F 1 .N677 Copy 1 yy-^' 7 Return in 5 days MRS 0,ii, SMITH, n, Cievttland.O 1 . t IRew ]£nGlan6 Societip OF (Tlevelanb an^ tbc IHflcstcrn 1Rc0er\>e. ©rganisation, Hnniversar^ Hbbreeees, anb Enrollment tsoe. F 6n n annivp:rsary of Forefather's Day, December 21st, 1895, PLYMOUTH CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH. ORDER OF EXERCISES. 5:00 o'clock, (Old Sun Tyiue), 6:00 o'clock, (sharp), 7:00 o'clock. Social Gathering. Supper. Speaking. History of the old N. E. Society of Cleveland, Col. W. P. Fogg. New England Responses. MAINE — Pine Tree State, - President Chari.es F. Thwixg. NEW HAMPSHIRE— Granite State, Hon. H. Q. Sar(;ent. VEKMONT— Green Mountain State, - Hon. N. B. Sherwin. MASSACHUSETTS— Bay Slate, - M. M. Hobart, Esq. RHODE ISLAND— Little Jtthody, - Hon. F. J. Dickman. CONNECTICUT— Nutmeg State, - Hon. R. C. Parsons. Old Tyme Song, Grandfather Snow. Reminiscences. The New England Meeting House, Deacon Mellen. The New England School House, - - Grandma Avery. The New England Town Life and 'I'own Meeting, Faumer Holden. Revolutionary Tea Song, Old Time Amusements, The New England Girl, The New England Social Life, Grandma H a w e e y . Mother Tayeor. Auntie Ingham. Doctor Horton. Bx.chang'e Wfest. Res. Hist. Soo. 1915 New England Society. OFFICERS, 1896. PRESIDENT ; N. B. Sherwin. VICE-PRESIDENTS ; Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, L, F. Mellen, S. C. Smith, SECRETARY ; TREASURER ; CHAPLAIN; L. E. HOLDEN. E. R. Perkins. F. C. Keith. M. M. HOBART. F. C. DiCKMAN. Wm. Bingham. 484 Prospect Street. 690 Euclid Avenue. Kev. Livingston L. Taylor. TRUSTEES : L. E. Holden, F. a. Kendal, A. G. CoLWELL, N. B. Sherwin, R. C. Parsons, I. P. Lamson, Wm, Edwards, H. Q. Sargent, L. F. Mellen, Thos. H. White, S. C. Smith, J. H. Breck, M. M. HoBART, Mrs. W. A. Ingham, W. P. HoRTON, Mrs. C. F. Olney, H. R. Hatch, Mrs. P. H. Babcock, James Barnett, Mrs. Elroy M. Avery, Mrs. E. D. Burton. New England Society of ITbe Bevv lEnolanb Society. INCOKPORATION. The New England Society of Cleveland, O., and vicinity, hav- ing been incorporated under the laws of the State of Ohio, for the purpose of fostering and promoting a kindred spirit among the Sons and Daughters of New England, and their descendants, resi- dent of Cleveland and vicinity, known as the Western Reserve, to cherish the memory and perpetuate the principles and insti- tutions of the early settlers of New England, to collect and diffuse information, and to extend charity to the needy who are known to to be of New England descent, adopt the following Constitution : Article 1. The officers of the Society shall be a President, six Vice-Presidents, one from each of the New England States, Sec- retary and Treasurer, a Board of Trustees, who shall act as an Executive Committee, and a Chaplain, who shall be the pastor of Plymouth Congregational Church of Cleveland. Art. 2. The President, Vice-Presidents, Secretary and Treasu- rer shall be elected annually. The Board of Trustees shall con- tinue in office, with power to fill vacancies from time to time as they may occur. Art. 3. The duties of the President shall be to preside at all meetings of the Society and in his absence one of the Vice Presi- dents may act in his place. He shall have power to call meetings of the Society whenever he may deem it expedient, and to appoint members for special committees, and duties. Art. 4. The Secretary shall keep in a book provided for that purpose, a correct account of the proceedings of the Society, and of the Board of Trustees. lie shall also make a record, or en- rollment of the Society, which shall be open for inspection and correction of all members. The Secretary shall be the medium of communication with members and with other societies, and with the public. Art. 5. The Treasurer shall hold all funds of the Society, which shall be kept on deposit in a savings bank, to be drawn only by his order, and under the direction of the Trustees. He shall report annually, and oftener, if required, an account of receipts and dis- bursements. Art. G. The Board of Trustees shall have full power to devise ways and means for raising funds to carry on tiie work of the So- ciety, and to govern its action as a social organization. Cleveland and the Western Reserve. 3" Art. 7. The annual meeting for the election of ofiBcersand other business shall occur on the first day of January of each year, except when it occurs on Sunday. The anniversary of " Forefathers' Day " — on the twenty-first day of December of each year, or us near that date as practicable, shall be celebrated in some manner by the Society. HISJORY OF THE OLD N. E. SOCIETY OF CLEVELAND. Address of Colonel W. P. Fogg, of New York. During the years 1851-1853 there was a large emigration to Cleveland, from the New England States, and especially from the railroad centers in Massachusetts. The opening of the railroad lines southward to Columbus and Cincinnati, and the following year eastward and westward, along the lake shore, attracted a large number of young and enterprising business and professional men from the East, who became identified with what was then, even more than now, appropriately called the " Forest City." The idea of forming an association to perpetuate the memory, the prin- ciples, and spirit of the early settlers of New England, their heroic self-denial, invincible courage, enlarged views, and wise pol- icy, first, had a public expression on the :^2d of December, 1853, when, after an eloquent address by Hon. Erastus Hopkins, of Northampton, Massachusetts, the company adjourned to the Wed- dell House, and sat down for supper, where kernals of parched corn were found under each plate to celebrate the landing of the Pilgrims. On Forefathers' Day, the following year (1854), Rev. James C. White delivered an address in Plymouth Congregational Church to a large audience. In December, 1855, the New Eng- land Society of Cleveland was organized, and a constitution adopted, with the following officers : President, Benjamin Rouse; Vice-Presidents, George Mygatt and Orlando Cutter ; Secretary and Treasurer, William P. Fogg, and with fifty-four members. Only nine of these are now living, as follows: A. G-. Colwell ; Col. R. C. Parsons ; Dr. W. P. Horton ; and Dr. H. H. Little, Cleve- land ; Col. W. P. Fogg and Isaac A. Isaacs, New York City ; Rev. E. P. Ingersoll, D.D., St. Paul, Minn.; Hon. A. G. Riddle, Wash- ington, D. C. , and T. R. Chase, Detroit, Mich. The celebration that year, 1855, of the anniversary of the landing of the Pilgrims, was held on the evening of December 21st with a supper at the Kennard House and was a memorable occasion. As described in the current newspapers, " it was the finest that had ever been given in Cleveland." In the following two years, 1856 and 1857, I find no record of any meeting of the Society, but the interest in "Forefathers' Day" revived in 1858, when the third festival and banquet was given at the Weddell House. The programme and New England Society of bill of fare was a gem of typographical art. It was printed in bronze ink, on tinted paper. The menu was described by Ossian E. Dodge, the toastmaster, " contained 160 changes in the regular dishes, to say nothing of little nick knacks, never mentioned in the bill." Near the lower corner of this little bill of fare, in very small type, are the words " by order of the Association, the pro- prietor has instructed his servants to strictly exclude all wines and intoxicating drinks from the table." I think tliis notice was unnecessary! Over three hundred guests were present. The witty toastmaster in announcing the regular toasts, enlivened the occasion by adding impromptu verses from his own, though some- what versatile brain. The exercises at the supper table were closed by the singing of " Old Hundred," and the hall was then cleared for dancing. The papers described it as the greatest, most harmonious and best conducted festival ever held in Ohio. In 1859 the last festival of our Society was held, and when the interest- ing exercises closed by the singing of " Old Hundred " no one of those present imagined this was to be our last festival gathering, to commemorate the landing of the Pilgrims for many years to come. In 1870 Plymouth Congregational Church called New Englanders together to celebrate Forefathers' Day, and again on December 22, 1885, with a banquet in the church, at which the report in the Cleveland Leader says: "The dining hall was 'thrown open at 8 o'clock and displayed long rows of tables, with plates for over 600 persons." Dr. George R. Leavitt made the principal address in which he said, " Fifteen years ago the 250th anniversary was held, and forever from that day to this the Pil- grim celebration in this city has been neglected, and why it has not been kept up I do not know. We cannot keep in our memo- ries the story of our Forefathers, unless it is recited over and over again." A man once said to me, "Who were these Forefath- ers ? I know Christopher Columbus, but who were the other .three ? " Thirty-six years have passed, and until to-night our New Eng- land Society has remained but a fading memory of a generation that is now fast passing away. The New England element may not predominate so largely in the " Greater Cleveland" of to-duy as it did forty years ago, but I hope and trust that pride in their an- cestry is yet strong in the hearts of the sons and daughters of New England. We must remember the old saying that "Those who are not proud of their ancestors have no ancestors to be proud of." THE STATE OF MAINE. Address of Rev. Charles F. Thwino, D.D. President Thwing made no notes of his address, but from his remarks it was gathered that he was proud of his native State, and proud to represent it in the New England Society. There are not Cleveland and the Western Reserve. so many settlers from the State of Maine, on the Western Reserve, as from some other States of New England — such as Connecticut and Massachusetts — but if the natives and descendants from the " Pine Tree State " could all be gathered into the enrollment of this Society the number would seem to be quite large. Maine in- herited the Pilgrim stock of Massachusetts, as the records show, that " in 1630 Biddeford and Saco in Maine, are founded by Rich- ard Vines and John Oldham, under a grant from the Plymouth Colony." Dr. Thwing referred to the State of Maine as beautiful in its natural scenery and interesting in its history; thus inhabited by the descendants of the noblest men that ever founded a nation, a State that must have a glorious destiny. Its waters feel the pride of local feeling, and mingle with every local association. The streams that gather on the mountain sides turn the wheels of lonely or clustered manufactures, while herds and flocks feed upon the sweet grasses, that grow among the rocks and upon the smooth- est slopes. It is a State that has made men — men prominent as statesmen, Theologians, Educators, and Philanthropists. From its common schools, academies, college and seminary have gone forth many bright and shining lights in the ministry to preach the gos- pel in this, and other lands, names that are familiar to all, especi- ally to New Englanders, are, and have been taking the front rank in the political history of the country. "Yes," said President Thwing, " it is the Maine daughters and sons that make Maine rejoice. It is her sons that have gone forth that have made her name. They have gone to every part of the country, and even the globe, and wherever they have gone, they have carried an honest heart, a clean hand and an honest dollar." The address closed with a poem entitled "Oh Wanderer From Maine." STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE. Address of Hon. H. Q. Sargent. Mr, President, Ladies and Gentlemen of the New England Society: I yield to no one in my allegiance and fealty to the grand old Commonwealth of Ohio ; a State in which it has been my good fortune to live for more than twenty-five years, and whose people I hold in the highest honor and esteem. But I have a most tender and effectionate regard for New Hampshire and its people. For there I was born and there I lived until early manhood. I became familiar with its history and traditions. I heard the story of the Indian wars, and Indian cruelty and treach- ery, and of the struggle for independence, either from active par- ticipants in that great drama, or from their immediate descendants. I learned of the heroic devotion and sufferings and sacrifices that became necessary to free the colonies from the frequent attacks of the savage, and from the tyranous rule of the mother country. New England Society of I viewed with admiration her fertile valleys, and gazed with won- der upon her lofty mountains ; anJ from their highest summit looked down upon the clouds and world beneath, speechless with reverence and awe. I coasted down her hills and hunted in her forests. I sailed upon her placid lakes, and fished in the clear and sparkling waters of her brooks and rivers. I was a regular attendant of the " district school," and can bear living testimony to the virtue of the birchen rod. I sat in the Congregational " meeting house" and listened to the dispensation of the Gospel under the watchful eye of the " titheing man." I was an esiger listener to the proceedings of the annual ''town meetings," and clearly remember the peculiar arguments of local statesmen respecting proposed appropriations. I have the most vivid and pleasurable recollections of the family reunions and feasts on " Thanksgiving days," and recall the inspiring and oftimes amusing experiences of '* general trainings," I know the delights of attending the village singing school with one's best girl on a winter night. I have been an active participant at "spelling bees,^' and "apple bees," and "husking bees'^ and know full well the significance of finding a red ear of corn upon these latter occasions. Can you wonder, my friends, with such knowledge of my native State, and with so many happy personal experiences within her borders, that I should hold her in most effectiouate remembrance and regard? There is much in the history of New England and the lives and character of its early settlers and their descendants, in its laws and customs, in its social habits and life, in its religious faith and prac- tices, in its sufferings and sacrifices, in its steadfast adherence to convictions and its loyalty to principle and duty, that particularly distinguish it. More especially is this true of its earlier history. But what may be said of one colony, or province, or State, may with equal truth be said of all. They were in the midst of com- mon dangers, and they suffered common hardships and with equal fortitude and courage. In fact, for their mutual safety and welfare, four of the colonies at an early period, formed aconfederacy which continued for nearly half a century, and which in many respects was typical of that more glorious Union under which we live to-day. Undoubtedly some of the European explorers had sailed along its coast many years earlier, yet there was but little known of New Hampshire until 1G14, when Captain Joiin Smith, "a bold and cele- brated navigator, and of Pocohontas fame," made a careful sur- vey of the coast extending from the Penobscot to- Cape Cod. He shortly afterwards returned to England and presented the maps which he had made to Prince Charles, who gave to the whole coun- try the name of New England. In 1620 the Plymouth Company was chartered by James I, "for the planting, ruling, ordering and gov- erning of New England " : And two years later this company gave a sub-charter to Sir Fernando Gorges and Captain John Mason of Claicland and the Western Resertte. all land lying between the Kennebec and Merrimac rivers and a line sixty miles inland. In 1629, this extensive grant was, by mutual agreement, divided, and Captain Mason obtained that portion lying between the Merrimac and the Piscataqua. And to this tract he gave the name of New Hampshire, from the county of Hampshire, in England, in which he had lived. The earliest settlements in New Hampshire were made in 1623 at Portsmouth and Dover. These ^r^/ settlers are referred to in his- tory as " merchant adventurers." They were sent out from En- gland by Mason and Gorges and were doubtless influenced largely by love of adventure and hope of gain. They are described, how- ever, as "bold and hardy and of great energy and perseverance." They were obliged to fight and conquer a savage foe. They went to the field of toil with arms in their hands." Their swords hung at their sides ; and while with their axes they felled the woods, their firelocks leaned against the nearest trees." The next settlement of importance was made some fifteen years later at Exeter, by a devoted band, who had driven from the neigh- boring colony of Massachusetts for "Conscience Sake," and among whom the most conspicuous leaders were the Rev. John Wheel- wright and his sister, Mrs. Anne Hutchinson. The causes which led to this significant event are of more than passing interest, and furnish an attractive study to the physiolo- gist, as well as the historian. Massachusetts was peopled by a company of puritans, who had fled from religious persecution in England, and yet she, in turn, drew the sword of persecution, and peopled other colonies with the exiles banished from her borders by reason of her fanaticism and intolerance. It was a prolonged and bitter controversy between two distinct parties concerning religious faith and practice. On the one hand were the Puritans, who demanded the right to enjoy their faith unmolested. The did not profess to be advocates for freedom of conscience. And they came to America, not to establish religious liberty, but to enjoy without hindrance the peculiarities of their own faith. On the other side was the party led by Anne Hutchinson and John Wheelright, who had lately arrived in the colony, and who had come not so much to build up a commonwealth, as to establish, enjoy and perpetuate entire freedom of religious opinion. They denounced the teachings of the clergy of Massachusetts and boldly attacked her established institutions. The controversy excited very general and very bitter discussions. It is said that " the gen- eral court consumed its sessions in debating what quantity and quality of piety should be preached on the coming Sabbath, and on Monday they inquired what minister had preached sedition the Sunday before." The subject became of the highest political im- portance, and was the principal, if not the sole issue in the general election. The Puritan party, under the leadership of Winthrop, was victorious, and soon after the civil magistrates passed sentence of banishment upon Wheelwright, Anne Hutchinson and New England Society of Aspinwall. Wearied with continued strife and opposition, they took up their march for the wilderness, seeking a refuge from in- tolerance — " banished from among banished men — exiles from a place of exiles." "Dissenters could not tolerate a dissenter." This small band of exiles formed themselves into a church. They also combined into a separate body politic, and chose rulers and assistants who were solemnly sworn into office, and the people were as solemnly sworn to obey them. This little association is re- garded as the first institution of government in New Hampshire. The settlement at Exeter therefore was the foundation of the State. In 1641 the New Hampshire settlements, mindful of their ex- posed situation and threatened dangers, petitioned for a union with the older and more populous colony of Massachusetts, which after some agitation and discussion was consummated. The law& of Massachusetts immediately took effect in New Hampshire and the histories of the two colonies for a period of nearly forty years became blended together. One interesting incident in connection with this act of union is worthy of mention. By a law of Massa- chusetts, a test had been established, which provided that none but church members should vote in town affairs, or sit as members of the general court. This gospel requisite was dispensed with in favor of the New Hampshire members, and her freemen permitted to vote in town affairs, and her deputies to sit in the general court,, without regard to religious qualifications ; "an amazing stride in liberality, a stretch of toleration which sent a shudder through the whole body of the church." New Hampshire, however, will never cease to be grateful to Massachusetts for this extraordinary conces- sion and distinguished mark of confidence. It was during the period of this union with Massachusetts, that religious intolerance broke out so fiercely against the Quakers. The laws by which the Quakers were stripped and publicly whipped and led through the streets of Dover tied to carts, were the laws of Massachusetts. But the stain of that vindicitive persecution at- taches itself in some degree to New Hampshire, because she had a representation in the Assembly of Massachusetts when those laws were enacted. The most brilliant period of New Hampshire's colonization is that which is connected with the history of Scotland. " The bor- der romances, the songs of the bard, the Covenanter's honest faith^ and all the proud recollections and glorious memories of the land of Burns, were to be transported to the wilds of New Hampshire." Early in 1719 came the Scottish families, sixteen in number, with McGregor as their spiritual guide, to Londonderry : and there he he preached his first sermon under the shade of a wide spreading oak. Large accessions of their countrymen were soon added to the original company : and in a few years the church numbered two hundred and thirty members. They were proud to enjoy, and gloried in vindicating the Presbyterian faith. They held strong opinions, worshipped with fervent devotion, and deemed it a sa- cred duty to serve the cause of Heaven by making the fiercest op- Cleveland and the Western Reserve. 9 position to what they regarded as false faith. They held life in mean regard, compared with the slightest stain upon their honr. It is said of them that they were " a well principled people : fru- gal, hardy and industrious." In process of time their descendants spread over many towns in New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine and Massachusetts, and are now scattered over all the States of the Union. But wherever located, these ancestral recollections have been cherished by the posterity of these Scottish emigrants. To this it is to be ascribed, in part at. least, that Stark, and Reid McClary and McNeil and Miller, dis- played, in later days, much of the same pride and patriotism, which swelled the dauntless hearts of Wallace and Bruce. During the war of the revolution New Hampshire furnished more than twelve thousand soldiers. The guns which were fired at Lexington reverberrated through the mountains and hills of the " granite State," and thousands of her valliant men dropped their implements of labor and hastened to the post of danger. History records that at the battle of Bunker's Hill. "The New Hampshire- troops behaved with distinguished bravery.*' You will readily recall the eccentric and effective speech which the impetuous and intrepid Gen. Stark made to his soldiers at the battle of Bennington when, pointing to the enemy, he said, " There's the enemy boys ; we must whip them, or Molly Stark sleeps a widow to-night." Although the enemy's force was double that of his own, a most signal victory was achieved, which turned the scale of the war, and Molly Stark did not sleep a widow that night. The men of New Hampshire participated in every important con- flict of that period. They stood side by side with equally brave men from the sister provinces, boldly fighting for the liberties of their country. And the names of Stark, and Reed, and Sullivan, and Morgan, and McNeil, and Whipple, and a host of others,, which time will not permit me to mention, are imperishably writ- ten in the annals of her fame. In the war of 1812, although divided upon the question of State rights. New Hampshire furnished her full quota of men who per- formed active duty, and some of whom bravely fought under the gallant Perry in the glorious conflict on Lake Erie. In the civil war of 1861-65 the Old Granite State was loyal to her earlier principles and convictions, and earnestly and unflinch- ingly supported what she believed to be the cause of justice and right. Her valorous sons freely offered their lives for the defense and preservation of that Union which their forefathers sacrificed so much to establish. " If any one attempts to haul down the American flag, shoot him on the spot," was the ringing order of Gen, John A. Dix, a patri- otic son of New Hampshire. She furnished during this war more than thirty thousand men, or nearly ten per cent, of her entire population. And Tappan, and Whipple, and Griffin, and Cross, and Marston, and Pocter, and Donahoe, and Berdan, and Stevens,. 10 New England Society of and a host of others equally illustrious, proved themselves worthy descendants of the heroes of '76. But New Hampshire's illustrious sons are not confined to those who achieved military distinction. Lewis Cass, Daniel Webster, Horace Greeley, Salmon P. Chase, Henry "Wilson, John P. Hale, and Woodbury, and Pierce, and Dana, Butler, and Patterson were all natives of the " Granite State. " Their services to the State and Nation are well known to this assembly, and hence I need not here recount them. Mr. Psesident and Friends : The revival of this New England Society is occasion for earnest and hearty congratulations. It appears to me eminently fitting, that the sons and daughters of New England should meet here in this Plymouth Congregational Church, on the "Forefathers' Day," to recall the history and tra- ditions of colonial times, and to recount the toils and dangers, the struggles and hardships, the brave deeds and- the heroic sacrifices, of our Puritan ancestors. We may thus learn to cherish their memory, and to emulate their virtues. We shall thus learn the value of the rich heritage which we to- day enjoy, au'l we shall be the better prepared in our day and gen- eration, to contribute our share to the future progress, freedom, and glory of our common country. THE STATE OF VERMONT. Address of Hon. N. B. Sherwin. The early history of the people occupying that territory compris- ing the State of Vermont was peculiarly hard. They were beset "with obstacles on every side, but the brave manner in which they met and overcame them, seemed to have prepared them for a noble liistory. They were largely from Connecticut, and most of them *^ok possession of their lands under a grant from the Governor of New Hampshire. New York, however, soon laid claim to them, under a grant, as it claimed, to the Duke of York, from Charles II. A controversy, bitter and unyielding, sprung up between the settlers and the New York authorities. An organization was formed by the settlers under the name of *'The Gretn Mountain Boys," led by Ethan Allen, as brave a man as ever lived, and a born leader. Whatever force or opposition confronted him, he yielded to nothing lie did not believe right and just. This contro- versy between the New York authorities and Green Mountain Boys continued for years, and thj Governor of New York, with all his power, was unable to conquer that brave band, and whenever an ofiicer undertook to enforce the mandate of the Governor of New York, he was immediately seized, the "beech seal" applied to him, and compelled to return. (The " beech seal " was the vigorous ap- I)lication of a beech rod to his bare back.) During^ all these years the people were applying to the Contine;ital Congress for recog- Cleveland and the Western Reserve. 11 nition as a State, but the opposition of New York and New Hamp- shire prevented this. The controversy was kept up until the com- mencement of the war of the Revolution, when the Green Moun- tain Boys, forgetting the treatment they had received from the Continental Congress, were the first to organize and resist the power of the British government. The part taken by the regi- ment organized by Ethan Allen in taking Fort Ticonderoga and Crown Point was among the bravest exploits of the war. Every Vermonter remembers the reply of Ethan Allen, when asked by the commander of Fort Ticonderoga: " By what authority do you demand the surrender of the fort?" "By the authority of the great Jehovah and the Continental Congress," he answered. The battle of Bennington was one of the decisive battles of the Revolu- tion. The bravery and determination exhibited by the Vermont and New Hampshire troops, un-uniformed, and unarmed except with their own guns, was wondeiful. Nowhere did the British forces meet a more humilating defeat, and nowhere did the British lion more humbly lick the dust. January 17, 1777, a convention was called at Dorset, and a declaration of independence declared, mak- ing the territory a free and independent jurisdiction and State. The diplomacy shown by Allen and the authorities of Vermont, near the close of the war, in treating with the British authorities in Canada, and preventing them from making an attack at a time when there was no force to resist them, was deserving of high commendation, although their action at the time was misconstrued and criticised by some. It was sometime after the establishment of the American Independence when Vermont renewed her appli- cation for admission as a State, and then New York was earnest in her efforts to secure it. Vermont and New York having amicably settled their cntoroversies, Vermont was admitted as a State, March 4, 1791, the first after the original thirteen States. The Constitution of Vermont was the first of the State consti- tutions prohibiting slavery. From the time of her admission as a State to the commencement of the war of the Rebellion, Vermont never changed her politics, and was called " the star that never sets." On the same day that President Lincoln issued his call for troops to put down the rebellion, the Governor of Vermont issued his proclamation, calling the Legislature together that they might take action to sustain the President. A little incident that took place at this meeting, showing the loyalty of the entire people of the State at that time, is worthy of mention. The Democrats, al- though there were few of them, held a caucus, and agreed that if the Republicans voted to raise five regiments, they would vote to raise ten, and if the Republicans voted to raise one-half million dollars, they would vote to raise one million. This Legislature added seven dollars per month to the Government's pay to soldiers, and levied a tax to meet this exj)enditure, and also made provision for the families of soldiers, who might be killed or disabled. At the opening of the war, Genernl Scott, calling together the troops to defend the Capital, said, "Give me all the Vermont regiments: I remember the Vermonters at Lunday's Lane." 12 New England Society of The historian Benedict says, " From exact knowledge from the census and from the military records, Vermont alone of the free States sent to the war ten men for everyone hundred of its entire population, and out of thirty-seven thousand liable to military duty thirty-four thousand volunteered. No Vermont regiment lost its colors in battle. The soldiers of no other Northern State took as many Southern flags in proportion." No other Northern State had nearly so high percentage of killed and wounded. No son or daughter of Vermont can read the History of the Re- bellion, and the part Vermont took in quelling it, without a just sense of pride and satisfaction, and when we turn to the rec- ords made by the sons of Vermont in the civil administration of the government since the war, we find many prominent names. No State was more ably represented in the Senate or the United States than Vermont. With Edmunds, chairman of the Judiciary Com-- mittee, Morrill, chairman of the Finance Committee, Phelps, Min- ister to England under Cleveland's first administration, belonged to an honored family of Vermont. Vermont's poet, John G. Saxe, once gave this toast: ''Ver- mont, noted for her horses, maple sugar and pretty girls. The first are fleet, the second and third are sweet, and all are uncom- monly hard to beat." THE STATE OF MASSACHUSETTS. Address by M. M. Hobart, Esq. Ladies and Gentlemen of the New England Society: As Greece was ever wont to point back to Marathon as the turn- ing point of her greatness and prosperity, so America can justly point back to Plymouth Rock as the starting point of this great republic. We live in the past by a knowledge of its history and in the future by hope and anticipation. Who can measure the fidelity and courage, self-sacrifice and enduring influence of those brave men and women who embarked from the Mayflower 275 years ago and planted their principles on Plymouth Rock, and then and their offered up their devotions to their Maker, that they might thereafter cherish and perpetute their religious liberty and free- dom ? How true it is that conscience, in the cause of religion and the worship of the Deity, prepares the mind to act and to suffer beyond all other causes. I need not relate to you how this faithful band left their native soil, and all that home ties and native asso- ciations mean, for Holland, many years prior to their arrival here. I need not tell you of the solemn compact or constitution signed by each of these pilgrims before lauding at Plymouth, thereby guaranteeing to all the protection of "just and equal laws." As we recall their exploits, their loyalty to their cause, we cannot but cherish the names of Miles Standish, Brewster, Carver, Winthrop Cleveland and the Western Reserve, 13 aud Eobinson, — his tender piety and toleration of all creeds, — as the founders of a government of the people, for the people, and by the people, and which shall not perish from the earth. " No star ever rose and set without influence somewhere ; no life can be pure in its purpose and strong in its strife and all life not be purer and stronger thereby." How much, think you, did Miles Standish and the rest of that pilgrim band, realize, that simple duty by them enacted, in the face of danger and privation, would enshrine their names in the memory of a nation, and make sacred Plymouth Rock by Atlantic's wave-washed shores ? Who can tell and measure the influence emanating from their lives ? In individuals and families those principles have been carried into and permeated the Middle States, the plains of the far west, and across the Rockies to the Pacific Slope. We refrain from relating the many trials, hardships and vicissi- tudes that befell those early settlers. They were comparatively without money, thrown among barbarians who gave them constant annoyance and trouble, and they were exceedingly and unjustly taxed by their mother country without power or privilege of repre- sentation. You doubtless recall how the Massachusetts colonies so strenously resisted these unjust taxations — how the stamp act was by their efforts repealed. I need not recall to your memory, later on, of the Boston massacre in 1770, the destruction of the tea in 1773, and the Port Bill in 1774. I need not relate to you that memorable 19th day of April, 1775, and of the subsequent burning spires of Charlestown, of the deeds of Prescott, Putnam and War ren in that first strike for American liberty and freedom. It was Massachusetts that made the first appeal to arms in that memor- able struggle for liberty : at Concord, Lexington and Bunker Hill, and throughout those dark and trying years she sustained her reputation for patriotism. To her, true patriotism meant self- government and that one could not be a patriot and be selfish, and by her patriotism and pure counsel she was one of the most power- ful factors in bringing the revolutionary struggle to a successful issue. Human events have made America. What State has contributed more and been a greater factor in the civilization of this great and glorious country than the old Bay State, Massachusetts? Its annals are crowded with historical events, the influence of which have permeated this broad land from Maine to California. What state has produced greater statesmen, scholars, and jurists than Massachusetts ? With pride we refer to the names of Samuel Adams, John Adams, the second President of the United States ; and to John Quincy Adams, the sixth President ; to Edward Everett, Rufus Choate, Daniel Webster, Wendall Phillips, Charles Sumner aud William Lloyd Garrison ; and of the prominent Poets of this generation, Whittier, Bryant, Holmes, Lowell and Emerson — all of whom were natives of Massachusetts ; and we cannot refrain from mentioning the name of that polished and refined scholar and eminent divine, Phillips Brooks. Massachusetts was 14 New England Society of the first of all the States to introduce free schools. She early adopted and has constantly maintained the principle that it is not only right, but its duty to provide for the instruction of all youth, and she believes, as we all should maintain, and by our efforts and influence carry into effect, that by the diffusion of general knowl- edge and good and virtuous sentiments, property, life, equality of society, and the political fabric of our country may be secured. She 15 the proud possessor of Harvard University, the oldest college in the country. From its portals thousands of brilliant men have gone forth who have adorned the pulpit, the bench, the bar, and all branches of science, with their attainments. Amherst and Williams have also taken high rank with our American institutions. All of these institutions have sent forth their graduates, who are now scattered all over this broad land, who have disseminated the seeds of the noblest principles and the best doctrines consonant with our free institutions. These men have built up a literature which is peculiarly New England in its type, and yet of so wide a range as to endure forever, What native of Massachusetts does not love the grand old ever- lasting Berkshire Hills, at the foot of which the beautiful winding Connecticut River flows through rich and fertile meadows? And who does not love the quiet, wave-beaten shores of Cape Cod and the picturesque and quaint Nahant and Nantucket, and the zigzag streets of historic Boston, and the fidelity and patroitism of its people ? Who does not love to think that it is Massachusetts whicii has furnished the brawn, sinew, muscle, the ships and the enterprise which has circumnavigated the globe, explored Arctic regions, battled with those monstrous leviathans of the deep whieh have furnished illumination to millions of homes and created opportunities for new fields of enterprise? And we cannot but admire her pluck, enthusiasm and enterprise in the stand she takes today in the manufacturing and commercial industries of our land and the financial circles of our country. Neither should we forget that it was Massachusetts which was foremost among the States to resist dismemberment of the Union, to take a supreme and firm stand for the rights of the down- trodden and suffering slave, and to lift its voice for the abolition of that foul system which threatened our prosperity and security. Nor will her long influence terminate with the present, for she, of all the States of the past, will most contribute to that golden future which, as yet, is only the splended prophecy of the poet, which the world shall not see — " 'Till the war-drum throbs no longer And the battle-fiags art furled In the Parliament of man, the Federation of the world." " Wherever thought is deep and strong, Wherever conscience lights with wrong, Wherever manhood dares to die And womanhood is pure and high, On mountain-peak or plain or sea, The soul's one cry must ever be, Thank God for old New England." Cleveland and the Western Reserve. 15 THE STATE OF RHODE ISLAND. Address of Judge I'. J. Dickman. It was not my lot to be born in New England, but on both sides of the house, I am lineally descended from Massachusetts ances- tors, and very naturally take pride in all that the State of Massachusetts has done, for the advancement of society and of the individual on this continent. I have, however, lived long enough in Rhode Island to become deeply interested in her unique history, her institutions, and her people. She IS often, as on the programme for this occasion, affection- ately called "Little Rhody," but the smallest stone in the arch may serve as the key-stone ; and in measuring the greatness of States and kingdoms, we do not deem it really necessary to call in the surveyor, with his chain and compass, to give us the bearings and distances, and tell us the number of square miles. Rather do we inquire, what are the controlling moral and intellectual forces and agencies which the State has set in motion? What are the ideas and truths of which it is the abiding image, and which permeating the life of a people, quicken the march of human progress? Meas- ured by such a standard, some of the States of antiquity became great, though of small domain. One of them, washed by the Aegean Sea, acquired an imperishable intellectual empire by her philosphy, her literature, her art, and her science ; another ancient Judea, by the sublime truths which she taught, is still exerting an influence that will be felt through the ages ; and, another, a city, enthroned upon her seven hills, by propagating her guiding prin- ciple of order and of law, became the mistress of the world. And it is, because Rhode Island is the rep- resentative of a lofty principle, because she was the first embodiment of soul-liberty that she should ever stand pre-eminent among the States of the Union, and be named with reverence wherever religious toleration is cherished. Roger Williams, her founder, and one of the patriarchs of American Christianity, was a Puritan, but we know that the Puritans could be intolerant to each other. It has been truly said, that just as the English government had thrown off the tyranny of the Pope to estab- lish the tyranny of the bishops, the Puritans threw off the tyranny of the bishops to establish the tyranny of the brethren ; and it was by the tyranny of the brethren that Roger Williams was ban- ished from Massachusetts, and forced to seek an asylum amid sav- age nations in the country of the Narragansett. He had scarcely lauded in New England ere he began to assert the principle^ of re- ligious freedom, and to insist that the magistrate had no right to punish for heresy, and ought not to interfere in matters of con- science. It hardly seems possible, at the present day, that the assertion of such principles could be followed by a solemn process for his banish- ment. But it was wisely ordained, that in the current of human af- 16 New England Society of fairs, he should be borue to the shores of Narraganset Bay, there to found a commonwealth, wherein the will of the majority should govern the State, yet, "only in civil things" — God alone being respected as the Ruler of Conscience ; that he might there hold forth to mankind the first '* lively experiment, that a most flour- ishing civil State may stand, and be best maintained, with a full liberty in religious concernments." There it was, that he was en- abled to actualize in humanity his conception of the true relation between the individual and the State — a conception till then un- tried, and seemingly uncomprehended by legislators and rulers. There it was, that beyond the reach of the persecutors of soul- liberty, every phase of religious thought found free and safe ex- pression. So that, as we are told by Dr. Increase Mather, " If a man had lost his religion, he might find it at this general muster of opinionists." There it was, that were first promulgated on this continent those principles afterwards enshrined in the provisions of our Constitution, that no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States; and that there shall be no law respecting the establishment of re- ligion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof. Indeed, as aaid by Bancroft : " Had the territory of the State of Rhode Island cor- responded to the importance and singularity of the principles of its early existence, the world would have been filled with wonder at the phenomena of its history." If we leave the early colonial history, and turn to the era of the Revolution, we shall discover the same devotion of her people to principle — the same independence of spirit — the same courage of conviction — the same love of freedom and hatred of tyranny — the same readiness to do all things and suffer all things, that truth might prevail, and right be established. True to her antecedents, she came to the forefront as a leader, and by her acts anticipated the other colonies in urging on the great contest. Before the battle of Lexington, and before the throwing overboard of the cargo of tea in the harbor of Boston, the men of Providence had boarded and captured his Majesty's schooner Guspee, of eight guns, and dangerously wounded the commander and sent up the schooner in flames. This was the first blow for freedom in all the colonies, and the earliest blood shed in the war of the Revolution. Before the Declaration of Independence, of July 4th, 1776, Rhode Island had abjured her allegiance to the British Crown, and was virtually the first to declare herself an independent State. Two months defore the Declaration of the United Colonies, her General Assembly repealed the act more effectually to secure alle- giance to the King, and exacted an oath of allegiance to the State, and required that all commissions for officers, and that all writs and processes in law should, thereafter, be in the name of the State, and no longer in the name of his Majesty. In the struggle of the Colonies for their liberties, no higher encomium can be bestowed on Rhode Island than that she gave General Nathaniel Greene to the military service of his country. Cleveland and the Western Reserve. 1 7 This State presents uo name more illustrious ; and, excepting al- ways, the Father of his Country, the war of the Eevolution brought forth no man of greater claim to a lasting renown. From the beginning of their intercourse he won the love and confidence of Washington, whose comprehensive eulogy of him was : •' He was a great and good man." And the estimation in which the Rhode Island regiments were held, may be illustrated by a con- versation between Washington and Colonel Jeremiah Olney. Washington, riding up to the Colonel's quarters when there was some disturbance in the Rhode Island line, said to him, in a mo- ment of impatience: "Col. Olney, what means this continual disturbance among the Rhode Island troops? They give me more trouble than all the rest of the army." " I am sorry for it," said the Colonel calmly ; " but, General, that is just what the enemy say of them." A smile of acquiescence, we are told, lit up the face of Washington, and the cloud of discontent passed from his brow. A bare allusion to the waters of Lake Erie and the open boat of Perry will be enough to remind you of the naval glory of Rhode Island in the war of 1812. It is true, that proud of her anatomy, and fearful of its invasion, she sent no delegates to the convencion that framed the Constitution, and was the last State to ratify it ; but, when rebellion raised its head, and the Union was in peril, she was among the very first to hasten to the front, and poured out the blood of her sons on many a battle field. But, Peace hath her victoriea No less renown'd than war. In her institutions of learning — m her benevolent and charitable foundations — in the culture of her people — in her manufactures and financial resources, and her almost unexampled material pros- perity — in all that should constitute the noblest elements of a State, Rhode Island may challenge the general admiration. But, I would not single her out as altogether unlike the States that surround her, in the characteristics of her people. The prominent features of the New England character are the same in all the New England States, and each is entitled to share in the honor that will always be reflected by the influence of that charac- ter upon the progress of our American civilization, and indirectly upon the world. It was, perhaps, an arrogant speech of the great Athenian, who, when desired at a feast to touch a lute, said : " He could not fiddle, but yet he could make a small town a great city." Who will put a limit to the effect of New England genius and en- terprise in the organization of new States, in the building up of towns and cities, and in the development of our national domain ? Wherever we go, especially, in the States once called free States, it will soon be observed that the Puritan element has been leavening the mass. The arts and sciences have begun to exert their power, and mind has begun to co-operate with hand. The hum of intelli- gent industry is heard. The broad ^cres are yielding to the plow and harvester. The blade of grass is springing up where it would 18 New England Society of not grow before. Capital is acciunulaung. It has become evident that the schoolmaster is abroad. Law and order prevail. The sound of the church-going bell is heard. All the appliances that minister to the comfort, convenience and luxury of life are at hnnd. Mens agitat molem. The New England mind has informed the mass, and blended itself with the great body of material, intel- lectual and moral force. With a history so proud, it has often occurred to me, that Rhode Island has not received her proper recognition in the administra- tion of the affairs of the General Government. If I am not mis- taken, no citizen of hers has ever had a seat in the Cabinet, or been honored with a foreign mission of the first-class, while the State of Delaware, with less population, has frequently been fa- vored with the highest diplomatic appointments, and the most prominent place in the Cabinet Council of the Chief Magistrate of the Nation. We know of no good grounds for the difference. It cannot be because Rhode Island has not had, and has not now, learned and able jurists and statesmen. It cannot be solely because she is overshadowed by the political power of her neighbors, for the same reason would apply to Delaware. Is it not owing in a large measure to Southern affiuities, and to a support by the South of that State which has most favored its own interests ? It is a satis- faction, however, to know that a State is more honored by a signal sacrifice and devotion to the Constitution and the Union, than by any insignia of office conferred upon its citizens through executive favor. THE STATE OF CONNECTICUT. Impromptu Address by Hon. Eichard C. Parsons. I have never attended a gathering to honor the memory of the Pilgrim Fathers, without a powerful feeling that the fathers and mothers dead who laid the foun- dation of this mighty Christian nation were beyond the reach of praise or censure ; and that we could do nothing to ease them from the sufferings and trials they endured. Their work is done, and well done. They laid the foundation of this great Republic. The most lofty orators the world has ever known have told the story of their trials, and sacrifices. It was Webster himself who, in describing the landing of the Pilgrims on that deso- late New England shore, described the new born child as '' homeless but for a mother's breast, homeless but for her arms." The valley of the Connecticut is one of the most fertile and beautiful in the Union. Tlie sons of Connecticut love it with de- voted affection. Bancroft says that for 100 years prior to the Revolution, Connecticut was the Arcadia of the world. It was to Hartford that Hooker led his little band across the wilderness. The Constitution of Charles lasted until within a few years. Even Cleveland and the Western Reserve. 19 when the King's minions endeavored to get possession of it, it was seized by a patriot hand, and hid in the old " Charter Oak," which tree was familiar to me in my boyhood. The State was settled almost exclusively by claimants — but there was no persecution. In England during the early settlement of New England the Puritans were branded, burned, crippled, wliipped, fined, imprisoned, their ears cut off, tongues slit, and every indignity imposed upon them, hence the emigration to Massachusetts of such large numbers. But in 1640 the emigration ceased substantially. The whole number of families arriving scarce exceeded 4,000. The descendants of these families now constitute nearly one-half the white population of the United States. In the Revolutionary war Connecticut was a patriotic State. Its people were aflame for liberty. The total number of troops fur- nished in the Revolutionary war by all the States numbered 233,771 souls. Of these Connecticut and Massachusetts sent 101,846. During the civil war the State of Ohio sent to the front 320,000 men, or one out of every ten of her inhabitants. But Connecticut has a daughter in whom we are more interested than the mother. New Connecticut — now known as the Western Reserve — the flower of modern civilization. This vast tract of land comprising 3,250,000 acres, was sold for an amount of money that did not exceed the sum paid for the Viaduct across muddy Cuyahoga River. All these lands are now the seats of thriving cities, growing towns, populous villiages, wealthy citizens, and all the evidences of ripe prosperity. Its northern side is washed by the waters of Lake Erie, one of the Great Lakes, upon whose bosom floats a commerce richer by far than Rome or Greece ever knew in their palmiest days of power and splendor. Colonel Parsons gave a very brief glance at the history of edu- cation in Connnecticut, paid a glowing tribute to its schools, col- leges and churches, to the character of the men and women who gave their lives for the advancement of teaching, and of his own experience as a schoolboy, falling in love with the mistress — only to be disappointed by a rival — who won her from him — but in her married life has always been his esteemed friend. "THE NEW ENGLAND MEETING HOUSE." Address by Mr. L. F. Mellen. When the Pilgrim Fathers landed on Plymouth Rock, at Ply- mouth, Mass., in the year of our Lord, 1620, they at once built a Lord's Day Meeting House, which was also a timber fort ; to this fort every Sunday the men and women walked reverently three in a row, and in it they worshipped until they built a church in 1648. The first meeting houses were very simple in their style, buildings made of rough logs laid one upon another with clay chinks be- 20 New England Society of tween ; and a long steep roof thatched with straw or grass. As the colonists grew wealthier they built larger and better churches, and which were used for various purposes besides public worship on the Lord's Day — they were the town halls, court houses, forts or watch houses from which to keep vigilant lookout from any possi- ble approach of hostile Indians. Until after the Revolutionary war they were used as a powder magazine, and as no fire in stoves or fireplace was ever allowed within, it was a safe enough place for the exi)losive material. In Concord, N. H., as the record shows, the men came to the meeting house armed with flint-lock muskets which they stacked around the post in the middle of the church, while the minister, who was a good shot and owned the best gun in town, preached with his loaded gun at his side, ready from his post of vantage to blaze away at any red man whom he saw sneak- ing without. The meeting houses were also used as grannaries, or store houses. The records show that Mr. Pynchon, at Springfield, Mass., was allowed to place his corn in the roof chamber of the meeting house, but as the people were afraid that the great weight might burst through the floor he was forbidden to store more than 400 bushels at a time, unless he ''underpropped the floor." In one church in the Connecticut Valley, in a town where it was for- bidden that tobacco be smoked on the public streets, the meeting house loft was used to cure and store tobacco leaves which were afterwards packed and shipped to the "ungodly Dutch." Later on, the meeting house was more pretentious in its style of architecture — built large and high, with a tall steeple at one end. *' Church-raising " was always a a great event in the town. Each man was forced by law to turn out and take part in the work of raising. Not only were hewed logs and lumber, and the use of horses and men labor given, but a contribution was levied for a barrel of jSTew England rum. When the Medford, Mass., people built their second meeting house they provided for the workmen and bystanders five barrels of rum, one barrel of brown sugar, two sugar loafs, and a box of lemons. In Northampton, Mass. (which was my boyhood home) ten gallons of rum were bought for eight pounds sterling, to raise the meeting house. As a natural conse- quence, the men got drunk, two-thirds of the frame fell and many were injured. I left my native town in Hampshire county, Mass., when a small boy, and I remember the old meeting house situated as they nearly all are in the New England towns, on a hill, with its big family pews or pens — the sides being so high the children could not look over — the high pulpit with the winding stairs on each side, and a sounding board, like a big umbrella over the minister's head. Also the custom of the town clerk, who had a special front seat, getting up at the close of the afternoon service, and announc- ing the "intention of marriage" of persons, which had to be published in this manner three Sundays befor the Avedding was to take place. Fifty to one hundred years ago in New England hardly any one thought of absenting himself or herself from public worship on the Lord's Day. People went to church as a matter of course. Cleveland and the Western Reserve. 21 partly from a sense of duty, and partly from habit, but there was an underlying Christian principle which had as its motive the worship of Almighty God. In the early churches "seaters" and " tything men" were appointed. The tything man carried with him in church a long pole, and one of his duties was to keep watch of the boys, and poke up the tired sleepers now and then who disturbed the preacher by their snoring. So accustomed were the people to sleep during the long sermons that it is said of a minister that he stopped while preaching one summer afternoon, and looking around saw so many asleep, he took his hat and put it on, saying he would go home and feed his fowls and come back again, and maybe their sleep would be ended, and they would be ready to hear the remainder of his di^^course. One of the old farmers and a man of great dignity, worn out with Saturday's work at sheep- shearing, fell asleep and was dreaming, being rudely disturbed by the rod of the tything man, but not wholly awakened, sprang to his feet, seized his astonished and mortified wife by the shoulders, shook her violently, shouting at the top of his voice, " Haw- back, haw-back, stand still, will ye ! " The tything man's duty was also to stop Sunday travel. It is said, however, that two gay young men eluded him in this way : They were driving through the town on the Sabbath and were stopped, when one said mournfully as an excuse, " my grand- mother is lying dead in the next town." Being allowed to drive on, he stood up in his wagon when at a safe distance, and shouted back, ** and she has been lying dead in the graveyard there for thirty years." Oar ancestors were obliged to conform to the prevalent custom of going to meeting whether they liked it or not. The law did not excuse any one from public worship except from sickness, no matter if the meeting house was cold, and there was danger of taking cold and contracting consumption — the New England death producing disease. The first stove heard of for a meeting house was put up in Boston in 1773. But few churches had such a luxury until after 1800. Many of the churches had only board windows, or tight wood blinds which were thrown open to let in the daylight. Of course no services were held in the church after dark. The objection to heating the church was that it was contrary to the custom of their fathers and mothers, and to bring in arti- ficial heat, was an indication of extravagance and degeneracy. Some of us here remember the noise of the men and boys knock- ing their covvhide boots together to keep their feet warm. The women, however, brought to the church a foot-stove — having a tin dish inside which they filled before they left home with live coals. This they placed under their feet while riding to church, and then brought it into the pews to put their feet on. Strict observance of the Sabbath was demanded. At a town meeting held in Belfast, Maine, October 10, 1776, one article in the warrant "was to see if there could be any plan laid to stop the inhabitants from visiting on Sunday." It was voted that if any person makes unnecessary visits on the Sabbath day they 23 Niw England Society of shall be looked upon with contempt until they make acknowledge- ment to the public. I find this rhyme in regard to the observance of the Connecticut Sabbath : " Five days and a half shall men and women, too, Attend their business and their mirth pursue; But after that no man without a fine Shall walk the streets or at a tavern dine. Henceforth let none, on peril of their lives, Attempt a journey, or embrace their wives ; No barber, foreign or domestic bred, Shall e'er presume to dress a lady's head. Five days and a half, the inhabitants may ride. All around the town and villages beside, But in their travels should they miss the road, 'Tis our commands, they lodge that night abroad." In my two months' trip at the East las t summer I spent some time at my native town in Hampshire Co., Mass., and while there read over the records of the Congregational " Orthodox" Church, which was incorporated in 1780. The proceedings of the par- ish meetings in these early days were so quaint that I copied some of them. The first minister invited to preach was a Mr. Cazier, but it seems he did not give satisfaction. A meeting was called and it was voted "to see if the Parish will request those that are burthened with Rev. Mr. Cazier, to say that they will bring for- ward their matters of aggrievance, and support them before an ecclesiastical council, at the cost of the parish." Complaint was made against the minister's moral character, and here are some of the charges: First — Falsehood — His reporting that he had sent a letter to Mrs. Cazier, saying "he should set out for Castleton, Vt. , to visit her on the 13th of May, and then saying if he did not set out on the 5th of May he would full of being at Castleton at the time he had sent to her." Second — Profaneness — In saying that he would not pray for a neighboring minister, because he was a man of error; but if he did, he must pray as another man once did, " Oh Lord, damn such damnable doctrines." Third Charge — In declaring that he believed only a less part of the creation would be saved, and afterwards denying that he said that a less part would be saved, but a greater part. Another meeting of the Church was held, at which it was voted, "That all those that are not for Mr. Cazier as their minister under the present existing circumstances, to proceed to the west end of the meeting house. Whereupon thirty-nine moved to the west end of the meeting house, which were the whole of the voters present." Charges were frequently brought against members. This is the record: "A meeting of the Church was held at the meeting house for business, a brother being publicly accused of falsehood, his case was taken up." After hearing what he had to say, and some remarks from various brethren, it was voted, " That while Cleveland and the Western Reserve. 23 we repel the slander cast upon the church, in the charge brought against the brother, we advise him to be more cautious in his mode of speaking." This is the confession of another member of the church, " Be- loved brethren, on last Monday at the meeting of Capt. Gray's Company, I was overtaken with the drinking of more intoxicating liquor than my nature would bare." A sister made public confession of her fault, and was restored to the fellowship of the church. Also complaint having been made against a brother, he appeard before the Church and acknowledged that he was guilty of taking a bottle of rum which did not belong to him. In view of his confession, voted that the pastor and com- mittee labour to bring the brother to make gospel satisfaction for his sin. The following are some of the resolutions passed at various meet- ings: Voted, That the coUectorship should be vandued ofE to the low- est bidder, with proper bond. Voted, Six shillings per week in the summer and seven shillings per week in the winter for boarding the minister. Voted, To set up the care of the meeting house and sweep the same four times the ensuing year to the lowest bidder, and it was struck oif at ninety-nine cents. Voted, To allow one dollar and eighty-eight cents per week for boarding the minister and his horsekeeping. The Parson, of the old-time church, was looked up to as a man of learning and culture, with so much more style and dignity than the average man, that he was an autocratic leader worthy of the name. He was the only man in the town to wear broadcloth, and this gave him such a genteel appearance, together with his long face and funereal expression to make the children at least stand in fear of him. Most people were afraid to criticise his preaching or his actions. His manners were on a higher plane of action, and he was expected to do just about as he pleased. One thing was re- quired of him and that was to write and preach two good long, and " sound " sermons every week, mainly upon the divine laws as set forth in the Old Testament, together with the precepts and promises of the New Testament, with an exhaustive argument as to their adaptation to the whole human race. They were set forth in " firstly " to " tenthly," and then " finally" with a " few re- marks " in closing. His sermons contained much good advice, with severe dictation as to the practical orderly and Christian way of living. He had in mind to hit his hearers in some way. It is related of one minister that he felt it necessary to reprove a money- making parishoner, who had a large quantity of corn, which was sadly needed for consumption in the town. This was his text: •'He that withholdeth his corn, the people shall curse him; but blessings shall be upon the head of him that selleth it." As the minister grew earnest in his explanation and application of the text, he pointed to the man, and said: "I mean you." 24 New England Society of Another arbitrary minister, having had an altercation with some unruly singers in the choir, gave out this hymn: " And are you wretches yet alive, And do you yet rebel ?" and then gave a very significant glance toward the singers' gallery. Ministers often preached over an old sermon, sometimes by "special request." One minister, after being newly ordained in his parish preached the same sermon three Sundays in succession. One of the deacons was sent to him to mildly suggest a change. His answer was : "lean see no evidence yet that this one has produced any effect." Sometimes pointed advice or rebuke was given by expressions in prayer. One minister while praying for rain used these words : " Lord, thou knowest we do not want the rain which shall pour down in fury, to swell our streams, carry away our hay cocks, fences, and bridges; but we want it to coxne drizzle-drazde for about a week. Amen." The office of deacon was held with much dignity and sacredness. His duties were to collect money, dispense charities, visit the homes, pray with the sick, etc. One duty was to see that no one but an acceptable communicant should partake of the Holy Sacrament. I can not but think that the New England church of former days, with its stately, dignified, aristocratic ministry, with the con- servative, pious deacons had an advantage in representing religious characters. Certainly its influence and example in the moral train- ing and spiritual education of children has had its effect upon the future of their lives. Josh Billings has said, " If you should train up a child in the way he should go, you must walk once or twice that way yourself." THE NEW ENGLAND TOWN LIFE AND TOWN MEETING. Address of Hon. L. E. Holden. The word town— tun— is from the old German word zaim—^n en- closure, a collection of houses inclosed by palisade, or wall of safety, and was brought by the German tribes into England. At farst It represented them as in ancient Germany, a fortified place as Lun-dun and afterwards a tract of land consisting of defin- ite boundaries, in which were farms and houses, constituting the basis or civil poitical community. This meaning came tS the word Hown when the community had risen from a warlike tribe- with her greatness in the palisades or fortifications. Finallv the word ship was added, which means to shape or shope, and as a Clei>ela?td and the Western Reserve. 25 suffix often means worthy of, as in worship, which used to be writ- ten **' worth ship." When added to tun, it means a defined or shaped inclosure. < In New England the town was a definite area of land, almost always called the township, just as we have in Ohio, the township of Cleveland or the township of Euclid. It was the orig- inal sub-division of counties, just as the county is a sub-division of the State, the townships and the counties, or as they were some- times called, " provinces " are older than the States. The word " town " in New England was used in contra-distinction from the word village. Village is of latin origin, taken into the Italian, as villa, and into the French, as ville, and the words ville annexed to names as Jacksonville is as common as burg, of German origin, and means the same, a small town or city, and including the ground, accom- panied by houses, and meant a neighborhood or a cluster of neigh- bors living together. The town meeting was an assembly of the local voters of the- township, which, of course, included the voters of any that were existing within the limits of the township. The annual meeting for the election of town officers was held in March; hence the peo- ple spoke of the "March Meeting." These town meetings weie the first real expressions of Democracy known in our political his- tory. At these meetings every voter had a voice if he wanted to use it, and the ballot was an expression of his opinion. These meetings, after the organization of States, were known and recog- nized under the law, and all held on a given day. They were founded on, first, the right of the individual to meet with his fellow men, and counsel on all affairs pertaining to the township, and they embodied that sound old doctrine of local self-government, and that other staunch American principle — not, however, of American origin — no taxation without representation. These town meetings- were thus a pure and correct representation of government by the people, and for the people, in joint meeting. I remember these meetings with the greatest possible interest. My father was by nature a politician, and very much a partisan,, and was always discussing with the Whigs of those days, the prin- ciples of Democracy, and of liberty of personal rights, and the blessings of a republican government. I not only heard these dis- cussions at home, in the stores, and shops, but on the highway, where we gathered to work our road taxes. I used to go to town meetings, where all questions of a local character, the amount of tax that should be levied for township purposes, and when often the contest for supremacy by Whig or Democrat, and the personal fitness of individuals, for the different offices were discussed. At those meetings I used to see old gray-headed revolutionary soldiers who came and took part, and I remember one, Capt. Daniel Holden, my grandfather's brother, who was the first selectman of the town from my earliest recollection, down to his death, about 1844. He was a Whig in politics, and in that Democratic town in. Maine where I lived, the true principle of civic government was. 26 New England Society of applied, and generally the man best fitted for the office was se- lected. Squire Holden, as he was called, because he was Justice of the Peace, was the general referee for all disputed questions, man of the highest integrity and distinguished ability, and I re- member his commission as Captain, and his discharge from the ser- vice after the revolutionary war, signed by George Washington. He was the agent for Harvard College for her lands in the State of Maine, and naturally such a man would be selected by the townsmen as the first selectman, and generally at the town meet- ing, he was elected as the Moderator. The town meetings where I received my first instructions in par- liamentary usages, and parliamentary law before I was ten years of age was similar to all the town meetings in the New England States. The town was the unit of political power. Each voter was a man, and in those days no one ever dreampt of using money in an election. The franchise — the right to vote — was the most sacred right possessed by the individual ; the thought of selling it, the thought of buying it, the thought of using it other than as an expression of right and in accordance with his individual convic- tion never entered into the mind of the voter in those days. Besides this, there was always great public interests in these town meetings. Every person having a vote, or property knew that the meeting was for his welfare. He was to be taxed, and he was to vote on all the questions of local taxation as to the amount of money that should be raised, — as to the people who should assess the tax, collect the money, and expend it, — hence a very large majority, and oftentimes nearly every voter within the township; would be present at the March town meeting. These meetings were always called by notices issued by the se- lectmen, signed by the clerk, and posted at the churches, at the postoffice, and at all public places in the town. This was not in tiie time of daily newspapers ; a weekly paper was the only means of communication. That was usually published at the county seat, and it dealt only in the general news of the day, which came by long stages from Washington and New York, the then great centers; hence it was not and could not be a means of distributing local news. The New England people were quiet, sober, thought- ful, honest and earnest. There was little of the nervous restless- ness of the present day. They worked hard on their farms, read the Bible, sang Watt's hymns, and went to Church every Sunday, understood thoroughly the doctrines of the church, and could give reasons for the political faith that was in them. They slept soundly at night, going to bed early, and rising with the dawn of day. Plainly they lived, frugal, careful, almost to penuriousness, bought nothing they could make themselves, and they could make almost anything. Tliey made money by securing it, they made property by taking it out of tlieir own bodies. Men, women and children all worked. " Industry, Integrity, Frugality, and Worship," were the watchwords of the house, of the community, the church, and the town meeting. To give up a day's time to a town meeting was Cleveland and the Western Reseme. 27 a duty, and each man felt that it was a part of his business. He valued his political rights. No Australian ballot was needed to secure an honest vote and an honest count. At the hour appointed the people of the township are gathered in the town hall or the " town house," as it was called. The town house was built before the days of stoves, having a broad fireplace that would take in four-foot wood, with the "forestick" and the *' back log." The first selectman called the meeting to order, and the first business, as he states, is to choose a moderator. Imme- diately one proposes a name, and an opponent of the other party proposes another, and then a vote is taken on the election of these two nominees. When the vote is declared, the moderator steps to the platform, thanks the voters who elected him, reads the call for the meeting, setting forth its objects. Then the selectman, the treasurer, the town clerk, and other officers of the town make their annual reports. These reports are enquired into, oftentimes exciting sharp discussions ; but never, so far as I know, any doubt was shown upon the honor of an officer, although his judgment might be questioned as to the expenditure of money, and of the making of improvements, for which the money was paid. The town meeting represented every acre of land owned by the farmers, and every lot owned by villagers, unless perchance the owner was a woman, for in those days they were very tenacious that there should be no taxation without representation, but it was never dreamed that this precept should reach so far away as to touch a woman. It was all right that the war of the revolution should be continued for seven years, to establish the principle for the Ameri- can colonies, but the rights of a woman who happened to own prop- erty, and had no husband to represent her, was too far away alto- gether. She might have a soul to save, but she must be taxed without representation just the same. Whence came the town meeting ? The town meeting was brought from Old England to New England. The town meeting of New England was of very little dif- ference from the town meeting of the middle ages of Old England. Town meetings are older than the Congregational Gov- ernment. Many people think that the government of the Congre- gational churches, in which evei-y member has a vote, was the origin of town meetings. This is a false idea. The township meet- ing was the farther, the antetype of the Congregational govern- ment by centuries. It was in existence long before the Reforma- tion. As stated, it was in existence by the free and independent Teutonic tribes of Germany, before they landed in England, where they planted it. It may have been an outgrowth of the very na- ture of the strong and clear-headed Teutons. His honest, natu- ral instincts for personal independence and personal rights, cer- tainly he did not borrow from the classic Athenians, who practiced democratic government for more than six hundred years before the Christian era. Political freedom is the foundation of religious freedom. Tne establishment of political freedom, which was ex- pressed in the town meeting, and the little representative govern- 28 New England Society of ment of the couaties of England decided that government by the people, and for the people should not perish. Puritanism could only have its origin in that magnificent political freedom which antedates the French revolution. It was an ideal local self-govern- ment. It stimulated individual thought, and let man stand out as a man, and not as a part of a political machine. It made the indi- vidual the moving power; it made man greater than the system of government, or the form of worship. Milton, Latimer, Bun- yan and Cromwell were the outgrowth of this political liberty — this individualism. This political liberty was the hand that held the torch, that will light the world, and never go out. THE NEW ENGLAND SCHOOL HOUSE. Address of Mrs. Elroy M. Avery (reported). Mrs. Avery commenced her address by saying that she could not remember as far back as Deacon Mellen had in describing the old- time church. She said she commenced to attend school in her fourth year, and that she was not sent home because she was too young, or because she had not been vaccinated. She sat, not on seats that had been examined by a committee as to curve, shape and comfort, but on a hard-wood, flat bench. She praised the system of the past, in compelling the children to learn to read, but made ludicrous the many serious efforts that teachers made to enforce, what now look like very foolish rules. The little red, or unpainted schoolhouse containing the "dee- strick skule " had usually three tiers of seats, graded down to the small benches, hard and bare, without desks, where the little ones sat, with their feet dangling until they were called up to read their ABC's or spell their AB Ab's, standing in a row, their little toes^ without shoes in the summer, set to a crack in the floor. The schoolroom was badly heated, badly lighted, and badly ventilated, or not ventilated at all. It was warmed in the winter by a huge fireplace, taking up nearly one side of schoolhouse, and every other minute some boy or girl was calling out, "Say, teacher, can I go to the fire " ? for while those seated near the fireplace, were on the verge of roasting, the children in the back part of the house were as near freezing. The teachers "boarded round," a week or more in the families of the scholars, according to the number from each family, and their coming was a great event. They were put into the "spare room" to sleep, and the meals were furnished with some extras, such as " spare-rib " for dinner, and pie for breakfast with "cider apple sass " at every meal. The committee- man always visited the school at its close, and during the whole term, the children were trained for this eventful visit. His " re- marks " were about the same each year, viz: *'Now, children, I hope you'll all speak up loud, an' do the best you can, and keep Cleveland and the Western Reserve. 39 your toes right ou the line." One of the usual questions asked was, " Who was the first President ? " Some answered, " Christopher •Columbus; "others "Mr. ," the committeeman himself. He then gave them the opportunity of sharing his superior knowledge, he reciting the story of cutting the cherry tree with '* I done it with my little hatchet!" and said, "Now, child'en, alers remem- ber that George Washington was the first President, cause he never told a lie." The course of study in the old-time school included *''readin'," "ritin'," "spellin'," " syferin'," and "geography," al- though the committeeman said the first three, beginning with the three " R's " was all that is necessary. The money to support the school was raised by an annual tax on the town, or districts, divided according to the number of the scholars, and the school was kept as long as the money held out; this was never more than three months in the winter and summer, and often six weeks each was the limit. When we hear of the scanty opportunity afforded to the children in the early days the few weeks each year in the New England schoolhouse, with the ignorant and incompetent teachers, we must keep in mind the fact, that some of the children as they reached years of maturity were per- mitted to attend some select school or academy, and receive the ad- vantage of a higher education and culture. I recall with gratitude one exceeding merit. We learned to read, we charged at standard literature, for the best selections were in our books and we became acquainted there with many of the authors that we love to-day. We certainly learned to read, and reading is the key that unlocks for us the treasures of the learned. Children of New England, remember that New England was not in its beginning an agricultural, nor a manufacturing, nor a trad- ing community; it was a thinking community. The proportion ■of learned men was great. Tyler says somewhere, that probably no other community ever so honored study, so reverenced the instru- ments and symbols of learning. Theirs was a social structure with its corner-stone resting on a book. Universal education seemed to them a universal necessity, and they promptly provided for it, Down on Cape Cod at one time a twelfth of all the mackerel caught went to the support of the schools, which led Thoreau (o remark that the mackerel schools were taxed that the children's schools might be free. Free schools had always been, and justly too, a favorite scheme among reformers for elevating the race, but it was not until thirty- five years after the close of the war of 1776 that a regular system of schools at the public expense was established — New England with pride of being the first in education, as she was first in war. Nearly all of the recent improvements and methods of teaching in our public schools are the growth of our own soil, and originated in New England. What our ancestors have done for us by placing us in the midst of a land of schools, and churches, we well know, and feel. What we shall do for our posterity remains yet to be de- termined. 30 New England Society of Mrs. Avery urged that every effort be made to continue to build up the public schools, and concluded by saying that the salvation of the country depended not upon the Monroe doctrine, but upon the schools. OLD-TIME AMUSEMENTS. Mrs. B. F. Taylor. In the old Colonial days New England amusements were of the gravest and grimmest, but time has softened the Puritan character, until now, even a deacon's daughter may take a " two-step" turn, or a " jBve-step " whirl, and the boys can play "old sledge," or " Pedro,' without hiding in the barn, and playing with comrades of questionable character. Fifty years ago there were three days in New England toward which all, old and young, looked with eager anticipations of pleasure. These were "General Training," Thanksgiving, and Fourth of July. Training Day, or " General Training," as it was called, came in June, just after the farmer had planted his corn and beans, and Thanksgiving came after he had harvested them. Each day had its own particular delights. Great cards of ginger- bread, marked like a gridiron, with weak lemonade, and hard ci- der, were accompaniments of training. Then the troopers, in their bear-skin caps, sat in their saddles waiting for the bugle call to dash down the street, with the clatter of musket and sabre; and the white-legged infantry stepped out to the tune of *' Bonaparte Crossing the Rhine," and were reviewed, and put through the old- fashioned tactics by some one whose father might have known General Putnam, or have been one of the " Old Contiuentals in their ragged regimentals," and who suffered at Valley Forge. After the military drill was over, there were games upon the village green: wrestling, with much talk of " square-hold," and "side-hold," and " locks," of various kinds; there was pitching of quoits, there was playing ball — they may have called the ball " base" in that day, but I am sure it was never kicked. Thanksgiving Day is as much of a New England product as baked beans or pumpkin pie. The day used to be brim full of happiness, piety, and poultry — and why not class visiting and feasting with amusements? But the Fourth of July was a day when all classes and con- ditions of men could meet in a mingling of din, dinner, and decla- mation. The procession, the oration, and the dinner, were the leading features of the day. The brass band, with its wonderful drum-major, led the procession out to a grove, or up to the largest church, decorated with green boughs, rosettes, and a flag, where, Cleveland and the Western Resej-ve. 31 after a prayer, and the reading of the Declaration of Independence in an impressive manner, the orator came forward amid great ap- plause. Fourth of July orations are nearly all alike: they sparkle and shine. The orator always mentions Bunker Hill, and Bennington, Yorktown, and Saratoga; he does not forget the patriot Fathers, or the Pilgrims; he sprinkles his effusion with heroes, martyrs, deathless, immortal, and hangs an elegant rhetorical flag over the whole. Then, after another patriotic song, they passed out in good order to the bower, roofed and walled with green, where the din- ner was served — a fine pig roasted to a turn, with a sprig of green parsley in its grim mouth, holding the place of honor. " Blessings brighten as they take their flight," — and gray-haired men and women claim with pride their birthright in the States they thought the best in the world — to get away from when they were younger! They remember the rugged hills under the light of a glorious moon, when the merry boys and girls coasted over the crust and down the steep incline at more than railroad speed. They think of the sleigh rides, when in cutters by twos, and in sleighs by clus- ters, they drove to the music of bells over the hills and far away, to some town or village where, in the old-fashioned tavern, a supper and ball-room awaited them. After the supper had warmed their chilled blood, they repaired to the ball-room, lighted with tallow candles, or lamps whose oil came around Cape Horn from the Pa- cific; and men in blue coats and brass buttons, and dames in caps and kerchief moved through the graceful measures of the stately minuet, amid an atmosphere of lavender, cologne, and lamp-oil, and the air was dizzy with Virginia Reels and Money Musk. New England seems to have been the native place for " Bees," and there was always a swarm of them in every community. There were quilting bees, spinning bees, husking bees, and paring bees, where, when the period of work was ended, the evening was rounded out by a dance or frolic. If those sending out the invi- tations did not look with favor upon dancing, then games were substituted, and ** Ooppenhagen," " The needle's eye as I passed by," " Drop the handkerchief," etc., were played, and the singing orders, " Look to the East," and "Look to the West," were obeyed by the young men with amazing alacrity. The boys of then, have older grown, The girls grandchildren show, And yet their hearts are just as young As fifty years ago. Youth's step is lighter, now-a-days. Their pulses quicker flow, — But the boys of the now, and the girls of io-clay, Are moulded, I think, from the very same clay, Of those of the long ago. 32 New England Society of THE NEW ENGLAND GIRL. Mrs. Howard M. Ingham. The New England Girl! How shall I describe her? To me, with the memory of all my girlhood's friends rising before me, she seems the rarest flower of maidenhood. She does not always follow a particular and unmistakable type. Sometimes she is tall, as if looking for the sunrise over her native mountains; sometimes short, as searching for the mayflower and the laurel among woodsy haunts. Sometimes her eyes are blue as the skies above her; some- times dark as those same skies at midnight. But she is always rosy and sparkling and strong, with head erect and firm, quick step; a girl of supple grace and fitted to endure. She has a voice like the murmur of her pines, and laughter like the ripple of her •crystal streams over their rocky beds. Mentally, she is keen and clear. She is logical, thorough, and ready for infinite labor that she may solve the problems Nature flings at her from mountain and cliff and sky and sea. She is emi- nently practical, and yet she has a vein of dainty fancy that some- times ripples out in musical verse. The New England girl has a great heart, capable of bearing heavy burdens and making mighty sacrifices. She is tender, lov- ing and sincere. A devout religious nature she has. She could not be otherwise, with her mountain peaks, her surrounding ocean, her upheaved rocks and crystal lakes speaking continually of the 'God who made them as the visible expression of His own majesty and power, His truth and love. The New England girl's characteristics are all strong and clear- cut. What she is she is to the very core of her being. What she does she does with all her might. She leads the way wherever she goes; and yet with a modest tread as if deprecating the necessity laid upon her. She was the inspiration of the brave man who fought for his country's liberty; and old John Stark, of New Hampshire, could find no braver rallying cry at Bennington than the name of the dear Molly who brightened his home. So in the great struggle for our country's life, she was ready for any sacrifice. She went to the front, as brave Clara Barton, of Maine, wearing the red cross on her sleeve, to nurse and comfort and win back to life many a wounded soldier who, but for her, had been done to death by Southern bullet. She staid at home and patiently added to her own her husband's or father's daily toil, and bore loneliness and privation and constant heartache, that her country might live. It was the New England girl, Harriet Beecher of Connecticut, who wove from heart and brain the wondrous story which more than any other book taught freedom to the slave; the book whose sales in its native tongue ran far up into the hundreds of thou- sands, and which was translated and re-translated and read and re-read all over Europe and far into the deeps of Asia. Cleveland and the Western Reserve. 33 For she has always been the ardent lover of freedom — this New England girl — freedom for herself she has demanded and toiled for; the right to higher education; freedom to think and to do. As Susan B. Anthony, of Massachusetts, she has dared aspire to every right of citizenship. And freedom for others she has de- fended with equal vigor. Whittier understood her spirit when he wrote his poem, " The Yankee Girl." You remember the story so musically told : " She sings at her wheel at that low cottage door Which the long evening shadow is stretching before, With a music as sweet as the music which seems Breathed softly and faint in the ear of our dreams." And then, you remember Annes, the gallant lover from the Southland, so bonny and gay, bidding her come with him, " Where flowers are blooming all the year long," and where his " Servants shall all / Depart at her bidding and come at her call ; They shall heed her as mistress with trembling and awe And each wish of her heart shall be felt as a law." And then the scorn of her freedom-loving nature bursts forth: "Ihe sky of the South may be brighter than ours, And greener thy landscapes and fairer thy flowers ; But dearer the blast round our mountains which raves Than the sweet summer zephyr which breathes over slaves. Full low at thy bidding thy Negroes may kneel With the iron of bondage on spirit and heel ; Yet know that the Yankee Girl sooner would be In bondage with them, than in freedom with thee ! " The New England girl has shown herself among the bravest of those who have borne the Good News to distant lands. Ann Has- eeltine Judson, of Massachusetts, in her angelic ministrations to her imprisoned husband, following him from prison to prison through the heat of Burmah; Sarah Hall Judson, of New Hampshire, toil- ing through wild mountain passes, over swollen streams and de- cietful marshes to reach the benighted people to whom she gave her life; are but two of many as brave and devoted. The New England girl has distinguished herself in science. It was Maria Mitchell, of Massachusetts, who discovered a dear little comet all by herself, and became the first woman member of the American Society of Arts and Sciences. And what has she not accomplished in literature? Over and over she has written her bright name in poetry, in fiction, in history. Elizabeth Stuart Phelps, Louisa Alcott, Lydia H. Sigourney, Gail Hamilton, are but names chosen at random from scores of equal lustre. As a teacher, who has a higher rank than the Connecticut girl, Emma Willard, or than Mary Lyon, who evolved a new idea in the management of girls and of girls' schools, and impressed her sweet spirit on thousands who call her blessed? 34 New England Society of In music and art the New England girl has shone. But most of all in the home, her own dear domain, where she has been from the days of Priscilla Alden until this day, the sweet, presiding genius, the notable housekeeper, the tender wife and patient mother — a blessing to her country. Long live the New England Girl I THE NEW ENGLAND SOCIAL LIFE. Address of Dr. W. P. Horton. Early in the 17th Century there came to the Eastern shores of the then New World, two colonies of settlers, bringing with them as a basis of civilization, principles widely divergent, and in the main diametrically opposed to each other. One, now founded on the cavalier notion that "might makes right," the other one^ "The Fatherhood of God, The Brotherhood of Man, and The Equality of the Human Family." The first was an English colony that settled at Jamestown, Va. , in 1607. In 1620, a Dutch man-of-war brought to that colony some Negroes from Africa, whom the settlers purchased as slaves. And in 1621 a historian tells us " One hundred females of irre- proachable character were sent over to this colony from England to be sold as wives to such as were inclined to purchase." " The price of a wife was 100 pounds of tobacco, valued at 3 shillings per pound. As their number diminished the price was raised to 150 pounds of tobacco for a wife." The second colony, on the 21st day of December, 1620, the day we, of the New England Society, celebrate, a band of Pilgrims from Holland landed on the present site of JPlymouth, Mass. " What sought they thus afar? Bright jewels from the mine? The wealth of seas ? The spoils of war ? No ! It was a faiih pure ehrine. They left unstained, what there they found, Freedom to worship God." The place of the landing of the Pilgrims, being without the limits of the Virginia Company, whose permission they had to locate, and having no authority from the Crown, they arose to the occasion, and before leaving the Mayjiotuer , which brought them there, they all signed an agreement, promising to submit to what- ever just and equal laws and ordinances might be thought con- venient for the general good. " They planted a tree Which they called Liberty On the peaceable shores Of New England." Cleveland and the Western Reserve. 35 The first branch of this tree was the Christian Home, where in those days the maternal slipper wjis the reigning sceptre, especially for the rising male generation, until an age was arrived at when the father took the burthen on his shoulders, following the exam- ple of Abraham, whose family government was commended by the Lord. Next in order came free school, or "common school," as it has for a long time been denominated, and for my purpose it is only necessary to say, backed by the home authority and its support it was, and is, the palladium, not only of New England social order, prosperity, and greatness, but of the entire nation. We have already heard of the " town meeting" in which at first all laws were made by those directly interested in their observance and enforcement; this being pure democracy — and of the freemans meeting, at which representatives were chosen to do the bidding of their constituency. This being a republican form it ere long succeeded the democratic for convenience. The Pilgrims intended their government to be a theocracy, taking their authority in form and substance from what they believed to be the teachings of the Bible without any intervening dictations. There were gradual evolutions of the Colonist through the several wars brought on by discordant elements, and by external interference. The social order of the New England States came up through these varied tribulations and has been, and is, working out among the people of this nation a higher order of comfort, education, self-reliance, culture and grandeur, than was ever at- tained by any other nation. We have a record of since the dawn of the Creation of the World. " The morning sun shines from the East and spreads " Its glories to the West ; All nations by its beams " Are blessed where'er its radiant light appears." "The British yoke, the Gallic chain Were foi'ced upon our necks in vain, All haughty tyrants we disdain, And shout, long live America!" 36 Neiv England Society of New England Society of Cleveland and Vicinity. (INCORPORATED.) For the purpose of fostering and promoting a kindred spirit among the SONS AND DAUGHTERS of NEW ENGLAND, and their descendants, and the cherishing of those ties which bind us to our native soil and its institutions, and for social and intellectual im- provement, we enroll our names, residents of Northern Ohio, as entitled to membership. Arms, Dr. Chas. C VT 370 Amesbury Ave. Arms, S. Elizabeth e CONN 370 Amesbury Ave. Adams, Alfred CONN 1096 Willson Ave. Avery, Elroy M CONN 657 Woodland Hills Ave. Avery, Katharine H. T MASS 657 Woodland Hills Ave. Abbott, Fred A ME 1270 Slater Ave. Abbott, William MASS 977 Prospect St. Abbott, Mrs. C. Younglove CONN 977 Prospect St. Adams, Comfort A MASS 46 Streator Ave. Ahenwood, D. W CONN 402 Jennings Ave. Ambler, Mrs. Annie M N. H 1088 E. Madison Ave. Angell, E. A R. 1 495 Russell Ave. Angell, Mrs. E. A CONN 495 Russell Ave. Adams, S. F VT East Cleveland. Adams, Mrs. Eliza D "VT East Cleveland. Aldrich, William MASS West Dover, O. Avery, Charles A CONN Painesville, O. Arnold, D. J. C ..MASS New London, O. Ames, J VT New London, O. Arnold, S MASS New London, O. Ainger, C. D VT Andover, O. Alden, Isaac Carey MASS Akron, O. Alden, Emma Lillie CONN Akron, O. -Avery, Hezekiah CONN Euclid, O. Alleyn, Watson VT Hiram, O. Alden, Drantha L MASS Hiram, O. Alexander, Mary V CONN Akron, O. Bacon, Richard CONN 40 Hilburn Ave. Brainard, H. M N. H East Cleveland. Barrett, R. C MASS 42 Cedar Ave. Barrett, Mrs. R. C MASS 42 Cedar Ave. Brigg-s, Sam R. 1 48 Cedar Ave. Briggs, Ada L CONN 48 Cedar Ave. Bradley, Arthur CONN 818 Case Ave. Buel, H. P CONN 1333 Willson Ave. Barber, Judge G. M MASS 585 Sibley St. Bates, Theo. M MASS 76 Mayfleld St. Beardslee, C. H CONN 163 Bolton Ave. Blood R. A MASS 45 Woodland Ct. Benedict. S. H CONN 1604 Euclid Ave. Bolton, C. E MASS 202 Cuyahoga Bldg. Bolton, Sarah K CONN 202 Cuyahoga Bid. Barstow, S. K ME 394 Sibley St. Buss, W. D N. H 30 Hinman St. Bulkeley, W. F MASS 14 Oak St. Bailey, Geo. J R. 1 938 Cedar Ave. Cleveland and the Western Reserve. 37 Babcock, P. H MASS 1981 Euclid Ave. Babcock. Caroline B CONN 1981 Euclid Ave. Bing-ham, William CONN 789 Euclid Ave. Babcock, Charles MASS 1961 Euclid Ave. Bourne E H MASS 845 Case Ave. Bourne,' Olivia H MASS 845 Case Ave. Black C H ME 13 Griswold St, Brooks, Dr. M. L CONN 289 Prospect St. Brooks Thos. H CONN 894 Euclid Ave. Burg-ess, Solon VT 510 Euclid Ave. Burg-ess, L, F VT 510 Euclid Ave. Brugess, Mrt. L. F ° CONN 510 Euclid Ave. Barnett, James CONN 697 Euclid Ave. Brown, Alvin R MASS 165 Adelbert St. Bierce, Mrs. Sarah M ME 62 Sreator Ave. Buck, Rev. Florence MASS 160 Huron St. Boynton, Judge W. W N. H 1781 Euclid Ave. Baker, Jennette R VT 92 Edgewood Place. Burnham, W. S VT 16 Kirk St. Blackwell, Nellie Oviatt CONN 213 Frankhn Ave. Brooks, Sam'l C CONN 172 Bolton Ave. Brooks, Emily M CONN 172 Bolton Ave. Bridgman, Theodore MASS 840 Logan Ave. Brldg-man, Mrs. Ixiuisa VT 840 Logan Ave. Baker, Geo. W VT 947 Case Ave. Barnes, Sidney MASS Ta madge, O. Barnes, Hannah MASS Ta madge, O. Barnes Sylvester MASS Ta madge, O. Bierce L V MASS Talmadge, O. Bates,' Mrs. Sabra MASS Twinsburg, O. Br-own A J MASS Twmsburg, O. Breck,' Joseph H MASS Newburg, O. Baldwin, B. W CONN Jefferson, O. Baldwin, J. H CONN Jefferson,©. Bailey, D. W CONN Jefferson. O. Bailey A H CONN Jefferson, O. Brown', Raleigh MASS Rockport, O. Bassett D MASS Rockport, O. Bassett, Mrs. Chas MASS .Rockport, O. Bartlett, Mrs. Jane T CONN No. Olmsted, O. Brown, J. S MASS Berea, O. Brown Mrs. Elizabeth MASS ;; .f^^^' ^• Billings, S. C MASS J^i"""^"^' ^• Billings E. D MASS ^^^y^}^^\' S" Billings, Mrs. O. C MASS Kirtland, O. Bates R C MASS Willoughby, O. Bates! Mrs. R.' C CONN Willoughby, O. Bates W A MASS Willoughby, O. Baker S "l CONN Willoughby, O. Baker. Mrs. S. L MASS Willoughby, O. Beebe, Pamelia MASS 1 y".^' ^^ Bowen. Mrs. S. H CONN • • • .Elyria, O. Brodie. Mrs. Jane MASS Strongsvi le, O. Brown. Mrs. Harriet W VT StrongsviUe, O. Bishop, T. J MASS Andover, O. Black, R. A MASS Andover, O. Black, R. A MASS Andover. O. Butler, Charles MASS Andover, O. Bailey L. E CONN Parkman, O. Bentley, Edwin S CONN Hudson, O. Bell, Eleanor Peck VT Hudson, O. Baldwin. Anna Peck CONN Akron. O. Baldwin. Celia A VT Akron. O. Burlingame, Geo. G MASS Akron. O. Burlingame. Eliza A MASS Akron. O. Burlingame. Geo. F MASS ...Akron. O. Burnell Eli MASS Willoughby, O. Burnell', Mrs. Eli VT Willoughby, O. Baker E H MASS Willoughby, O. 38 New England Society of Baker, Wm CONN Willoughby, O. Belden, A. M CONN Willoughby, O. Bush, L. H MASS Willoughby, O. Barnes, Harley CONN Painesville, O. Bates, George A CONN Painesville, O. Benjamin. J. M CONN Painesville, O. Bingham, S. D VT Akron, O. Bingham, Clara E VT Akron, O. Buckingham, Wm. J CONN Akron, O. Buckingham, Frances P CONN Akron, O. Buckingham, Hulda CONN ." Akron, O. Bolton, Roswell A R. I Mesopotamia, O. Breydon, C. A VT Mesopotamia, O, Baker, Elbert H MASS Willoughby, O. Baker, Mrs. Ida S CONN Willoughby, O. Baldwin, David C CONN Elyria, O. Brainard, Geo. W N. H 364 Sibley St. Brainard, Maria L., Mrs VT 364 Sibley St. Brainard, J. M N. H 1093 Prospect St. Brainard, Henry M N. H East Cleveland. Brainard, Mrs. F. A VT East Cleveland. Brainard, Bessie M N. H East Cleveland. Brainard, A. W N. H 704 Prospect St. Brainard, Annie M N. H 704 Prospect St. Colwell, A. G CONN 871 Prospect St. Clay, Oliver P VT 41 Windsor Ave. Clay, Ina P VT 41 Windsor Ave. Curtiss, S. H CONN 621 Prospect St. Carter, Frank L MASS 187 Central Ave. Carter, Benj. L MASS 7 Gale Ave. Chandler, F. M N. H 712 Logan Ave. Chamberlin, Frank S VT 909 Case Ave. Chamberlin, Mrs. F. S VT 909 Case Ave. Cady, Horace H MASS 118 Water St. Cady, Geo. W MASS The Stillman. Clark, Charles H MASS 308 Prospect St. Cogswell, B. S MASS 95 Dorchester Ave. Cogswell, Helen M MASS 95 Dorchester Ave. Chase, Charles W MASS 656 Prospect St. Chase, Almira F MASS 656 Prospect St. Cowles, J. G. W CONN 581 Sibley St. Cowles, Lois M VT 581 Sibley St. Clark. Charles C MASS 308 Prospect St. Conant. O. B VT 136 Muirson St. Chandler, Mrs. Robt VT 2374 Euclid Ave. Childs, Henry B MASS 586 Prospect St. Childs, Edwin D MASS The Lennox. Caldwell. Judge H. J CONN 1204 Cedar Ave. Caldwell, Mrs. H. J CONN 1204 Cedar Ave. Chandler, J. M R. 1 200 Summit St. Chandler, Mrs. J. M N. H 200 Summit St. Coulton, W. Smith MASS 70 Miles Ave. Corner, Horace B MASS 750 Doan St. Corner, Mrs. H. B CONN 750 Doan St, Carlton. C. C CONN 23 Eagle St. Crocker. T. D CONN 845 Euclid Ave. Carter, William MASS Talmadge, O. Carter, H. S MASS Talmadge, O. Culter, Rev. Calvin MASS Talmadge, O. Culter, Fanny MASS Talmadge, O. Cannon, M^s. H. P MASS Twlnsburg, O. Chamberlin, O. E VT Twinsburg, O. Chamberlin, W. W VT Twinsburg, O. Crosby, D. L CONN Jefferson, O, Cadwell, J. P CONN Jefferson, O. Cad well, Ida Baldwin CONN Jefferson. O. Carter, Delos MASS Bedford, O. Cleveland and the Western Reserve. 39 .MASS BrecksvlUe, O. MASS iBrecksville, O. "^^^^-T"^ ■;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;ri^^-..V.:v.v;.r.V.V.;.So;'rv?,:8; =: /v/.. V ^^■:-:r::::::::::::^. Sr/,; g: Cahoon, J. M vi. ;;;;;;;;;;;; j^^ 1^0^^^; O. VT Dover, O. R. i No. Dover, O. [mass Painesville, O. N. H Painesville, O. n' h Painesville, O. ME New London, O. CONN New London, O. ■ ME Elyria, O. MB Elyria, O. ' ME Elyria, O. .MASS iStrongsville, O. VT Andover, O. . MASS West Andover, O. VT Parkman, O. „ , _ , rr. VT Parkman, O. Cook. Fred T. cONN: Hudson. O. CONN Hudson, O. CONN Hudson. O. ^ A 4.V, T VT Akron, O. Conger, Arthur L CONN....... Akron, O. MASS Akron, O. 'mass Akron, O. CONN Willoughby, O. 'conn Willoughby, O. 'mass Kirtland, O. MASS Kirtland, O. MASS Kirtland, O Colson, Thomas Coates, William Cahoon. Ida M Cooley. George Clemens. Dr. Celia Champney. Prof. L. J. Cummings. Henry H. . Cummings. Alice J. ..• Chapman, N. S Chapin. Wm. H Cushing, Dr. Chas. F. . Cushing. Mary H Cushing, Dr. Chas. H. Carpenter. Mrs. B. C. .. Comwell. Mrs. C. J. .. Carpenter. Dwight ... Conant. Amelia Case. Chauncey H Chamberlain, W. I Chamberlain. Mrs. W. I. Conger, Emily Bronson . Crouse, Geo. W Crouse, Martha Parsons Collister, Willis Collister, John Cowles, Grant Cowles, Agnes Morley .. Crary, William Cleveland, G. F. Crary, Mrs. Wm Crawford, Geo. .. Colvin, Alonzo .. Crafts, Edward g^^^^- ^ O Colton,Geo. H ^^^^ Hiram. O. Cook, Garry L. ^ -^ 'cONN Willoughby, O. "VT Kirtland, O. VT Willoughby, O. 'mass South Newburg, O. "mass Auburn, O. Coe, W. W VT Hiram, O. ^-„„ R A ■.".■.".■.■.■.■.CONN."!." Hiram, O. Casement, J. S. Chamberlain. Mrs. P. P. Childs, Irwin S Cozad, H. J Coates, Mrs. Lillian A. . Cleaf, Mrs. Amelia M. OONN Painesville, O. MASS Solon, O. MASS Painesville, O. CONN Akron, O. CONN. Akron, O. VT Akron. O.