miser's mischief meanly bent : Thrasher was thrashed, and Lightfoot, he Of nimble foot no more could be. FOXBOROUGH CENTENNIAL RECORD. 89 Here they convened, on Monday morn, Upon that Twenty-ninth of June, And reverend lips did here call down God's richest blessing on the town, And prayed for those Aviio, far away, Were fighting, on that burning day. Then chose they men affairs to guide ; Imposed a tax, funds to provide ; And, to their credit be it said. Among the very first they laid. Was one the Gospel to maintain, And finish off their church so plain. Then Education claimed their care. Free as tlieir own New England air ; Obedient to th' New England rule, Next to the Church the Common School. That rule observed has given renown To many a fair New England town ; That rule relaxed has brought disgrace On many a poor neglected place. To Foxb'rough's credit be it said Most cheerful is the school-tax paid, — A fact to which we largely owe All that this century can show. Nor need the stranger be surprised At that which meets his wondering eyes : At population, business, thrift, The wid'ning current, deep'ning drift, — All flowing from that golden rule. The Church is first, and next the School. Upon the records of that year Honored ancestral names appear ; And most the names their pages give The same that still in Foxb'rough live ; And none to-day more worthy are Than lineal heirs of Carpenter ; And of these heirs no man we see, Who stands above Erastus P. May names like these our souls inspire To raise the ancestral standard higher, And may we never blush to own A name ancestral of this town. 90 FOXBOROUGII CENTENNIAL RECORD. " What's in a name?" Mucli, every way, When virtue leaves it every day, Exlialing fragrance every hour, Like perfume from the sweetest flower. Such was the name our fathers chose, To christen their fresh-opened rose — Of Charles James Fox ! than which, no name Shines brighter on the rolls of fame ; From first to last our steadfast friend. Loving, he loved us to the end. ntt faltered in the trying hour ; Nay, pressed us with his dying power ; But Fox, unfaltering to the last, Maintained the die that had been cast ; Proclaimed America should be By right and independence free. Well did our sires to choose this name; Well do their sons to love the same ; And, from that bright, encircling zone, Where patriots bend before the throne, Well may the soul of Fox look down — His monument is this fair town. But what a dull, prosaic town ! How bare of rascals and renown ! Your humble rhymer pardon craves That little Eomance to him cleaves. The fault 's your own, you should have had More of the tragic and the bad ; A Revolutionary fight, — At least a skirmish in the night : By Indians have been scalped or burned ; A duel or murder might have turned From prose to verse my humble rhymes. And lighted iip my sombre lines. Had you but thought, you might produce Some first-rate rascals for my use ; A first-class scandal 'mong the ton Would let the inspiration on : This you refuse, and I plod on. As best I may, with steady town ; FOXBOROUGH CENTENNIAL RECORD. 91 With nothing better to infuse The inspiration in my muse Than steady growth, increasing weaUh, Peace, plent}^ joyfulness, and liealtli ; Improving streets, and smiling iiclds. And all the joy that culture yields ; * Churches and schools and busy press, Banlis, shops, and stores — Oh, what a mess, My lofty genius to inspire, And set a poet's soul on fire ! "But Witches' Woods, and Devil's Den, And haunted houses, may be seen." To this I humbly make reply, (And here all the proofs opposed defy), In Witches' Woods I should get lost : The poet is afraid of ghosts ; And I'm not of that class of men Who take much stock in Devil's Den. But, pleasantry aside, my friends, Our state to-day makes all amends. Happy the nation, blessed the town. Whose peaceful hist'ry lacks renown : While poem and hist'ry are composed Of wrongs inflicted, rights abused. To that fair town may we belong. Which has no history and no song. In tliis and most New England towns. Some place, where verdant rural clowns Once dug for gold, here Foolish Hill, Is shown as their memorial still. But, if the truth must here be told, All of our fathers dug for gold ; They tilled the earth, and from its soil Derived the wages of their toil : They dug for iron, and many a bed Supplied for them its oxide red. North, South, and East, the furnace roared, Richer than gold its metal poured ; And thus we see in times of old How all our fathers dug for gold, 92 FOXBOROUGH CENTENNIAL RECORD. And, in the products of the earth, How all our industries had Ijirth ; On solid base, it may be said. Our present industry is laid. * But great the change, we now behold. Between the ways of digging gold : From iron to straw the step seems long, But soon is taken in my song. You know, kind friends, 'tis sometimes said. That Foxb'rough 's wholly run to braid. The taunt we hear, " All run to straw; There's but a single thing you do." To this, our answer to prepare, The fable note of -ffisop's hare. The foolish hare, as fable goes. Taunted a lioness in her throes, Because at birth but one she bore. While she, vain puss, had half a score. The noble beast, with flashing eye, Thus to the hare made quick reply : " True, at the birth I bear but one. But that a lion ! " then be done With taunts and jeers of envious men. Because no other Works are seen : We'll never blush but one to draw, While that one is The Union Straw. Perfect, complete, the Union stands, With all its busy heads and hands ; By process wondrous, sending forth. To East and West, and South and North, Hats in which kings might well appear, And qiieens themselves delight to wear. Hydraulic presses give them shape, Whether of Leghorn or of tape. While maiden hands their forms complete, Machine the bindings and the sweats ; Ambitious thus to send away Their fifteen thousand every day. While roaming through your " Southern Branch, I thought me in a cattle-ranch. FOXBOROUGH CENTENNIAL RECORD. 93 For there a process met my eye, At which the bellowing herd might cry As wanton outrage of their right, And show their horns and hoofs in fight. The " linen leather" met my view, And " heels " all formed to pattern true ; In view of which, I know you feel. You've got the whole " from head to heel." " Be candidate, and put it on, And set a head on headless Eome :" Thus Shakespeare saith ; but you instead Have put a hat on every head ; From block to block the hat has gone, The one of flesh, the other stone ; The only wonder is to know Where all the hats and bonnets go. " No watered stock," the townsmen say. And yet 'tis watered every day ; "No pressure from the bank or street," Tremendous pressure on the hats ; Water in every hat, that's plain. And yet no water on the brain ; " No cooked accounts," yet all well Cooked, For highest excellency booked ; And well supplied with volumes rare. Enough to make a student stare ; With men enough to man a State, And girls enough these men to mate, Cultured, refined, intelligent, On labor and on study bent ; The beautiful and true combined. In healthful body, vig'rous mind. Interpreters of Labor's law — All honor to the Union Straw ! And honor to those earnest men, Writers and printers, who have been At pains and labor to prepare A paper for our weekly fare. The printing press more powerful is, Than those hydraulic mysteries. Which give the shape to tape and straw. And lines of grace and beauty draw : 94 FOXDOROUGH CENTENNIAL RECORD. One to the hat, the other head, Gives form and beauty ; and the bread Is not more useful, that we eat, Tlian to the mind tlie printed slieet. Paper is power ; its good depends Upon that paper's aims tmd ends. Show me a paper where the news Is mingled with the stench of stews ; t Where venom flows from hearts of men Blacker than ink upon their pen ; Which ne'er retracts, howcA'er plain The lie, but tells it o'er again : Which lies in prose and lies in verse, — That paper is a puhlic curse. But show me one, where'er it be. Whose columns are from scandal free ; Which fills the plastic mind of youth With wisdom, knowledge, virtue, truth ; Which wisdom gleans from every clime And knowledge bears in every line ; Impartial treats both friend and foe, And grants to all the right to know ; Sticks to the truth, though heavens fall And equal justice metes to all ; Which never in the market stands. And asks for bids, or takes commands ; Which treats the rich man as the poor, Cajoles and flatters him no more ; Which lifts the drunkard from his fall, — That paper is a boon to all ; And, as I read its cleanly lines, I feel that such is " Foxboro' Times." And with the libraries circling round, And winter lectures, wise, profound; Its churches, concerts, circles, schools, Its wise restraints and wholesome rules, — With all the good these blessings give, Foxb'rough 's the place for us to live. And if our cherished dust may lie Where Rock Hill cypress sweeps the sky ; If, in that loved, secluded spot We rest, assured we are not forgot; FOXBOROUGIl CENTENNIAL RECORD. 95 If there, our living friends, may come To visit us in our last home. We say, without a pain or sigh, FoxboroKgh ivill be the place to die. The chosen name of our fair town Was always allied with reform : The town itself has always been The home of true reforming men. In the fierce Anti-slavery days It well deserved tliis meed of praise ; When first unfurled against the sky, That sacred banner floated high, No stouter, truer hearts appear. Than those who rallied round it here. The followers of another Fox Stood like the adamantine rocks. Beat back oppression's threat'ning wave, And sheltered here the flying slave. When first the Temperance work began, And man, to save his brother man. Who stood on ruin's crumbling edge, Gave up his cup, and signed the pledge, Then Foxborough men, and women too, Showed what reforming hearts could do, And to tliis day they urge the strife. And yield it only with their life. No town your humble rhymer knows. Which more to woman's influence owes ; And now no town recurs to mind Where Women's Eights are more maintained. As well may be, for, as it stands, Its wealth was made by woman's hands ; And that great industry it owns, Which all its earlier, later crowns. Its origin to woman owes. As each authentic legend shows : And while that industry shall last, We'll hold her precious mem'ry fast, Nor e'er, without a blush of shame, Forget a Metcalf s honored name. 96 FOXBO ROUGH CENTENNIAL RECORD. And in that slow and noiseless change, Which, like the climates in their range, Its impress leaves on every mind, The town of Fox is not behind. Such changes come o'er Church and State : And they alone are truly great. Who own this change, themselves adapt, And in the Living Present act. Our fathers, honest, in their day Had their opinions and their way; As much before their fathers then, As we now in advance of them. And could these sires return again. They would not bring in hand a chain To fetter thought, and shackle mind ; But largest freedom, unconfined Except by bounds of Light and Love, Like that which bounds the realms above And we, another century gone. Whose brighter light on us shall dawn, Shall count as follies of our youth Much that we hold in faith, as truth, And wonder at the century past. As they now wonder at the last. The body changes with Reform ; The sjurit dies not, but moves on ; In other forms it meets our eyes — The reforming sjiirit never dies. While we the name of Fox revere, Of Charles or George, we ask not here Of either parent, we were born Disciples of the True Reform. Our native town, which saw its birth. When revolution shook the earth, A patriot town has ever proved, Most loyal to the cause it loved. When Revolution's bloody war Called patriot soldiers from afar, FOXBOROUGH CENTENNIAL RECORD. 97 Our fathers, leaving field and wood, Seized the old musket or the sword, With many a long and weary tramp, Reported at the nearest camp ; And through that long and bloody night "Waited in hope the morning light Which on America should rise. Though storm and tempest swept the skies. And when, in Eighteen hundred twelve. They heard again the clarion bell. Our fathers sprung again to arms, Leaving their families and ftirms ; And when that fearful war was done, And theyj> our sires, came marching home. While Boston houses blaze with light, — A grateful and a glorious sight, — Then patriot bosoms burn with joy. And patriot songs all tongues employ : " The British navy's left our shore. And foreign foes invade no more." And when the flag on Sumter's walls Was made a target for rebel balls, Then Foxb'rough sprung again to arms — Forgot were business, stocks, and forms ; Her only thought that this fair land Was menaced by a rebel band. And when, at length, this war was done, And Johnny, indeed, came marching home, — • Again the rockets light the sky ; Again the stunning guns reply ; And Foxb'rough bells aloud proclaim. And Foxb'rough streets make wild acclaim. And Foxb'rough bands take up the strain, And Foxb'rough youth the glad refrain, And all, with one accord proclaim, Our town a town of patriot men. Our Patriot Dead — Sweet be their rest, — " By all their country's wishes blest; " Where'er they sleep, where'er they fell. The Muse of Hist'ry loves them well. 98 FOZBOROUGH CENTENNIAL RECORD. No useless marble marks their fall ; But yonder fair Memorial Hall — A Poem writ in lines of stone — Records their deeds of valor done ; Dead of the last and every war Alike enshrined and honored are. And while this beauteous fane shall stand, Defenders of their native land From Mem'ry's Ilall shall ne'er depart, Enshrined within a nation's heart ; That nation's heart a hall shall be. In which they dwell eternally. And here, on each Memorial Day, Our floral ofI''rings sweet we lay • Upon the graves where heroes sleep, And thus our sacred promise keep, — Ne'er to forget them, should they fall ; But equal honors pay to all, Where'er entombed, where'er inscribed, Of those who for their country died. And those who died not, but returned To home and friends, have honor earned As large as that which crowns the brave. Who slumber in the soldier's grave ; Their risk the same, the same distress In field, in camp, in vile duress ; And, most of all, the patriot flame In dead and living burned the same ; Then to the living as the dead Be patriotic honors paid ; While to the dead we freely give. Some flowers reserve for those who live. When that stupendous pile was done. The temple of King Solomon, And Israel met, with rites sublime. To dedicate the sacred shrine, With upturned hands the monarch stood And thus invoked the Source of Good : «' God of our fathers, hear our prayer, Make us, as them. Thy tender care ; With us, as them, vouchsafe to be, While in their steps we follow Thee." FOA'BOROUGH CENTENNIAL RECORD. 99 Behold that sovereign pleading there, And, furtlier, hear his earnest prayer : "0 Thou, whose love all hearts inspires, Be Thou with us, as with our sires." What fitter prayer for us to pray, Who dedicate our shrine to-day, — The Temple of a Hundred Years, — To Him who rules the rolling spheres ; Whose power defends, whose love inspires : '^£e Thou ivith us, as with our sires." Thou wast with them in other lands ; And when, dispersed in scattered bands, They tried the ocean's dangerous wave. Thou, too, didst sail, to guide and save. And when, at last, on Plymouth Rock, Fearing no more the ocean's shock. New dangers threatened on the land, Then didst Thou by our fathers stand. And through those long colonial years, Through sickness, hardshii^s, dangers, fears, Thou ledst our fathers by the hand, And caused them in Thy strength to stand ; And when the Revolution's night Was lighted with the lurid light ^ Of burning home and blazing fane, Our fathers' God was still the same. When Acton's minute-men Avent forth, To join the army of the North, 'Tis said, by the historian there. From every house ascended prayer. When Stoughton's sons were far away, Did Stoughton's sturdy patriots pray ; And prayers went up that very morn That our beloved town was born. Nor was it in vain our fathers prayed ; The tide of wasting war was stayed; Upon a bright, eventful morn A nation unto God was born. And Independence, long maintained, Acknowledged, as it was proclaimed. 100 FOXBOROUGU CENTENNIAL RECORD. Then 1)C the sovereign's prayer your own, As you implore the eternal throne : "0 Thou, whose love oil hearts iyispires, Be Thou with us, as with our sires." When Israel, in the olden time, Mowed down the proud Philistines' line, Grateful, their fatliers' God they praised. And high their Ebenezer raised, — A rock, iinhewn hy human hands, A massive boulder of the land. So we, in these Centennial days. Our grateful Ebenezer raise ; No sculptured shaft, or polished stone, Which tells of human art alone, But granite boulder, erst upthroAvn From earth's foundations ; madly home By glacial currents, in their moods. And rounded by the glacial floods ; Wafted by the Creator's hand And scattered broadcast o'er the land. Such is the stone we raise to-day ; And as we draw the veil away. Before our eyes two centuries stand. Joined by an adamantine band : The century gone, and that begun ; The century dead, the century born. And as this new-born century runs,- Measured by slow-revolving suns. Our children oft shall turn their eyes To where this massive boulder lies, And in its massive strength shall see A symbol of eternity. " Stone of our Help," rest thou secure. While sun and moon and stars endure; God of our fathers, be our trust ; And when we turn at last to dust. Then to our faith and hope be given The countless centuries of heaven. The Poem concluded, the President said : The next thing in order is for me to introduce the Toast-Master, Mr. FOA'BOROUGH CENTENNIAL RECORD. 101 Spencer, who will niinoiince the toasts. As we are short of time, we shall not expect long speeches. EEMAKKS OF THE TOAST-MASTER, WHY. W. H. SPENCER. It is not for me, my friends, to detain you with one Avord of my own, as I have not the gift of Joshua, and cannot command the sun to stand still. I would gladly do so, for there are many whom we wish to hear speak. Of the whole number whom we have invited home to-day, I believe eleven hundred and ninety-two have accepted our invitation, and we should be glad to hear from every one of them. There are also those who never have visited o'ur town before, and whom every one of you would be happy and are now long- ing to hear. I will, therefore, immediatel}^ take myself out of the way after offering the following sentiment : — The Commonwealth of Massachusetts : Distinguished for her liber- ality, education, and progress, strong in the enterprise and integrity of her citizens ; her citizenship is the honorable inheritance of her sons. 1 have great pleasure in introducing to you one whom you have repeatedly chosen to speak and act for Massachusetts, — — His Excellency Alexander H. Rice, our honored Gov- ernor. ^ ADDRESS OF GOVERNOR RICE. Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen : — I am aware that I have but a very few moments in which to speak to you. I can do little more than say Hail and Farewell ! And yet I should be false to the promptings of my heart if I did not express to you the great pleasure and satisfaction which I derive in meeting so large and intellioent an assembla2:e of the sous and daughters of Massachusetts. I know very well where your thoughts are, because I know where mine are. We have been lifted far above, on tlie wings of the muse, 102 FOXBOROUGH CENTENNIAL RECORD. and while I was sailing along there, forgetful entirely that there was any terrestrial portion of this ball outside of the town of Foxb'orough, I find myself landed upon my feet to speak to you in ordinary prose. [Laughter.] If any of you can tell me how I can make the descent from that lofty height to terra firma in safety, I will sit down and listen to the recital. This is my first visit to Foxborough, and, of course, com- ing here as a stranger, I have the natural curiosity of the stranger to see what sort of a town and what sort of people are here in Foxborough. I have seen what sort of a town it is. There are no very great natural advantages, l)ut it is pretty, strong, substantial, prosperous, and hopeful. And the people — why, they look as if they might, every one of them, appear here one hundred years hence, to celebrate the second centennial of the town of Foxborough. [Applause.] I am very much indeed confirmed in the opinion that most of you Avill be here, and I will tell you why. [Laughter.] You know that my visit is very Ijrief, and, therefore, I have been obliged to rush from premise to conclusion. Our friend, your honored citizen, the Orator of the Day, Mr. Carpenter, — whom, if he had lived anywhere else but in Foxborough, I should have supposed from his silvery head to be past the middle period of life, — this gentleman, appar- ently old, and yet so young, what did he do ? Why, he led up to me a blooming youth, with long hair, hardly as silvery as his own, and introduced him to me as his father, eighty- three years old. [Applause.] Well, now, 1 am satisfied that Foxborough is a very extraordinary town in one particular, and that is, that the older your men grow the younger they are. [Laughter and applause.] Then there is another fact. I listened with great interest and care to that methodical, statistical, and circumstantial oration, gathered with so much comprehensive care, stated so tersely, so closely, and so emphatically ; and one of the things that rested on my mind FOXBOROUGII CENTENNIAL RECORD. 103 impressively in the recital was, that it was a great many years after Foxborough was founded before they bought a hearse. [Laughter.] And then I observed that very soon after they bought the hearse, they apparently — although he did not say so — found no use for it out of doors, and they built a hearse-house to store it in. [Laughter.] I am obliged to go to Boston in a very few minutes ; but, if ever I have any anxiety about my personal security, or any apprehension of the sudden approach of death, I will surely take the first train to Foxborough. [Laughter and applause.] Well, now, ladies and gentlemen, I did not intend to talk to you in this strain. There was somethiug that was lofty and noble in the sentiment which has been read, and if time permitted I would try to rise up to the sentiment which that toast contains. But you will pardon me if I only say that this town is a typical town of New England. The orator said something about wilderness, something al)out musical rocks and places of retirement, and even, it was whispered, something about the Devil's Den. Well, I am quite sure that if there be any such personage in these parts he is kept in his den, for there is no evidence of his being abroad here anywhere. But to come back — it was about the wilderness. Here are no great natural resources, no circumstances that seem particularly inviting to settlement. There seems to be nothing which nature has dropped here which should support a great population, or that should build up a community, intelligent, virtuous, and prosperous as this is. Now, in human affairs there are very few things that come by accident. We talk about God's providence, and we see it exhibited in the grandeur, and sublimity, and beauty of nature. But that providence works as well in human nature as it does in the world of physics ; and it is just because the intelligence and the virtue which he blesses and makes prosperous have thriven here, that you are enabled to support a ccnnmunity 104 FOXBOROUGII CENTENNIAL RECORD. of the chai-cacter which I have looked upon to-day. We are, here in New England, dependent not upon great natural advantages. We have but very few of them. We are situated here somewhat towards the end and corner of the great American Union ; and the chal- lenge to us here, — the challenge to our manhood and our womanhood, — is to see whether we have the ability to main- tain a high type of civilization, and to make a respectable living and a fair accumulation of fortune despite the disad- vantages of nature. AA'e should never have the population that we have here in Massachusetts if nature had been more bountiful to us. The problem is put before every young man, here in New England, Have you the energy and the pluck, have you the intelligence and the virtue, to make something out of notJdng? If you have, here is an oppor- tunity for you to go to work. Evidently the challenge has been manfully accej^ted here, as in other places in our glori- ous old Commonwealth, and the people of this town have shown that they are entirely equal to the task which they have undertaken. We depend upon the nudtiplication of our employments, here in New England, and the opportunity for this employment is somewhat limited. AYe can never expect to make great headway in agriculture, we can never expect to do a great deal in transportation, — I mean in the world's transportation, — l)ecause we are off the great central lines of travel ; but if we make use of the ingenuity, the skill that comes out of our atmosphere, out of our soil, out of our inheritance, out of the principles that have been trans- mitted to us, out of our schools and colleges and churches, we cannot fail, because thc}^ make the type of manhood that knows no such thing as failure. Consequently it is that here in this little State of Massachusetts — the most densely populated to the square mile of any part of the American continent — we have the highest degree of prosperity, a larger average division of wealth, a greater amount of physical FOSBOROUGII CENTENNIAL RECORD. 105 comfort, a higher measure of intelligence, a loftier standard of virtue, to which we aspire, whether we reach it or not. And Massachusetts stands out to-day, before her sister States, as an example of what men may do with limited opportunities, boundless courage, and the ingenuity to make the best use of what God and the times have given them. I congratulate you, my friends, on your part in this success, and in the renown wdiich comes out of it ; and, whether I shall ever meet you again or not, I shall carry awfiy the pleasantest impressions of the people of this town, and I shall leave with you my heartiest and sincerest wishes for your individual and general welfare and happiness. [Applause.] [At the suggestion of Mr. Carpenter, three cheers were given by the audience for Governor Rice.] Introducing Hon. Marshall P. Wilder, Mr. Spencer said : — Our next toast is not the one in regular order, but the gentleman who has been chosen to respond must leave us soon, and therefore I will call upon him now. The senti- ment is as follows : — History and Agriculture: The first records the life of nations and of people : the second is the foundation of all prosperity, without which neither can live. All men must come to the farm for hread. I will call upon one whose special studies and whose four- score and more years of experience well entitle him to respond to this sentiment, — Hon. Marshall P. Wilder, President of the New England Historic-Genealogical Society, the founder of the United States Agricultural Society, and for twenty years the President of the Norfolk Agricultural Society. 106 FOXBOROUGH CENTENNIAL RECORD. ADDRESS OF HON. MARSHALL P. WILDER. Mr. President^ Ladies and Gentlemen: — I thank you for this recognition of my long connection with the great interests of History and Agriculture, both momentous in their importance as aflecting the welfare of the human race ; the first recording the history of human life, and the second furnishinjr the means without which that life cannot exist. History exerts a divine influence on all the generations of mankind, raising men to a higher and nobler character, and a truer and purer courage, faith, and fortitude. When I reflect on the history of our old New England, the principles and examples of our fathers, — principles which are fast rev- olutionizing the nations of the Old World ; principles which I believe will ultimately regenerate the nations of the earth, — I feel more and more deeply impressed with the importance of transmitting these blessings to those who are to come after us. It is with this view, Mr. President, that I rejoice with you in the celebration of all such occasions as this. The commemoration of the history of your own town is no idle ceremony. It embraces a broad association of senti- ment ; of sentiment that should have a place in every one who has a love of country, of kindred, or of home, awaken- ing in us the holiest susceptibilities of our character, and the tenderest afi'ections of our soul. Who can revisit the place of his childhood, and recline under the old elm which had been his pride from childhood up, the old red school-house where he learned his A, B, C's, the village church where he was presented at the baptismal font, and the sacred places where lie the remains of the loved and lost, without experiencing emotions that no human language can describe? But, sir, I know how short your time is, and I must not prolong this thought. Suffice it for me to say that History is the revelation of eternal wisdom, instructing us how to be happy and immortal on earth. FOXBOROUGII CENTENNIAL RECORD. 107 Mr. President, you have alluded to me in connection with the great interest of Agriculture, — that interest upon which depends the prosperity of all others. I am most happy, sir, to respond for that. You and I, sir, have seen great changes in it. We have seen great changes in the moral and physical world, but none greater than those which have been effected by science in the practice of agriculture. Why, some of us remember the time when we followed the old w^ooden plough, turning up its scanty furrow, supplanted now by the modern iron plough, which has given place to the majestic steam plough, movhig over the broad plain like a thing of life, turning up its numerous furrows at once, and leaving behind it a wake like that of a majestic vessel. We have used sickle and scythe, slowly gathering up the precious crop. Now go with me to these Western tields. Look down that broad prairie and see those two hundred reaping and mowing machines taking down the precious grain at the rate of two hundred acres per hour. When your tow^n w^as incorporated there was not an Agricultural or Horticultural Society on this continent ; now they are counted by hundreds, there being more than one thousand four hundred mentioned on the books of the Department at Washington. Some of us noAv living remem- ber the time when the annual crop of cereals in our whole country was not one hundred millions of bushels. Now it is nearly a thousand millions of bushels. But I must not forget to pay my debt of gratitude to Foxborough ; therefore I conic a little nearer home, to that society w^hich your good president and the orator of the day have been steady and constant supporters of, during my presidency of twenty years, — I mean the Norfolk Agricul- tural Society, — which in this town celebration should have a record on this occasion. It was that Society, Mr. Presi- dent, as you know very well, from whence emanated the first movement for the establishment of the Mass. Board of 108 FOXBOROUGTI CENTENNIAL RECORD. Agriculture, now just having conipletetl its twenty-fifth year of service with great honor to itself. The Norfolk Agricul- tural Society was the tirst to purchase grounds and enclose them, and take fees for admission. It was the first — pardon me for saying it, but as you have alluded to me as being advanced in life I may never again have an opportunity to tell you — it was the first to move in the great cause of agricultural education. When, thirty years ago, 1 had the honor to deliver an address on that subject, which was one of the first general efiVn-ts in behalf of that cause, — a cause which has culminated in the establishment of our own beloved Agricultural College, which has brought such renown to the State ; a college which only a few days ago graduated twenty as fine young men as I ever saw stand upon the plat- form of any college. In the absence of His Excellency the Governor, I had the supreme honor and felicity of con- ferring upon each one of those graduates the degree of Bachelor of Science. Let me record here, also, to the honor of that college and the glory of our State, that it has planted the first Agricultural College in the far-off island of Japan, and has installed a president and three professors Avho are graduates from it. But I shall tire your patience by repeating and speaking of the wonderful progress of science, education, and civili- zation in our day, and therefore I will bring my remarks to a close. But, standing as we do here to-day on the threshold of the second century in the history of your town, let us remember to express our everlasting gratitude for the price- less blessings which were inherited from our fathers ; and let us also leave for those who are to come after us a right hearty welcome to the princi[)les, the patriotism, the virtue of the present generation. I believe that these principles to which I have referred, and which we have inherited from our fathers, will Net pervade the workl. I believe that all this progress which we are seeing is but the faint glimmering FOXBOROUGII CENTENNIAL RECORD. 109 of that glorious day when peace, plenty, and prosperity shall pervade the whole earth, and when the principles of our NeAV England fathers will bind, not only families of States, but nations, together in one great circle of life and love. But. Mr. President, as I think I shall find it very incon- venient to be here at your next centennial celebration [Laughter] — I propose a sentiment which will include both this and that occasion. I give you, "The Town of Fox- borough ; celebrated in the past for the intelligence, enter- prise, and industry of her sons ; may she in the centuries to come be as renow^ned for the prosperity, patriotism, and valor of her people." [Applause.] Mr. Spencer. — Thank you ; if we had received it before perhaps we might have used it in place of this. As it is, I will give you l)oth, for the next toast is the regular one : — The Town of Foxborough : Born one hundred years ago, during the glorious struggle for liberty, named for one who believed that free men should resist unjust taxation, grown to a hardy, healthy body, on a diet of straw ; may she never pine for the lack of some solid food. I Avill call upon one who has a right to speak in this town, by virtue of his descent from one of our earlier settlers, and who has an additional claim to a hearing from us by reason of his afiinity with one of the first and noblest of those who shed their blood in the cause of liberty, — Hon. Henry W. Paine, grand-nephew of Gen. Joseph Warren, who fell at Bunker Hill. ADDRESS OF HON. HENRY W. PAINE. My Friends, my Kinsmen: — It is most agreeable to my feelings that I am not treated as a stranger, but am received and recognized as one of the family. Though not a native of the town, the name of Foxborough was familiar to my ear before my infant tongue could lisp it. In this town my 110 FOXBOROUGH CENTENNIAL RECORD. father ^vas born one hundred years ago next December. To this town my mother was brought by her parents ninety-nine years ago. Here they lived until they married and migrated to the, then, wilderness of Maine. From my earliest recol- lection the names of the Foxborough families were house- hold words in their far-away home on the shores of the Kennebec. In your cemeteries are the remains of my grand- parents on either side, and of many tenderly-loved relatives. It would be strange, passing strange, if I did not feel a deep interest in all that pertains to this town, to its past, to its present, and to its future, — the birthplace, the burial-place, and, permit me to say it from my heart, the present dwell- ing-place, of many near and dear to me, and my kinsmen. As I passed in review your cultivated fields, your peace- ful and commodious dwellings, your charming and beautiful village, I could not refrain from contrasting the present with the past. The town, as it now is, is the town as it must have been, and, according to the admirable oration of your orator to-day, was an hundred years ago. Born, as the town was, amid the throes of the country's agony, our fathers were then engaged in the great battle of freedom, and with fearful odds. They were a people without a government; their scanty resources were nearly exhausted ; their antago- nist was the most powerful nation on the face of the earth. The time of the birth of your town was indeed a period of iiitense anxiety and distress. But our fathers did not de- spond ; they sustained, without repining, the vast burdens which a long-protracted war had imposed on them. They believed their cause to be just ; they believed their demands to be reasonable : and they proceeded to the end. They found their confederated system defective, and they estab- lished a more perfect union. They devised a form of gov- ernment without precedent in the world's history. It is Avell for the people that call to mind the great virtues of their fathers to practise those virtues, and to emulate their exam- FOXBOROUGH CENTENNIAL RECORD. Ill pie , in order that they may transmit to those who are to come after them the grand inheritance they have received from those who have gone before them. But I cannot occupy your time at this late hour when others are probably expect- ing to address you . Among the virtues — conspicuous among the virtues — of our fathers was their industry. From Avhat I have seen of the people of Foxborough I am inclined to think that the habit of the town is not entirely eating, in the language of the sentiment, a straw diet ; but is largely to pay tribute to those habits of industry which they have in- herited, and which they have had the good sense to cultivate in their own hearts, to labor wisely and intelligently. Without taking up any more of your time, which I proba- blymight have done, — for matters press upon my mind, — I close with saying, that not her sons only, but her grandsons, ardently desire a happy and prosperous future for the dear old town. [Applause.] Mr. Spencer. — I am just reminded to tell you that we are still going to have the best speeches, of those which are to follow; those which have gone before, of course, are. [Laughter.] Here is a snug little audience, little in com- parison with what we have had ; but I think you will all be sorry if you don't stay. It is only five o'clock. A gentleman in the audience : " We'll stay all night." Mr. Spencer. — The next sentiment which I shall propose is : — Our Town's Centennial : A link between the past and the future, and an occasion for making a contribution to local history. May the years to come have a history as bright and fair as those whose flight we celebrate to-day. I shall call upon a gentlemau to respond to this sentiment, of whose grandfather you have heard in the oration to-day. I meant to read this page as a sort of introduction, by w^hich to introduce Mr. Winslow ; but the orator has taken the 112 FOXBOROVGH CENTENNIAL RECORD. words out of my mouth, and I will not repeat them. This grandfather was Dr. Shudrach Winslow ; some of you will remember him, perhaps. The gentleman whom I will intro- duce to you has come all the way from New York to speak, as he says, for the bones of his grandfother. I introduce John AYinslow, Esq., of the New York Bar. ADDRESS OF JOHN WINSLOW, ESQ. JSlr. President and Frieiids: — To take some part with you here to-day is a privilege and an honor. Town com- memorations of centennials are useful both as a moral stimulus and as opening up the sources of history. There is not a joy known to humanity, or a sorrow, that has not in some form reached a Foxbovough home, in the century that has passed. Whatever exalts the soul, or casts it down, has been known or felt at some Foxboroiigh fire- side. Looking at the century that has passed, in its rela- tions to the body politic, we quickly see its salient points. Within its limits may be counted the achievement of National Independence ; the second war with Great Britain, wherein our right to a i)lace among the nations was again vindicated. Then followed the mighty shock of civil w^ar, wherein the integrity of the Union was preserved in blood and fire. These three epochs, and the great debates they stirred among men, were follow^ed by a national sequence, and, as a crowning grace, the abolition of slavery in the United States. [Applause.] To-day we have a great nation, fearing no foreign foe. If it has cause for apprehension, it is rather from what is within than from what is Avithout its boundaries. Centennial town connnemorations add to our knowledge of local history, and deepen our attachments to the community and the place where avc and our ancestors have lived. There is not a man, woman, or child living in Foxborough, who is not enriched FOXBOROUGII CENTENNIAL RECORD. 113 by the celebration of to-clay. Town histories are the sources of State and National history. As the rivulets swell the river, and the river pours into the sea, so these local histories contribute to that of the State, and that of the States to the history of the natiou. The utility of the great libraries of Europe may be best seen when we consider that their vast numbers of volumes are not to be used or read ceriatim, but rather as words in a lexicon, as occasion may require. So the numerous town histories of tlie country should be written witli care and accuracy, because they are the words of the great lexicon of history, — the sources of all our history, — to be referred to and used as occasion may require, and from which as data clear generalizations may be made. It is the privilege and duty of each of us, so far as we can, to contribute to local history something of incident, of rec- ollection, or experience. It is said that he renders a public service who makes a blade of grass grow wliere none grew before : so it may be said in historical matters, that he ren- ders a public service who supplies a verified fact to local history. When I was a child and used to visit my good grandmother in East Foxborough, and enjoy her cakes, I remember how I got the impression that Foxborough took its name from the foxes that did burrow in its fields and woods, and later, when an old uncle showed me where to find fox grapes (and pretty sour they were), how I began to think that possibly Foxborough might, after all, have been named after sour grapes. [Laughter.] And then later, when I learned that the town was named in honor of the eloquent Mr. Fox, who was our friend in the British Parlia- ment, in the days when friends were not numerous there, my curiosity was aroused to know something more of Fox, and the period in which he lived and made his fame. So here to-day, I think, there may be children Avho have heard historical allusions new to them, and which will interest 114 FOXBOROUGH CENTENNIAL RECORD. them to make further researches. It is said that history is philosophy teacliing by example. It may be that Foxboroiigh will send out to the world, from the risino; jreiieration, youno- men who shall be able to understand the teachings of history more comprehensively, because their taste in historical re- search has been quickened by the studies and memories of this day. Thus, among the utilities of this celebration may be counted the fact, that it will inspire a spirit and love of historical study, and so bring a better knowledge of causes and effects that govern the affairs of men. I remember in the history of Foxborough that there seemed to have been two great agitations, which must have convulsed the town from centre to circumference. There was a mighty poem written some j^ears ago, by Mr. Payne, father of the venerable aud distinguished lawyer who has addressed you, describing, in a satirical way, an ecclesiastical feud that ex- isted in this town Avhen the Reverend Mr. Somebody adopted a new dogma, or stuck to an old one. The poem refers to Dr. Shadrach Winslow as one of the theological belligerents. We are told, by the learned orator of the day, of another con- vulsion which came to startle the good people of this toAvn, and that was through the medium of New England rum. So I am inclined to think that Foxborough, at one time, had for its chief discussion New England theology and New England rum. [Laughter.] I am soriy to say that for a time the latter spirit got the better of the former, and your orator told you that it ruined many people of this toAvn. But the good news comes that Foxborough is, at last, on the temperance side of the question. Now, I hold that it is the right and the privilege of every man, woman, and child here to con- tribute, if he can, something of incident, recollection, or ex- perience , to local history . That is the way local history should be made and understood. I can understand, when these great matters were del)ated in Foxborough, there got to be a sort of vernacular or special tone. I have an excise certificate in FOXBOROUGH CENTENNIAL RECORD. 115 my possession, which I found among my grandfather's papers, which licensed my father's maternal grandfather, Eleazer Rob- bins, to keep an inn in the town of Foxborough. 1 found among the papers, also, a vote of the Congregational Council, that met here, for some solemn purpose, in that inn. I have no doubt they had a very grave and sober time. [Laughter.] I can almost imagine that in that benighted period, when the use of the ardent spirit was too common, before one really felt equal to making a fine disci-imination between what was Calvinism, and Avhat was Calvin istic, and what was Calvinistical, and w4iat was Hopkinsian, he had first to take a drink. [Laughter.] As an illustration of the vernacular that will appear in special localities, I remember an anecdote that occurred in New Bedford one day. You know they are a peculiar people there, and have a special calling : they go whaling, or send others, and measure their oil cargoes by the barrel. There was one day an Irishman brought up in court on a charge of assaultincj a colored man in the street in an outrageous and cruel manner. Patrick was indicted for it, and Michael was called as a witness. It turned out that Michael took a hand in the scrimmage, and helped Patrick against the poor colored man. The lawyer said, "Why, Michael, what did you take a hand in that for ; why did you interfere ? " — " Well," said he, " I saw the fight, and it was a great big nigger against Patrick, my friend." — " Well, Michael," said the lawyer, " a great big nigger, — how large a nigger was it ?" — " W^ell," said Michael, "I should think it was about a four-barrel nigger." [Laugh- ter.] So towns in their history come to have their own traditions and their own vernacular. Now, I won't undertake to say anything more of wiiat may have been the topics or style of conversation in the early davs of Foxborough. I remember when I used to come here to see my good old grandmother, that I would not be here long before I would be invited to go a-hucklel)errying ; so I 116 FOXBOROUGII CENTENNIAL RECORD. concluded that one of the chief crops and products of Fox- borough in those days was huckleberries and milk. I need not say that I was deeply interested in the allu- sion made by the (^rator of the day, in his very interesting, instructive, and able address, to Dr. Shadrach Winslow, my grandfather, who lived and also died in Foxborough. As I have already intimated that contributious to local his- tory are in order, so let me make some further allusions to this distinguished man, both because of my personal interest in him, and because his life was so largely identified with Foxborough, and thus because a sketch of him becomes a contribution to local history. Dr. Winslow was born in Freetown, on the 17th day of December, in the year 1750, and died in Foxborough, on the 1st day of February, in the year 1817. He graduated from Yale College on the 11th day of September, 1771. His diploma is in my possession, and is much valued as a relic and sure voucher of the past. The diploma is of the terse style of that day, in Latin, and is signed by Naphthali Daggett, Pres., and five socii. After graduation he became a physician, and married Elizabeth Robbins, a daughter of Eleazer Robbins, who was an exten- sive owner of land in Foxborough. When the Avar of the Revolution began Dr. Winslow was deeply stirred. He entered into the contest warmly, and in August, 1776, aided in fitting up the privateer sloop-of- war "Joseph," and went with her on several voyages as surgeon. Thus is the history of Foxborough identified with the naval history of the Revolution. [Applause.] That her sons were well represented in the army of the Revolu- tion appears from the oration of the day. Dr. Winslow was a lineal descendant of Edward Winslow, of Droitwitch, England, who died in 1631, and who was the father of Governor Edward Winslow, who, with his brother John, came in the "Mayflower" in 1620. Dr. WinsloAv's American ancestor was Kenelm Winslow, a brother of the FOXBOROUGH CENTENNIAL RECORD. 117' governor and of John, and Avho came to Plymonth about 1630, probably in the "Mayflower" on her second voyage. Starting from Edward Winsh)W, of Droitwich, England, the lineal line runs thus: Kenelm (son of Edward), Kenelm, Josiah, James, Shadrach. Thus, Dr. Winslow was of the fifth generation in the American line ; my father, Eleazer Bobbins Winslow, of the sixth ; and your friend, who now addresses you, of the seventh. There is an aged gentleman, Samuel S. Warren, Esq., from wdiose letter your orator, Mr. Carpenter, read to-day, now residing w^ith a daughter in Wrentham, w^ho knew Dr. Winslow well, and in response to a letter of mine has kindly furnished some interesting facts. As this is a day for con- tributions to local history, I will read a portion of Mr. Warren's letter, which to me is of exceeding interest : — "John AVixslow, Esq.: — "Dear Sir, — A day or two since I received a communi- cation from you, asking for information in relation to your grandfather. Dr. Shadrach Winslow, wdio for many years resided in the tow^n of Foxborough. "I will, dear sir, so far as my limited knowledge will permit, respond to your inquiry. He w^as in person about six feet, firm and muscular in structure, though ever after I knew him remarkably thin in flesh. In health he Avould be called a fine-looking man. As a man he was highly re- spected for talents and attainments. No man, whether friend or foe, would attempt to call his integrity in question. " As a physician he was held in high repute hy all capable of forming a just estimate of professional merit. He w as in high practice in Foxborough for many years, until his health became so feeble that he could not respond to professional calls without risk. He was evidently social in feelings, although at times taciturn and retiring. He was courteous and kind to his friends, and ever ready to serve them when 118 FOXBOROUGH CENTENNIAL RECORD. able. He had many friends. He never courted the rabble, and could not be induced to accept office. The quietude of domestic life api^eared to be with him paramount over most other considerations. In politics he was thoroughly demo- cratic ; in religion as thoroughly Calvinistic. He was a tine classical scholar, and an ardent lover of philosophical inves- tigation. " The old people have told me that when young, probably soon after leaving college, he became ardently attached to a beautiful and amiable young lady by the name of Betsey Peck, to whom he was about to be married, when she was suddenly removed by death. This sad event was said, by relations of the doctor, to have produced a deep and lasting influence upon his sensibility. I can easily conceive that one of his sanguine temperament might be so afiected. "He probably settled in Foxborough about 1784, and about that time married a daughter of Eleazer Kobbins. She was a most amiable woman, with whom he lived for many years happily and aftectionately. He used to practise in my father's family. In the month of May, 1790, a son of General Warren was making a visit at my father's, in Foxborough, when he was taken ill. The family, though not much alarmed about him, sent for Dr. Winslow. The doctor stepped into the room, came out, and told my parents that he could not live an hour. They could not be made to believe it, but in a very few minutes he breathed his last. He had no desire to make an ostentatious exhibition of his superior knowledge ; 1)ut when he did speak in public he was listened to by all, for his mind was luminous, his thoughts pertinent, and his arrangement logical. The doc- tor and my father. Judge Warren, though opposite in politics and religion, were ever personal friends. "Dr. Winslow was a superior Latinist, and used to read to me, during my preparatory course, Virgil, Horace, Cicero, etc., with great facility. I think he kept his classics until FOXBOROUGU CENTENNIAL RECORD. 119 his death. I used, when a boy, to be much in the company of the doctor. I used to be at his mill frequently, where I often met him. lie was to me one of the most interesting; of the human family. I think he made several successful voyages before being captured. I do not recollect ever hearing him detail the circumstances of his capture. He was not long on board any prison-ship. Immediately after his liberation he commenced his tour upon the Continent. " I recollect hearing him speak of being in France, Spain, Portugal, and Turkey. He frequently spoke of the superior Latin scholars in Spain, who read, wrote, and spoke the language as familiarly as their own ; said he used to com- municate with them in writing, as their pronunciation of Latin was so different from ours that it was impracticable to converse with them in that lano^uao^e. He returned to America at the close of the war. I was, when a boy, famil- iarly acquainted with the whole family. Jesse and myself were not far from the same age. We were sworn friends. He was a splendid youth." Let me add that Mr. Warren is eighty -five years of age, and connected with the General Warren family, of Bunker Hill fame. I feel and wish to express a deep sense of obli- gation to him for his kindness in supplying these interesting facts. It is an irksome thing for many in the prime of life to write a letter. It is a very creditable thing for a gentle- man eighty-five years old to write such a letter as I have from Mr. Warren, requiring accuracy of statement and careful memory. These facts make me better acquainted with the good doctor, and feel, in a sense, that I, too, have walked and talked with him as with one entitled to my affectionate respect. The remark that Mr. Warren makes in his letter, that " he was to me one of the most interesting of the human family," shows how deeply impressed he was by his strong character. 120 FOXBORoron cextexxial record. Your esteemed venerable townsman, Capt. Daniels Carpenter, remembers him well, and says, ''When a youth twelve y^rs of age he was attended by him as a physician.' As illustrative of how important historical facts are, sometimes lost or hidden away through want of care, let me tell you something of the sloop-of-war in which Dr. Winslow sailed as surgeon in the war of the Revolution. For many years I have been inquiring in various direc- tions the name of the sloop, but could find no one who knew. If anv ever did know thev had forofotten. I wished to know, that I might verify an important his- torical fact, and make some examination of our naval regis- ters in that connection. Last year through my importunities, my good uncle Joseph, the youngest and only surviving child of Dr. AVinslow, was induced to examine some old papers in his possession that belonged to his father. Among these was found a will, made August 16, 1776, by Dr. Winslow, just prior to his first voyage. In that will, which I have here, the name of the sloop ap- pears ; it was the "Joseph." I knew something of the "Joseph" who was captured and sent to Egypt, but wanted to know about this " Joseph " that was captured and sent to Egyptian darkness with my grandfither on board, a prisoner of war. So here was a most important fact brought to light touch- ing the naval history of Foxborough. You may depend upon it that I will take good care that it is not again hidden in darkness. Let me read a few lines of this will : — "I, Shadrach Winslow, of Rheoboth, in the State of Mas- sachusetts Bay, being sensible, although now in a comfortable state of health, that life is uncertain, and being bound on a cruise in the privateer sloop-of-war called the "Joseph." against the enemies of the L^nited American States, and FOXBOROUGII CENTENNIAL RECORD. 121 knowing the many contingencies that in the Course of Divine Providence daily must and do await mankind in every age and station of life, and willing that those temporal goods, and such estate as God has blessed me with, should be so disposed of in case I should not return, as would be most satisfactory to me ; Do make and ordain this my last Will and Testament, recommending myself through Christ, first of all, to that merciful being who gave mine and what I possess, and hoping through him to enjoy felicity hereafter," etc. Upon the suggestion of Commodore Preble, from whom I have received a letter on the subject, I examined a naval register found in the N. E. Historical and Genealogical Library, in Boston, of which Mr. \A'ilder is president, and found the record. Mr. Warren mentions Dr. Winslow's deep attachment to the beautiful Miss Betsey Peck, who died. The will referred to shows the name of the sloop-of-war was the "Joseph." Perhaps it is more than a coincidence that his oldest daugh- ter was named "Betsey Peck," and his youngest son " Joseph." That very tender and thrilling memories of his life clustered about these names is apparent. The sources of early history rest largely on tradition. Whether Romu- lus and Remus, the traditional founders of Rome, ever lived we know not ; but we find that even contemporaneous his- tory must be most carefully written, to avoid errors. For instance, I know, as a lawyer, there is no rule of English or American law better settled, or more respected, than that dying declarations, in cases of homicide, are received in evidence as if given under the sanction of an oath. The theory is, that one making a declaration in the fiice of death is likely to speak the truth, if of sound mind and memor}'. But, Sir James FitzJames, Q.C., in a recent ecliticm of his learned work on the Law of Evidence, relates as a curious instance of the way in which the rules of evi- 122 FOXBOROUGH CENTENNIAL RECORD. dence v.aiy in their eflect, that a Punjab district (a district in India) officer Uitely told him that it had come to l)e com- monly known in the Peshawur division that a dying declara- tion as to the cause of the declarant's death is admitted in proof of the matter stated. The effect of this was, that whenever a man was mortally wounded, and found himself dying (a very common incident in that part of the world) , he took the opportunity of making a dying declaration, cal- culated to pay off as many old scores of vengeance as possible. The supposed ground of the English rule is, that the solemn thoughts coimected with approaching death are equivalent to the sanction of an oath. This is very far, indeed, from being the way in which a dying Punjabee looks at the subject. His reflection on such an occasion is, " This is my last chance of doing so and so, my old family enemy, a bad turn, and I will on no account miss it." Thus, it will be seen that the value of the ancient rule of evidence as a channel of history is largely dependent upon the progress of that civilization which proceeds from the Author of all truth. The Anglo-Saxon's standard is higher than the Punjabee's, and so better vindicates the supposed safety of the rule, as a means of verity. As a further illustration, I may cite the despairing excla- mation of Sir Walter Raleigh, on vainly trying to get at the rights of a squabble which he witnessed in a court-yard of the tower in which he was imprisoned. Two conflicting, and, as he thought, untrue accounts of the brawl were given to him in his room. "Here am I," he cried, "employed in writing a History of the World, trying to give a just account of transactions, many of which occurred three thousand years ago, — when I cannot ascertain the truth of what hap- pens under my window ! " So we are told by the Duke of Sully, that after the battle of Aumoule, Henry IV., being slightly wounded, conversed familiarly with some of his ofl[icers touching the perils of the FOXBOROUGII CENTENNIAL RECORD. 123 day, upon which, says the duke, "I observed as something very extraordinary, that amongst us all who were in the chamber, there were not two who agreed in the recital of the most particular circumstances of the action." Doubtless diiferences like these may be accounted for ; but the fact remains that critical care does not always exclude errors in historical narrative. It is natural, on an occasion like this, when so many people come together from this and surrounding towns, to revive and review historical recollections, that one should think of the great republic, of which w^e are a part, and of its destiny. Governor llice, who has just addressed you, has spoken of the intelligence and virtue of the people of Massachusetts. Whatever opinions may be entertained, or prophecies made, concerning our national destiny, of one thing we are assured. If a gathering of such intelligent, thrifty, and moral people as I see before me, and as may be found in any town in Massachusetts, could be had upon an occasion of this sort, in any town in the United States ; then, in such a condition of society it would not require the prophetic voice to trace, in the bright outlines of the future, the continued stability and glory of our free institutions. [Applause.] The Toast-Master. — I told you that eleven hundred and ninety-two of our fellow-citizens, former residents of Foxborough, had responded to the invitations sent out. They deserve some sentiment, and I suggest the following : — OUR PRODIGALS. " Tliough they have wandered far from liome, And mingled in life's busy rout, It 's long, indeed, that a child may roam Ere it tire the love of its mother out." We welcome them with open arms to the home they loved and left. 124 FOXBOROUGII CENTENNIAL BE CORD. Among the many prodigals who, to-day, come rushing to the embrace of their fathers and parents there is a younger son, — a brother, who, having refreshed himself on our fatted calf, in his best robe, with a ring on his hand and shoes on his feet, will now, perhaps, have something to say about his diet of husks in Brockton, — Mr. Charles W. Sumner. ADDRESS OF CHARLES W. SUMNER, ESQ. Mr. Toast-Master : — At this stage of the proceedings I feel very much like certain members of Congress who are more anxious to be heard by their constituents than in Con- gress, and who say: "Mr. Speaker, I have a speech and I would like to print it ; but the lateness of the hour and the press of public business prev^ent its delivery." Now, it seems to me that I may say, honestly, at the l)eginning, that I am going to be brief, — very brief, — and that I may sit down before you know it. I think, in view of what the last speaker said, that I may safely say I shall be fully as brief as he. Upon these occasions it is always pleasant to hear from the invited guests, and always pleasant to hear from our own toAvnspeople. These ceremonies we have had here to-day remind me of a story of a certain letter written by a good Baptist Church memljer, on the upper ]Muskingham ; she wrote to one of her dearly beloved sisters, and said she : " This is very, very bad weather. We cannot go to church now, but we have had a minister here. We gave him ten pounds of butter and a ham, and you had just better believe we kept him praying while he stayed." [Laughter.] Cer- tain it is that I am at a loss to understand the parable of the prodigal son. Ever since I was a boy in Foxborough, and attended Sunday school here, I have heard one version, and only one version, of that parable. I have heard, first, of the inheritance besought of the father ; of the departure into FOXBOROUGH CENTENNIAL RECORD. 125 « the far country ; of the wasting of the inheritance ; of the husks that were eaten, and of the repentance that followed it, and the search on the part of the prodigal after his father. Now, I do not believe this committee really believes in the repentance of its prodigals, or really believes that these eleven hundred and ninety-two prodigals have been lost and are now found — [Laughter] — because, for the first time in my life, the prodigal son has been invited home. Now, it is certain that there may be one excuse for that, and only one that I know of, and that is tliis : it is said we are welcomed with a mother's love. AVe know that whatever a mother does is always contrary to what we would expect in a paternal parent. We know that when, as boys and girls in our infancy, we were guilty of little sins, little mischiefs, it was the mother that we first confided in ; we remember her as the most honored and revered part of our family. We know that her love is a love that never tires and never for- gets ; we know that that is the love that follows the son, never loses sight of him, but goes in search of him and brings the wanderer home. Foxborough, as a mother, has thus gathered into her open arms eleven hundred and ninety- two prodigals. Certainly I never realized until to-day the immense extent of those arms, or the tremendous embrace they were capable of. [Laughter.] Certainly it is a peculiarity of Foxborough that the older she grows the younger she is, and that her embrace to-day is even stronger, larger, and more capacious than it was an hundred years ago. I am called upon to respond for all prodigals, — a young man, one who has not become acquainted with the career of many of those heads I see around me, whom Father Time has bleached white, and who I know have been long absent from their homes. But I have not yet learned that any descendant of Foxborough, or any prodig:d of Foxborough, has in any manner or in any measure violated any of its virtuous traditions that gather around her citizens. They 126 FOXBOROUGH CEXTEXXIAL RECORD. have Iteen in various fields ; they have mingled in govern- ment, in art, in professions, in literature, as instructors, as ministers, — in every walk of life they have been heard from ; and to-day they return to the old homestead. Oh, how grand the day I How it must stir the inmost depths of the souls of every one of us I He who is not so moved is a l^rodigal indeed, unworthy of a country and undeserving of a home. As I rode through the town this morning in the procession ; as I went by many of the scenes of childhood and saw how much it had improved, how much it had grown ; when I asked myself the C[uestion, " How can all this business be carried on midst the apparent peace and quiet of Fox- borough?" I confess I was somewhat sui^Drised. I had not expected to see that long trade procession ; I did not believe it possible that within your limits so much business was done. As I went through these streets, as I visited your hall, as I went by Memorial Hall, as I looked down to the end of the street, near Avhich is my home, as I gathered with others upon the Common, as I rode with the procession through the various streets of the town, I could not but think, how beautiful is Foxborough ; and proud I was to show her to my friends, and those who were accompanying me. Certain it is, we all know, that whatever home we may build for ourselves ; however elegant the palace, however much we may call to our aid art and science to beautify it ; we never, never, can make of the home of our after-life one such spot about which there shall he such hallowed and such sacred memories as those that cluster around the home of one's childhood and infancy. And, as I have witnessed all these things, and thought of Foxborough, I have been proud of one other thing, and that is, that this town, with the tra- ditions which it has had, has also had within its limits one such public-spirited man as the orator of the day, Hon. E. P. Carpenter [Applause], — the man above all others to whose encouragement all this rare beauty, all this growth, FOXBOROUGII CENTENNIAL RECORD. 127 all this expansion, is clue. As I live on in future years, and remember Foxborough, it must always be associated with his name. I ask, in conclusion, what monument can be more desired by man than to live forever in the affections of his fellow-countrymen, his fellow-citizens, and his descendants? Such, I l)elieve, will Ijc the vitality, the eternity, and the memory, that attaches to the name of E. P. Carj^euter. [Applause.] The Toast-Master. — There is one sentiment for which I know you have been looking, and now it shall come : — OcR Inhustrt, which has built up our prosperity ; the true work of magic by which straw and chip have been transformed into gold. May our harvest of hats ever be sewed by skilful hands, and every year increase in size; may the wheels of our industry never be blocked or pressed in their onward progress ; may the sails of our good ship, Union and Bay State, be trimmed to catch each transporting gale, and our course ever be shaped toward success : may the orders that are wired to her Captain Cook from all parts of the world be packed and shipped to accommodate customers. For a fitting response to this sentiment we must look to one to whom its mystei'ies are an open secret, and who has the key to them all, — Mr. A. T. Starkey. [Applause.] RESPONSE OF A. T. STARKEY, ESQ. Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen: — I have not the facility to speak which belongs to those who have preceded me. My words, like the courage of Bob Acres, ooze a great deal more freely from my finger-ends than from my tongue. I therefore beg leave to rely a little upon my manuscript. The country in which we live is so vast in extent, its in- dustries are so varied in their character, and the population whose wants are to be supplied is so great, that it is not a source of wonder that the people of one section, and those identified with one business interest, should know but little FOXBOROUGH CENTENNIAL RECORD. 129 Straw equipped your soldiers, in whose memory you built the quaint monumental pile which graces yonder corner. Straw furnished the means of support to the one hundred ladies who, on the nineteenth of April, 1861, proflered their services to the State as nurses to make up garments for the soldiers, to prepare lint and bandages, or to do anything for the cause of their country which it was in their power to do, — an offer which Governor Andrew, in his reply, character- ized as one of the most earnest and sincere of the countless proffers of devotion to the old Commonwealth and the cause of our country which it had been his pleasure to receive. Straw has paid your ministers, your doctors, and your school- teachers, your insurance and your tax-bills, and has made many a heart glad. I might extend the list of the benefits which straw has conferred upon our town indefinitely, but there is no need ; these are a few of the fruits which have grown out of the determination of a Yankee girl, only twelve years of age, to possess an article which her means forbade. Out of little Betsey Metcalf's brain has arisen a business which, in this town alone, has given employment to 3,291 men and women in a single year, producing 2,473,819 hats, caps, bonnets, and head-coverings of every description, valued at cost, at $1,493,986.40; the disbursements for labor in the town and vicinity being $399,676.15. The United States census for 1870 gives the number of straw establishments in Massachusetts as 39, employing. 11,341 hands, and producing goods to the value of $4,^69,- 514 ; and in the United States as 75 establishments, employ- ing 14,925 hands, and producing $7,282,086 worth of goods. To this extent has the straw business grown. The story of the rise and growth of the business here ha» been told you to-day. We owe our prosperity to the indomitable perseverance of little Betsey Metcalf, and the straw towns owe it to them- 130 FOXBOROUGH CENTENNIAL RECORD. selves and to justice to see that a monument of enduring bronze shall be erected to her memory, at no distant day, in some one of the towns her brains have benefited. We are told that " whoever shall make two blades of grass grow where only one was known before, deserves better of mankind and does more essential service to his country than the whole race of schemers who put their private ends above the public weal." If this be true, she who invents a business which gives employment to thousands, and builds happy homes where only the wildness of nature was known before, deserves a statue far more than he who leads thousands to death, for the sake of glory, or who uses the proud position his fellow- citizens have given him for his own selfish designs. Among the myriad industries which combine to render the hills and valleys of New England one vast workshop, and its population a bus3% thriving, and intelligent people, there is none which, from a more humble beginning, has grown to greater proportions, or which has carried comfort, ease, and even luxury, into more households in the section Avhere it flourishes than this working of straw. The business here in Foxborough has had its successes and its reverses, as all other branches of trade have, in all other places. I have been familiar with the business of the towni during nearly one half of the period since the various small shops which originally did the work were consolidated into the present establishment. I have known its joys and its trials. I have seen it in the hour of its greatest success and in its time of adversity. I have seen it perplexed to find help enough to do the work it was called upon to do, and I have seen it perplexed to ifind work enough for those w^hom it had called to its employ. I have seen it, in common with the general business of the •country, mount to a prosperity which carried joy to many a heart and comfort to many a household ; and I have seen it, FOXBOROUGH CENTENNIAL RECORD. 131 with all other branches of trade, go clown that decline which inevitably follows an era of inordinately expanded business ; and in all that time, and under all circumstances, I have ever seen that the management of the business, under the various firms which have successively had control of it, has ever been most upright and honorable ; and I have seen that, when the hour of adversity came, no employe has ever lost one dollar of his or her wages through their financial disasters, — the losses which have come have ever fallen upon those who had invested Avith the hope of gain. It has ever been the endeavor to procure the best class of help attainable, and to treat them in such a manner that they shall desire to return here, year after year ; and this policy has hiid most complete success. The business feels the depression attendant upon all branches of trade fully as severely as an}^ other, as its suc- cesses are largely dependent upon the whims of Fashion. The time was when the old Union sat upon her gravel knoll, and from her throne of beauty ruled the world of Straw ; when she dictated style and price ; when a half- score of shapes sufficed to satisfy the demands of fashion all the year through, and when there was an outlet in the back country for the surplus of every season. Those golden days are fled, — two hundred shapes for ladies' wear, and a double score for men's, do not suffice to allay the constant cry for " something new." The great in- crease of railroad facilities has brought the liack country all to the front, and peopled every town and hamlet in the far West and South with a milliner, and she demands for her customers the very hitest thing produced. Competitors have arisen from those who have gone out from the old hive, and have carried the knowledge Avhich they there obtained to many a distant town and city, and to-day the old Union has to take her lotw^ith the rest, instead of having the lion's share, as she did of old. 132 FOXBOROUGH CENTENNIAL RECORD. The progress of invention in this business has kept fall pace with invention in the world generally. The machinery for the work and the method for doing- it are chanofinof con- stantly ; the plans adapted to the business of one year will not answer for that of the next, so that a person who was familiar with the methods, the machinery, and the details of the business a few years ago, would be perplexed to follow the workings of it through all its windings, as at present organized and equipped. k " NeAv times demand new methods and new men, The world advances and full soon outgrows The ways our fathers thought were best ; And doubtless after us will wiser ways be planned By wiser men than we ; Made wiser by the steady growth of skill." Our fortunes are completely interwoven with the business which has built up the prosperity which we see around us ; all that the town is or has been is the result of its success ; its successes are our successes and its reverses are our mis- fortunes, — it is our sole dependence. It is and has been ably managed, and our gratitude, honor, and esteem, are due to that band of noble, honorable men who have carried the business up to the magnitude which it has attained. They have risked tl>eir means to achieve its success ; they have devoted the best hours of their lives to its service ; they have given their most earnest thoughts to its welfare, and, when prosperous times shall come again, they will be able, with our hearty, cordial, earnest support and assistance, to con- tinue to the business which a Baker invented ; which Carpen- ters builded, enlarged, and strengthened ; which has had its treasury guarded by a faithful, much-loved Kerr; whose plans are thoroughly Cooked^ and whose battles are well Faught, — that degree of prosperity which the past has known. FOXBOROUGH CENTENNIAL RECORD. 133 The Toast-Master. — Our honored Governor was pleased to refer to the longevity of the people of this town. It has been thought proper that some formal recognition of this fact should be made on this occasion, and a sentiment has been proposed : — To Our Octogenarians. " Honor and reverence, and the good repute That follows faithful service as its fruit, Be unto them, whom, living, we salute." It has been found that there are between thirty and forty residents of this town who have reached and passed the age of fourscore, so that at least one in every hundred of our population might respond to the sentiment which is proposed with a degree of strength which is not in every case labor and sorrow. There is one, however, who has a still higher claim to be heard, who has just passed her one hundredth natal anniversary, — r Mrs. Skelton, widow of the Rev. Thomas Skelton, who was settled in this place between 1807 and 1816. We were hoping that she might have graced this occasion with her presence ; but a letter from her daughter, Mrs. C. E. Page, which I will read, will explain her absence : — "Boston, June 24, 1878. " W. D. Carpenter, Esq. : — " Dear Sir, — As the Matron of the ' Home ' neglected to reply to the invitation of the ' Centennial Committee,' I have deemed it a courtesy due 3'ou to decline for my mother, Mrs. Skelton, the invitation sent her to be present at your coming Centennial celebration. She thanks you for the kind remembrance and honor con- ferred, and would be most happy to avail herself of the pleas- ure it would bestow ; but feels that the fatigue and excitement, when added to fivescore years and six months of age, might 134 FOXBOROUGH CENTENNIAL RECORD. be the means of shortening the life so many are desirous of preserving. Presuming you are the Mr. Wm. Carpenter whom I know and highly esteem, "Believe me, yours very truly and respectfully, "Mrs. C. E. Page." " God bless evermore the place of my nativity. "C. E. P." The Toast-Master. — The next sentiment in order is one to Our Honored Dead : Holy martyrs to independence and liberty ; may the dumb sentinel who keeps his silent watch on their memorial, yonder, re- view us there with our increasing years, in the due course of nature. To this sentiment, in which every heart must fervently unite, response will now be made by our esteemed fellow- citizen, Mr. Joseph E. Pond, Jr. EESPONSE OF JOSEPH E. POND, Jr., Esq. It is well, on an occasion like this, to bear in grateful re- membrance the memory of those heroic men who laid down their lives upon the altar of a country's sacrifice, for the purpose of maintaining and perpetuating the cause of inde- pendence and human liberty. Without them and their noble compeers, without the privations which they endured, with- out the sacrifices which they made in the holy cause of free- dom, we to-day would not be enjoying those blessings which we are now commemorating. Their deeds have passed into history, and nought is left for us to do l)ut give them the glorious meed of praise they have so nobly earned. Our triumphs are the result of their brave and heroic deeds, and so long as our country exists will the story of their labors and struggles be deeply engraved in the hearts of those who FOXBOROUGH CENTENNIAL RECORD. 135 are left to enjoy the blessings and privileges of independence, freedom, and liberty. The tablets in our Memorial Hall, over which stands the silent sentinel placed there by the hands of appreciating friends, will ever bring to our minds and memories the rec- ollection of what we owe to them, and keep fresh and green, in our heart of hearts, the fact that by their death a country lived. For those who fought, bled, and died in the struggle for independence, all honor is due ; and we shall not be deemed as detracting from their nol)le deeds by giving them but a passing notice. But to those of a later day, — those who are more nearly related to our time, — those who gave up their lives for the establishment and preservation of human free- dom, we may be indulged for a moment in speaking more fully. On that dark day when our country was first divided against itself, and none could tell what the result would be, the spirit of the forefathers still lingered with the sons, and they left home and all that was dear to them with but a mo- ment's notice. They were the first to land upon the soil of Virginia,^ and hold possession of the most important fortress in the Union. The}^ participated in the first battle of that great struggle which has passed into history. Their record is one which ever will redound to the honor of the " Old Bay State," and will be prized among her richest historic treas- ures. The w^ar opened with a cannon-shot, and they showed themselves at the door. They have added new splendor to our revolutionary an- nals, and these brave sons of ours, who were killed in the memorable battles of the Eebellion, have rendered doubly sacred the day when the green sward of Lexington Common was drenched with the blood of their fathers. To-day, then, let us give their deeds all honor, all praise ; 1 A Foxboroug-h private of Co. F, 4th Reg't M.V.M., was the first volunteer who landed upon Virg:iniau soil in response to President Lincoln's first call. 1:56 FOXBOROUGH CENTENNIAL RECORD. f(ir to them is largely due the blessings and privileges which we are now enjoying. To history and our own hearts will be left the duty of keeping their memories alive. With their near and dear friends and relatives we to-day can sympathize, remembering that the roar of blank artillery which ushered in this auspicious morn was to them the echo of the death-knell of some fiither, son, or brother ; that the church-bells, which have just now rung out peals of rejoicing, not long ago were tolling the funeral chime of many who had been called to the home beyond the grave. " On fame's eternal camping-ground Their silent tents are spread ; . While angels guard, with silent round, The bivouac of the dead." It may demand the lapse of silent years to soften the real- ization of their loss ; but during the ages to come we shall brood over their memory ; into our hearts will breathe the inspirations of lofty and undying beauty, sublimity, and truth, in all the glowing forms of speech, of literature, and plastic art. By the traditions of the fireside, by the head- stones in the church-yard, consecrated to those whose forms repose in far-otf graves on the battle-ground Avhere they so bravely fought, and so nobly fell, they will still live embalmed in the hearts of succeeding generations of parents and child- ren.- Their names, their service, their fate, their glory, will never be forgotten, for through and by them came the ful- filment of the prophecy engraved on Independence Bell : — '- "Proclaim liberty throughout the land unto the inhabitants thereof." The To AST-Master. — The next toast is — The Early Ministers of Foxborough : Gratefully remembered for their faithful labors and their godly example. " They tried each heart, reproved each dull delay, Allured to brighter worlds and led the wav." FOXBOROUGH CENTENNIAL RECORD. 137 You will bo glad to hear, in reply, one who for five years carried on among us the Avork of these early ministers, with a faithfulness, ability, and success which abide in our memories fresh and fragrant, — Rev. Bernard Paine. ADDRESS OF REV. BERNARD PAINE. Mr. President and Friends: — I am amazed at your patience and forbearance. Those who remain through these protracted services, and listen to a'll the addresses, should have their names enrolled and preserved in Memorial Hall for the next centennial. It is said that, somewhere among the hills of Western New York, there are two springs close together, either one of which a cow could drink dry in a summer's day ; yet the little stream Avhich flows from one forms the current of the St. Lawrence ; while the other, flowing southward, swells into the Mississippi, and enters the Gulf of Mexico. The forces which act at the beginning are the most efiective ; so the influence of the first ministers of Foxborough, in shaping the life and moral character of the town, cannot be easily estimated. It might seem fitting that some one more ad- vanced in years should speak of those who sowed the first seeds of truth in Foxborough, and have o-one to their reward ]} yet I feel honored in being asked to say a few words in their behalf. For thirty-nine years, or more than a third of the century, there was but one church in Foxborough, and that of the Congregational order. The Baptist Church then began its existence. More than two-thirds of the century had passed before the Universalist Society was organized. The early ministers of the town, who have died, therefore, were mostly Congregational . Of later ministers. Rev. J. M. Merrick, who came to the ^ The sentiment was conveyed to the speaker, as referring only to those who have died, in distinction from those now living. 138 FOXBOROUGH CENTENNIAL RECORD. Universalist Society in 1867, from Walpole, deserves honor- able mention. During his stay of two years he served the town as Superintendent of Schools, and represented it in the Legislature, — a man universally esteemed. Of the Baptist ministers who have died, Rev. Mr. Ripley was a sound preacher and faithful man. The first minister of that society was Rev. Warren Bird. Returning now to the early ministers of the town, Thomas seems to have been a favorite name, for, of the first four pastors, three had this for their Christian name. The old partiality for the name seemed to revive when the church took a Thomas for one of their deacons. Of the eleven pastors whom this church has had during the century, seven have died. The first ministers, however, lived to a great age. At one time, during Mr. Pierce's ministry, when about half of the century must have passed, I am told that all of the first five pastors were living. The first minister of the town was Rev. Thomas Kendall. His ministry lasted fourteen years. All accounts agree that he was a man of genuine goodness. As a preacher he was not theological, after the pattern of that day, but preferred rather to ramble than to follow a precise method. A critic said of one of his sermons, " He went from Genesis to Revelation before he got through." There are persons, living in town, who remember hearing jMr. Kendall preach. One person, in particular, recollects distinctly his calling at the house, with Bible and hymn-book, — together with his reading and sing- ing. He used to sing all the hymns in one tune. There is not much of interest to relate concerning the second and third pastors. Indeed the church did not seem to feel that just the right man had come until the advent of Thomas WiUiams. His ministry lasted only five years, but it was eminently successful. Under his lead the church declared its independence of the town, and managed its own aftairs in the true spirit of a Congregational church. FOXBOROUGII CENTENNIAL RECORD. 139 They built a new church-building, the " Old Brick," now, so-called ; and, in doing so, they made great sacrifices. He was a man of quick sensibility, as well as vigorous in- tellect, and his preaching was with great feeling and power. But his mind gave way, probably from the overstraining of his mental faculties, and then he became eccentric. Many anecdotes are told of him. He had a penetrating look ; and I have been told that, once, when visiting Norton Female Seminary, during a season of revival, two words to a haughty young lady, accompanied by the gaze of his pierc- ing black eyes, arrested her attention, and subdued her to Christ. Those who knew him best will recall how, at times, his eyes would kindle, with the penetration of his mind and the fire of his soul. Of him it could be said, as the poet Byron says of the Apollo Belvidere : — " In his eye And nostril, beautiful disdain, and might, And majesty, flash tlieir full lightnings by. Developing, in that one glance, the Deity." The corruscations of his mind would sometimes break forth in a form of wit, which would come down with withering irony upon those who, at the time, were objects of his dis- pleasure. Once, at a convention of ministers, he became offended, and, as a brother Avho was opening a session with prayer, besought the Lord to smile upon the meeting, Father Williams broke forth derisively, " Smile ! If the Lord should look down upon this convention he Avould laugh right out." Mr. Williams lived till he was ninety-seven years old, his life extending almost up to our centennial day ; yet he was one of the early ministers of Foxborough. So, also, was the 140 FOXBOROUGH CENTENNIAL RECORD. Rev. Willard Pierce, his immediate successor in the pastoral office. Though his health was feeble, his ministry was the longest of all, extending fifteen years, — one year longer than that of the first minister, Rev. Thomas Kendall. He was a gifted scholar, and came within one of receiving the valedictory at college, which, it is said, he deserved. His sermons were clear and bracing as an October sky, and his influence strong and wholesome, especially upon the boys and young men. He organized the first Sabbath school in town. He afterward preached many years in Abington. On a certain occasion Mr. Pierce preached before the Nor- folk Conference, and at the close of his discourse Dr. Bur- gess, of Dedham, said to Dr. Codman, of Dorchester, "It is of no use to talk about it ! We ministers around Boston can't preach like the country ministers. They go into their studies and stick to their sermons, while we are running about." It is proper to mention, in this connection, the pastorate of Rev. N. S. Dickinson; for, although he was not among the early ministers, he was one of those who have passed away. For ten years his work was strong and successful. His preaching will compare with that of Mr. Williams and Mr. Pierce, Indeed it may be truly said that these three men ranked high among the sturdy champions of the truth, who were developed out of the theological controversies of the early part of this century. To some they might seem like those lofty trees sometimes met with in mountainous regions, bare of foliage, but rising high above the surrounding wil- derness. Though destitute of ornament, they are clad with strength. Let the names of this triumvirate of the pulpit find an honorable place in the centennial records of the town. Were it not for trenching upon your patience, and the bounds set for my remarks, I would like to go further, and speak of Rev. Daniel J. Poor, who did good service as a FOXBOROUGH CENTENNIAL RECORD. 141 pastor, won many friends, and who died recently at the West. And also, in line with the sentiment which has called forth these remarks, I would like to call special attention to those works and influences of the early ministers, which, though out of our sight, have been working silently and mightily for good. We have their names, but their best works, — the steady influence of a good life, the " line upon line and pre- cept upon precept," in the faithful exhibition of the gospel from week to Aveek, — these are hid from our view by the interval of years. On a clear day, from one of the peaks of the Adirondacks, can be seen, far away on the northern horizon, a small sur- face, white and glistening, — it is the river St. Lawrence. You can see neither source nor outlet. The eye is powerless to discern the waves, as they heave along the banks, or the impetuous flowing of the current. It sees only a gleam of light. So, as to-day we look back to the early ministers of Foxborough, though the current of their daily lives is, to a great extent, viewless, yet a gleam of light is reflected from their names, bright as from heaven's gate, and radiant as the Saviour's transfigured garment, because they had been bap- tized from above to preach the everlasting gospel, and so their names shall be had in everlasting remembrance. The Toast-Master. — If you will have five minutes' more patience you shall be dismissed. The town of Fox- borough derived its existence from four other towns ; namely, Wrentham, Walpole, Stoughton, Stoughtonham. Now, we wish to ofler a sentiment to the honor of our immediate progenitor, but we find the situation a little embarrassing. I will venture, however, to offer the follow- ing : — Our Mother Town : Though there are too many of her for an undi- vided love, yet her chiUlren and grand-children to-day dutifully present to each of her, severally, their wish that she may live a thousand years. 142 FOXBOROUGH CENTENNIAL RECORD. Rev. Mr. Wm. R. Tompkins, of Wrentham, has kindly consented to respond briefly for the company of her. ADDRESS OF REV. MR. TOMPKINS. Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen: — I find myself somewhat embarrassed, as you may very well understand, in replying to a sentiment of this kind. This mother of Avhom you have heard stands before you to-day ; but in what way a response can be made for a part of her, and not for the rest, I cannot very well understand. But I will do the best I can- in two or three words, for you knoAv the circumstances are such that I must not occupy your time now with any extended remarks. I am not a native of Wrentham, and I will not claim that I have the same feeling toward Wrentham and her bound- aries that a native-born citizen might have. But I am an adopted son, and as such I do not see why I have not received the same favors at her hands, been treated as kindly, and made as much at home, as though I had never lived anywhere else. And now, when her name is brought before you, I think it would not be grateful in me to refuse to respond for her when invited to do so, and I have simply this duty to do to-night at this hour. I have to bring you the greeting of the good mother, and to say to you that she is in as good health as could be expected under the circum- stances. She is, perhaps, not quite as vigorous as she was once ; but yoxi know she is more than two hundred years old. Still she preserves, so far as I know, all her natural beauty, and you know she was always proud of that, and had reason to be. It is a little doubtful, whether in all this part of the Commonwealth, there is another township that has a larger degree of beauty than the old town of Wrentham, your mother. Her style of dress has slightly changed, in accord- ance with the fashion. Years ago she wore ample skirts, or FOXBOROUGU CENTENNIAL RECORD. 143 outskii"ts, perhaps you would call them, — very ample and very broad, in accordance with the fashion. [Laughter.] As her age advanced they have been cut in, curtailed per- haps, you might say, on this side and that, until now they are of very moderate and modest dimensions, in accordance with the fashion. Wrentham, I say, is proud. She always was proud, and she has been lately, I think, called proud and poor. I don't know about the poor, but she is proud. I think she is proud now of something she was not so proud of one hundred years ago. I remember a story of a Roman matron ; I have almost forgotten the story, but I think I can give you the outlines of it. Once a friend of hers, of great wealth, ex- hibited to her her costly jewels, which she thought were quite unsurpassed ; after having displayed them to the greatest advantage, she said to her in eifect, " Why, I suppose you have costly jewels too," — designing, I fear, to triumph over her a little, as it is said ladies sometimes like to do, — '' and I should like to see them." Not to be beaten, this noble Roman matron called her two sons, and, placing her hands upon their heads, said, "These are my jew^els." Now% sir, Wrentham is not proud of her broad acres, for they are not so broad as they once were ; she is not proud of her great wealth, for she is not among the most wealthy towns ; she is not proud of her extensive manufactories, — she has some, but they are not of the largest ; but she is proud of her daughters, and Foxborough is one of them. [Applause.] She says, — and I think with great truth, when she thinks of Franklin, and Foxborough, and Norfolk — all with plenty of room to grow, sir [Laughter] — "" These are my daughters ; ^\\\o can do better?" And to-day, as you exhibit to us the evidence of your thrift, of your beauty, of your enterprise, Wrentham is proud of the exhibition, and she says, in a cer- tain sense, "These are mine, and I glory in them." I will not take up your time, Mr. Chairman ; I only prom- ised to respond as briefly as possible. There are other ;14:4 FOXBOROUGH CENTENNIAL RECORD. things that I might say, but I will not enter upon them now. You have been pleased to say, " May she " — I don't know, but I suppose that means as many as there are of her, and that includes Wrentham — " may she live a thousand years." Yes, sir ; she means to, she intends to, live a thousand years. Perhaps, by and by, when she has rested a little, she may renew her youth and be as great and as prosperous as any of her children ; and when she is a thousand years old she Avill have her tenth centennial anniversary, and may you, sir, be there to see. [Applause.] The Toast-Master. — We had hoped to hear from Hon. J. B. D. CoGSAVELL, President of the Senate of Massachu- setts ; also from Hon. John D. Long, Speaker of the House of Representatives; also from Mr. George A. Marden, of the Lowell " Courier" ; but they are all gone, and I have but one more sentiment to offer, and I understand that he who was to respond to it has gone also. After I have read the toast, which you will say ought to be read, the meeting ^\\\\ be passed into the hands of the President once more : — The Orator of the Dat : The architect who planned, and one of the carpenters who built up, the business which has conduced to our prosperity. Let us hope that the structure which they have erected may never be suf- fered to decay. The Hon. E. P. Carpenter would have the floor if he was here. The sentiments and responses which were unavoidably omitted, because of lack of time, are here published. Cape Cod : The strong right-arm of Massachusetts ; extended in beckon- ing welcome to our friends, bent in menacing defense against our foes. Her sons have made their mark on the face of the whole world. FOXBOROUGII CENTENNIAL RECORD. 145 RESPONSE BY HON. J. B. D. COGSWELL. Mr. President : — I am happy to participate in the cele- bration of the cla}^ and much gratified at being introduced to respond to the sentiment which has just been i-ead, so complimentar}^ to my birthplace and home. But I must not permit myself to speak of Cape Cod : this occasion belongs to the men of Foxborough, — descendants of those -svho, nearly one hundred years ago, in petitioning the General Court, whilst declaring " We are but an infant," yet pro- tested, " AVe are entirely willing to sacrifice our all in the cause, if it be necessary." The patriotism of the founders of Foxborough would be sufiicieiitly attested by the name they adopted. As early as 1774, Charles James Fox espoused the cause of the Colonies, and defended their conduct. He opposed the Boston Port Bill. He endeavored to dissuade Great Britain from war with America. He predicted that men fighting for their liberties must be successful. He foresaw the great event of American Independence. In his devotion to our cause, his zeal had been so great as to call down upon himself the im- placable resentment of George the Third, who wrote to Lord North, Feb. 15, 1774: "I am greatly incensed at the pre- sumption of Charles Fox in forcing you to vote with him last night." The king once declared " that he had taken a positive determination not to admit Mr. Fox into his coun- cils, even at the hazard of a civil war." But in 1806, on the death of Mr. Pitt, the king was forced to recognize his cfi-eat rival. But Mr, Fox was also a member of the Kocki no-ham administration, in 1782 ; to which, says May, "King George submitted with a bad grace." Its first principle was the concession of Independence to America, which he had so long resisted. In 1778, the year of the incorporation of Foxborough, Mr. Fox proposed and advocated throwing open the galleries of the House of Commons to the public. 146 FOXBOROUGH CENTENNIAL RECORD. He early, and always strenuously, supported the abolition of the African slave-trade. Speaking on that subject in 1781, he said : "High and low, rich and poor, are equal in the sight of God." Mr. May, in his " Constitutional History of England,' records the followinsf hisfh euloefium of Fox as a statesman : — " The success of Mr. Fox was due to his natural genius, and to the great principles of liberty which he advocated. Familiar with the best classical models, he yet too often dis- dained the studied art of the orator, and was negligent and unequal in his efibrts. But when his genius was aroused within him, he was matchless in demonstrative argument, in force, in wit, in animation and spontaneous eloquence. More than any orator of his time, he carried with him the feelings and convictions of his audience, and the spirit and reality of the man charm us scarcely less in his printed speeches. Wanting in discretion, he w*as frequently be- trayed into intemperance of language and opinion ; but his generous ardor in the cause of liberty still appeals to our sympathies, and his broad constitutional principles are lessons of political wisdom." More fortunate than their neighbors of Mansfield, incor- porated in 1770, who afterwards regretted that they had adopted the name of the great Tory law lord for their new town, and agitated a change, the people of Foxboro ugh never have, and never can blush for the name they bear. I give you, in closing, the memory and fame of Charles James Fox. ADDRESS OF ELLIS AMES, ESQ. The proof is conclusive that the town of Foxborough was named from the Hon. Charles James Fox, a member of the English House of Commons, a popular idol, Avho led a for- midable party in Parliament, and whom neither Burke nor Pitt, nor any other Englishman, could ever approach to an equality with, on account of his marvellous powers. FOXBOROUGII CENTENNIAL RECORD. 147 Before the adoption of the constitution of Massachusetts, on October 25, 1780, there were three periods of time when the names of toAvns were peculiarly different. It is well known to historians that nearly every town in England bears the same name that it did before the Norman conquest, in the year 106(3. Our ancestors, before the second charter, upon incorporating a ncAV town, named it after some English town ; and hence our towns created during the colonial charter have the genuine Saxon ring to them, such as Ipswich, Lynn, Gloucester, Salisbury, Wenham, Manchester, Chelms- ford, Swanzey, Barnstable, Sandwich, Yarmouth, Falmouth, Lancaster, Worcester, Leicester, Shrewsbury, Leominster, Dorchester, Plymouth, Dartmouth, Weymouth, Wrentham, Dunstable, and the like. During Ifhe provincial period, from June 8, 1692, until June 17, 1774, it w^as regarded as the perquisite of the royal governors to give names to the newly incorporated towns. After a bill incorporating a new town had passed to be enacted, and had been sent down to the secretary's office to l>e engrossed on parchment, the engrossing clerks left a blank space for the name of the town to be filled in ; and we now see, on overhauling the old parchment files, that the governors of that period, when they signed, approving an act incorporating a town, filled in with their own hands the names for such towns, to suit their fancy. In thus naming towns the royal governors complimented the English tory statesmen of their respective times, by such names as Hard- wick, Mansfield, Grafton, liichmond, Lenox, Walpole, War- wick, Shelburne, Pelham, and Halifax. But after a while, during the provincial period, the royal governors began to think of immortalizing themselves, and to name the newly incorporated towns after their predecessors in office, by such names as Phippsburg and Pownalborough ; then in the province of the Massachusetts Bay, now in the State of Maine, Bellingham, Shutesbury, Bernardstown, Bel- 148 FOXBOROUGH CENTENNIAL RECORD. chertown, Shirley, Dudley; and lastly Hutchinson, incor- porated at the very last session of our Genera} Court, in June, 1774, that a royal governor ever dared to meet a Massachusetts House of Representatives. After the battle of Bunker Hill no Tory British statesman or royal governor was ever complimented by naming a town after him ; but the names of towns incorporated then were Hancock, Washington, Lee, Adams, Franklin, Warren, Montgomery, and Foxborough. At the May session, 1776, of our General Court fourteen towns that had been named from royal governors and British Tory statesmen, who had publicly expressed them- selves hostile to the rights of America, sent in their petitions to have their names changed, declaring that they wished no longer to l)ear the odious names of persons hostile to the natural and stipulated rights of America. Among those fourteen towns were your neighbors the inhabitants of the town of Mansfield, named in honor of Lord Mansfield, then the famous Chief Justice of England. But the most famous case was on the petition to the General Court of the town of Hutchinson, now Barre, upon Avhich petition was enacted, at the May session, 177G, the act dis- continuing the name of Hutchinson, and calling the town ever after by the name of Barre. By way of pream])le the act recited that " Whereas the Inhabitants of the town of Hutchinson have, by their petition, represented to this Court, that in June, 1774, when the said town was incorporated, General Gage, the then Governor, gave it the name of Hutchinson, in Honor to, and to perpetuate the name of Thomas Hutchinson, his immediate Predecessor in the Chair of Government, whom they justly style the Avell-known Enemy of the natural and stipulated rights of America, and that, at a town meeting notified for that purpose, they voted unanimously to petition, and accordingly have petitioned the General Court, that the name of the said toAvn might be FOXBOROUGII CENTENNIAL RECORD. 149 altered, and that it might no longer bear the disgraceful name of Hutchinson ; " And Avhereas there is a moral fitness that traitors and parricides, especially such as have remarkably distinguished themselves in that odious character, and have long labored to deprive their native country of its most valuable Rights and privileges, and to destroy every Constitutional Guard against the evils of an all inslaving Despotism, should be kept up to Public View in their true characters, to be execrated by Man- kind ; and that there should remain no other memorials of them than such as will transmit their Names with Infamy to Posterity ; "And whereas the said Thomas Hutchinson, contrary to every Obligation of Dut}^ and Gratitude to this, his native country, has acted towards her the part of a traitor and parricide, and by his having thus acted, it has become fit and just that every honorable Memorial of him should be obliterated and cease ; Therefore " Be it enacted by the Council and House of Represent- atives of the State of Massachusetts-Bay in General Court assembled, and by the Authority of the same, That the Land lying in the County of Worcester, formerly called Rutland District, and in June, 1774, incorporated into a town by the name of Hutchinson, shall no longer bear that name, but henceforth shall be called and known by the name of Barre." Barre had been a colonel in the British army, and upon resigning his military station had been elected to the House of Commons, and made speeches in the House, with much power, justifying the Americans. Such was the pressure of business in our General Court during the political year 1776-77 that action upon the thir- teen other petitions was postponed, and the matters thereof never after resumed. June 10, 1778, the day when Foxborough was incorpor- ated, was a joyful day in America. The great British army, 150 FOXBOROUGH CENTENNIAL RECORD. under Burgoyne, intended to crush New England, as the soul of the rebellion, had surrendered on the 17th of October preceding, and the survivors were then quartered, as prisoners of war, in huts and tents on Bunker Hill and the adjoining hill, under guard ; and France had acknowledged the inde- pendence of the United States, and was at war with Great Britain. The assembling of Pai-liament had been unduly postponed, in order to afford the king an opportunity of congratulating the British Legislature on the suppression of the rebellion in America by the victories that should be obtained by the army inider Burgoyne. Parliament met before the news of the capture of Burgoyne : and the king made his address to them on the 20th of November, 1777. Debates on the address ensued, when the Earl of Chatham, and other members of the House of Lords, arraigned the administration for their war with America ; but the adminis- tration was sustained in that House by a vote of nearly four to one. On the day succeeding that vote the administration party in Parliament was humbled as never was a political party humbled before or since, by the arrival of the news of the utter defeat of the British army under Burgoyne, in several pitched battles, and the surrender of the entire force under his command as prisoners of war. On the 17th of February, 1778, Lord North brought into the House of Commons his conciliatory bills ; when Mr. Fox arraigned the administration for the war with America, Avhen never was the inexpressible absurdity of the minis- terial measures more apparent than at that moment. In the course of his speech Mr. Fox asked what punishment would be sufficient for those ministers who adjourned Parliament in order to make propositions of concession, and then neglected to do it until France had concluded a treaty with the inde- pendent States of America, acknowledging them as such. Mr. Fox then first informed the House of Commons, and FOXBOROUGII CENTENNIAL RECORD. 151 through them tlic people of Great Britain, that, encouraged by the capture of Burgoyne, France had ten days before concluded a treaty with the Americans ; and he then declared, in the House of Commons, that the conciliatory bills offered by Lord North were as useless to the peace as they were humiliating to the dignity of Britain. From the moment of the delivery of that speech by Mr. Fox, which operated upon the British people with great effect, no sane man doubted that Great Britain would be obliged to acknowledge the independence of America. Between the 17th of February, 1778, and the assembling of our General Court, on the last Wednesday of May, 1778, Mr. Fox's speech had been circulated in America, and what other name could the General Court and this people then give to this toAvn, incorporated June 10, 1778, than that which should do honor to the memory of the great Charles James Fox? Who does not wish that the legal voters of Foxboroujjh at their first meeting could (as they might have done had it been in time of peace) have sent an address to the Hon. Charles James Fox, thanking him for his speech of the 17th Feb., 1778, in the House of Commons, and informing him that they had perpetuated his memory to all time, by naming their new town in honor of him, and have received a reply from him, the greatest orator that ever spoke the English tongue ? Sentiment : The Sons and Daughters of Foxborough, who liave gone abroad, but, ever loyal to their native home, have returned to celebrate with us her first Centennial Day. RESPONSE BY JOSEPH E. BARTLETT, M.D., BOSTON. Mr. President, Kindred and Friends: — We are pro- foundly grateful to the committee, for their kind invitation to be present, and for the cordial welcome this morning. We thank them heartily, also, for this opportunity to partici- pate in these novel and interesting services. 152 FOXBOROUGII CENTENNIAL RECORD. But who is able to marshal, in fit array, the multitudinous host of thoughts that come thronging to this vast assembly, struggling for permission to enter, and to he heard, during this brief, solemn, yet joyous hour ? We shall admit a ver}^ limited number only of such topics as seem to us most appropriate, and propose to hold com- munion Avith them for a few moments. In reply, more especially to the toast just read, Ave remark that there is a sentiment, felt by every human being, — though too subtle to be fully expressed by words, — of attachment to certain 2Kirticular locations. xVnd the sons and daughters of Foxborough, who have gone abroad, need no second bid- ding, at any time, in order to hasten with flying footsteps back in answer to your call ; for, wherever we may happen to live, whether in the country or in the city, in a cottage or in a palace, in the immediate neighborhood or in remoter parts of the land, or in lands beyond the sea, — the heart, like the needle to the pole, turns ever with affectionate long- ings to the spot where our existence began ; where our childhood and youth were nurtured ; where those who gave us being happily still linger, or, in the sacred soil near by, their precious dust is safely garnered to its last repose, — and that is the spot forever associated in our memories with the word HOME. We return with a desire to express our lively sense of obli- gation to the loj'al sons and daughters of Foxborough who have clung to the old hearthstone, and have watched over our venerable and beloved Alma Mater with such filial devotion and fostering care, that we find her fair as a maiden in her bloom, though clad in the queenly robes of matronly dignity and beauty, on this, her centennial day. We desire to return our hearty thanks to those who con- ceived the idea of this observance and celebration ; our ad- miration for the inimitable taste and skill in the plan and in its execution ; for such an exhibition of industrial wealth as FOXBOROUGU CENTENNIAL RECORD. 153 the Bubstjintial basis of a triumphal pageant, upon which chihlhood gazes with inquiring w^onder and is glad ; ingenuous youth suspends his sport to learn its meaning ; busy manhood forgets his toil, and hoary age is conscious of a new rapture. Nor can Ave omit to acknowledge our debt to Foxboroujjh's honored son, the orator of the day, wdio, with his reaper keen, has swept the held of recorded history, and gleaned from the annals of tradition, brinoino' us sheaves laden with facts and illustrations so comprehensive, felicitous, and true. Many who hear me can trace their lineage directly to the Pilgrims who landed at Plymouth, or to those who established the colony of Massachusetts Bay. We are tilled with w^onder and admiration as w^e contemplate the marvellous variety of gifts and capabilities of that race of men and women. They had courage that dared to cross the ocean in a shallop. They subdued the forests and the wily foe concealed therein. Their system of government was adapted to the needs of the few or the many. It was sufficient for the family, the school district, the town, the county, the State, the union of States into a nation wider in its domains and more imperial in its powder than Pome ever knew. Coming down to our more immediate ancestors, we find them possessed of the same characteristics, substantially, of those Avho first con- quered and settled the land. AVe find them honorable, per- severing, and successful tillers of the soil ; the patrons of edu- cation and sound morals ; skilful in invention ; enei'getic pro- moters of the mechanical and industrial arts ; distinguished in the various professions ; in the framing of constitutions ; in the halls of justice and of legislation ; in the sacred pulpit ; by deeds immortal, on the field of battle. Mr. President, what the sires won the sons have been able to protect. Since the birthday of this town, and since the establishment of our Independent Republican Form of 154 FOA'BOROUGII CENTENNIAL RECORD. Government, less than fivescore A^ears ago, in the old world kings and kingdoms have been overthrown and trampled in the dust ; on their ruins empires have arisen, and they, too, have been overturned. The old eifete dynasties are crum- bling from internal deca}^ and the advancing hosts of a newer and better civilization. Happily for us the germ planted at Plymouth struck its roots deep into the earth, and. as with a grain of mustard seed, the tree sprung from that root has withstood the shock of every tempest, stretching its mighty arms until under its benign shadow an empire of forty million freemen sit in safety — and "its leaves are for the healijig of the nations." It is true, that, now and then, parasitic vermin may nestle in its branches, and, for a season, may mar the beauty of its foliage. Malign spirits, such as plotted rebellion in heaven itself, may have the audacity to strike at the very pillars of our Political temple! " The feeble sea-birds, blinded in the storms, Against the light-house dash their little forms, And the inide granite scatters for their pains Those small deposits that were meant for brains." Nevertheless, unrent, the great Arch of our Union, founded on constitutional liberty and law, still stands — " Like some tall cliflF that lifts its awful form. Springs from the rale and midway leaves the storm, Though round its breast the rolling clouds are spread, Eternal sunshine settles on its head." But the hours of this summer day are fleeting, and the precious moments that remain belong to others. We di'sire, in a word, to define our position in life's passing drama. The past is secure. We believe in the future. We walk both by faith and sight. We believe that the predicted ages of righteousness and love will come. We believe there are conquests of peace, that deserve to be, "uot less renowned FOXBOROUGH CENTENNIAL RECORD. 155 than war." We acknowledge and proclaim our allegiance to the principles of Immanuel, the Prince of Peace, and when- ever, in the providence of God, we may be called to stand, or to act, under that banner we pledge ourselves to labor, — " Till crowned with victory at His feet, We lay our armor down." In closing the services in the tents, the President said : — We have now to thank you for your attendance here this day. We hoped to see a very large nimiber here, and we certainly have been gratified in this respect. So far as we in Foxbor- ough are concerned we have had a very pleasant time, and we hope our friends from abroad have enjoyed it. When the next hundred years come around, we hope you will be here to aid us in these ceremonies. With that we bid you farewell for the present time. GREETINGS FROM ABSENTEES. Of the hundreds of letters received in response to, and reluctantly declining the invitation to be present, we can give but few, although they all denoted fervent good-will toward the town and expressions of regret that they would be deprived of the pleasure of mingling with those who were so fortunate as to be able to accept. [From Rev. Otis Gary, Jr.] KoBK, Japan, July 13, 1878. To the Centennial Invitation Committee : — The invitation to attend the Centennial Exercises in Foxborough, June 29tb, was received yesterday. I regret that I cannot be pres- ent at the celebration, but trust that the occasion will be one of great interest, and a means of quickening that local patriotism which eveiy person should feel toward his native or adopted town. 156 FOXBO ROUGH CENTENNIAL RECORD. Hold! what am I writing? The da}' is past; the celebration is over ; I am sadU' behind tlie times. Well, what better could be expected from one eight thousand miles away from enlightened Massachusetts, and whose latest newspapers from Boston and Foxborough bear date of June Tth? Though so far away from m}' native town, T can rejoice in its past prosperit}' and liope for its future. Tlie history of Foxborough is not one to attract the notice of outside people ; but in a land where nearly ever3' village finds a place in history as the scene of some bloody contest or deed of violence, I can understand how much better is that silent progress which may be unmarked by great events. May the next century of Foxborough's history be one of con- tinued growth; material, intellectual, moral, and spiritual. May all that was good in the men of past generations be copied hy us. At the same time bearing in mind that we walk in the light of their experience and surrounded b}' greater advantages, let us remember the words of Wendell Phillips, ^' We are not so good as our forefathers unless we are better than they." If the present generation and those succeeding fill aright their allotted place, the progress of Foxborough will be proportionally greater in its second than it has been in its first century. Yours, trul3', OTIS GARY, Jr. LaCuosse, Wis., June 12, 1878. Centennial Committee : — Dear Sirs,' — Nothing but the great distance would keep me from mingling with 3'ou on the centenaiy of the town which was the scene of my earliest ministerial labors. Very truly, E. Y. GARRETTE. Jacksonville, III., June 6, 1878. Centennial Invitation Committee, W. D. Carpenter, Sec'y: — It would be a J03- to me to be present and once more take my old friends by the hand ; but it ma}' not be. May God be with FOXBOROUGII CENTENNIAL RECORD. 157 3'on, and smile upon yonv meeting. The sweetest reminiscences and nearest regards and greetings to one and all of the remnant of those I knew and loved in the 3'ears that are gone. WM. BARNES. Brooklyn, N. Y., Jnne 25, 1878. I have retained this card until now, hoping that I might be able to attend a celebration (Centennial) of the town where my father was born, and where mj grandfather. Doctor Shadrach Winslow, lived and died, and where my wife's father, Edwin Stearns, was born and passed his 3-outh. I now think I shall be unable to attend. Respectfully yours, D. C. WINSLOW. U. S. Steamer Hartley. ") San Francisco, Cal., June 19, 1878. J To the Executive Committee., Foxborough Centennial : — Gentlemen, — Your kind and flattering invitation extended to me, to attend the celebration of the Centennial Anniversary of Foxborough, has this day been received, and I assure you nothing but the imperative demands of duty, and the distance intervening between us, prevents my participating in your glorious Centennial. While I am forced to decline the honor accorded me, in spirit and sentiment I am with you, and from the golden shores of the. distant Occident, I, as an humble son of Foxborough, send ^ou greeting. Glancing backward mental]}' through the space of one hundred years, when the republic, founded b}- our forefathers, numbering less than two and a half millions, was struggling for those prin- ciples for which the}' were willing to offer up their lives, and all their hearts held dear on the altar of liberty, — what strides have been made, what wonderful changes and improvements have marked the past century. The republic which was born in poverty and obscurit}' is now the wonder of the civilized world, but its future growth and destiu}' no man may venture to foretell. Our native town, I am proud to say, has kept pace with the grand march of events, and, like the parable of the grain of mustard seed, the 158 FOXBOROUGII CENTENNIAL RECORD. little township of ancient da^'s has not been allowed to die of neglect and obscurity on barren ground. Gentlemen, I came from a sea-going race, and my ancestors, one hundred years ago, helped to sustain our flag mast-head high before the haughty cross of St. George, and awoke the echoes of the English Channel with the thunder of their cannon. In the late war I followed the example handed down to me by m}' ancestors, and the memories of Port Ro3'al, Roanoke Island, Charleston, and Fort Fisher will never be effaced from mj- memor}'. But I will not trespass longer on your time and patience, and to those wanderers who to-day return to the homes of their child- hood, to take again their old places at the paternal fireside, may they, while enjoying the hospitalit}" of our good old town, remember those wlio are absent, — some who have obeyed the call of the Great Admiral, and ascended to an eternal anchorage aloft, while others wander far from the loved ones, but with the spirit of patriotism and sentiment of love of home burning with an undying flame in their hearts. With sincere congratulations, and an earnest wish for the con- tinued prosperity and welfare of our native town, I remain, very truly and sincerly, your obedient servant, H. D. SMITH, 1st Lieut. Com'd'g U.S.R.M. Denver, Colo., June 5, 1878. Gentlemen: — It would aflTord me the greatest pleasure to be with you on the 29th, but I cannot, conveniently, put in an appear- ance on that day ; am in hopes, however, to visit my birthplace and see the wonderful changes that have taken place since my last visit, twelve years ago. I have seen much of the world, but am as proud of hailing from Foxborough as I would be from any portion of earth that I know of. I hope that all will have a good time and enjoy life intensel}*, as does Yours, truly, GEO. COPELAND. FOXBO ROUGH CENTENNIAL RECORD. 159 Austin, Min-n., June 20. I regret to say I must decline your kind invitation. You may be assured of my hearty syrapatliy. May the experience of the occasion exceed your most sanguine anticipations, and its record, however satisfactory, be far exceeded by a brighter future. Yours, etc., ELBRIDGE H. PACKARD. New York, June 22, 1878. Mr. W. D. Carpenter, Secretary Centennial Invitation Commit- t^e ' — Dear Sir, — The invitation, through your committee, of the town of Foxborough, to be present at its centennial celebration, is at hand, for which please accept my thanks. I very much regret that my engagements are such that it will be inconvenient for me to be present on the interesting occasion, as it would give me great pleasure to witness the memorial ceremonies, and, also, once more greet my old friends and acquaintances, yea, all who now or have resided "there. Although absent from my native town for now some thirty years, yet I have not, and trust never shall so long as life lasts, cease to have the peace, happiness, and prosperity of its citizens near my heart. It has ever been a source of gratification to me that I was raised in a town whose record has been so honorable ; whose citizens have done so much for education, tem- perance, morality, and Christianity, and, through all the trials that our country has passed, so patriotic. Trusting that its future, down through the ages to come, may be still more glorious, and again thanking you and the citizens of the town for their kind consideration, I am sincerelv vours, HENRY HODGES. East Jaffret, N.H., June 28, 1878. Dear Sir: — I regret to say that I shall be unable to be at Foxborough to-morrow to participate in its centennial celebration. The little more than three years' residence which it was my privi- 160 FOXBOROUGH CENTENNIAL RECORD. lege to enjo}' in jour town, gave me an interest in its welfare which will long be cherished with pleasure, and the prosperity of the town will ever be a source of pleasure to me. I wish 3-ou a successful and happy celebration of Foxborough's centennial. Yours trul}', JAMES H. LITTLE, Pastor of the Universalist Church, Foxboi^ough, from Sept., 1869, to Dec, 1873. To R. W. Carpenter, Esq., for the Executive Committee of Ar- rangements. St. John, N.B., June 24, 1878. Dear Sir : — I take tliis opportunity' to thank, through 3'ou, the Centennial Committee for their cordial invitation to be present at the ceremonies and festivities of the 29th. I am sorr}' that circumstances will not permit of ni}' being pres- ent, and my onh' excuse for ni}' seeming tardiness in answering the invitation is, that I have put it off until the last moment, hoping that I might be enabled to attend. . You have my heartiest sympathies on tliis occasion, and, as one of Foxborough's sons, T shall claim the privilege of participating in mind, if not in person, in the day's proceedings. It has always been my boast, since I left ni}' native town, that it was the most beautiful in New England, and, to me, in the universe. Ma}' she go on increasing in beauty and prosperity until her next natal day shall find her, as does this one, in the van, as regards progress and culture, and her sons fit representatives of those who will so glorioush' commemorate the day of her nativit}'. And should circumstances forever keep me from the town, and from friends and associations that I love, ray hope is, that my record in life may be such that I can claim a last resting-place in that silent city where sleep our own beautiful and good, and wliich, before another centennial, will have opened wide its gates to most of the participants in this day's proceedings. And that their da^'s ma^' be many and prosperous, and an honor to themselves and their mother-town, is the heartfelt wisli of her absent son, W. L. PENNEY. To W. D. Carpenter, Sec'y Centennial Invitation Committee. FOXBOROUGH CENTENNIAL RECORD. 161 Brattleboro', Vt., June 3, 1878. Gentlemen : — I should be very glad to be with you at the Foxbovough Centennial, the 29th inst., but it will hardl}' be possi- ble for me. M}' acquaintance with Foxborough began twenty years ago, when I taught what was then a grammar school, on the west side of the Common ; this was in the winter of 1857-58. I was pastor of the First Universalist Society in Foxborough during the 3'ear 1873. It would be very agreeable to me to meet once more .some, at least, of m}' old pupils and parisliioners, and man\- others whom I came to know while a resident of 3'our town. I should like to rejoice with you on the day Avhich completes the first one hundred A'cars in the life of Foxborough ; rejoice with 3-ou that your town has enjo3'ed uninterrupted material prosperity" ; that her citizens have always shown a deep intei'est in education, morality, and religion ; that the}" evinced their patriotism in time of war, attested by the roll of honored dead, and the Library Hall erected to their memory. These make Foxborough a bright star in that galax}' of towns which together compose the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, illustrious throughout the world. Hoping that the Centennial mav be an occasion of joy to all who participate in it, and that the next hundred 3'ears ma}' bring even more good to Foxborough than the hundred which have passed, I am EespectfuUy 3'ours, JA8. EASTWOOD. To E. P. Carpenter, W. T. Cook, Otis Cary, and others, Ex. Com. Falmouth, June 27, 1878. Committee on Invitations, Wm. D. Caupenter, Sec. : — I regret that I cannot respond to 30ur invitation In* my presence at the celebration of our town's centennial birtlida3-. Engagements prevent m3- attendance and den3' me the happiness of greeting friends and acquaintances of earl3' 3"ears. Since the incorporation of Foxborough she has constantly advanced, at times with rapid strides, and though her soil was crust3', ston3-, and sterile, she now holds a respectable rank in 162 FOXBOROUGH CENTENNIAL RECORD. agricultural productions. The deficiencies of nature have been supplied, and excrescences removed by the skilful hand of industry, perseverance, and toil. To me, Foxborough is a place ever dear ; there thickh- cluster the remembrances of the past, and the associations of my child- hood and 3-outh. In conclusion, I would add that, after an absent residence of more than twenty 3'ears, it would give me intense pleasure to be present at your celebration and witness the evidences of your intellectual, social, and moral advancement. Foxborough is yours, — she is mine; she is our birthright, and we will honor her forever. JOHN G. JONES. Jersey City, N. J., June 18, 1878. To the Centennial Committee of Foxborough : — Gentlemen, — Your kind invitation to attend the one hundredth birthda}- of Foxborough is thankfull3' received ; but, to my extreme regret, I am obliged to decline. Although I was so unfortunate as not to have been born in Foxborough, I came from Wrentham, and that is the next thing to it ; and having taken my wife from your town, I feel that I am entitled to join you with my cordial wishes for the success of the town. When, in the course of travel, one Yankee meets anotlier, he never stops to ask of towns or counties, but is satisfied to let the glorious old Commonwealth be a bond of fellowship and good feeling between each other, and certainly, gentlemen, a man can wish for nothing more than to hail from the State that gave birth to Franklin, Sam. Adams, and Gov. Andrew ; to owe alleigance to the Commonwealth that was represented in Washington b}" Web- ster and by Sumner ; to feel that, if far awa}', he is descended from those glorious patriots that have twice saved their countrj- from destruction. Massachusetts always leads the van. Like the famed plume of Henry of Navarre, her white flag is always found in the midst of danger. Ma}' she continue to be the most radical State in the Union ; for her radicalism is always found, upon investigation, to be truth, and the only reason that the world terms her doctrines FOXBOROUGH CENTENNIAL RECORD. 163 radical is because Massachusetts is twenty-five years aliead of the rest. In conclusion, gentlemen, allow nie to say that I earnestly hope the town of Foxborough ma}' continue to prosper ; tliat her success in the future nia}" be as glorious as her past has been sub- stantial, until, as Massachusetts is known as the model State, Foxborough may become the model township. Respectfulh-, etc., FRANK 0. COLE. The writer of the following letter was formerly a practic- ing lawyer of this town and afterwards practiced in Maine, and still later in Mobile, Ala., and is a nephew of Gen. Joseph Warren of Revolutionary fame. His father was Judge Ebenezer Warren, who died in Foxborough in 1824, aged seventy-tive years. AVrentham, June 24, 1878. Messrs. E. P. Carpenter & al., Ex. Com., etc. : — I have received 3'our kind invitation to participate in the ap- proaching celebration at Foxborough. Please accept ni}- cordial thanks for the notice. Every patriot must rejoice in the movement. It will induce subsequent generations to mark, in a similar manner, the successive centennial periods as the}' mingle with the vast ocean of years revolved. Fourteen years and a few months would, if prefixed to my earthly pilgrimnge, make m^- life commensurate with tlie corporate existence of Foxborough. Be assured, gentle- men, that it is with deep regret that I have to announce that mv present condition must prevent me from participating in the joys and pleasures of the approaching celebration in person, but will be with you in spirit, if m}* spirit before the day appointed should not be ordered to take another direction. Advanced as I am in years, it must be supposed that I maj- have a knowledge and remembrance of events and persons of which most of the present generation have no personal knowledge. I remember seeing the venerable man, John Sheppard, brought 164 FOXBOROUGH CENTENNIAL RECORD. into the cluircli to listen to a, sermon preached by the Rev. Daniel Loring, on the da}' he became one hundred j-ears of age. I saw him about two 3-ears afterwards in compau}- with ni}' father. They had previously been neighbors for many years. The old gentleman alluded to the events and persons of former 3ears with deep inter- est and earnestness approaching enthusiasm. 'My father was sur- prised to find him so intelligent and accurate in memory. Tlie old gentleman was in fine spirits, and the interview appeared to afford high mutual enjoyment. ........ They talked rapidh* upon a great variety of subjects, — religion, politics, and old neighbors, etc., etc. I remember leaving the old gentleman with the impression that he was a devout lover of his God, an atfectionate lover of his neighbor, and a dear lover of fun. After living in Foxborough a little more than a centur}', or rather the territor}' which now constitutes Foxborough, he was moved to the town of Attleborough, and lived several years with his grand- son, Ebenezer Daggett, Esq., till his death, Avhich 1 think took place in 1801). Very earl}' in life he became the husband of his third wife. I belieA'e that his descendants are not very numerous. William Paine, the first b}' the name of Paine who ever settled in Foxborough, was a native of Maiden, Mass. ; commenced resi- dence in Foxborough before the commencement of the Revolution- ary war ; was the father of seven sons and three daughters ; died in the summer of 1811, at the age of ninety-six years. He was a pattern of industry, fiugality, and morality. Three or four of his sons were in the Revolutionar}- army. Spencer Hodges, a native of Taunton, Mass., born 1745, com- menced his residence in Foxborough about 1770, Avhere he lived till May, 1809, when he died. He was of infirm health at my ear- liest recollection. He had been a man of untiring industry, and had, probably, by excessive toil, impaired his health. He was noted for his good judgment, for the practice of ever}' virtue, and exemp- tion from error. He was a devout Christian, but tolerant. His walk was with God, his hopes and aspirations centred in Heaven, whither he attempted to direct men b}' precept and example. I cannot say that 1 ever knew an}' other individual who approached so near what God requires man should be. He died in Foxbo- rough, aged sixt^-four. FOXBOROUGH CENTENXIAL RECORD. 165 Seth Robinson was, from in}' earliest recollection, a near neigli- bor of ni}' father. He was a man of rare merit. His judgment and sound sense were liighlj' I'espected b}' all who knew him. His words were few, but ever to the point. He lived to be nearly ninety years of age. His course was marked for industy, frugality, hon- est}-, and the practice of manly virtues. He was, I think, a native of the County of Bristol, born about 1745. Ephraim Sheppard, a nephew of John Sheppard, was born in Foxborough, where he lived and died. He was born in 1748 ; was a man of an original, independent mind ; was of great service to his fellow-townsmen as a most skilful farrier. He would labor for days over the sick horse or cow of a neighbor, when there was little or no prospect of receiving compensation. He was wiiat all who knew liim would call an excellent man. He did not, I think, live niuch beyond the age of seventy. SiiADRACH WiNSLOW was a native of Freetown, born about 1750. He was a man of marked mind, and was probablj' the most scientific individual who ever resided in the town of Fox- borough. After graduating at Yale and receiving tlie best medical education the country could afibrd, about 1778 he embarked as surgeon on board a privateer, made several trips successfull}', but was at length taken prisoner and carried to England and confined in Dartmoor Prison for several months, where, by exposure, he sus- tained injuries which greatly impaired his health, and from which he never recovered. His profound knowledge of his profession led him to despise quackery in all its forms, and to which he never descended. He became a citizen of Foxborough about the ^ear 1784, married a daughter of Eleazer Robbins, Esq., then a wealth}' and prominent citizen. Notwithstanding his talents and high attainments, he declined all participation in governmental affairs, not accepting even a town office. He loved retirement ; books were his companions. He was, however, social and courteous to all his friends. I am not able to say when he died ; but he prob- abl}' did not much exceed seventy at the time of his death. He was one of the last men who would violate the rules of gentle- nianl}- bleeding. Thomas Shaw was noted for his remarkable ingenuity as a mechanic. He was a good carpenter, mason, wheelwright, black- 166 FOXBOROUGH CENTENNIAL RECORD. smith, and shoemaker. He was a man of unbounded popularit}-, inasmuch as he could do almost eveiything, and was at all times the same kind, good-natured man. He lived to be a veiyold man. I think he was a native of Bristol County. Thomas Kendall was settled as a preacher of the gospel in Foxborough, about one hundred 3ears ago. He was a graduate of Dartmouth (Hanover College) not far from 1760, was the first minister settled in the town. He had been, prior to his settle- ment in Foxborough, a missionar}- to the several tribes of Indians in the State of New York. He was dismissed about 1800. All acknowledged him to be a good man. Daniel Loring was his immediate successor, settled in 1803, or about that time. There was much opposition to him, and he did not remain in Foxborough man}' jears. He was immediatel}' succeeded b}' Thomas Skelton, who commenced his ministration in the autumn of 1808. He was a graduate of Harvard Universit}', 1806 ; was a good scholar, and possessed more than ordinary' talents. He was not popular in Foxborough, and did not continue in that town many years. He was born about 1780, and died 1838. Timothy Stevens, uncle to my father, was the first physician who settled in Foxborough. He was a resident of that place for nearly thirty years. I recollect seeing an old Bible which formerly belonged to him (printed about 1690), which contained the follow- ing record made by him: '■'■ Dark Sivamjy, August, 1746. This da}' one of the most awful storms of thunder and lightning ever known visited this place, during which a ball of thunder struck y^ house and barn of Wm. Hewes. The house, by the good provi- dence of God, was saved, but the barn, together with a sow and pigs, became a sacrifice to the devouring elements." Francis Daniels, a native of France, at the age of twenty-six settled in Foxborough, about 1750. He was possessed of most rare native endowments, and was a most excellent man. He was remarkably social in his habits, and was constantly giving utterance to wise thoughts in broken English. He lived to be an old man. Left one son and several daughters. His descendants are numer- ous and well known in Foxborough. Mr. Ezra Carpenter, a most worthy citizen of Foxborough, married twice into the family. FOXBOROUGH CENTENNIAL RECORD. 167 Be pleased, gentlemen, to accept severally my respectful regards, together with a hope that happiness and prosperity may long be with yon. I remain, gentlemen, 30urs with sentiments of respect, SAMUEL S. WARREN. The following communication accompanied the cane pre- sented to the town, as mentioned bcloAY : — To the Toivn of Foxhorongh : — This cane is a part of the mudsill of the furnace where was cast the first cannon in this country, and was owned by Uriah Ather- ton. He cast cannon for the government, and other munitions of war, and received in payment Continental paper. The furnace was located partly in Foxborough and partly- in Stoughtonham (now called Sharon). The furnace was in operation before the Revolution of '76. It was a smelting furnace, and the owner was my grandfather on mN' mother's side. I now present this cane to the Town of Foxborough, as a memento of Uriah Atherton and his furnace, together Avith his patriotic services in the Revolution of 1775. B}' his grandson, Alexander Boyden, aged eightj'-seven years. East Foxbor- ough, June 25th, 1878. A communication relating to the Boyden family has been handed us for publication in connection with centennial mat- ters, as follows : — "In noticing the improvements which have been made within the last one hundred years is a machine for splitting leather, in- vented and patented by Seth Boyden, 3d, Esq., who was born April 22, 1764; he had six sons, Seth, Alexander, Otis, Uriah A., Franklin, and William P. Five of these have been at some period of their lives engaged in the malleable cast-iron business ; Alexander having made the first piece of malleable iron ever made in this country, March 16, 1824. He then taught bis brother Otis the art, who, two 3'ears afterward, put up a furnace in Newark, N. J., for his brother Seth, and taught him the art. Alexander 168 FOXBOROUGir CENTENNIAL RECORD. subsequently taught his brothers Franklin and William. Another invention of Alexander, above named, was a machine for turning shoe-knife handles at the rate of fort}' per minute." Uriah A. Bo}deii was the donor of the Boyden Fund, and the one in whose honor Foxhoi'ough Public or Bojden Library was named. He now resides in Boston, at an advanced age. Boston, April 19, 1878. It makes it seem lilve old times to receive a letter postmarked "West Foxborough," and brings qnite a long train of faces and families to mind that we shall see no more this side of Jordan. I remember well when the Foxborough post-office kept at " Shack- stand " was an important one ; there was none then at the Centre, nor at Mansfield, nor Norton. " Peter Junkett," Judge Warren's man, used to come for the mail for his master, who lived at the then very handsome house, which had a barn almost as handsome, about lu\lf wa}' between Foxborough and Mansfield. Somewhere about 1814, a cross mail route was established from our office, on the Turnpike, to Taunton, to pass through Foxborough Centre, Mans- field, and Norton, and my father got the contract for carrying it, and I used to take it, once a -week, on horseback. In the spring I used to tackle the old white horse into the wagon and go a little below Taunton and get the wagon full of herring right out of Taunton river, and divide them at small cost among our neighbors. To go that route how one would not easily realize that Foxborough Crntre, Mansfield, and Norton had so recently been dependent on " Honest Corner" for all their mail matter. But so it was, and I was the bo}- that carried it. Everything else — but " Honest Cor- ner" — has grown since those days. Now the old tavern house is gone, and only two small dwellings have been put up. But look at the centre and see what a cit^' has arisen where then it was all briers, shrub-oaks, and rocks ! Boston has grown equally fast, and looks no more, now, like what it was when I first saw it than Fox- borough Centre does like what it was when I " tended store." AARON HOBART. FOXBOROUGII CENTENNIAL RECORD. 169 THE ILLUMINATION Of the Common and vicinity, of many private residences, and on several streets, was not the least interesting feature of the day, and many pronounced it the best. Foxborough Common was ablaze with lanterns and colored tire, which re- flected from the flags and trees and gave most beautiful ef- fects. Foxboro' Brass Band gave an excellent concert, car- rying out the published programme, and all combined, re- minded the crowds who were present as spectators of fairy land, or a Parisian scene. Al)out twenty- five hundred lan- terns Avere lighted on the Common, nnder the management of B. T. Wells, of Boston. ^Ir. AY. is the illuminator who has been engaged at Oak Blufts several years past, and he states that never, to his knowledge, have so many lights been used in the same space, or to better advantage, than upon this occasion, and his l)elief is shared by many who have wit- nessed the superb illuminations at Oak Bluffs. jNIany of the buildings fronting upon the Common were decorated and illuminated, more or less profusely, the resi- dence of Mr. William Carpenter being probably the prettiest and best arranged. The residence of Mr. John Garside, at which Dr. II. A. Tucker was stopping, very nearly, if not quite, equalled it, and, in the judgment of many, excelled all others. The residences and grounds of E. P. Carpenter, L. P. Faught, V. 8. Pond, F. E. Hartshorn, M. Ryan, F. D. Williams, Henry T. Comey, Lewis' Pond, Ezra Pick- ens, and others, were also aglow with l)right and beautiful lights. The fountain and grounds at the Union Straw Works were also illuminated, and attracted crowds of ad- miring spectators, who walked on Wail street, beneath a canopy or archway of lanterns, to and from the Straw Works. The residence of Mr. Tyler Carpenter, on Wall street, Avas also brilliantlv lia-hted. In fact nearlv all our citizens in the 170 roxno/ifK/fjff ('ENTENsiai. niictniD. vi<;ii)ily of tli*- <^*o;)imoii, in ;i rfj;ifii)<')' Mior*- or V'^n OHHJI>l<;r <;onfaIiiJi)^ ifw iv'i-(niifi ; «'-nf( wuh fxowfy «f>propnaf/ri'l'! anH w^lf- coninxrrxlafJon, i>< not to b*? won'1<'r<;4 of Kox borough woor<;r <;la>»H, «?vrn, ii\u\ with tinght/(;'\H)U'n tiuA <;onxi?ii 'li'l not, exeee'l four hmi'lre*! an'l fifty. Al the present finie we have a population of ri'arly thirty-two FOXBOROUail CENTENNIAL UEConiK 171 1 Hwif o/^«i ii(-irl\' !?-_'r), ()()(», with :i l„,mlre,l souls; n Knvn lioMs.. IlK.t «.sl, ,„.,.l, ». s,.l,.ml-l,«us>. ..I.lili.m «o,-ll, .s nm.-h ,„...-; s,x „ll,.-. ^ ;1 . , v„.,„..i .uv »«,„,.,»•-',.«." -i.;".*'^'.'"; ■"■"-' ,,, ;iM, ,u, ,.xc.di,.n., pu..,i,. iii...v "f "-1.V -'■- ' -; ; „|,,„ ,u.|.,uUn,.„U., us,.i,), wlii.-h .-OS., n.,t U,ss U an »10,<"i», ;,nawl,i..his„..,U„>vhonHis, si.U.v.l Uk. :u...un., ... |u-..,.. 4 i, |„„ s„v,.,l ,., „ur oili/.<'ns, „ »,<,.■!, l.rg.-.' sMn>. W ■■ ..-.■ .- .x- tic, .ou>- in nnn.l,,.,-, l.uv. ..<■!. n ,-..nv,.n„.n,, ,-1hm,.1, ,.,1,I ■. ■ walks, an.l slnnL-Ucs, s..-..„.l U. n, u ll- MaU- W. .•- Lessea valna.ion of over -n. ^^■■^^< n,i„ s ,,. .loila s i„.,„st,-y .l,id, ,..n,ls U, ,.nlUva„. ,1,,. .as,.. .„ ..nr -a ...ns ,. , „.l,ic.l, is „oatan,l .as.y, .i.a, s.„,,s i.s iv.in.as .....-<- " - : , ,.,!. ,„■ n ■ula.-.o,v wlaav Vl.ey a,v La-ulra.,-.!, bn. U,.., a.o ,i..:, in,.. ,„.■ 1 s o,v-.,ay ,i,-.. ..,■ ■ .^i.;--. -■'-;;« ,1,^,,,, ,„ ,,, .,„,, w,.l, Lis ,aat,l.l....- i.. |..-llilv a.-.a"*..!,' a...l I- co- in., i,is gi-o.,...is a,ai i...ii.ii..Ks, U""* '«''^"'" ' ',""!';;'";,' "'",,; scr„oat!« ,o .ivo i, .„,. .i. • •■.!..■ .^.' ^':': :,:;:,.. were,.,.,...-.. •s,.,..,.,a.s,, '■-^';- -;:::,; 'r l„l,or in .Ills t«w„ an.l vic.ni.y t..J.I,(... ..■•■ 'l I 2,473,81,1 l.ats, caps, o..^, in "".■ J.-a., vain,-.! at .a.sl at « ,U- • 86.40 ;an,nl,at wo i,av.o.i,,.,i.al..s., i.s >viH. ...I .•.....; ;;■ tl,oso who witncsso.1 .1,0 „-a.lo i..-..ooss I ^a„n.la,^ >. zons are, on ti,owl,.,lo,anin,olli:4.-.,,, .•...■.!....,.■., a„.ls.aa-„.ns I., "-„-.., in .Lis wo,l.Vs goods, a„.l a,«,vo ti.o avo.ag.: .■on.......... " in n,„,ali.v. On.' ."«., is .."U-1 <-' i'» ">^-1'™« ■""' " ".' " i ;„,,..„ ..a.,s,..i ;,,..... ..X,,.... n a ,...|...,na,„n o, „s ;.',,;.• ,nia, vo,-sa,-y wi.ioi, sla.nl.l ,.o s,a, i , -..1 ' win.l, w,...l.l I..- an la,n,„- to tl... town and its cU/a-ns. . . ■ The IMu,, llnald gavo a vo.-y M\ ,-.l....t, i" "I'i-l' » ""I'la^lnl, i„.„....,, was .l,o sn,.ligl„. U.is '"""^ "^ ^^^2- „„„ ,..M:on,o|-N...I"M.C....n,y,", .n.on..as„« and !.,»........ ., ■ ..■.,x.,.,n,...i.. wl.i.l., a.,„-...l i.. ga,a..iay ,-.,..os, oon,- 172 FOXBOROUGH CENTENNIAL RECORD. inenced the preparations for lier centennial. The town was fairly alive with strangers and visitors, and everything was carried out according to* the advertised programme, . . . The streets were densely crowded at an early hour, nearly seven thousand people being present. . . . The decorations were on a grand scale. . ' . . Ever3' detail of the celebration was carried out success- full}'. . . . The decorations and illuminations in the evening proved a most fitting close to the day's festivities. The Common was hung with about twenty-five hundred lanterns, and many pub- lic and private buildings were beautifully illuminated. In fact, the whole village was one blaze of colored liglit. The band concert was a great attraction. About ten thousand people attended the celebration. The Boston Journal spoke, in its editorial column, as fol- lows : — FoxBOROUGH Centennial. — The town of Foxborough — the onl}' one of tjiat name in the world, it is said — celebrated its cen- tennial Saturday, as will be seen b}' our full report of the proceed- ings. It is not an old town for Massachusetts, nor is it a young one ; its origin dates from the middle period of our history and from the throes of the Revolution. It restdted from that division of the large old towns which has been so prolific in new ones, and which is still, though more slowly, going on. When petitioners could complain, as the}' did in the movement leading the way to the organization of Foxborough, " that they lye thirty miles from the old meeting-house, and thirteen from the meeting-house at Pun- capaug, so that they are under great disadvantages for attending public worship," it is no wonder that they called for a new town or- ganization. Foxborough, it seems, began modestly with one hun- dred and nine residents, and now she numbers over three thousand as busy, well-informed and well-to-do people as can be found any where in this Commonwealth. The social and business changes she has passed through in her century of existence are still more marked. The community was so poor at first that the people worshipped in a church without doors or windows. The mothers spun their own flax and wove the family's clothes. The first exports were a load of charcoal and a FOXBOROUGH CENTENNIAL RECORD. 173 load of hogshead hoops, the imports consisting of New England rum, molasses, and codfish. It was not till 1804 that the town felt rich enough to bu}- a hearse. Visit Foxborough to-day, and what a contrast is to be found in the beautiful residences, the ample es- tates, the immense manufactories sending their products through- out the world, and the innumerable evidences of a thriving, intel- ligent, moral, and contented population ! Trul^', the century has been well spent by the town of Foxborough, and its best rewards have been abundantl}- showered upon her in return. She enters upon her second centuiy, therefore, most auspiciouslj-. She can hardly witness such changes as she has experienced in the past, for all the conditions of life are now more settled. It can no longer happen that a citizen, like one of the town's former worthies, can be a resident of two counties and five different towns, while living in the same house all the time. Foxborough, like the rest of Massachusetts, has become an old communit3\ Still, she is only in the beginning of her prosperity ; with her wonderful straw in- dnstry, and her other well-founded and thrifty interests, and her intelligent, exemplar}' people, there is no reason why her second centennial should not be quite as creditable as her first. The Boston Post: — The occasion was one long to be remembered in the history- of the town. Admirable order was maintained, and the programme wjjs carried out to the letter, with promptness and cooifort to all. The Boston Transcrq^t : — The town of Foxborough, which has now reached the ripe age of one hundred years, is to-day engaged in a fitting observance of its centennial anniversarj", though unhappily the unfortunate acci- dent, an account of which is given in another column, has cast a gloom over the proceedings. Boston Traveller: — Foxborough has a history in itself, and one, too, of which its sons and daughters always will be proud. The storv is ever}'- where known, small as the old town is, and the deeds of its chil- 174 FOXBOROUGH CENTENNIAL RECORD. dien have never been such as would not cast credit upon the place of their nativit}'. Boston Advertiser: — Foxborough was one hundred 3-ears old Satnrda}-. Hence she took occasion to invite to her celebration of the anniversary all her children and friends, not only to receive their congratulations, but to show thorn that the mother is more vigorous, active, and enter- prising, more positive in promise of a good future, than many years ago. Could the Englishman Charles James Fox have lool^ed upon the Saturday's display, he would have been proud of his American municipal daughter. One hundred years is a short life for a town, and certainly there was displayed an enthusiasm which comes of devotion of towns-people, and ability to manifest it fittingly. . . . The people of Foxborough, who have managed the occasion and attended the festivities, may be well pleased at the str.oothness with which the exercises passed off. Only one event — but that a se- rious one — checked the cordial outflow of good spirits and nuitual congratulations. IV. SUNDAY SERVICES The observance was continued on Sunday by a portion of the community, who assembled in hirge numbers, without distinction of creed, in the mammoth tent, where services were held in the morning, afternoon, and evening, with a meeting of the Temperance Reform Club, at 4, P.M. The services in the morninof commenced with the singing of an anthem by the choir, followed Ijy an invocation by Rev. \V, Harrison Alden, D.D, ; the singing of an appropriate hymn, read by Rev. J. T. Pettee ; reading of the fortieth chapter of Isaiah, by Rev. B. Paine; prayer by Rev. Isaac Smith, D.D. ; a hymn, after which followed a SERMON, BY REV. Q. H. SIIINN, pastor of the Universalist Church. The theme of the preacher was the ^'Process of God and progress of man," and his text was from Isaiah xl. 12. "Who hath meas- ured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance?" In narrowing their thoughts to a little rural town, they placed a great limitation on such a theme, but in noting the changes and improve- ments of the century the theme was prolific enough. All onr centennials come near together. The areat centennial of two years ago was the centennial of all the States and * FOXBOROUGH CENTENNIAL RECORD. 177 alone could have ordained for it so many uses in this material world, witnessing to us design and a wise Designer. Our knowledge of the heavenly bodies stands as one of the loftiest witnesses of the process of God in the universe. He was so exact and careful in his work, that he laid his hand on every inch of space in the vast vault, and the whole heavens stretching in their endless chain. " Who comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure." Worlds are made of in- visible atoms over which God has supervision as well as over the world, and, analyzing things downward, we discern the method of God. Everything we see, admire, and use, has been literally measured by the hand of God. Man did not have to create anything. God gave the raw material ; stored it in the earth, buried it in the sea, piled it up in the mountains and the hills. The process of God touches human life no less than it touches the clouds, the planets, the dust, and the hills. In the creation of man his purpose towers above all these. His part is to grow — progress. His inte- rior life has correspondences in the outer world, and its divine growths are stimulated when it comes in contact with it. But an atom is man, yet instinct with the life of God, this atom may become more, larger, greater, by throwing out its tendrils to the sun. His searching, exploring, inventing, are accompanied by a flux of happiness ; knowl- edge brings with it enlargement of vision, joy, and bliss. Great discoveries flood the world with joys and large hopes. It was the telegraph and railroad a few years ago ; it is the telephone and phonograph to-day. In God's purpose it would seem that the age of inventions is divided into epochs. When the world is ready for a new revelation God directs their thoughts in the direction of the truth to be revealed. It is a remarkable fact, that, whenever a great discovery or invention has been announced, it is soon found that many minds had been working at the same problem, even on op- posite sides of the globe, as in the case of Wallace and Dar- .178 FOXBOROUGH CENTENNIAL RECORD. win. To-day there is a dispute as to Avhether Bell or Dol- bear inyeiited the telephone. And others were working at it at the same time. Since it w^as revealed to the public, conti'ibutions have been made to it by Faraday, Page, Henry, Russ, Gray, and Edison. And the wonderful microphone, who invented that, — Edison, in the United States, or Hughes, in England? So an entire new tield of science is opened, and the tide of brain and heart is flowing in. What wonders are hidden in the elements, what glories yet unre- vealed ! "Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard." Every nation has contributed to the growth of man. We are a progressive people. Ours is a progressive religion. Idolatrous nations are where they were centuries ago, but Christianity adapts itself to every stage of growth. It has all the elements of permanence, satisfaction, and progress, and opens a new world to the soul, — one that will remain when all else fails and slips away. You have been a hundred years in making a home. You have made a business that touches the race and improves the condition of your fellow-men, and a spirit- ual union begins to strike its roots and send out its blood. You have pulled out the stones and stumps and roots, put in loam, spread sward and shrubs and flowers. What was once a stony knoll, your beautiful villnge crowns; and about your homes are lawns, trees, flowers, — ia them, books, paintings, and flner and sweeter souls. The Father must be pleased to. see you build, out of rough nature, such a paradise. Sectarian barriers will melt away, as future years shall see us rise with the spirit of Jesus in our hearts, and when all hands are clasped to make men better and save the world. By soul-energy and faith, by miracles wrought" by the love that is in us, we may yet fultil the words of our Lord, "And greater things than these shall ye do." At the close of the sermon the vast congregation joined in FOXBOROUGII CENTENNIAL RECORD. 179 singing a hymn to the tune of " Old Hundred," and was dis- missed with a benediction. AFTERNOON SERVICE- Opening solo by Mrs. S. Josie Cobb. Hymn : — ' ' Oh, worship the King, all glorious above ; " read by Rev. J. T. Pettee. Reading of 90th Psalm and Prayer by Rev. W. H. Al- den, D.D. Hymn : — " Through every age, eternal God; " read by Rev. B. Paine. SERMON BY REV. W. H. SPENCER. Subject: Limits of Change. Text: Psalm xc. 2, List clause. Mr. Spencer said, in commencing, that there was one fact that had been made prominent by this centennial season, which was, that a century has wrought changes, many and great, in the life and circumstances of the people. It is a common subject, and yet does not entirely lose its novelty and interest. We are not yet tired of noticing and wonder- ing at the difference between the old ways of living and working and our own. This centennial anniversary has brought freshly to mind the great difi'erence between the means of obtaining a living now and those of a hundred years ago ; also l)etween the common comforts of life now and then. We see the difference between rough comfort, log houses, home-raised food and home-made clothing, and the luxuries which are now deemed essential to the well-being of the poorest. We notice great changes in the methods of business, caused by increasing consumption and sharp com- 180 FOX BO ROUGH CENTENNIAL RECORD. petition. Nothinsr is more marked than the ehangc in th(^ kinds of industry to which young men and women turn for .sui)port. The farmers' sons of to-day are found in stores and counting-houses, or living on the raih'oad as runners of the irreat mercantih' houses. The farmers' dauirhters no h)n>, by the Billings family. Mrs. Mary Sumner Davenport exhibited a picture of her grandmother, Mrs. Hannah Nutting Sumner, who lived to be one hundred and three years old. This picture, or profile, was made when Mrs. Sumner was one hundred years old, and it was accompanied by her fan, and by samples of needle- work made by her when she was one hundred and two years old. Mrs. Davenport also exhibited pewter ware, apparently 194 FOXBOROUGH CENTENNIAL RECORD. as perfect as when first made, which was formerly owned by her grandmother Boyden. Mr. Charles I. Read, a woodcn-salter one hundred and sixty-seven years old, a needle-case one hundred and twenty- five years old, and a pin-ball one hundred and ten years old, made by Mrs. Zadok Howe. Carmi Richmond, Esq., a long list of relics, among which the most noticeable were a looking-glass taken from a British vessel, in the Enji^lish channel, bv his grandfather when on a privateering cruise ; two mugs, — one made at the time of the election of President Jefferson, the other more than two hundred years old; a leaf one hundred years old, lace one hundred and fifty years old, ear-rings and a spoon-mould one hundred years old, a Continental sixty-five-dollar bill, and a crape dress one hundred and fifty years old. Miss E. G. Ware, an oil portrait of her mother, painted seventy-six years ago, and a beautiful embroidered silk dress. Mr. H. G. Warren exhibited the old Wsirren crockery and a French gentleman's dress-sword. There was also a picture of the old Warren homestead, painted by Mr. Geo. B. Sherman. Mr. Fred. H. Williams, a silver spoon more than one hun- dred years old. Miss L. J. Winslow exhibited a salt-mortar one hundred and twenty-five years old, which formerly belonged to Capt. Eleazer Robbins, and the dental instruments of her grand- father. Dr. Shadrach Winslow. These instruments were interesting as showing one oi the methods of torture prac- tised a century ago. The Museum was closed Saturday, July 6th, having been open to the public nine days, during which time, though a large proportion of the visitors held complimentary tickets of admission, more than fifty-five dollars were realized over Hnd above expenses, and paid over to the Treasurer of the Executive Committee. VI. NINETEEN HUNDRED AND SEVENTY-EIGHT. Written by Amos J. Botden. When all who attended the recent Centennial Celebration shall have passed away and their places he filled by another generation, — when another hundred years shall be accom- plished and the inhabitants of Foxborongh take measures to celebrate the two hundredth anniversary of the incorporation of their town, — then will the pages of her history and the annals of our country be studied, not only for the outlines of the past, not merely for dates and names and deeds, but for the motives which prompted to action, for the spirit which animates and has ever animated the loyal citizens of our town and country ; and to prove, that, of all the precious legacies of past generations of our republic to their succes- sors, those which have conferred the most lasting benefits were not the results of accident, but of wise foresight and generous personal sacrifice. And the feeling that this will be the spirit of historical research in years to come, — that the question may arise, whether, in our desire to commemorate the past, we have given one glance into the future, or one thought to those who are to follow us, — leads us to extend to all who in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and seventy-eight shall meet at our town's Bi-centennial Celebration, to all who shall on the appointed day look with longing eyes toward this 196 FOXBOROUGH CENTENNIAL RECORD. place of their early childhood, most cordial, heartfelt greet- inojs. To the committees having charge of your celebration we extend the sympathy to which we know they will he justl}' entitled ; and, while we refer you to the report of our Executive Conmiittee for a catalogue of the difficulties you may expect to meet, we would not fail to call your attention to the fact, that, when so beloved a mother as our good old town sends out the invitation to her sons and daughters to come back to the old home and celebrate her birth, they return, not as straggling deserters, but joyfully and by thousands, to renew their allegiance to her, and to receive her forgiveness for past forgetfulness,- her ''Good-speed" for future enterprises. Joyfully we made this discovery, though at a late day ; and we impart it to you, trusting you will make it the guide in your preparations, and the main- spring of your success. Standing at the entrance to a new century, though we look with deepest interest into its coming years, we realize that fancy only can draw for us a dim outline of their mysteries, while hope and fear complete the unreal picture with their lights and shades. But before you the history of these years Avill spread out as the page of an open book ; and by the light which shines from that page must our work and that of our predecessors be judged. As, therefore, you study the history of your country, as with unprejudiced mind you judge of the comparative merits of j^ast acts of legislation or deeds of valor, remember that true principles are absolutely changeless ; that they cannot be choked by violence or drowned by praise ; that they are unaffected by acts of legislation ; and that, although they may be wilfully neglected, or, in times of ignorance, may for a season be lost to sight, they will surely rise wherever and whenever a true man is found. The magnet which drew the Pilgrim Fathers to Plymouth FOXBOROUGH CENTENNIAL RECORD. 197 Rock was the resistless power of a strong, true principle. iVnd that principle remained the same through all those early years in New England when even its avowed cham- pions -seem to have almost lost sight of it in the mists of bigotry and persecution. Our sires fought the battles of the Revolution for a principle. And that principle remains the same to-day, will ever remain the same, that it was one hundred years ago ; unaffected by the fact that its defenders fought in ragged coats and left their bloody footprints on the winter snows ; unaffected by the fact that their country re- deemed its pledges by paying these brave men in a depreci- ated currency worth but two and one-half cents on a dollar. We make no prophecies concerning the future of Fox- borough ; they are unnecessary. We laud not too highly her past history or her present standing ; for of all these you will be better judges than we. But we know that her true worth and dignity in years to come, her real position among her honorable sister towns and in the State, will depend, not on her acres of public buildings or her miles of streets, not on the millions of dollars invested in her enterprises or the number of her inhabitants, but on the simple, vital question, whether those inhabitants be true and loyal men and women, — able to think for themselves, and willing to penetrate the dust and chaff of public opinion, and from the errors and successes of their predecessors, as well as the good and evil which their own eyes see, to resur-' rect and promulgate the eternal principles of truth and jus- tice. Should the lapse of another hundred years show that we or our fathers have, as a nation, failed to do this, let our failure be your guide. Have we in a measure succeeded, let that measure of success be for you a stepping-stone to a broader, higher success, which shall guarantee to every man, woman, and child in our beloved land, that life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness which alone can fulfil the spirit of the Consti- 198 FOXBOROUGU CENTENNIAL RECORD. tution. For this we live ; for this our fathers lived. And, that you may do your part in the accomplishment of this high aim, we leave to you the rights granted by a Constitu- tion which embalms the noblest thoughts of all ages, and ask you to maintain the spirit of that Constitution by such a system of public-school instruction as shall teach all to appreciate the rights granted therein. We leave to you that precious heirloom, a share in the fortunes of a mighty nation, and appeal to you to so use that unit of power in the civil government that your voice can ever and consistently ])e raised against oppression, and for the equalization of the opportunities for true improve- ment among all classes of men. And, finally, we leave to you our township. Are her fields and meadows fruitful and well Tvatered, rejoice in the wealth thus afibrded. Are they stony and unfruitful, rejoice ; for the toil which makes the wilderness to blossom as the rose, which converts the desert into a garden, and barren fields into garnered wheat, should also develop clear heads and willing hands, and that greatest of blessings to any nation, — true, honest men. VII. A MEMORIAL RECORD OF THE PATEIOTISM OF OUR SOLDIERS AND TOWN. An Address delivered in Town Hall, Foxborough, befohe Post 91, G.A.R., May 31, 1877, by Hon. E. P. Carpenter. Another Decoration Day, with fitting services and cere- monies, has passed — the flowers are still fresh upon the graves of our "heroic dead;" the 30th day of May, 1 1862, $100 each was voted as a bounty to 24 persons, who might volunteer nnder the recent call of President Lincoln; and the bounty was afterwards raised to '?il25 In^ Uth the town passed the following vote : "Whereas the town of Foxborou-h is desirons of standing shoulder to shoulder with their fellow-citizens of other towns m filbng up the second quota of 300,000 men ordered by the Presi- dent of the United States to be drafted for service on or about the 1st of September next; and whereas the citizens believe that our old Commonwealth will fill said quota by volunteers, without a draft becoming necessary ; ai.d whereas time is of importance, and the towns are not fully aware of the sum the exigencies of the occasion will require but have full confidence in the patriotism and judgment of the selectmen, -therefore. Resolved, That the selectmen proceed to take such measures as they may deem wise and expedient to enlist such numbers of men as may be required from this town by said draft ; and the town pledges to them that such sums of money shall be voted to them hereafter as may be necessary to carry out this vote." Sept 20th a vote was passed, approving of the Select- men's offer of a -bounty of $150 for nine-months' men It was voted, also, to pay $150 to each inhabitant of the town of Foxborough enlisting in Company F of the Fourth Militia Regiment for nine months' service, and to as many others as mid^t be needed to fill the quota. There were two negative Votes. The treasurer was authorized to bor- 216 FOXBOROUGH CENTENNIAL RECORD. row for the purpose ti sum not exceeding $10,000 ; it was also voted to extend the same aid to the families of drafted men as to volunteers. ]March 26, 1864, it was voted to reimburse $3,900 fur- nished by individuals to procure the town's quota of volun- teers, under the calls of Oct. 17, 1863, and Feb. 1, 1864. There was one vote in the negative. eTune 18, 1864, it was voted that the treasurer have authority to borrow $2,875, to pay expenses incurred in filling the town's quota, under the call of March 14, 1864. Aug. 1, 1864, it was voted tq raise a sum not exceeding $125 per man to till the quota under the call of July 18, 1864, for 500,000 men. March 11, 1865, it was voted to appropriate a sum not exceeding $300 to make up a de- ficiency in paying $125 each per man to fill the quota under the call of Dec. 1, 1864, for 300,000 men. Let us not, in this retrospect, forget the labors and untiring sym- pathy of the women of Foxborough. In the war archives of the Commonwealth is a letter dated April 19, 1861, — the very day when the streets of Baltimore drank the patriotic blood of Massachusetts — addressed to Gov. Andrew by Miss Frances Wight (now Mrs. Coggswell), of Foxborough, signed by one hundred young ladies of this place, ofi'ering their services as nurses, or to make soldiers' garments, to prepare bandages and lint, — to (ko anything for the cause in their power to do. Gov. Andrew replying, writes : " I ac- cept it as one of the most earnest and sincere of the count- less offers of devotion to our old Commonwealth, and to the cause of the country." He concludes by asking them to '■ help those who are left behind, and follow those who have gone before with your benedictions, your benefactions, and your prayers." The good work inaugurated by gentle and enthusiastic maidens was, with unabated zeal, carried forward by all our women to the end of the great war for the Union. In this connection we must not forget to mention those young FOXBOROUGII CENTENNIAL RECORD. 217 ladies who went out from our midst to teach the freedmen, for they had battles to fight, which, if it did not cost them their lives, required sacrifices that proved both their patriot- ism and philanthropy. In an address of this character it were nigh impossible to mention all who were meritorious ; but I cannot forbear alluding to those most worthy and patriotic citizens, and faithful and true fi-iends of the soldier — William H. Thomas, Ezra Carpenter, Richard Carpenter, Edmund Carroll, and Robert Kerr — who have gone from among us; and, as we hallow the graves of our dead heroes, and erect monuments to their memories, let us not forget their faithful comrades in civil life who did valiant service for the cause for which they laid down their lives. In summing up "our record," I find that 55 men were furnished in 1861 for three years, 24 for three years, and 45 for nine months, in 1862 ; in 1863-64, 60 for three years, and 23 for one year — including ofiicers and men ; the whole number furnished w^as 276, being a sur- plus of 13 over the quota. The whole number of different men was 178 ; equivalent to 100 men each day of the war. Of these there were two majors, four captains, eleven lieutenants, thirteen sergeants, and eleven corporals, mak- ing 41 commissioned and non-commissioned ofiicers, and 137 privates ; — 21 of this number died in battle or of disease. The amount expended by the town for bounties and enlistment expenses was $21,742.48. The amount of private subscriptions for bounties to volunteers was $7,008.33 ; — $1,001.13 w^ere spent for clothing and sup- plies for the soldiers, being for Company F at Fortress Munroe. Large contributions of clothing and supplies were sent through the Foxborough Relief Association, and the Sanitary and Christian Commissions. Money contri- butions in this behalf may be estimated at $500. The material interests of Foxborough declined slightly during the war. In 1860 our population was 2,879 ; in 1865 it 218 FOXBOROUGII CENTENNIAL RECORD. was 2,769. In 18G0 our valuation was $1,287,735 ; in 1865, $1,284,524. Never shall avc forget the morning when the glorious news came that Gen. Lee's army had surrendered. It was a day of great rejoicing. The bells were rung ; the glorious Stars and Stripes were flung to the breeze, and saluted with cheers and tears, for men and women cried for joy, and thanked God for these glad tidings, that foretold peace and the re- turn of those that had led us to victory. A procession was formed, and marched, with stirring music, through the prin- cipal streets, and to the Toavu Hall, which was fllled. Prayer, earnest and fervent, was offered by Deacon Hewins, and some speaking was "in order;" but there are times when there is more eloquence in silence than in the best of oratory, and this seemed to be the time and occasion. The war over, the town, in common with almost all its sis- ter communities, began to consider its duty towards a fitting commemoration of the valor of its deceased soldiers, who went forth fnmi it and fell in the service of their country. March 10, 1866, it was voted to refer the article in the Avar- rant, in reference to a monument of the deceased soldiers, to a committee consisting of five, — E. P. Carpenter, AVm. Car- penter, Otis Gary, Wm. H. Thomas, and George T. Eyder, — who made an extended report, March 6, 1867, Avhich was ordered to be printed. The committee recommended the buildino: of a Memorial Hall as the most fittins: monument to the valor and patriotism of the dead, whilst it would be at the same time eminently useful to the living. March 16, 1867, it was voted that the committee be instructed to pro- cure plans and estimates, in accordance with this report ; also, a plan for a monument, with estimates for cost of each, and to report on the same. There is, however, no question that the original report (to be found on the Town Records) sub- stantially settled the question, and secured the building of the useful and substantial structure that adorns our village, — the FOA'BOROUGH CENTENNIAL RECORD. 219 Memorial Hdl. It was erected in 1868, at an expense of some $13,000, including town appropriations and subscrip- tions, or gifts made by individuals. It was dedicated on Fri- day, the Kth of June, with impressive ceremonies. Hon. Geo. B. Loring was the orator of the day, and made a most appropriate and eloquent address.* On account of a shower, the services were held in the Congregational church. Enough has been said to show that our busy little com- munity was not behind its sister towns in fervor of patriotism and self-sacrifice. As to our dead and lost, whose names our "roll of honor" bears, what matter where they fought or fell? They died all in the same great cause. " How many," cried our grand governor, — "how many of our noblest and bravest shall givetheir blood to the ransom of a subject race, the redemption of their country's peace, and the final security of her honor and integrity ! " "How can fleeting words of human praise give the record of theirglory ? Our eyes sufiused with tears, and the blood retreat- ing to the heart, stored with unwonted thrill, speak with the eloquence of Nature attired, but unexpressed — Hail, and fare- well ! Each hero must sleep securely on the field where he fell, in a cause sacred to liberty, and to the rights of mankind." As for us who survive those whose glory and death we so proudly mourn, " Let us, the living, rather dedicate ^ Ourselves to the unfinished work which they Thus far advanced so nobly on its w^y, And saved the perilled State. Let us upon this field, where they, the brave. Their last full measure of devotion gave, Highly resolve they have not died in vain ; That, under God, the nation's later birth Of freedom, and the people's gain Of their sovereignty shall never wane And perish from the circle of the earth ! " *It was published ia the " Norfolk County Gazette," a copy of which may be found in Boyden Public Library. 220 FOXBOROUGII CENTENNIAL RECORD. ROLL-CALL OF FOXBOROUGH'S SOLDIERS. 1861 TO 1865. Name. 4th Kegiment, Co. F. David L. Shepard, C'ipt. Moses A. ^Richardson, \st Lieut Carlos A. Hart, Id Lieut. Wm. H. Torrey, Sergt. John F. Shepard, " John M. Welch, " Edward B. Bird, " Samuel D. Robinson, Corporal Lewis L. Bullard, " Frank 0. Pierce, " Lucius W. Allen. Charles D. Bacon. James S. Berais. Isaac H. Bonney. Samuel N. Bryant. Hiram F. Buck. James Carpenter. Gabriel P. Chamberlain. George IL Claflin. Henry A. Fales. William H. Fales. George M. Fillebrown. 'Albert E. Forrest. Edward M. Freeman. Aloffzo W. Fuller. Joseph Gotleib. Moses L. Green. Ephraim 0. Grover. Pascal C. Grover. David T. Hartshorn. Edwin P. Jevvett. Joseph H. Joplin. AVilliam H. Lyons. Ransom Alatthews. William A. Morse. William H. Pierce. Charles H. Pond. Date of Muster. (Three months.) April 22, 18UL . April 22, " Aprir22, " April 22, " April 22, " April 22, " April 22, " . April 22, " April 22, " April 22, " May 22. " May 6, " April 22, " April 22, " April 22, " April 22, " April 22, " April 22, " April 22, " April 22, " April 22, " April 22, " April 22, " April 22, " May 22, " April 22, " April 22, " April 22, " April 22, " May C, " April 22, " April 22, " May 22, " May 22, " April 22, " April 22, " April 22, " Remarks. July 22 July July July July July July July July July July 22 July 22 July 22 July 22 July 22 July 22 July 22 July 22 July 22 July 22 July 22 July 22 July 22 July 22 July 22 July 22 July 22 July 22 July 22 July 22 July 22 July 22 July 22 July 22 July 22 July 22 July 22 1861 18G1 1801 1861 1861 1801 1801 1801 1801 1801 1861 1861 1801 1801 1801 1801 1801 1861 1861 1861 1801 1861, 1861 1861 1861 1861 1861 1861 1861 1861 1861 1861 1861 1861 1801 1861 1861 E.K. of Service. FOXBOROUGII CENTENNIAL RECORD. 221 Name. James L. Sherman. William H. Sweet. Charles A. Thompson. Willard W. Turner. James White. Nelson S. White. Rufus S. White. Liscomb C. Winn. James A. Wyer. Date of Muster. April 22, 1861, May 6, " April 22, " April 22, " May 22, " May 22, " May 22, " May 22, " May 22, " Remarks. July 22, 1861, Ex. of Service. July 22, 1861, " " July 22, 1861, " July 22, 1861, " " July 22, 1861, " " July 22, 1861, " July 22, 1861, " " July 22, 1861, " July 22, 1861, " 3d Battalion, Co. D. (Three George Draper. May 4tli Regiineiit. (Nine months.) months.) 19, 1861. Charles F. Howard, Major. 4tli Regiment, Co. F. Charles F. Howard, Capt. Moses A. Richardson, 1*^ Lieut. Sept Isaac H. Bonney, 'Id Lieut. Joseph H. J*oplin, \st Seryt. Liscomb C. Winn, Sergt. Gabriel P. Chamberlain, Sergt Ephraim 0. Grover, Corp. Pascal C. Grover, " Charles B. Winn, " Charles T. Sumner, " George H. Grover, Musician. William M. Adams, " Joseph H. Alden. Warren B. Alden. Lewis W. Belcher. Isaac H. Bonney. Charles L. Boyden. Edwin J. Carroll. James S. Carver. George H. Copliston. William Day. Joseph H. Dow. Edwin Dunbar. Anson Fisher. E. Irving Fisher. George H. Fisher. Handel P. Fisher. Edward M. Freeman. George A. Mann. Cyrus B. Morse. Elbridgo F. Morse. Jarius J. Morse. William A. Morse. July 23, 1861, Discharged. Dec. 16, 1862. Aug. 28, 1863, Ex. of Service. (Nine months.) Sept. 23, " Dec. 6, 1862, Maj. Sept. 23, " Sept. 23, 1862, Resigned. Dec. 27, " Aug. 23, 1863, Died at Indianapolis. Sept. 23, " July 14, 1863, Died on Railroad. Sept. 23, " Aug. 28, 1863, Ex. of Service. Sept. 23, " May 31, 1863, Died at Brashaer City. Sept. 23, " Aug. 28, 1863, Ex. of Service. Sept. 23, " Aug. 28, 1863, " " Sept. 23, " Aug. 28, 1863, " " Sept. 23, " Aug. 28, 1863, " " Sept. 23, " Aug. 28, 1863, << u Sept. 23, " Mar. 6, 1803, Died at Carrollton, La. Sept. 23, " Aug. 28, 1863, Ex. of Service. Sept. 23. " Dec. 8, 1862, Discharged. Sept. 23, " Aug. 28, 1863, Ex. of Service. Sept. 23, " Dec. 27, 1862, 2d Lieut. Oct. 15, " July 15, 1863, Died at New Orleans. Sept. 23, " Aug. 28, 1863, Ex. of Service. Sept. 23, " Aug. 28, 1863, « Sept. 26, " Aug. 28, 1863, " " Sept. 23, " June 10, 1863, Died at Brashaer City. Sept. 23, " Aug. 28, 1863, Ex. of Service. Sept. 23, 1862. Aug. 28, 1803, Ex. of Service. Sept. 23, " Aug. 28, 1863, '" Sept. 23, " Aug. 28, 1863, " " Oct. 20, " Aug. 28, 1863, " " Sept. 23, " Aug. 28, 1863, " Sept. 23, " Aug. 28, 1863, " " Sept. , 23, " Aug. 28, 1863, 11 (( Sept. 23, " Aug. 28, 1863, <( 11 Sept. 23, " May 26, 1863, Died at New Orleans. Sept. 23, " Aug. 28, 1803, Ex. of Service. Sept. 23, " Aug. 28, , 1803, 222 FOXBOROUGH CENTENNIAL RECORD. N.ime. Joseph Myers. Charles A. Pettee. Charles D. Smith. Leonard Smith. Payson F. Smith. William A. Stevens. Henry C. Sumner. David A. Swift. Charles A. Thompson. George S. Thompson. John Ware. Preston 13. Whittemoro. James Wight. Ansel L. Willis. 6tli Regiment, Co. Thomas S. Brigham. Timothy Brennan. Curtis S. Childs. Lewis E. Comey. Seth N. Kingsbury. William T. Wright. Gth Regiment, Co. Gardner A. Carpenter. Benjamin L. Dixon. John J. Dixon. Ttli Regiment; Co. Richard II. King. Stillman F. Morse. James Prime. Date of Muster. Sept. 23, 18C'2. Sept. 23, " Sept. 23, " Sept. 23, " Sept. 23, " Sept. 23, " Sept. 23, " Sept. 23, " Oct. 15, " Sept. 23, " Sept. 23, " Sept. 23, " Sept. 23, ■' Sept. 23, " B. (One hundred July 17, 18G4. July 17, " uly 17, " July 17, " July 17, " July 17, " K. (One hundred July 14, 18G4. July 14, " July 14, " H.* June 15, 1861. June 15, " June 15, " July Aug. Aug. Aug. Aug. Aug. Aug. Aug. Aug. Aug. Aug. Aug. Aug. Aug. days.) Oct. Oct. Oct. Oct. Oct. Oct. days.) Oct. Oct. Oct. Nov. Mar. Dec. Remarks. 20, 18G3, Died at New Orleans. 28, 1863, Ex. of Service. 28, 1863, " " 28, 1863, 28, 1863, 28, 1863, " 13, 1863, Died on Railroad. 28, 1863, Ex. of Service. 28, 1863, 28, 1863, 28, 1863, " " 28, 1863, 28, 1863, " 28, 1863, 27, 1864, 27, 1864, " " 27, 1864, " " 27, 1864, 27, 1864, " " 27, 1864, 27, 1864, " " 27, 1864, " 27, 1864, " " 12, 1861, Discharged. 10, 1863, Died. 3, 18G2, Discharged. Ttli Regiment, Co. I. Louis Ileckman. Juno 15, 1861. June 27, 1864, Ex. of Service. Otii Regiment, Co. B. Charles Lyons. June 11, 1861. Oct. 16, 1S62, Discharged. 17tU Regiment, 1862. Dec. 11, 1862, Killed at Fred Aug. 9, " Jan. 15, 1863, Discharged. July 22, 1861. Oct. 23, 1861, Died of AVound Aug. 9, 1862. Sept. IT, 1862, Discharged. Aug. 9, 1862. Aug. 1, 1864, Ex. of Service. Feb. 26, 1864. Feb. 28, 1864, Rejected. Aug. 9, 1862. Mar. 3, 1864. Mar. S, 1864, Rejected. Oct. 11, 1861. Oct. 13, 1861, Ex. of Service. Oct. 11, " May 4, , 1862, , Resigned. May 3, 1803. Oct. 13, 1864, Ex. of Service. Oct. 14, 1804. June 25, , 1865, , " Nov. 3, 1862. May 23, 1864, Resigned. Nov. 18, " May 3, 1863, 1st Lieut. Sept. 28, 1861. Nov. 2, , 1863, , 2d " Sept. 28, ," Sept. 30 , 1862, , Discharged. Dec. 3, 1863. June 25, 1865, Ex. of Service. Sept. 28, 1861. Aug. 1, , 1862, 1 Discharged. Sept. 28, " July 10; , 1863^ , Sept. 28, " Oct. 13, 1864, Ex. of Service. Sept. 28, " Dec. 2, 1863, To Reenlist. Sept. 28, " Mar. 26, , 1863, , Discharged. Sept. 28, " Aug. 20, , 1862, , Sergt. -Major. Sept. 28, " Oct. 13, 1864, Ex. of Service. Sept. 28, " Mar. 14, , 1862, , Discharged. Mar. 29, 1864. June 25, ,1865, , Ex. of Service. Sept. 28, 1861. July 11, , 1862, , Discharged. Sept. 28, " Dec. 2, 1863, To Reenlist. Dec. 3, 1863. June 25, 1865, Ex. of Service. Sept. 28, 1861 Dec. 2, 1863, To Reenlist. 224 FOXBOROUGn CENTENNIAL RECORD. Name. Date of Muster. Levi Bennett. Dec. 3, 1863. Joseph Brighara. Sept. 28, 1861. Hiram S. Buck. Sept. 28, " Thomas Carpenter. Sept. 28, " Samuel C. Chestnut. Oct. 27, " William H. Pales. Sept. 28, " David Flahaven. Sept. 28, " David Flahaven. Deo. 3, 1863. Joseph Gay. Aug. 25, 1864. Patrick llanabury. Sept. 28, 1861. William D. Higgins. Sept. 28, " Allen P. Lake. Oct. 30, " John Mahoney. Sept. 28, " Oliver Prime. Sept. 28, " Edward Richardson. Sept. 28, " Hiram A. Snow. Dec. 3, 1863. Franklin E. Taylor. Sept. 28, 1861. Joshua Taylor. Sept. 2S, " Charles A. Whipple. Oct. 12, " George W. Williams, Jr. Sept. 28, " Micajah B. Alley. Aug. 25, 1864. 24tli Regiment, Co. A. John M. Welch, Sergt. Sept. 4, 1861. Henry J. Barrows. Aug. 13, 1862. Wm. R. Goldsmith. Aug. 13, " Patrick Roche. Sept. 27, 1861. David Scott. Aug. 13, 1862. John H. Sumner. Aug, 13, " Wm. II. Torrey. Nov. 30, 1861. 24tli Regiment, Co. O. Joseph Jewett. SS4tIi Regiment, Co George F. Wallace, Corp. aotli Regiment. Isaac Smith, Jr., Ass^t Surgeon. Dec. 28tli Regiment, Co. I>. Andrew K. Grady, Wagoner. 28th Regiment, Co. Peter Leighton. Joseph Murray. 20tli Regiment, Co. Joseph Boyden, Xat Sergt. Joseph Boyden. SOtii Regiment, Co. <■. Henry B. Titus, Sergt. Remarks. June 25, 1865, Ex. of Service. June 25, 1862, Discharged. Sept. 11, 1862, Oct. 13, 1864, Ex. of Service. Feb. 21, 1863, Discharged. Mar. 26, 1863, " Dec. 2, 1863, To Reenlist. June 25, 1865, Ex. of Service. June 25, 1865, " " Mar. 28, 1864, To Reenlist. Oct. 13, 1864, Ex. of Service. Oct. 13, 1864, Oct. 13, 1864, " Mar. 13, 1863, Discharged. Oct. 13, 1864, Ex. of Service. May 16, 1864, Missing. Feb. 16, 1863, Discharged. Oct. 13, 1864, Ex. of Service. May 5, 1862, Died at Newburn. June 21, 1862, Discharged. Oct. 27, 1864, Rejected. Mar. 26, 1863, Discharged. Oct. 16, 1862, Died at Newburn. Dec. 4, 1864, Ex. of Service. Mar. 12, 1864, "Veteran Reserve Corps. Dec. 4, 1864, Ex. of Service. Dec. 4, 1864, June 8, 1803, 1st Lieut. Sept. 5, 1861. Sept. 5, 1864, To Reenlist. Jan. 2, 1864. Jan. 20, 1866, Ex. of Service. 1862. Nov. 7, 1864, " " Dec. 13, 1861. Dec. 19, 1864, " Mar. 29, 1864. Aug. 16, 1864, Missing. Mar. 17, " Sept. 13, 1864, Discharged. Jan. 2, 1864. July 29, 1865, Ex. of Service. Dec. 31, 1861. Jan. 1, 1864, To Reenlist. Jan. 2, 1864. Juno 28, 1865, Discharged. FOXBOROUGII CENTENNIAL RECORD. 225 Name. Date of Muster. 30th Regiment, Co. 'E,. Theodore R. Sldniier, iV/«s!Cj(!n. Nov, 5, 1861. 33d Iteginient, Co. I>. George H. Claflin, Corp. Jan. 4, 18G4. 33d Regiineut, Co. C. Alfred L. Morse. Aug. C, 18G2. Ira C. Saylcs. Aug. G, " 35tli. Regiment, Co. C. Alonzo W. Fuller. Aug. 19, 18G2. 38tli Regiment, Co. I. James Nelson. Aug. 21, 18G2. William Rich. Aug. 24, " 40th Regiment, Co. F. Edniond Burke. Sept. 3, 18G2. 47tli Regiment, Co. C. (Nine months Bernard E. Backer, 2d Lieut. Feb. 2, 1863. Bernard E. Backer, Serrjt. Sept. 23, " 54tU Regiment, Co. F. Henry James. Dec. 18,1863. 55tli Regiment, Co. F. Wm. H. Torrey, Capt. Feb. 7, 1864. Wm. H. Torrey, Ut Lieut. June 19, 1863. Wm. H. Torrey, 2d " Juno 17, " Remarks. Feb. 12, 1864, To Reenlist. June 29, 1865, E.y. of Service. May 27, 1865, Order AYar Dept. Aug. 13, 18G2, Deserted. Feb. 28, 1863, Discharged. June 30, 1865, Ex. of Service. Juno 30, 1865, " " Mar. 15, 1863, Veteran Reserve Corps, ) Sept. 1, 1863, Ex. of Service. Feb. 2, 1862, 2d Lieut. Aug. 20, 1865, Ex. of Service. July 7, 1865, Resigned. Feb. 7, 1864, Captain. June 19, 1863, 1st Lieut. SGth Regiment. Fred D. Forrest, Capt. 56tU Regiment, Co. C. George Eaton. Mar. 10, 1864. 56tli Regiment, Co. D. Jeremiah E. Earle, Serjt. Dec. 29, 1863. Leander Clapp, Corp. Dec. 29, " Patrick M.Driscoll. Dec. 29, " Daniel Mahoney. Dec. 29, " 56tli Regiment, Co. K. Otis Deane. Jan. 12, 1864. Comfort 0. Fisher. Jan. 12, " Edward E. Place. Jan. 12, " 5Gtli Regiment, Co. F. George E. Bird. Jan. 12, 1864. Eliphalet S. Wilson. Jan. 12, " 56tli Regiment, Co. IC. Edwin P. Jewett, Ut Serrjt. Feb. 25, 18G4. Liscomb C. Winn, " Feb. 25, " 58tli Regiment, Co. G. Joseph Mcrritt. Mar. 26, 1864. Dec. 4, 1863. Commission Revoked. June 19, 1865, Order War Dept. July 12, 18G5, Ex. of Service. May 6, 1864, Killed, Wilderness, Va. Jan., 1864, Deserted. Feb. 23, 1864, Died. June 15, 1865, Order Gen. Park. Dec. 30, 1864, Order Gen. Auger. June 30, 1865, Order War Dept. July 14, 1865, Order War Dept. July 12, 1865, " " " Sept. 1, 1864, Promotion. July 12, 1865, Ex. of Service. Oct. 1, 1864, Deserted. 226 FOXBOROUGH CENTENNIAL RECORD. Name. 18th TTnattached Co. Wm. F. Boyd, Sergt. Ethan A. Cubb, " George A. Brock. Herbert E. Cobb. Willis S. Cook. Samuel H. Gooch. Cephas P. Grover. Lewis. F. Holmes. Theodore H. Hunniwell. Thomas J. Kennedy. Zeri B. Martis. Gyrus B. Morse. Stillman F. Willis. Date of Muster. (One year.) Dec. 7, 18C4. Dec. Dec. Dec. Deo. Dec. Dec. Dec. Dec. Dec. Deo. Dec. Dec. Remarks. May 12, 18G5, Ex. of Service. April 11, 1865, 2d Lieut. May 12, 1865, E.\. of Service. May 12, 1865, " " May 12, 1865, " May 12, 1865, '« " May 12, 1865, " " May 12, 1865, May 12, 1865, " " May 12, 1865, May 12, 1865, " " May 12, 1865, " May 12, 1865, " 20th Unattaclied Co. (One hundred days.) Jarius J. Morse, Corp. E. Irving Fisher. Edward Matthews. William A. Morse. 12tli Battery. Andrew W. Martin, Corp. 13tl» Battery. Patrick Curtin, Corp. Michael A. McCostello. 14tli Battery. Williams Leonard, Artificer. George Leonard. lOtli Battery. Wm. Hilliard. Martin Shea. .John Smith. Ist Cavalry. George M. Fillebrown, 2d Lieut, George 1\L Fillebrown, IstLieut. Ist Cavalry, Co. B. George M. Fillehvown, Com. Sgt. Herbert F. Dean. George M. Washburn. 1st Cavalry, Co. H. Allen F. Belcher, 1st Sergt. Horace E. Dupee, Com, Sergt, Charles D. Bacon, Sergt, Newton W. Bacon. Charles H. Pond. aa Cavalry, Co. D. Geo. H. Sanford. Aug. 11, 1864. Nov. 18, 1864, Ex. of Service. Aug. 11, " Nov. 18, 1864, " Aug. 11, " Nov. 18, 1864, " " Aug. 11, " Nov. 18, 1864, " Mar. 29, 1864. July 25, 1865, Ex. of Service. Jan. 27, 1863. Mar. 30, 1864. Feb. 27, 1864. Feb. 27, " July 28, 1864. Mar. 11, " July 28, " Oct. 30, 1862. May 12, 1863. Sept. 17, 1861. Sept. 14, 1861. Sept. 17, " Sept. 23, 1861. Sept. 25, " Dec. 4, " Oct. 19, " Sept. 19, " July 28, 1865, Ex. of Service. July 28, 1865, " " June 15, 1865, Ex. of Service. June 15, 1865, " . " Aug. 1, 1864, Deserted. June 27, 1865, Ex. of Service. Aug. 1, 1864, Deserted. May 12, 1863, 1st Lieut. Jan. 25, 1864. Oct. 30, 1862, 2d Lieut. April 4, 1864, Promotion. Nov. 17, 1864, Ex. of Service. Transferred to Co. K, 4th Cavalry Feb. 26, 1864. July 20, 18G5, Ex. of Service. FOXBOROUGH CENTENNIAL RECORD. 227 Name. * Sd Cavalry, Co. F. Lawrence Dvvyer. 3d Cavalry, Co. B. Patrick Kelcher. 4tli Cavalry. Allen F. Belcher, 1st Lieut. Allen F. Belcher, 2d Lieut. Allen F. Belcher, Com. Sergt. 4tli Cavalry, Co. K. Allen F. Belcher, \st Sergt. Allen F. Belcher, " Horace E. Dupee, Com. Sergt. Charles D Bacon, Sergt, Horace E. Dupee, " Newton W. Bacon. Charles H. Pond. 4tU Cavalry, Co. Li. Richard H. King, Blacksmith. V. R. C. James R. Albion. Myrom Ames. Edward H. Bowker. John Devlin. Francis J. Flanigan. William Greenlough. David Haugh. Dwight N. Hill. Benj. F. Jones. Samuel Keller. John Kirchen. August Kinttle. August Krun. Alvah S. Langley. Michael McCarthy. Donald McDonald. George McDoner. Michael McNamara. Bernard MuUins. John Phillips. Wm. H. Pierce. John Rooney. James E. Smith. Leander G. Thompson. Francis Traynor. George Vandergrist. Thomas H. Walters. John White. Date cf Muster. Mar. 15, 1864. Remarks. ; July 20, 1865, Ex. of Service. Feb. 27, 1864. Dec. 15, 1865, Dishonorably Dis. Feb. 1, 1865; Feb. 20, 1865, Resigned Brevet Capt. July 27, 1864. Feb. 1, 1865, 1st Lieut. Jan. 1, 1864. July 27, 1864,' 2d Lieut. Sept. 23, 1861. Dec. 31, 1863, To Reenlist. Jan. 1, 1864. June 6, 1864, Com. Sergt. Apr. 21, 1864. Nov. 14, 1865, Ex. of Service. Dec. 4, 1861. Dec. 3, 1864, " Sept. 25, " Apr. 20, 1864, To Reenlist. Oct. 19, " Oct, 16, 1864, Ex. of Service. Sept. 19, " Sept. 24, 1864, " " Feb. 18. 1864. Nov. 14, 1864, " « Aug. Aug. Aug. Apr. Apr. Apr. Apr. Aug. Jan. Apr. Apr. May July Aug. July Apr. Apr. Apr. July July Aug. Apr. July Aug. Apr. Aug. July Aug. 8, 1864. 15, " 19, " 14, " 15, " 15, " 14, " 29, " 10, 1865. 14, 1864. 14, 1864. 11, " 28, " 13, " 29, " 14, " 20, " 14, " 21, " 30, " 31, " 20, " 28, " 29, " 14, " 13, " 28, " 13, " Nov. 14, 1865, Order of War Dept. Nov. 16, 1865, Order of War Dept. 228 FOXBOROUGH CENTENNIAL RECORD. Name. Reg^tlar Army John L'uchinullcr. Robt. W. Graham. John Ilogan. Frederick \V. Kent. Joseph McGiiiley. John Montague. Wesley H. Sherwood. Elijah Spencer. Robert Wallock. Henry Karch. AVilliam F. McAlliston. Date of Muster. July 18, 1864. Mar. 30, " July 21, " July 18, " Apr. 8, " July 30, " Apr. 11, " July 18, " Apr. 13, " July 30, " July 30, " FOXBOROUGH SOLDIERS CREDITED TO QUOTAS OP OTHER TOWNS. Ttli Kegimeut, Co. H. George S. Cook. Charles D. Richardson. Win. F. Frazer, Musician. 7tU Regiment, Co. I. Wm. A. Richardson. 24th Regiment, Co. A. Nelson S. White. 56tli Regiment, Co. A, Christopher Martyn. 56th Regiment, Co. F. George H. Hartshorn. {}6th Regiment, Co. G. Leander Clapp. 5Gth Regiment, Co. H. George F. Ilogle. Isaac Skinner. Juno 15, 18G1. Juno 27, 1864, Ex of Service. June 15, " Jan. IG, 1863, Disability. June 15, " Sept. 1, 1863, V. R. C. June 15, 1861. Feb. 4, 1863, Died, Washington. Dec. 5, 1861. Dec. 22, 1863, Promoted. Deo. 29, 1863. — 1864, Order War Dept. Jan. 12,1864. July 12, 1865, Close of War. Dec. 29, 1863. May 13, 1864, Killed in Battle, Jan. 27, 1864. July 26, 1864, Disability. Dec. 19, 1863. Dec. 19, 1863, Rejected. 1st 9Ias8. Heavy Artillery. Uriah S. Kinj Mar. 20, 1862. Oct. 29. 1864, Died in Georgia. Oth Maine Regiment, Co. B. Wm. B. Grover. Oct. 20, 1862. Sept. 12, 1863, Medical Cadet. 3d Regiment R. I. Heavy Artillery, Co. M. Charles Bcal, Corporal, Jan. 1, 1863. Aug. 30, 1863, Wounded. Charles Bcal. Mar. 17, 1862. Jan. 1, 1863, Promoted. Oth R.I. Battery. Wm. C. Winsluw. Aug. 15, 1862. Feb. 20, 1865, Disability. ILiincoln Guards, 2d D. C. Regiment, Co. G. John E. Belcher. Jan. 13,1862. Jiin. 13, 1865, Ex. of Service. Joel A. Belcher. Jan. 13, " Jan. 13,1865, Joseph W. Belcher. Jan. 27, " Feb. 2, 1865, " " FOXBOROUGH CENTENNIAL RECORD. 229 Name. Date of Muster. Remarks. 33d Kegiinent, U. S. Colored Troops. Nelson S. White, Capt. Nov. 12, 1865. Jan. 31, 18G6, E.k. of Service. Nelson S. White, \st. Lieut. Oct. 7, " Nov. 12, 18G5, Promoted. Nelson S. White, 2d Lieut. Dec. 22, 18C3. Oct. 7, " Promoted. SOLDIERS CREDITED TO FOXBOROUGH'S QUOTA, BUT SERVED IN REGI- MENTS OTHER THAN MASSACHUSETTS. Thomas Carr, James C.avaglin, Emery Eighart, Frederick Hill, Henry Cleveland. Isaac B. Beal. Charles McGinnis, William Quinn, Patrick Randolph, Henry Williams. U. S. NAVY. May G, 1861. Mar. 24, 1863, Ex. of Service. THE MEMORIAL TABLETS. At the right of the entrance to Memorial Hall is a marble tablet, with medallion of flint-lock musket, powder-horn, and cartridge- box in relief, inscribed as follows : — PATRIOTS Seth Bo^yden, Samuel Billings, Jacob Billings, Ezra Carpenter, John Carpenter, Oliver Come}', Spencer Comey, John N. Everett, Ebenezer Forrest, Samuel Forrest, Elias Guild, Jabez Grover, OF 1776. Thomas Hartshorn, Zadoc Howe, Jesse Hartshorn, Jeremiah Hartshorn, Cornelius Morse, Timoth}' Morse, Oliver Pettee, Abijah Pratt, John Sumner, Wm. Sumner, Daniel Salley, Thomas Clapp. SOLDIERS OF 1812. Alexander Boyden, Dudley Billings, Comfort Belcher, Bowdoin Brastow, Bela Bacon, Alpheus Bird, 230 FOXBOROUGH CENTENNIAL RECORD. Daniels Carpenter, Francis Carpenter, David Capen, WiUard Ciiilds, Peleg Diirfee, David Davis, Daniel P^verett, Charles Faxon, Jabez Fales, Freedom Guild, F'isher Hartshorn , John Hewes, Elkanah Hodges, Otis Hodges, Henry Hobart, David N. Hall, Timoth}' Morse, Asa Plimpton, Elijah Plimpton, Martin Pettee, Oliver. Pettee, James Plimpton, James Paine, Stephen Rhoades, Jr., Loring C. Shaw, E. Holmes Sherman, Robert Shepard, Martin Torrej', Asa White, Amos White, James Wilber, Isaac Winslow. It is also known that Elisha Morse, a resident upon what is now Foxborough territory, served in the French and Indian War, in 1747. Capt. Josiah Pratt and Capt. Eleazer Robbins, after- wards citizens of this town, commanded two of the nine com- panies that left Stoughton, April 19, 1775, upon the Lexington alarm. Uriah Atherton, Nehemiah Carpenter, Jr., and Dominic Dassance were also in the Continental arm}', either as militia or volunteers. Stephen Boyden and Asa Bo^'den were also soldiers of 1812 ; it is probable that still other names are omitted from tlie tablets in Memorial Hall. Upon the opposite side of the door-wa}' is inscribed the — ROLL OF HONOR. 1861-1865. Maj. Charles F. Howard, Capt. David L. Shepard, " Carlos A. Hart, " Wm. II. Torrey, " Nelson S. White, Lieut. Allen F. Belcher, '• James L. Sherman, " Christopher T. Hanley, Bernard P2. Backer, '^ Moses A. Ricliardson, FOXBOROUGH CENTENNIAL RECORD. 231 Lieut. John Littlefield, * George M. Fillebrown, ' Alvin E. Hall, ' Isaac H. Bonne^-, ' Edwin P. Jewett, ' Edward E. Bird, Sergt. Joseph H. Joplin, John F. Shepard, John M. Welch, Lewis L. Bullard, Win. H. Pierce, Charles W. Stearns, Horace E. Dnpee, Joshua B. Bowman, Andrew N. Grady, Joseph Boy den, Thomas G. Pierce, Gabriel P. Chamberlain, Liscomb C. Winn, Corp. Samuel D. Robinson, Frank O. Pierce, Otis H. Horton, James A. Carpenter, Wm. H. Fales, Benjamin P. Slater, George H. Claflin, George S. Cook, Pascal C. Grover, Ephraim O. Grover, Charles B. Winn, Ezekial Ames, Joseph H. Alden, Wm. M. Adams, Henry A. Alexander, Hiram S. Buck, Charles D. Bacon, Benj. F. Belcher, Levi Bennett, — Joseph Brigham, James S. Bemis, Samuel N. Bryant, Newton W. Bacon, Henry J. Barrows, John E. Belcher, Joel A. Belcher, Joseph W. Belcher, Charles Beal, Isaac B. Beal, Lewis W. Belcher, Charles L. Boy den, George E. Bird, Wm. F. Boyd, Timothy Brennan, Thomas S. Brigham, Samuel Chestnut, Thomas Carpenter, Henry Cleveland, James S. Carver, Edwin J. Carroll, Geo. S. Coppleston, Patrick Curtin, Leander Clapp, Gardner A. Carpenter, Curtis Childs, Edgar L. Comey, Joseph H. Dow, Wm. Day, Edwin Dunbar, Otis Dean, John J. Dixon, Benj. L. Dixon, Herbert F. Dean, Jeremiah E. Earl, George Eaton, Amos L. Fuller, Alonzo W. Fuller, Albert E. Forrest, Edward M. Freeman, Wm. F. Frazer, Handel P. Fisher, 232 FOXBOROUGH CENTENNIAL RECORD. E. Irving Fisher, Anson Fisher, David Flavahan, Comfort O. Fisher, Joseph Gotlieb, Wm. C. G rover, Natlian M. Grover, Wm. R. Goldsmith, George H. Grover, Wm. B. Grover, Joseph Ga>', Cephas P. Grover, David T. Hartshorn, Patrick Heuneberry, Wm. D. Higgins, Moses E. Harding, Lewis Heckman, George H. Hartshorn, Henr^- James, Joseph Jewett, Benj. F. Jones, Uriah S. King, Richard H. King, Seth N. Kingsbur}', Allen P. Lake, Charles Lyons, Bartlett P. Luce, Wm. H. Lyons, Williams Leonard, George Leonard, Alfred L. Morse, Stillman F. Morse, Ransom Matthews, Jolin Mahoney, Wm. A. Morse, Joseph Myers, Owen Mnrph}', Elbridge F. Morse, Cyrus B. Morse, Jairus J. Morse, Daniel Mahone}', George A. Mann, Zeri B. Martis, James Nelson, Charles H. Pond, Oliver Prime, James Prime, Charles A, Pettee, Edward E. Place, Edward Richardson, Wm. Rich, Charles B. Richardson, Patrick Roche, Wm. A. Richardson, Wm. H. Sweet, Hiram D. Skinner, Theodore R. Skinner, David Scott, John H. Sumner, Wm. A. Stevens, Leonard Smith, Charles D. Smith, David A. Swift, Henrj' C. Sumner, Payson F. Smith, Charles T. Sumner, Hiram A. Snow, Martin Shea, Joshua Ta3ior, Franklin E. Ta^'lor, Charles A. Thompson, WiUard W. Turner, Leander G. Thompson, ICzekiel J. Tolman, George S. Thompson, George INL Washburn, George W. AVilliams, Ji\, Charles A. Whipple, James Wight, Charles Whipple, FOXBOROUGH CENTENNIAL RECORD. 233 Rufiis S. White, Wm. Winslow, Ansel L. Willis, John Ware, Preston B. Whittemore, Stillman F. Willis, Wm. T. Wright, Isaac Smith, Jr., Asst. Surgeon. OUR HONORED DEAD. Names inscribed on marble tablet opposite entrance in Memo- rial Hall, snrmonnted by medallion representing arms encircled by wreath. Rcgt. Co. 4th, F, Lieut. Isaac H. Bonney, 4th, F, Sergt. Joseph H. Joplin, 4th, F, Sergt. Gabriel P. Chamberlain, 18th, I, Ezekiel J. Tolman, 23d, K, Charles A. Whipple, 24th, A, Henr}' J. Barrows, 7th, H, Charles D. Richardson, 7th, I, William A. Richardson, 4th, F, William M. Adams, 7th, H, Stillman F. Morse, 4th, F, Elbridge F. Morse, 4th, F, William Day, 4th, F, Charles L. Boj'den, 4th, F, Joseph Myers, 4th, F, Henr}' C. Sumner, 4th, F, Edwin J. Carroll, 56th, K, Daniel Mahone}', .5Gth, G, Leander Clapp, 18th, I, Amos L. Fuller, 23d, K, Hiram A. Snow, 1st Heavy Art'l'y, Uriah S. King, Date of Death. Ang. 23, 1863. July 14, 1863. May 31, 1863. Nov. 22, 1861. May 5, 1862. Oct. 7, 1862. Jan. 20, 1863. Feb. 4, 1863. March 6, 1863. March 10, 1863. May 26, 1863. June 10, 1863. July 15, 1863. July 20, 1863. Aug. 13, 1863. Aug. 31, 1863. Feb. 23, 1863. May 13, 1864. Aug. 10, 1864. 1864. Oct. 29, 1864. VETERANS OF THE WAR. ORGAI7IZED JUXE 17, 1878. Henry C. Lindley, Capt., James S. Carver, 1st Lieut., David Scott, 2d Lieut., Thomas B. Bourne, Ord. Sergt., Joseph H. Dow, 2d Sergt., Horace B. Hartshorn, Drummer, Henry A. Alexander, Cyrus B. Morse, 234 FOXBOROUGII CENTENNIAL RECORD. Jabez B. Davidson, Seth Talbot, Win. H. Kempton, Dennis Lovett, Elbridge Alexander, Roj'al J. Packard, L. Edgar Comey, Joseph H. Aklen, Abijah M. Morse, Dennis F. McCart}', Thomas Brigham, John Ferguson, John Wright, Samuel C. Bourne, Leander G. Thompson, A. L. Bundy, Samuel C. Chestnut, Wm. T. Wright, Fred Whitne}*, Edwin P. Jewett, Timothy Howe, Wm. R. Reed, Thomas Carpenter, Allison Cobb, Wm. Moorhouse, Sumner Wetherell, Harrison Dot^', David Flahaven, James Blanchard, Patrick Curtin, Charles A. Thompson, Jolin Higgins, Charles D. Smith, Henr}' C. Folsom, Ansel Willis, Caleb Josselyn, V. F. Grover, Curtis Childs, Oliver Prime, John Jackson, Dexter In man, John A. Davis. The following records are taken from a book in the posses- sion of Mr. A. J. Boyden, upon the first page of which is written, " Militia Book for the use of the Company in Fox- borough, 1790": — Agreeable to an act of Congress, the 9"" of Ma}', 1794, A de- teachment of Eight}* Thousand Men be raised, and this states pro- potion is 11885, oficers included, and the 4th Rigaments pro- potion is 97, oficers included, and the foot Compan}' in Fox- borough propotion is one Subbolton, one Serjent, and Sixteen Privates, which ware deteached and Returned the 8 daj- of Jul}-, in y® 1794, and wai-e ordered to be acquipt and hold themselves in Readiness to march at a Minutes warning, if called for, and to serve three months after Tliey arrive at the place of Rendezvous, if not sooner discharged. FOXDOROUGH CENTENNIAL RECORD. 235 Mens Names that were deteached and Returned : — Sergent, Asa Paine. Rank and File. Jacob Billings, Joseph Bradshaw, ■ Samuel H. Everett, Lemuel Wight, Jun% Richard Everett, Asa Robinson, Zippa Swift, Elkonah Clark, Job Shearman, Jun"", Cyrenius Pettee, John Shearman, Oliver Morse, Jason Belcher, Elias Guild, Philips Payson, John Sumner, Jun^ Agreeable to an Act of Congress, the 24 of June, y^ 1797, A de- teachment of Eighty Thousand men, to be Raised and Rurnd, Armed and Equipt as the Law directs, and Hold themselves in Readyness to march at a minutes warning, if called for, and Serve the Term of three months after the}^ arrive at the place of Rendez- vous, unless sooner discharged. This states proportion of the above 80,000 is 11,836, including oficers, the second brigade, first devisions, propotion is 348, The 4"" Rigament 2*^ Brigades propotion is 89, oficers included, and the foot Company in Foxborough propotion. Two Commitiond officers, one serjent, fourteen privates. The names of the men that ware deteacht and Returnd, Oct. 12, y^ 1797, and ware holden to stand in Readiness from that time for the Space of one 3'ear, and after that untill the Eand of the, next sessions of Congress, and No longer. Serjent ., Benjamin Comee. Privates. Francis Jones, Oliver Morse, Elisha Wilbur, Lemu-el Paine, Obadiah Shearman, John N. Miller, Asa Robinson. 236 FOXBOROUGII CENTENNIAL RECORD. Rank and File. David Capen, Elias Guild, Joel INIorse, Jim'", Asa Shaw, Asa Wliitc, Leonard White, James Dr.iiiels. N. B. — The time mentioned in the orders for the above named men to Hold themselves in Headyness is expired the 3 of March, 1799, and they are discharged by order of the Commander-in-chief. Foxborough, May 3, y« 1799. The President of the United States, pursuant to an Act of Con- gress of the 10"' of April, 1812, having required of the Commander- in-chief to take Effectual Measures for having 10,000 of the Militia of Massachusetts, Detached & Dul}' Organized In companies, Battallions, Regiments, Brigades, and Divisions. And the Second Regiment, 2"* Brigade, and 1 Div. Proportion is 45, officers In- cluded, And the Company of foot, commanded by Capt. Metcalf Everett, has Detached 1 serg. and 6 Privates, it being her Propor- tion of the above number. Mens Names that t^-ere Detached and Returned from Capt. M. Everett's Compan}- : — Serif t, Oliver Capen. Privates. Isaiah Morse, Isaac Shepard. Jairus P. Morse, Spencer Leonard, John Morse, 2d, Oakes Copeland. Copy of A Detachment made from Capt. Metcalf Everett's Company, July 2Gth, 1814, viz. : — Samuel Peck, | Privates. Hauteord Leonard, J Copy of A Detachment made from Capt. Metcalf Everett's Company, Sept. 20th, 1814. SLOW, "I llRD, >. )X, J Isaac Winslow, Alpheus Bird, \- Privates. Wm. VlNSOJ FOXBOROUGII CENTENNIAL RECORD. 237 STATISTICS. Area, according to survey by J. M. Everett, Esq., 1850, 12,806 acres. Population, 1790, 640; 1800, 779; 1810, 870; 1820, 1,004; 1830, 1,166; 1836, 1,41.6; 1840, 1,294; 1850, 1,978; 1855, 2,570; 1860, 2,879; 1865,2,778; 1870, 3,057; 1875, 3,168. Assessors' Report of 1878 shows: Valuation of real estate, $1,277,898 ; personal estate, $230,- 376 ; number of acres taxed, 10,059 ; number of polls taxed, 725 ; number of houses, 601 ; number of horses, 327 ; cows, 339 ; sheep, 11 ; rate of taxation, $12.50 per $1,000. The Union Straw Works' personal property, being owned by a corporation, is not included in the above. Total assessed valuation in 1877, $1,569,726. DELEGATES TO CONSTITUTIONAL CON- VENTIONS. 1779, John Everett; 1820, Seth Boyden; 1853, Henry Hobart. Hon. Ebenezer Warren was delegate to the convention, 1788, that adopted the Federal Constitution. STATE SENATORS FROM FOXBOROUGH. Henry Hobart, 1852. James E. Carpenter, 1855, 1856. Otis Cary, 1863, 1864. Erastus P. Carpenter, 1872, 1873, 1874. REPRESENTATIVES TO GENERAL COURT FROM 1778 TO 1878. John Everett, 1779, 1780, 1781, 1784, 1785, 1792. Ebenezer Warren, 1783. Seth Boyden, 1809, 1810, 1811, 1826, 1827, 1829. Elias Nason, 1812. 238 FOXBOROUGIl CENTENNIAL RECORD. John Sherman, 1823, 1824, 1828, 1839. Willard Pierce, 1830, 1840. Meletiah Everett, 1831. Henry Hobart, 1832, 1833, 1835, 1836. Joseph Kingsbury, 1834. Stephen Rhodes, 1837. Warren Bird, 1838, 1841. Silas Ripley, 1839. Nehemiah Carpenter, 1842. Francis Dane, 1843, 1844. John M. Everett, 1846. Martin Torrey, 1849, 1851. Alfred Hodges, 1850. James Stratton, 1853, 1854. John Littlefield, 1855, 1856, 1857. Daniels Carpenter, 1858. Otis Cary, 1860, 1861. Robert W. Kerr, 1863, 1864. Ezra Carpenter, 1866. Frederick K. Ballon, 1867. John M. Merrick, 1869. J. E. Carpenter, 1870. Wm. H. Thomas, 1872. George T. Ryder, 1873. Wm. A. Thompson, 1875. Joseph A. Kingsbury, 1876. James F. Leonard, 1878. JUSTICES OF THE PEACE. Warren Bird, R. Walter S. Black well, Seth Boy den, David Capen, James Capen, Erastus P. Carpenter, James E. Carpenter,^ Robert W. Carpenter, Edmund Carroll, Julius Carroll, Otis Cary, Edwin W. Clarke, Aaron Everett, John M. Everett, Melatiah Everett, ^ Alfred Fales, Thomas M. George, Freedom Guild, Edward D. Hewins, Henry Hobart, Noah Hobart, Alfred Hodges, Charles W. Hodges, Robert W. Kerr, Joseph Kingsbury, James F. Leonard, John Littlefield, John Q. Lynch, Elias Nason, Swift Payson, ^ Also Justices of the Quorum. FOXBOROUGH CENTENNIAL RECORD. 239 William Payson, Gardner M. Peck, Joseph E. Pond, Jr., Abijah Pratt, Carmi Richmond, Frank I. Sherman, George Sherman, John Sherman, Isaac Smith, A. Thomas Starkey, William H. Thomas, Ebenezer Wnrren, Joseph W^arren, Samuel S. Warren, Daniel B. Whittier. SELECTMEN FROM 1778 TO 1878. 1779, 1779, 1798, Josiah Pratt, 1778, 1781-85, 1794. John Everett, 1778, 1788, 1792, 1793, 1799. Benjamin Pettee, 1778, 1779. Daniel Robinson, 1778. Joseph Shepard, 1778. Samuel Billings, 1779, 1786. Nathaniel Clark, 1779, 1782- 85, 1791, 1792. Nehemiah Carpenter, 1780, 1787. Swift Payson, 1780, 1781. Ebenezer Warren, 1780, 1786, 1789-93. Aaron Everett, 1781-85. Simon Pettee, 1786, 1781», 1790. Samuel Baker, 1787, 1788. Joshua Armsby, 1788. Joseph Hews, 1789, 1790, 1795-99. George Stratton, 1791-93, 1798-1808. Spencer Hodges, 1794-97. Abijah Pratt, 1794-99, 1801, 1819. William Sumner, 1799-1805. Seth Boyden, 1802, 1811, 1813, 1815, 1817, 1829. Joseph Kingsbury, 1806-08. Elias Nason, 1809-12. Jesse Hartshorn, 1810, 1811. Ethridge Clark, 1812, 1814. Stephen Sherman, 1812, 1830-33. Jacob Leonard, 1813, 1814. Harvey Pettee, 1813, 1814. Peter Carpenter, 1814. Beriah Mann, 1815-19. John Sherman, 1815-28. Daniel Everett, 1818-28. Joseph Warren, 1820-22. Asa Plimpton, 1823-26. 240 FOXBOROUGTI CENTENNIAL RECORD. David Capeu, 1827-33. Silas Smith, 1829. Henry llobart, 1830-32, 1834-40, 1842-45. Joseph Kingsbury, 1833-35. Alpheus Bird, 1834-36, 1841. Ezra Carpenter, 1836-40, 1853-59, 1862-66, 1871. Ephraim Grover, 1837-40. John M. Everett, 1841. George Sherman, 1841-45. Willard Plimpton, 1842-45. Freedom Guild, 1846-49, 1853-61. Oliver Carpenter, 1846, 1847. Martin Torrey, 1846, 1847. Otis Gary, 1848-52, 1867- 69, 1874, 1875. Job Sherman, 1848-52. Albert Fisher, 1850-52. James Stratton, 1853-57. James Capen, 1858-61, 1868, 1869, 1870. Jeremiah M. Shepard, 1860- 63. Elisha White, Jr., 1862-66. William H. Thomas, 1864-66. [ Edmund Carroll, 1867, 1868. I Charles W. Hodges, 18»'7. i William H. Cobb, 18(59. James F. Leonard, 1870, 1871, 1875-77. Eli Phelps, 1870-73. Henry G. AVarren, 1872, 1873, 1876, 1877. Michael Pvyan, 1872. Benjamin B. King, 1873. Alfred Hodges, 1874. James A. Comcy, 1874, 1875. NewlandF. HoAvard, 1876-78. Erastus P. Carpenter, 1878. Willard P. Turner, 1878. TOWN CLERKS. Swift Pay son, 1778, 1779. Amariah Marsh, 1780-83. Nehemiah Carpenter, 1784, 1785. Abijah Pratt, 1786-88. Aaron Everett, 1789-1800. George Stratton, 1801-08. BeriahMann, 1809, 1815-19. William Payson, 1810-14. Shubal Pratt, 1820-22. James Paine, 1823-31. Melatiah Everett, 1831. Otis Hodges, 1832, 1833. Warren Bird, 1834-47. Silas liipley, 1848, 1849. Nathaniel T. Shepard, 1850- 54. James E. Carpenter, 1855-60. William H.Thomas, 1861-72. James F. Leonard, 1872-77. William H. Torrey, 1878. FOXBOROUGH CENTENNIAL RECORD. 241 SETTLED MINISTERS Congregationalist. Thomas Kendal, Daniel Loriug, Thomas Skelton, Thomas Williams, Willard Pierce, Daniel J. Poor, William Barnes, Edmund Y. Garrette, Noadiah S. Dickinson, Baptist.i Warren Bird, Timothy C. Tingley, Silas Ripley, Edwin B. Bullard, Silas Ripley, Isaac Smith, Cyrus H. Carleton, William H. Spencer, Universalist. Charles W. Mellen, E. C. Rogers, W. G. Anderson, Holmes Slade, Lucius Holmes, Settled. Resigned. 1786 1800 1804 1806 1807 1816 1816 1821 1824 1839 1840 1847 1847 1854 1854 1857 1858 1869 Settled. Resigned. 1822 1828 1831 1837 1837 1841 1842 1843 1843 1854 1854 1867 1867 Died, 1868 1869 Settled. Resigned. 1843 1846 1846 1847 1847 1848 1848 1853 1853 1857 1 It has been stated that Rev. Shubael Lovell, who preached to this church in 1187 and 1818, in a house standincj near the locality of the present residence of Capt. D. L. Shepard, on South street, was settled here ; but this is an error, as he was at no time settled in Foxborough. The year of settlement of Rev. Warren Bird has been errone- ously stated as 1819, but by the records of the Society, it is learned that he only supplied the pulpit until 1822, in which year he was settled. Rev. Mr. Carleton was the onlv settled minister who died during his ministry in Foxborough, during the iirst century of its corporate existence. 242 FOXBOROUGII CENTENNIAL RECORD. Supplied. Resigned. 1858 1859 1860 1865 1866 1869 1869 1874 1874 1876 1876 1877 1878 Universalist. N. C. Hodgclon, C. A. Bradley, John M. Merrick, James H. Little, Allen P. Folsom, W. AV. Hay ward, Q. H. Shinn, CHANGE IN BOUNDARY LINES. Since the incorporation of the town the following changes in its boundary lines, etc., have been made, viz., June 20, 1793, County of Norfolk established, thus removing Fox- borough from Suffolk County. February 3, 1819, boundary line between AYrcutham and Foxborough established. Feb- ruary 7, 1831, part of AVrentham annexed to Foxborough. January 30, 1833, boundary line between Sharon and Fox- borough estalbished. March 27, 1833, and March 28, 1834, part of F(Jxborough annexed to AYalpole. February 28, 1850, part of Sharon annexed to Foxborough. AERANGEMENT OF ILLUSTRATIONS Town House .... Union Straw AYorks Old Carpenter House and Laundry Old Meeting-house and plan of jjews Orthodox church Memorial Hall Judge Warren House and W. T. Cook's farm-house Residences of V. S. Pond and L. P. Portrait of Charles James Fox Baptist and First Baptist churches Universalist and Catholic churches Samaritan Building and Crocker & Shepard's Union Building and Howe Monument Old Brick church ..... Faught Page. 17 33 49 65 81 97 113 129 145 161 177 193 209 241 FOXBOROUGn CENTENNIAL RECORD. 243 DESCRIPTION OF ILLUSTRATIONS. The Town House — the illustration of which fronts page 17 — was built in 1857, at an expense of $15,400, which amount includes the cost of the land. In 1874 an addition Avas built, for school purposes, at an expense of $26,244.31. The building is heated by steam from a boiler in the basement, and is lighted by gas. The basement contains the lock-up (three cells) ; cistern, containing 33,000 gallons of water, for use in case of fire ; the boiler-room, coal-bins, etc. The first floor of the main structure contains the Lower Town Hall, 36x54 feet, with ante-rooms, town officers' office (with ante-room), in which is situated the safe recently erected at an expense of $650, second primary school-room, public entrance to Town Hall, and ticket office. The second floor is occupied by the Town Hall, 50X75 feet, with two ante-rooms, each 12X20 feet;. it has a platform 15X26 feet, and gallery 17X45 feet. The hall and gallery seat 800 persons. The School-house Addition, so called, is occupied on the first floor by the first primary and second intermediate schools ; on the secf)nd floor by the grammar and first intermediate schools ; each of these schools occupies a room 35x24 feet, furnished with the most improved school furniture, and has commodious clothes- rooms, sink-rooms, and water-closets connected. On the second floor are also two dressing-rooms, each 14X15 feet, with water-closets, connected with the platform of the Town Hall. The upper floor is occupied by the high school, which has a room 50 feet square, with commodious clothes-rooms and water-closets. The number of pupils which can be seated in these six school-rooms is over three hundred. The Town House is situated on elevated ground, having a large common in front of and between it and South street. Foxborough steam fire-engine house is situated a few rods 244 FOXBOROUGH CENTENNIAL RECORD. north-easterly of the addition, and can be seen in the ilhis- tration. Cocassct engine-house is simihirly situated, south- easterly of the building. The Union Stkaw Works — the illustration of which fronts page 33 — stands on Wall street, and occupies, with machine- shop, foundry, gasometer, bleach-house and yards, stables, etc., about 210,000 feet of land. Opposite are the A'eranda and Hamlet Houses, boarding-houses owned by the proprietors of the U.S.W. The expense of building these works, includ- ino- the addition built in 1856, exceeded $150,000. Connected with these works, and owned by the same Corporation — the Union and Bay State Manufacturing Co., — are the "West Branch," a large three-story building on Main street, for- merly the manufactory of Foxboro' Jewelry Co., and the " South Branch," known as "Nason's Factory" when built in 1810, situated on Water street. These buildings are managed by Wm. T. Cook & Co. (W. T. Cook and L. Porter Faught), for the corporation. Reference to the Union Straw Works is made on pages 30, 33, 75, 92, 93, 129-132, 169, 171. The Old Carpenter House — fronting page 49 — was the first building erected in the Centre. It stands on a leading way off South street, and near the Town House. It was built in 1749-50 by Nehemiah Carpenter, who came to this place from Rehoboth. It afterwards served as an inn, and was know as the " Old Tavern," and the old settle in the big room, the bar, till, and many other of the original fixtures, still remain. It is now occupied as a dwelling-house. The Old Stone Factory, or Foxboro' Laundry, shown on the same page, is located in the section known as "New State," on Granite street, at the head of Cocasset pond. It was erected about 1825 by Simon Pettee, and was foi- many years used for the raanufiicture of cotton cloth. The prem- ises are now occupied by Capt. Ezra Pickens for a steam laundry. The Old Meeting-house — shown opposite page 65 — was FOXBOROUGH CENTENNIAL RECORD. 245 taken from the sketch made by Mr. Amos J. Boyden, and referred to on page 192. It was erected about 1763, and torn down between Dec. 31, 1821, and Jan. 4, 1822. See pages 69-70, 87 and 192. The Orthodox Congregational Church — opposite page 81 — was built in 1854, and stands at the head of Rock Hill street. The Old Brick Church — illustration opposite page 241 — was built in 1822 (dedicated in January, 1823) by the Congregational Society soon after the destruction of the lirst meeting-house, and was located quite near the site of the old structure, and al)out one hundred feet north-west of where Memorial Rock now rests. It was taken down in 1855. Memorial Hall — illustration fronting page 97 — was erected by the town in 1868, in the old burying-ground near the common, at a cost of $13,000. It is built of pebble- stone with granite trimmings, with slated roof and dome on which is a large figure of a Union soldier with arms at rest. The interior is handsomely finished in oiled chestnut, the sides not occupied by the memorial tablets being fitted Avith cases containing the books of the Public Library. Over the entrance is a marble tablet inscribed, " Soldiers' Memorial. Erected by the Tow^n, A.D. 1868," with bronze coat of arms of the United States at the right and of Massachusetts at the left ; immediately above are three alcoves, draped with silk banners, in which it is proposed to place statues of Washing- ton, Adams, and Andrew. At the right of the entrance is the marble tablet described on page 229, and, on the left, the tab- let described on page 230 ; immediatel}^ opposite, and sur- mounted by a large figure of the Goddess of Liberty in colored glass, is the tablet containing the names of "Our Honored Dead." Reference to the Hall is made on pages 98, 135, 218, 219, and 229. The Warren House — illustration fronting page 113 — Avas one of the first houses of the modern style of architecture 246 FOXBOROUGH CENTENNIAL RECORD. built in Foxborough, and was considered a great novelty. It was the dwelling of Hon. Ebenezer Warren, brother of Gen. Joseph Warren, whose name is prominent in these pages, as was the Judge among his fellow-men in the early days of the town. The house is now occupied by Henry G. Warren, Esq., grandson of Judge Warren. High Lawn Stock Farm Buildings — illustrated on the same page — are upon the large farm now owned by Mr. Wm. T. Cook and occupied by him as a summer residence. The farm was originally known as the "Payson Farm," having been the residence of Swift Payson and of Phillips Payson. This farm comprises eighty-four acres. This view was taken from the trotting park recently completed by Mr. Cook. Among the valuable and noted horses owned here are "Herald" and "Financier." Mr. Cook entertained His Excellency Governor Rice and others at this residence. Centennial Day. The Residences of Virgil S. Pond and L. Porter Faught (see pa^e 129) are situated on Main and Central streets, respectively, and are typical of the modern resi- dences of the village ; the taste and neatness exhibited in these is general, and has acquired for the town the title of " The Gem of Norfolk County." The portrait of Charles James Fox — fronting page 145 — was obtained from a steel-plate engraving on page 101, of the "Gallery of Portraits," Vol. 1. The First Baptist Church — shown fronting page 161 — was built in 1822, and cost $1,200; it was located on Elm street, near the present residence of Mr. Asahel Dean. It was about 36x40 feet, and was the first house of worship in town in which a stove was introduced. It was moved in May, 1838, to the site now occupied by the Town House, where it was lengthened twelve feet and a vestry finished in the basement. In 1850 it was sold, and ])ecame a part of the steam mill of V. S. Pond, which was burned January FOXBOROUGH CENTENNIAL RECORD. 24:7 27, 1876. The illustration should have represented the building as being higher posted; it appears lower than it really was. The Baptist Church edifice, now occupied by the society, is shown on the same page, and stands on School street. It was built in 1850, at an expense of $4,200. Improve- ments were made in 1856 and 1860, and it has recently been enlarged and improved to such an extent as to make it proper to rededicate the building, which was done, in the presence of a large congregation, January 22, 1879. The historical address by Rev. Mr. Spencer, on this occasion, gives more fully the history of this building. The Universalist Church — illustration frontincf pao-e 177 — was built in 1843, and is located at the head of Bird street, fronting the Common. It originally had a spire in addition to the belhy shown, Ijut this was blown of:' in a severe gale. It has a finished vestry, ante-rooms, etc., in the basement. The Roman Catholic Church — shown on the same page — is the third church which this denomination has built on the same site, at the head of Church street, and has been built but a few months. Their first church was built in 1859, and destroyed by fire March 1, 1862; their second church was built in 1873, and burned September 12, 1877. Samaritan Hall Building — illustration fronting page 193 — is located on School street, facing the Common, and was built by the Fifth School District for a school-house in 1847, and in 1876-7 was remodelled, enlarged, and improved by Samaritan Hall Company, by which it is owned. W. S. Black well's printing-office occupies the basement ; the first floor is occupied by Gr. H. Butterworth's clothing store, Mrs. W. H. Torrey's millinery rooms, and by a hair-dresser's rooms. The second floor, Samaritan Hall, seats between four and five hundred persons. Lincoln Block, or Crocker & Shepard's Building — 248 FOXBOROUGH CENTENNIAL RECORD. shown on the same page as above — was built for store purposes in 1847 by Edson Carpenter, and was for many years occupied as " a country store," straAV factory, and tailor- shop. It is located on School street, fronting the Common, and is now occupied by Godfrey & Comey, grocers ; by Crocker & Shepard, dealers in dry goods; by Dr. II. H. Bowles, dentist ; and l)y cloak and dress-making rooms. The floor above is fitted as a small hall, known as Lincoln Hall. Union Building — ilhistration fronting page 209 — stands at head of Foxborough Common, at the corner of Main street; its size is 60X72 feet, and was built in 1856-7, at an expense of about $13,000. The proprietors are Charles W. and Joseph F. Hodges. It is occupied by A. H. Mes- senger, grocer ; Benjamin F. Boyden, 2d, dealer in dry goods; C. W. Hodges, carpets and furniture ; Edgar W. Allen, merchant tailor; Miss M. B. Austin, milliner; by dress-making rooms, rooms of Foxborough Dramatic Com- pany, Hodges' furniture rooms, and by Union Hall. The building stands on the site formerly occupied by " Sumner's store," a building well known years ago. The Howe Monument — shown on same page — stands in rear of Memorial Hall. It is inscribed, "This monument was erected by Dr. N. INIiller to the memory of his friend Mr. ZADOCK HOWE, who died 1819, £et. 77, and who fought under the Great Washington. To those who view, before you're gone, be pleased to put this cover on." The cover referred to is a cast-iron urn, surmounted by an acorn dated 1810, and there is set in the urn a slate tablet, in- scribed, " The grave is waiting for your body, and Ohrist is waiting for your soul ; O jiiay this be your cheerful study to be prepared when death doth call." This slab and urn having been broken, it was replaced hy the Centennial Committee, the original acorn being retained. The granite capstone is inscribed, " Wrought by the deceased, 1810," and "Repaired by his son, Z. Howe, M.D., 1841." As it is very desirable to know as early as possible, the number of guests to be entertained, you will please report your intentions at once, by returning enclosed card, with the name or names ( this invitation includes all members of families), written in full, under the words, '•'■ACCEPT'' or ''DECLINED The Committee trust that all will respond in person, but if not, a letter will be gratefully received, that all may have a record, in connection with this important and interesting occasion. EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE. E. P. CARPENTER, WM. T. COOK, OTIS GARY, J. A. KINGSBURY, JAMES CAPEN, C. W. HODGES, R. W. CARPENTER. RAILROAD CONNECTIONS Will be made with early morning trains upon Boston and Albany, Boston and Providence, New York and New England, and Boston, Clinton, Fitchburg and New Bedford Railroads, enabling visitors to arrive in season for the opening exercises. Late afternoon trains will make close connections with above roads.