CyNE Hl'JNDREDTH ANNIVERSARY 
 
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 Jvii^ If) 1874 
 
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A MEMORIAL ^^^X 
 
 OF THE ^^ibz^ ^'''" 
 
 One Hundredth Anniversary 
 
 OF THE INCORPORATION OF THE 
 
 Town of Barre, 
 
 June 17, 1874. 
 
 CONTAINING THE 
 
 HISTORICAL DISCOURSE BY REV. JAMES W. THOMPSON, D.D. 
 
 OF BOSTON (JAMAICA PLAIN) J 
 
 THE POEM BY CHARLES BRIMBLECOM, ESQ., 
 
 OF BARRE ; 
 THE SPEECHES AND OTHER EXERCISES OF THE OCCASION. 
 
 iPublfsfjeti bg tfje SCoiun. 
 
 CAMBRIDGE : 
 
 PRESS OF JOHN WILSON AND SON. 
 
 1875. 
 
^15 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Preliminary Proceedings i 
 
 Circular Letter of Invitation 4 
 
 Programme 5 
 
 Reception in Town Hall, June 16 8 
 
 Poem, by Charles E. Stevens 10 
 
 Presentation of Portrait of Col. Barre .... 16 
 
 Order of Procession 19 
 
 Public Exercises 21 
 
 Address of the President of the Day, Dr. George 
 
 Brown 24 
 
 Historical Address, by Rev. James W. Thompson . 29 
 
 Poem, by Charles Brimblecom 175 
 
 Sentiments and Responses 191 
 
 Letter of Nathan Allen 249 
 
 List of Town Officers during the Century . . . 253 
 
 Leading Appropriations during the Century . . . 266 
 
 Votes for Governor during the Century .... 268 
 
 Soldiers of Barre in the Civil War, i 86 1-1S65 . . 270 
 
 Sketch of Regiments in which they served . . . 271 
 Original Assignment of " Great and Little 
 
 Farms" 2S0 
 
PRELIMINARY PROCEEDINGS. 
 
 TN accordance with the general sentiment of the citizens 
 -*■ of Barre, an article in the warrant for the April meet- 
 ing, 1873, was "to see what action the town will take in 
 relation to celebrating the One Hundredth Anniversary of 
 its Incorporation as a Town ; " and at an adjourned meet- 
 ing, "Voted to accept the Report of the Committee to 
 whom the matter had been referred, and elect the Com- 
 mittee of Arrangement they had nominated." This Report 
 set forth the reasons for the celebration which was recom- 
 mended, the objects to be secured, and a glance at the 
 means to be used ; and, pursuant to its recommendations, 
 the members of the Committee were notified by the Town 
 Clerk of the time and place of the first meeting ; and May 
 28, 1873, at one o'clock, p.m., the Committee, consisting of 
 
 Luke Adams, 
 Charles G. Allen, 
 Pliny H. Babbitt, 
 George Brown, 
 Charles Brimblecom, 
 George M. Buttrick, 
 James H. Carruth, 
 Oramel Clark, 
 Daniel Cummings, 
 Edward Denny, 
 Jason Desper, 
 James F. Davis, 
 Marshall D. Eaton, 
 John T. Ellsworth, 
 Jason Gorham, 
 J. Henry Goddard, 
 Addison H. Holland, 
 Stephen Heald, 
 Peter Harwood, 
 
 Alpheus Harding, 
 C. C. Hemenway, 
 Austin Hawes, 
 John Hancock, 
 James W.Jenkins, 
 Samuel A. Kinsman, 
 Nelson Loring, 
 Henry E. Rice, 
 David Rice, 
 Allen Rice, 
 John W. Rice, 
 William L. Russell, 
 Franklin Smith, 
 J. Edwin Smith, 
 Henry J. Shattuck, 
 James H. Sibley, 
 Hiram Wadsworth, 
 Edwin Woods, 
 Harding Woods, 
 
2 BARRE CENTENNIAL. 
 
 met at the Town Hall, and organized by electing Edwin 
 Woods Chairman, and Addison H. Holland Secretary. 
 
 A Committee of eight was appointed, to which were 
 added the Chairman and Secretary, to report a plan of 
 proceedings and such sub-committees as their report should 
 render necessary. 
 
 The report of this Committee, nominating eight sub-com- 
 mittees, and indicating their duties, was adopted, and the 
 nominations were as follows : — 
 
 History , Tradition, Biography, and Genealogy. 
 
 Edwin Woods. Peter Harwood. 
 
 Charles Brimblecom. David Rice. 
 
 Jason Gorham. Hiram Wadsworth. 
 
 Luke Adams. James W. Jenkins. 
 
 J. Henry Goddard. 
 
 Statistics. 
 Henry E. Rice. Hiram Wadsworth. 
 
 William L. Russell. Harding Woods. 
 
 Stephen Heald. Pliny H. Babbitt. 
 
 John T. Ellsworth. 
 
 Correspondence with Native and Former Residents and Descendants. 
 
 James W. Jenkins. J. Henry Goddard. 
 
 Charles G. Allen. Alpheus Harding. 
 
 Addison H. Holland. C. C. Hemenway 
 
 Franklin Smith. James H. Sibley. 
 
 Austin Hawes. 
 
 Correspondence with Representatives of Colonel Isaac Barre. 
 
 George Brown. Oramel Clark. 
 
 Charles Brimblecom. J. Edwin Smith. 
 
 John Hancock. 
 
 Intellectual Entertainment. 
 
 Charles Brimblecom. George Brown. 
 
 George M. Buttrick. Edward Denny. 
 
 James W. Jenkins. 
 
 Music. 
 Henry J. Shattuck. Jason Desper. 
 
 James F. Davis. Edward Denny. 
 
 William T^. Ritssell. 
 
PRELIMINARY PROCEEDINGS. 3 
 
 Finatice. 
 John W. Rice. Harding Woods. 
 
 Samuel A. Kinsman. Daniel Cummings. 
 
 James H. Carruth. 
 
 Executive Committee. 
 
 James W. Jenkins. James F. Davis. 
 
 Marshall D. Eaton. Edwin Woods. 
 
 George M. Buttrick. Nelson Loring. 
 
 Addison H. Holland. Allen Rice. 
 
 John W. Rice. Samuel S. Hamilton. 
 
 Joel B. Hinkley. 
 
 J. Henry Goddard was elected Corresponding Secretary. 
 
 It was voted by the Committee that Rev. James W. 
 Thompson, D.D., of Jamaica Plain, be invited to deliver 
 an address appropriate to the occasion, and the Chairman 
 and Corresponding Secretary were instructed to convey to 
 him the invitation. At a subsequent meeting of the Com- 
 mittee it was voted that our fellow-citizen, Charles Brim- 
 BLECOM, Esq., be invited to prepare a Poem; and both of 
 the invitations were in due season accepted. 
 
 The several committees just mentioned entered vigor- 
 ously upon their appropriate work, the General Commit- 
 tee meeting once a month to hear reports and agree upon 
 details. The officers of the day were appointed the iSth of 
 April, as follows : — 
 
 President. 
 Dr. George Brown. 
 
 Vice-Presidents. 
 Francis Rice. James W. Jenkins. 
 
 Edwin Woods. George M. Buttrick. 
 
 Marshal. 
 Dr. Charles G. Allen, who was authorized to appoint his Assistants. 
 
 Early in the season, the Committee on Correspondence 
 with native and former residents and their descendants 
 prepared a circular letter of invitation, which was adopted 
 
4 BARRE CENTENNIAL. 
 
 by the Committee and sent to all those persons whose 
 names and post-ofRce address were known, and is as fol- 
 lows : — 
 
 CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY. 
 
 Office of Centennial Committee, 
 
 Barre, Mass., February, 1874. 
 
 On the 17th of June next will occur the one hundredth anni- 
 versary of the incorporation of this town. 
 
 That event the citizens propose to celebrate by an oration, 
 banquet, and such other intellectual, social, and festive obser- 
 vances as may be deemed appropriate to make it an occasion of 
 marked interest to the present and former residents of the town, 
 and their descendants, who may gather here to render a fitting 
 tribute of gratitude and respect to the memory and character of 
 the men and women who, braving the privations incident to pio- 
 neer life, laid deep and strong the foundations of those social, 
 religious, and industrial institutions that have existed and given 
 character to our town. 
 
 In pursuance of that purpose, the Committee of Arrangements 
 have, with entire unanimity, invited a well-known and highly- 
 esteemed son of Barre to deliver an historical address appropriate 
 to the occasion, which has been accepted. 
 
 To aid the Orator and Committee in their efforts to collect and 
 perpetuate an historic record of the town, before or since the first 
 settlers occupied it, all persons and societies who may know any 
 fact, tradition, incident, or characteristic tending to illustrate its 
 history, are specially requested to communicate the same to the 
 Committee, with as little delay as possible. 
 
 This circular is intended to be an earnest appeal to all natives 
 and former residents of Barre, and their descendants, wherever 
 they may be, to co-operate in this celebration, to improve this 
 birthday occasion to revisit the homes and resting-places of their 
 ancestors, renew the associations and memories of the past, 
 strengthen and brighten the friendships of other days, and 
 mutually profit by the lessons of the past hundred years. 
 In behalf of Committee of Correspondence, 
 
 James W. Jenkins, Chah-inaii. 
 
PRELIMINARY PROCEEDINGS. 
 
 In accordance with the vote, there was reported and 
 adopted the following Programme : — 
 
 I. VOLUNTARY. 
 
 II. INVOCATION. 
 
 III. READING OF SCRIPTURES. 
 
 IV. HYMN BY THE CHOIR. 
 
 What thanks, O God ! to thee are due, 
 That thou didst plant our fathers here, 
 
 And watch and guard them as they grew, 
 A vineyard to the planter dear. 
 
 The toils they bore our ease have wrought ; 
 
 They sowed in tears, — in joy we reap ; 
 The birthright they so dearly bought 
 
 We'll guard till we with them shall sleep. 
 
 V. PRAYER. 
 
 VI. PRESIDENT'S ADDRESS. 
 
 VII. SINGING BY CHILDREN. 
 
 Dear friends of ours, assembled here 
 
 To bless this happy hour. 
 Welcome to this delightful place, 
 
 To pleasure's lovely bower ; 
 And while with joy our voices rise, 
 
 And echo through this numerous throng. 
 Let memory take a passing glance 
 
 At days long passed and gone. 
 
 We read that through these forests once 
 
 The bear and wolf did roam ; 
 That here our grandsires pitched their tents, 
 
 Here made their forest home ; 
 That o'er the dark blue waves they came, 
 
 And left their kith and kin behind, 
 That they might truly worship God 
 
 At freedom's glorious shrine. 
 
BARRE CENTENNIAL. 
 
 VIII. HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. 
 By Rev. James W. Thompson, D.D. 
 
 IX. CENTENNIAL HYMN. 
 By Miss Mary Brimblecom. 
 
 An hundred years gone by ! 
 Though in the past they lie, 
 
 A century. 
 What thoughts to-day unfold, 
 Of lives all long since told. 
 Of old-time deeds and words ! 
 
 Bless'd memory ! 
 
 Through full an hundred years. 
 Sped on by hopes and fears. 
 
 Time's stream hath run. 
 With many a song-lit hour. 
 With grief's subduing power. 
 Its waves flow as of yore, 
 
 From sun to sun. 
 
 With fortune's favored care, 
 These lands and fields so fair 
 
 Bless us to-day ; 
 And their bright songs of praise 
 To the Creator raise, 
 For benefits received 
 
 This century. 
 
 And when thou callest home. 
 The cent'ry's work all done. 
 
 To rest in thee, 
 We'll praise thee, Lord, above, 
 God of all faith and love, 
 Thy Son and Holy Ghost, 
 
 Eternally. 
 
 COLLATION. 
 
 I. MUSIC BY THE BAND. 
 
PRELIMINARY PROCEEDINGS. 
 
 II. POEM. 
 By Charles Brimblecom. 
 
 III. ODE. 
 By Miss Carrie Bacon. 
 
 Tune, ^'Auld Lang Syne." 
 
 One hundred years have passed away, 
 
 And life has come and gone, 
 Since first amid the forest old 
 
 Our fathers found a home ; 
 And where your pleasant homesteads rise, 
 
 'Mid meadows green and fair, 
 The settler's log-walled cabin stood, 
 
 The wild beast made his lair. 
 
 This day to us is holy time, 
 
 For in this month of flowers • 
 Was freedom born at Bunker's Hill, 
 
 A birthday proud is ours ! 
 Our good old town hath loyal been 
 
 To honor, right, and truth. 
 And we have kept through all the years 
 
 Sweet mem'ries of our youth. 
 
 And so, old friends, we home return, 
 
 To keep our natal day ; 
 Led by the fair soft hand of June 
 
 Along our pleasant way : 
 We come the old familiar path 
 
 Once more with joy to tread. 
 And roam where first our childish feet 
 
 In careless freedom sped. 
 
 The glory of the Summer time, 
 
 Her green robes gemmed with flowers, 
 Her roses twined in garlands fair. 
 
 Make glad and bright the hours. 
 The grand old woods the air-harps wild 
 
 To softest notes attune. 
 As 'mid their depths the sylvan choir 
 
 Chant gladsome songs of June. 
 
BARRE CENTENNIAL. 
 
 And voices dear in years gone by 
 
 Give us a welcome sweet, 
 As friends belov'd in youth's glad time 
 
 Again witii joy we greet. 
 Where'er the earnest work of life 
 
 Hath led our wand'ring feet, 
 As children, homeward we return 
 
 In love and peace to meet. 
 
 Whate'er of care or grief hath dimmed 
 
 The brightness of our way, 
 *Tis only sweetest, fairest flowers 
 
 On mem'ry's shrine we lay. 
 While tender thoughts of loved ones gone, 
 
 Affection's severed chain, — 
 The heart-lyre thrills with gentlest touch, 
 
 Like music's soft refrain. 
 
 IV. SENTIMENTS, RESPONSES, MUSIC, &c. 
 
 The multitude expected being larger than could be 
 conveniently gathered in any of our buildings, a Committee, 
 consisting of 
 
 James F. Davis, Nelson Loring, 
 
 Allen Rice, Oramel Clark, 
 
 Samuel S. Hamilton, Charles G. Allen, 
 
 P. H. Babbitt, Joel B. Hinkley, 
 
 were charged with the matter of a tent and a platform, 
 seats, and decorations, and it having been decided to have 
 a free collation, that subject also was referred to the same 
 Committee. 
 
 The social features of the occasion required that an 
 opportunity should be afforded for an informal meeting 
 and greeting of the sons and daughters of the town, who 
 should return to honor, by their presence, the home of 
 their childhood on its anniversary, and to renew the friend- 
 ships and memories of other days, and therefore there was 
 arranged a reception at the Town Hall, Tuesday evening, 
 
PRELIMINARY PROCEEDINGS. 9 
 
 the i6th inst., and Messrs. Jenkins, Buttrick, and Hol- 
 land were appointed a Committee to have the general 
 arrangement of the gathering. 
 
 Learning that one of the sons of Barre residing abroad 
 had procured and sent for presentation to the town a 
 finely-painted portrait of the distinguished orator, states- 
 man, and soldier, Col. Isaac Barre, for whom the town 
 was named, the idea of making that picture one of the feat- 
 ures of the occasion and a pleasant surprise seemed fitting, 
 and it was arranged that it should be presented at that time, 
 and Charles E. Stevens, Esq., of Worcester, was invited 
 to prepare an appropriate introduction of the incident and 
 gathering. An invitation was extended to the citizens 
 having in their possession portraits of persons who had 
 been connected with the public or social life of the town, 
 to loan them to add interest to the occasion ; and when the 
 Hall was opened for the reception of friends, the familiar 
 faces of those whose memory was cherished by all met 
 the view from the walls. Mild and benevolent as during 
 his long ministry shone the pastor who for fifty years had 
 taught the fathers and the sons the way of righteousness, — 
 Rev. Dr. Thompson. The family physician of many of the 
 citizens looked on his patients, whose lives perchance he had 
 by his skill snatched from the grave, while the portrait of 
 his wife, that venerable mother in our Israel, Mrs. Dr. 
 Bates, hung by his side, though separated from him by 
 nearly forty years. Hon. Nath'l. Houghton, a lawyer of 
 the town, with his accomplished wife, were recalled to 
 many friends by the portraits of their younger days ; while 
 those of the venerable Gen. Lee and his wife, the shrewd 
 and kind-hearted Deacon Joseph Barrett, the solid and 
 substantial Mr. Peter Harwood, the jolly Mr. Alpheus 
 Plummer, with their wives, the thoughtful countenance of 
 Hon. Timothy Jenkins, and the youthful head of the late 
 distinguished Gen. Joseph B. Plummer, the merchants 
 
lO BARRE CENTENNIAL. 
 
 Harding P. Woods and Charles Lee, besides many others 
 equally entitled to be mentioned, all united to carry us back 
 to the memories and friendships of other days, and fitly to 
 inaugurate the reception of the portrait of the man for 
 whom the town was named. 
 
 Besides these pictures, there were relics of an interesting 
 character, — as, a musket which was carried at the battle of 
 Bunker Hill, a sword worn on the same occasion, a pair of 
 spurs and a cap box, that came over in the Mayflower, 
 and many more of equal interest appropriately arranged. 
 
 In the centre of the Hall, in the rear of the platform, a 
 marroon curtain covered a frame four feet high by three 
 feet ten inches wide. 
 
 After the Hall was filled, and a short time had been spent 
 in familiar conversation, the Chairman of the Committee 
 invited the audience to give their attention to a piece of 
 music which was rendered from the piano in a style of rare 
 excellence (good judges said) ; but such was the desire for 
 conversation and hand-shaking in these brief moments, 
 that no considerations of courtesy could secure the requisite 
 silence for its appreciation. 
 
 The attention was, after a short time, invited to Charles 
 E. Stevens, Esq., of Worcester, who came forward in 
 front of the picture and recited the following lines : 
 
 When England's Commons sat in state, 
 And hurried through, with brief debate, 
 That famous Act which forced our sires 
 To light the Revolution's fires,* 
 No voice of protest smote their ears, 
 No words of warning roused their fears ; 
 To Townshend's insults none replied, 
 His soothing falsehoods none denied ; 
 
 * The Stamp Act. This, of course, was not the immediate cause of the 
 Revolution, but still it was the entering wedge. 
 
PRELIMINARY PROCEEDINGS. II 
 
 None, until Barre rose, alone,* 
 And made our fathers' cause his own ; 
 Rose, and, with courage flaming high, 
 Gave back to Townshend this reply : 
 
 " They,, exiles ! planted by your care ! 
 'Twas your oppression drove them there. 
 Nourished by your indulgence ! No ! 
 'Twas your neglect that made them grow. 
 Protected by your arms ! They fought 
 In your defence ; unaided wrought 
 In those far wilds to build a state 
 To make your empire wide and great. 
 But mark ! the love of freedom still, 
 As ever, rules that people's will ; 
 Forbear to try their temper, lest 
 They from your grasp that empire wrest." 
 
 Our fathers heard, across the sea. 
 Those words of fire, that burning plea : 
 They felt the flame, then dealt the stroke 
 That brake in pieces England's yoke. 
 Thereafter, Isaac Barre's name 
 New England's household word became. 
 And school-boys learned his speech to speak, 
 Nor cared for nobler words to seek. 
 Boston, with roused, attentive ear. 
 That far-oft' speech was quick to hear, 
 That far-off' Friend was first to greet, 
 And lay her honors at his feet. 
 In stately words his acts she told, 
 In solemn form her thanks enrolled, 
 And, in her proud, historic hall 
 Decreed his Picture to install. 
 
 * General Conway was associated with Colonel Barr^ in opposition to the 
 Stamp Act, but his speech was never reported ; and, in the popular estima- 
 tion of New England, Barre, through his famous speech, printed in all the 
 school-books and declaimed by successive generations of school-bojs, 
 stood as the champion of America. 
 
12 BARRE CENTENNIAL. 
 
 But in that hall is seen no more 
 That Picture, seen there once of yore ; 
 Nor lives there one to tell its fate, 
 Or of its loss to mark the date. 
 
 We pass a century of years, , 
 
 And lo ! his Picture reappears : 
 Not Boston, — his fair namesake now 
 Unveils to view his noble brow. 
 Behold him ! and recall the hour 
 When he for us rebuked the Power 
 Which drove us to the deadly strife 
 That issued in our nobler life. 
 Behold ! and mark that manly face, 
 Where sweetness adds a finer grace 
 To sterner lines, which prove the man 
 • Was framed on some heroic plan. 
 We gaze, and lo ! the canvas shines 
 With life and truth in all its lines ; 
 Again before our eyes he lives 
 The character which history gives : — 
 A soldier, gallant in the fight ; 
 A statesman, standing for the right ; 
 An orator, with tongue of fire 
 The weak to nerve, the dull t' inspire ; 
 A patriot to his country true. 
 Yet to our country faithful too : 
 Who thus. Old England's loyal son, 
 New England's grateful homage won. 
 Behold him ! and rejoice that when 
 This goodly town was named again, 
 When Hutchitison^ that hated name, 
 Was flung aside in scorn and shame, 
 'Twas Barre's fame the town most prized, 
 And Barre 'twas anew baptized. 
 Thanks to the fine, discerning sense 
 Which led the fathers to dispense 
 With sounding Greek and Roman names, 
 With Adams', Otis', Warren's claims, 
 
PRELIMINARY PROCEEDINGS. I3 
 
 And their admiring choice bestow 
 
 On him who was both friend and foe : — 
 
 UnwilHng foe by fault of birth, 
 
 Unstinting friend by choice, his worth 
 
 With paradoxal glory shone. 
 
 And made them make his name their own. 
 
 They also, by such choosing tried, 
 
 Now live before us glorified. 
 
 And thanks to him whose generous thought 
 
 The happy inspiration caught 
 
 That noble Presence here to place, 
 
 This hall, and him, alike to grace ; 
 
 An outward glory, but, beside, 
 
 A gracious monitor and guide, 
 
 Suggesting good, forbidding ill, 
 
 By fine example teaching still. 
 
 'Tis well such Presence should look down 
 
 Upon the freemen of the town. 
 
 As they, for business, year by year 
 
 In grave assembly gather here ; 
 
 'Tis well such Presence they should feel, 
 
 While acting for the common weal. 
 
 Thus, rising to a loftier plane. 
 
 Their civic life shall reap the gain, 
 
 Unworthy arts shall get no hold, 
 
 Nor bribes be paid, nor votes be sold. 
 
 And large and generous reach of thought 
 
 To every question shall be brought ; 
 
 So they, not Barre's name alone, 
 
 His virtues, too, shall make their own. 
 
 But now a nearer theme invites — 
 Reunion^ with its dear delights. 
 Retire, the Past, while I salute 
 The Present, of that Past the fruit. 
 Fair town ! that sittest on thy hills, 
 Made verdurous by a thousand rills, 
 To thee, on this thy natal day, 
 All glorious in thy June array, 
 
14 BARRE CENTENNIAL. 
 
 Thy absent children homeward flock ; 
 To thee, who didst their cradles rock, 
 Who led'st them up to manhood's prime, 
 , And blessed and sent them forth to climb, 
 
 With vigorous feet, the ways of life, 
 And mingle, conquering, in its strife : 
 From every land that lured them forth. 
 From the sunny South, the bracing North, 
 The waning East with age oppressed. 
 Or from the waxing, greatening West, 
 As doves unto their windows come. 
 With beating hearts they hasten home. 
 How beauteous in their eyes art thou ! 
 No marks of time oppress thy brow, 
 No change makes sad the lapse of years, 
 No ruin stirs the fount of tears ; 
 Still, as when first they roamed away, 
 Unchanged they find thee here to-day. 
 And they, how welcome to thy breast, 
 The pillow of their earliest rest ! 
 How wide for them thy sheltering arms, 
 Their first defence from rude alarms ! 
 What though they come not as they went. 
 With eye undimmed and form unbent ; 
 What though on some once youthful heads 
 Nov»^ gleam the sobering, silver threads, 
 And some with wintry snows are white, 
 That once with raven locks were bright? 
 To change like this thy love is blind : 
 Thy children, only, thou dost find 
 In old or young, who homeward press. 
 To share once more thy dear caress ; 
 All, all who once upon thee hung. 
 To thee are still for ever young. 
 They, too, the magic current feel 
 Of youth through all their pulses steal ; 
 Ant3eus-like, their native ground 
 They touch, and back to youth rebound ; 
 
PRELIMINARY PROCEEDINGS. I5 
 
 Age, like a garment, slips away, 
 And, girls and boys, once more they play 
 Around the hearth or school-house door ; 
 Or, rich in pennies, seek the store 
 Where bright, seductive candies glow 
 With all the colors of the bow ; 
 Or, Sunday scholars, sit in rows, 
 Impatient for the hour to close ; 
 Or fish along the trout-full stream, 
 Or lie upon its banks and dream ; 
 Or chase the squirrels up the trees, 
 Whence, impudent and at their ease, 
 With chatter they their foes assail. 
 And flirt defiance with the tail. 
 Perchance 'tis winter, and elate. 
 Triumphant on the conquering skate, 
 They hiss along the polished ice ; 
 Nor heedful, always, of advice. 
 Forbear to tempt, with venturous feet, 
 The sometimes thin and treach'rous sheet. 
 Perchance the sleigh-ride they revive. 
 As to the neighboring town they drive 
 At Christmas-tide or glad New Year, 
 While glowing cheek and tingling ear 
 Attest th' exhilarating strife 
 Of outward cold with inward life. 
 
 But who shall all the scenes I'ecount 
 Which rise to view from memory's fount? 
 What gift of speech exhaust the theme 
 That centres in this hour supreme? 
 Not mine the gift : my task is done. 
 My slender thread of verse is spun ; 
 The endless theme I leave with you. 
 And, till the morrow, say — Adieu. 
 
 At the appropriate time the curtain was dropped from 
 the picture, and it was welcomed by enthusiastic cheers. 
 
l6 BARRE CENTENNIAL. 
 
 It is a life-size bust of Col. Barre, dressed in the cos- 
 tume of the period, — a marroon velvet coat, with ruffles, 
 — and is the representation of a character of dignity and 
 "firmness. After Mr. Stevens had concluded, Mr. Edwin 
 Woods was introduced, who said : — 
 
 " It has been said that names are things. It is certain they are 
 of no little importance in their relation to the feelings, and may 
 have an influence on the conduct and character of individuals, and 
 of communities. The name of a town from its associations may 
 influence for good or ill the feelings and fortunes of the dwellers 
 therein. 
 
 " When the founders of this town realized that they had the 
 prospect of aiding to perpetuate the memory of one whose public 
 conduct had rendered his memory infamous, they made a spirited 
 and successful effort to be rid of that burden, and had the satis- 
 faction of receiving instead the name of one who had endeared 
 himself to the people of these colonies by his defence of their 
 cause in the British parliament. 
 
 " Born of obscure French emigrants who had settled in Dublin, 
 he had found his way into the army, and by a diligent use of his 
 opportunities had acquired the art of a ready and graceful speaker, 
 and possessed himself of a fund of accurate and telling statistical 
 facts with which he was enabled to meet and dispel the sophistry 
 with which the ministry of the day sought to gild their tyranny. 
 While in the service of his country as one of lier armed defenders 
 he gained the confidence of the gallant Wolfe, and was with him 
 in the hospital wounded, as that youthful hero, also wounded, on 
 hearing that his purpose was accomplished, the army of the 
 British was successful, and the French were flying, exclaimed, 
 with patriotic enthusiasm, then ' God be praised ! I die happy,' 
 and immediately expired. 
 
 " The group of youthful heroes around the bedside of their 
 beloved dying commander have been transferred to canvas by the 
 pencil of the famous Benjamin West. Among them was Lord 
 Amherst and Isaac Barre, who subsequently became attached 
 friends, as they together, as commander-in-chief and aid, continued 
 the contest for British dominion in Canada. As a proof of their 
 friendship, a picture of Col. Barre was painted for the gallery of 
 
PRELIMINARY PROCEEDINGS. 1 7 
 
 Lord Amherst by Gilbert Stuart. On the canvas before you is 
 a faithful copy of that picture, painted for this occasion by a dis- 
 tinguished artist for a son of Barre. I have the honor, Mr. 
 Chairman of the Board of Selectmen, to present it to you as the 
 proper representative of the town, for the purpose of testifying 
 the respect of the donor for the place of his birth and the home 
 of his childhood, with the hope that it may remain on these walls 
 to stimulate the youth of the town to study the history of their 
 country's early days and to note the career and imitate the virtues 
 of the man in whose honor the town was named as they shall 
 gaze on the lineaments of the noble countenance of Isaac Barre." 
 
 In response, the Chairman of the Board of Selectmen, 
 Hon. George M. Buttrick, said: — 
 
 " We have high authority for the assertion that it is ' more 
 blessed to give than to receive,' but we cannot fail to appreciate 
 the motive that has led to this most appropriate and welcome 
 gift. A picture like that, of one who had merited the honor of 
 having his name preferred before that of the representative of roy- 
 alty by the young democracy of the New World would have been a 
 cherished ornament of any man's home, and for this preference 
 of our Town Hall, in behalf of the citizens of the town, we desire 
 you to convey to the donor our hearty thanks. I know I speak 
 the sentiments of every citizen when I assure you, and him 
 through you, that the successive officers of the town, charged 
 with the care of its property, its rights, and its honor, will be 
 required to see to it that that picture shall receive no detriment, 
 but continue to hang on these walls to teach the youth of the 
 town the lessons of courage, of truth, and of duty it is calculated 
 to inspire." 
 
 The Committee had arranged that several of the young 
 ladies of the town should furnish instrumental and vocal 
 music, but the disposition to talk rather than to listen ren- 
 dered imperative the omission of nearly all of that part 
 of the programme. 
 
 The joyful greetings, the introductions, the memories 
 revived and the friendships renewed, kept all occupied, 
 
 1 
 
l8 BARRE CENTENNIAL. 
 
 and the exercises of the next day were rendered more 
 interesting by the glad reunion of the evening before. 
 
 The report to the General Committee on the subject of 
 tent, seats, decorations, and dinner was made by the 
 arrival at the depot, the transportation to the common, and 
 the prompt erection of one of Mr. Yale's new and splendid 
 tents, of sufficient size to accommodate five thousand per- 
 sons, for whom as comfortable seats as the occasion would 
 allow were provided. A platform, twenty feet deep and 
 eighty feet wide, for the speakers, the choir, the band, and 
 guests of distinguished civil or social position, was erected ; 
 while an arch, trimmed with evergreen, and ornamented 
 with appropriate inscriptions, fronted the entrance for the 
 procession to pass through. 
 
 Across the principal streets entering the village were 
 suspended the national flags, with varied and appropriate 
 mottoes, and from a line suspended between the steeples of 
 the two churches the Union flag floated proudly. 
 
 The Marshal had also, in honor of the occasion, arranged 
 for an escort for the procession, consisting of sixty mounted 
 men, the substantial farmers and citizens of the town ; and, 
 though the unfavorable weather rendered the march im- 
 practicable, the escort was out riding four abreast, and in 
 the first platoon were Mr. Francis Rice, Mr. Nathaniel 
 Holland, Mr. Jason Gorham, and Mr. Francis Nye, 
 whose united ages exceeded three hundred and twenty 
 years, and who each rode and managed his own horse 
 with a skill worthy of horsemen in the prime of life. He 
 had also issued the following — 
 
PRELIMINARY PROCEEDINGS. 1 9 
 
 ORDER OF PROCESSION 
 
 FOR 
 
 BARRE CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION, 
 Jutie 17, 1874. 
 
 Marshal and Aids. 
 
 Music. 
 
 President, Orator, and Poet. 
 
 Officiating Clergy. 
 
 Governor of Massachusetts and Executive 
 
 Department. 
 
 Judiciary and Legislative Departments of 
 
 the Commonwealth. 
 
 Representatives of Historical Societies in Massachusetts. 
 
 Representatives of Adjoining Towns. 
 
 Sons of Barre from Abroad of Distinguished 
 
 Civil and Social Positions. 
 
 Former Residents and Descendants of Early 
 
 Settlers from Abroad. 
 
 Citizens from Abroad. 
 
 Committee of Arrangements. 
 
 Town Officers. 
 
 Citizens of Barre. 
 
 Children. 
 
 CHARLES G. ALLEN, Marshal. 
 
 It was a great disappointment that the rain, which had 
 fallen continuously through the night, making the travelling 
 unpleasant, and the flags and mottoes to be shorn of their 
 beauty and grace, should have deprived so many of the 
 expected pleasure of being present, and in various ways 
 diminished the eclat of the demonstration. 
 
 Yet at about the appointed time the President, Orator, and 
 Poet were escorted to the tent, which contained about four 
 thousand persons comfortably seated; and at 10.55 a.m., 
 the exercises commenced, and were carried through accord- 
 ing to the programme. 
 
 A report of what was said will be found in the following 
 pages. The hymn and the odes, which are to be found on 
 a preceding page, were rendered by the choir under the 
 
20 BARRE CENTENNIAL. 
 
 direction of Henry J. Shattuck, Esq., in a finished and 
 appropriate manner, while the piano accompaniment de- 
 served also special praise. Nor ought we to forget the 
 beautiful sight of the three hundred school children, as 
 they raised their voices in harmony to join in the welcome 
 to friends, under the direction of the School Committee, and 
 led by Mr. Chauncey Loring. The Worcester Brass Band 
 gave some very fine music to enliven the occasion during 
 the afternoon, and in the evening the Barre Band by its 
 performances added much to the pleasure of the occasion, 
 so that on the whole the efTorts of the Committee on Music 
 were regarded as an entire success. 
 
 It is noteworthy that no accident marred the pleasure of 
 the day ; and about seven o'clock the audience broke up, 
 it having been announced previously that the Tent and 
 Town Hall would be lighted in the evening, that music 
 would be in attendance, and an opportunity be given for 
 social and festive pleasures. Numbers gathered in each, 
 and, cheered by music and speeches, passed a pleasant 
 evening ; while others tripped it on the light fantastic toe 
 till, at a seasonable hour, they retired to their homes or 
 those of their friends to feel that the entire Centennial 
 Celebration had been an appropriate tribute to those who 
 founded the institutions of municipal, social, and business 
 life that exist here. 
 
PUBLIC EXERCISES. 
 
 I. VOLUNTARY BY THE CHOIR, 
 "Hail to thee, Liberty!" 
 
 IL INVOCATION. 
 By Rev. J. W. Mowry, of the Methodist Church. 
 
 A LMIGHTY GOD, we thank thee that thou hast given us 
 existence ; that thou hast permitted us to live in the time 
 we do, and under the circumstances by which we are surrounded. 
 We thank thee that thou hast given us a goodly heritage ; that 
 thou, in thy providence, didst permit our fathers to locate them- 
 selves in the midst of these valleys and hills. We thank thee that 
 so many of their children and of their children's children are 
 spared till the present time ; that not only these are permitted to 
 assemble who here reside, but others from afar. Though some, 
 in coming, have left graves and friends, yet, under circumstances 
 of great mercy, we meet to congratulate each other in relation 
 to this happy event. We pray thy blessing to be upon us. May 
 every thing be done decently and in order. May impressions be 
 made upon our minds that we shall carry down to our graves, 
 and, through rich grace, may we all be prepared finally for the 
 richer and more glorious inheritance and home on the other 
 shore, where we will praise thy name for evermore, through 
 Christ our Redeemer. Amen. 
 
 Rev. Henry R* Smith, of the Unitarian Church, read 
 the 
 
 III. SCRIPTURE SELECTIONS. 
 
 /^NE generation passeth away, and another generation cometh ; 
 
 but the earth abideth for ever. 
 O Lord, how manifold are thy works ! in wisdom hast thou 
 made them all : the earth is full of thy riches. 
 
22 BARRE CENTENNIAL. 
 
 Except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it : 
 except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain. 
 
 Remember the days of old, consider the years of many genera- 
 tions : ask thy father, and he will show thee ; thy elders, and they 
 will tell thee. 
 
 Remember the former things of old : for I am God, and there 
 is none else ; I am God, and there is none like me. 
 
 Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times 
 the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, 
 and I will do all my pleasure. Yea, I have spoken it, I will also 
 bring it to pass ; I have purposed it, I will also do it. 
 
 Hearken unto me, ye stout-hearted, I bring near my righteous- 
 ness ; it shall not be far off, and my salvation shall not tarry. 
 Remember this, and show yourselves men. 
 
 Behold, I come quickly ; and my reward is with me, to give 
 every man according as his work shall be. 
 
 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first 
 and the last. 
 
 Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may 
 
 have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates 
 
 into the city. 
 
 — « — 
 
 IV. HYMN. 
 
 V. PRAYER. 
 By Rev. Edwin Smith, of the Congregational Church. 
 
 /^ LORD our God, with thanksgiving in our hearts, and words 
 of praise and gratitude upon our lips, we would now come 
 before thee, rejoicing in thee, who art our fathers' God, and who 
 art the God of their children, even unto the latest generation. 
 Thou, our Lord, hast been our dwelling-place in all generations. 
 Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst 
 formed the earth or the world, even from everlasting to everlast- 
 ing thou art God. Thou turnest men to destruction and sayest, 
 Return, ye children of men. A thousand years in thy sight are 
 but as yesterday when it is passed, or as a watch in the night. 
 As we come together this morning from our homes and from our 
 various fields of toil, we would call upon our souls, and all the 
 
PUBLIC EXERCISES. 23 
 
 powers which thou hast given unto us, to praise and magnify the 
 name of our God. We would adore thee as our fathers' God, as 
 their Creator, as their Preserver ; we would adore thee as our 
 Creator, our Preserver ; and this morning we rejoice in the way in 
 which thou hast led us during these years that are gone by, and 
 from the very depths of our hearts we would cry out, " What 
 shall we render unto the Lord for all his benefits toward us." 
 Surely thou hast led us beside the still waters, and in the green 
 pastures, and we would magnify thy name this morning. We 
 realize at this time that it is thy mercy that has spared us ; it is 
 thy love that has watched over us, guiding our steps in all our 
 various ways. It is thy kind care which has brought us home 
 together ; and now, as we assemble on this glad festive occasion, 
 we pray that our hearts all may be full of love and gratitude. 
 Let none of us feel that through our own strength, through our 
 own power, we have been kept, through our own strength we 
 are here to-day, but through the power and through the strength 
 which thou dost give. We thank thee that thou didst lead the 
 footsteps of our fathers among these hills and valleys. We at 
 this hour recall the scenes through which they passed. We recall 
 the struggles and the deprivations, the hours of toil and of disap- 
 pointment which were theirs. We thank thee that thou wast 
 with them in the midst of all these scenes ; that thou didst never 
 leave them nor forsake them. Thou didst cause them to feel that 
 the Eternal God was their refuge, and that underneath them were 
 the everlasting arms. We pray, our Father, that to-day we may 
 realize how great the price that has been paid for the blessing we 
 enjoy. As we look upon these green hills, upon these fertile val- 
 leys, upon these pleasant homes and farms scattered all over this 
 vicinity, may we remember the trials and struggles through which 
 the early settlers passed, and may we remember that as the path 
 to life lies over death, so the path to joy and peace and prosper- 
 ity lies over these perils and ti"ibulations and struggles through 
 which our fathers passed. Our fathers went forth in sadness and 
 in tears, sowing precious seed. We, their sons and their daugh- 
 ters, to-day come back with rejoicing, bringing many sheaves with 
 us. O that our hearts may praise the Lord for his kindness unto 
 us, and to all our kindred and friends ! And now we implore thy 
 blessing upon this vast company. Grant unto all of them that 
 
24 BARRE CENTENNIAL. 
 
 peace which passeth all understanding ; and we pray that this 
 gathering may bring us nearer and nearer to thee, nearer and 
 nearer to each other. May it bind us more closely together in 
 one common bond of brotherhood. And wilt thou bless all the 
 homes here repi'esented. Let the beaut}' of the Lord our God be 
 upon us ; and wilt thou establish the work of our hands, yea, the 
 work of our hands establish thou it. And we pray, our Father, 
 that as none of us have come here without some effort and some 
 preparation, so may we feel that a preparation is needful for that 
 great home-gathering above ; and we pray that we may be in 
 earnest, that we may live well, that we may be faithful in that 
 which is least as well as in that which is greatest, that all our 
 lives may be such that at the last upon us all may fall the words, 
 " Thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler 
 over many things ; " and when that great company which no man 
 can number shall be gathered from every kindred, tongue, and 
 nation under the whole heaven, we pray that all of us may be 
 found there ; that from these homes, these fathers and mothers, 
 these parents and these children, there may all be gathered. 
 Hear thou our prayer, forgive thou our sins, be thou our God 
 and our Guide, never leaving us or forsaking us, impressing all 
 our hearts with the truth, that except the Lord keep the city the 
 watchman waiteth in vain, except the Lord build the house, they 
 labor in vain that build it. Be thou our comforter and helper, 
 and accept us through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 
 
 ADDRESS. 
 
 By Dr. George Brown, the President of the Day. 
 
 By order of the General Committee of Arrangements, it is made 
 my duty to occupy for a few moments the attention of this large 
 assemblage of citizens from this and neighboring towns, distant 
 cities and villages, who have gathered here to revisit the scenes of 
 their youth. 
 
 You have come, as sons and daughters of Barre, with numerous 
 guests from abroad, — leaving behind for this day business and 
 professional cares, — to stand upon this horizon that divides the two 
 centuries, and look back with us over the past in commemoration 
 of our fathers, entering in fulness of enjoyment into the results 
 
PUBLIC EXERCISES. , 25 
 
 of their toils and the abundance and comforts accumulated from 
 their hardships and poverty. 
 
 This morning on every side you see proofs of their wise care 
 and self-abnegation for the welfare of us of this generation, — 
 institutions of learning, public order, morality, and religion, — 
 beautiful fields freed from the wilderness and forest by their sin- 
 ewy arms ; here are the foundations of their dwellings ; here, too, 
 are their sacred graves. 
 
 In these ancient dwellings, humble though they were, has been 
 transacted a history of joys and sorrows, thanksgivings that a 
 living child was born, watchings over the opening mind and glow- 
 ing features of childhood, aftections binding young hearts stronger 
 than clasps of steel, soothing sickness, pain, and death, — prayers 
 from the domestic altar invoking God's blessing upon all the in- 
 terests of each one. 
 
 Here, amid the throes of the revolution, one hundred years ago, 
 one year before the battle of Bunker Hill, when all hearts were 
 most intensely stirred by the great questions of that day, our 
 fathers planted the foundation-stones of our municipal existence 
 as a town, by the act of incorporation. 
 
 You have come with us to celebrate this day, and enjoy in 
 gladness and congratulations the commingling of our common 
 sentiments and sympathies as we with reverence scrape away the 
 accumulated dust of one hundred years from around this first stone 
 our fathers planted here, and to consecrate it anew with our pray- 
 ers, joys, and hopes, and entwine it with fresh garlands of love 
 and veneration. To this festival of history, sentiment, and song I 
 welcome you, one and all, and congratulate you upon the favor- 
 able circumstances under which we meet, and express the high 
 gratification all feel who have had to do with the arrangements 
 at seeing all around me animated by feelings so much in har- 
 mony with the occasion. 
 
 It remains but for me to add that the printed order of exer- 
 cises to be followed is before you. 
 
 The children of the Public Schools, under the direction 
 of Mr. Chauncey Loring, numbering about three hun- 
 dred, then sang the two stanzas printed in the programme, 
 which preceded the introduction of the Orator of the day. 
 
 4 ^ 
 
DISCOURSE 
 
 JAMES W. THOMPSON, D.D. 
 
 OF BOSTON (JAMAICA PLAIN). 
 
" 'Tis liberty alone that gives the flower 
 Of fleeting life its lustre and perfume; 
 And we are weeds without it. All constraint, 
 Except what wisdom lays on evil men, 
 Is evil; hurts the faculties, impedes 
 Their progress on the road of science, blinds 
 The eye-sight of discovery, and begets 
 In those that suffer it a sordid mind, 
 Bestial, a meagre intellect, unfit 
 To be the tenant of man's noble form." 
 
DISCOURSE. 
 
 Mr. President, Sons and Daughters of Barre, and 
 Fellow-citizens : 
 
 I RESPOND to your hearty greeting with thanks and 
 love. 
 
 Proceeding at once to the duty before me, I find my 
 task to lie directly in the line of that sentiment which 
 binds each man in loyal affection to his birthplace, to 
 the homes and haunts of his childhood, and to the 
 graves of his ancestors; — a sentiment vv^hich is familiar 
 to every student of history, and to which the historic 
 instinct bears joyful testimony on a day like this. 
 Under the ordinary conditions of life, this sentiment 
 becomes stronger with the increase of years, and 
 often in old age, when the mind naturally reverts to 
 early experiences, it seeks expression in some perma- 
 nent form of filial remembrance and regard. Notable 
 among the bequests and endowments which mark the 
 advance of Christian civilization are those made by 
 men and women, on whom prosperity has shed its 
 benignities, for the founding of libraries, the establish- 
 ing of schools, the erection of halls, and other objects 
 of local benefit, in their native towns. 
 
30 BARRE CENTENNIAL. 
 
 And this sentiment, as it suffers no diminution of 
 force from the infirmities of age, so neither is it weak- 
 ened by absence or by distance. Wherever men 
 travel, sojourn, or have their permanent abode, though 
 in the midst of scenes more attractive to the stranger 
 than those they left behind, they feel, in moments of 
 quiet retrospection, the far-off magnet pulling at their 
 heart-strings, till the desire to see again the goodly 
 heritage into which they were born becomes pain- 
 fully urgent. " By the rivers of Babylon there we sat 
 down, yea, we wept when we remembered Zion." 
 To the transfiguring imagination what a mysterious 
 charm invests the venerated spot! To memory how 
 dear the old familiar houses and the friends who lived 
 in them! Our childhood's home, with all the ob- 
 jects that are beheld from it, — hills, woods, rocks, 
 streams, meadows, — how does it cluster with asso- 
 ciations of youthful pleasures, toils, dreams, com- 
 panionships; dashed, alas! in an hour like this by 
 imaofes and recollections too tender for words! It is 
 surprising how many things two friends of nearly the 
 same age, meeting after long separation, find packed 
 away in the memories of their common birthplace 
 with which to interest and amuse one another; how 
 many reminiscences come unbidden to give a glow 
 and sparkle to their talk, and to render the longest 
 interview too short for the never-finished dialogue. 
 
 Moved by this powerful sentiment, the inhabitants 
 of Barre, by their Committee, have been pleased to 
 invite their brethren scattered abroad, and whereso- 
 
HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. 3I 
 
 ever resident, to meet them here to-day in one grand 
 convocation and fellowship of love, in order to unite 
 w^ith them in commemorating by fit observances The 
 One Hundredth Birthday of our Beloved 
 Tow^N. What response their invitation has met, let 
 the thousands crowding this spacious tent, and the 
 numerous hands that have been grasped in fraternal 
 recognition and sympathy, bear witness. We who 
 are their honored guests have had time as yet to 
 glance at only a small part of what their hands have 
 done to improve and adorn the place; but we have 
 stood here this morning gazing on the magnificent 
 panorama which the Creator's hand has spread out 
 within the sweep of this large horizon, only to be 
 filled with fresh admiration and delight by the spec- 
 tacle. At this refulgent season all is life and beauty. 
 The venerable matron, whom we proudly greet as the 
 mother of us all, is clothed in her richest apparel, and 
 " the smell of her garments is like the smell of Leb- 
 anon." Her children, a great, glad multitude, rise 
 up before her, with hearts full of love, and call her 
 blessed. 
 
 It is a birthday that we commemorate, — the birth- 
 day of a tozvn. But what is there in that, a stranger 
 to our institutions might ask, of particular signifi- 
 cance? It may be well, therefore, to pause a mo- 
 ment before taking up the thread of our history to 
 notice this question. 
 
 The answer is found in the social and political 
 importance of the towns of New England, particu- 
 
32 BARRE CENTENNIAL. 
 
 larly during the colonial period of our history. The 
 towns or " plantations " were the original sources 
 whence the representative government derived its 
 powers. Thus they were related to the govern- 
 ment, not as dependent on its care, or amenable to its 
 authority, but as moulding its form and determining 
 its character. They never gave up their political 
 individuality, nor sunk their own vigor in the govern- 
 ment which they created. They carefully reserved 
 to themselves certain rights and immunities in respect 
 to which they meant to be perfectly independent and 
 self-controlled. With these they could brook no 
 interference. This independence of the towns is 
 believed to have contributed very, largely to the intel- 
 ligence, stability, and prosperity of the New England 
 States. It did not escape the notice of that philo- 
 sophical student of the institutions of this country, 
 De Tocqueville. Writing of this part of the United 
 States, he observes that here " political life had its 
 origin in the townships; and it may almost be said 
 that each of them originally formed an independent 
 natioji, . . . Amongst the inhabitants of New Eng- 
 land, I believe that not a man is to be found who would 
 acknowledge that the State has any right to interfere 
 in their town affairs."* The "little democracies," in 
 their self-regulated meetings, prior to the Revolution, 
 not only acquired the art of administering their own 
 affairs with facility and prudence, but, by their dis- 
 cussions and the independent spirit they nurtured, 
 
 * Democracy in America, I. 8i, 82. 
 
HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. 33 
 
 wrought mightily in the interest of public liberty. 
 The accomplished historian of "The Siege of Bos- 
 ton " tells us that "so important were these little local 
 assemblies regarded that the absentee from them was 
 fined; ... so wide was the range of subjects discussed 
 by them that the debates ran from a simple question 
 of local finance to general questions of Provincial law 
 and human rights; so great was their political effect 
 that the credit has been assigned them of having com- 
 menced the American Revolution." * In an interest- 
 ing letter of the elder President Adams to the Abbe 
 de Mably, 1782, he mentions four principal institutions 
 which produced a decisive effect " in the first resolu- 
 tions to resist in arms " the oppressions of Great 
 Britain : i. The towns or districts. 2. The congre- 
 gations. 3. The schools. 4. The militia. Referring 
 to the towns, he describes them as containing upon 
 the average about six miles square, and the inhabi- 
 tants as " being formed by law into bodies politic with 
 certain rights, among which was the right to assemble 
 whenever they are summoned by their selectmen in 
 their town-halls, there to deliberate upon the public 
 affairs of the town, or to give instructions to their 
 representatives in the legislature. ... It was in these 
 assemblies of towns that the sentiments of the people 
 were formed in the first place, and their resolutions 
 were taken from the beginning to*the end of the dis- 
 putes and the war with Great Britain." f Bancroft 
 
 * History of the Siege of Boston, p. 8. 
 
 t Tlie Life and Works of John Adams, V. 495. 
 
34 BARRE CENTENNIAL. 
 
 writes to the same effect: "Each of these Httle terri- 
 tories, for its internal purposes, constituted a separate 
 integral government, free from supervision, having 
 power to choose its own officers; to hold meetings of 
 all freemen at its own pleasure; to discuss in those 
 meetings any subject of public interest; ... to elect 
 and instruct its representatives; to raise and appro- 
 priate money for the support of the ministry, of 
 schools, of highways, of the poor, and for defraying 
 other necessary expenses." * These testimonies to 
 the political importance of the town, self-governed 
 and an integral part of the state, are confirmed by the 
 judgment of all reflecting men. Every such town was 
 a nursery of freemen. It bred men to do their own 
 thinking, accustomed them to the exercise of their 
 civil rights, and breathed into them the spirit to 
 maintain and defend them. It was, also, a school for 
 the education of legislators, magistrates, orators, and 
 statesmen; for, on a limited scale, the town-meeting 
 brought up for discussion most of the abstract ques- 
 tions, as well as many of the more practical, which 
 were debated in legislatures and cabinets. The town- 
 meeting was a little parliament. A trained watchful- 
 ness over the interests of these smaller municipalities 
 was the best preparation for efficient service in the 
 broader spheres of the commonwealth and country. 
 Here, too, the ballof first came to be generally appre- 
 ciated. It created in the holder of it a certain self- 
 respect and consciousness of power. It was with him 
 
 * Bancroft's History of the United States, IV. 14S. 
 
HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. 35 
 
 a loaded word, outweighing arguments and making 
 fate. It was his title of nobility, and rendered each 
 one who possessed it the peer of every other. When 
 a question was taken by the hand votes of the citi- 
 zens all hands were of equal power; and "this appar- 
 ent equality in the decision of questions," the patriot 
 James Otis said, " taught every man, practically, the 
 greatest principle of a republic, that the majority must 
 govern. * 
 
 It is not to be forgotten, moreover, that the country 
 towns were the feeders of the capital, supplying it not 
 only with products of the soil, but also with a large 
 part of its brain-power. The fact is the same to-day. 
 It is hazarding little to say, that of those engaged in 
 lucrative pursuits in Boston and the other cities of 
 Massachusetts, a majority of the most sagacious, ener- 
 getic, and successful received their education and 
 their earliest impulses in the direction of self-support 
 and that employment of time and talents which wins 
 prosperity, from the firesides, the school-houses, and 
 the meeting-houses of the rural towns. Examples 
 of pre-eminent success in the city-bred, especially 
 if born to large inheritance, are quite exceptional. 
 Therefore the birth of a town during the period of 
 our colonial existence was an event of great social 
 and political importance. 
 
 And now, brethren of Barre, under the spell of 
 those remembrances which come both to cheer and 
 to chasten the hour, your attention is invited whilst I 
 
 * Tudor's Life of James Otis, p. 446. 
 
36 BARRE CENTENNIAL. 
 
 endeavor to set forth before you, in a rapid sketch, 
 some of the more marked features, persons, incidents, 
 and events which render the birthday of this our own 
 town memorable. Dealing largely in details, no poetic 
 charm invests the treatment of my theme, and the 
 only eloquence it admits of is that of its simple facts. 
 If, therefore, your patience shall be severely tried, find 
 what relief 3''ou can in the reflection that such long- 
 suffering can be demanded of 3^ou but once in a 
 century. 
 
 One hundred years ago, June 17, 1774, the town 
 which now bears the name of Barre was incorporated 
 by the name of Hutchinson. It had had an inchoate 
 existence, of course, and been known by other names, 
 before this date. The materials of a town were here. 
 Here was the soil in its primeval richness and variety, 
 with the same beautiful range of hills on the east, and, 
 in the distance, blue-robed Wachusett clearly visible 
 from base to summit; the same ascending slope from 
 the centre on the north; the same descent to the 
 plain, where, through the fertile meadow, flows the 
 quiet river on the south; the same undulations and 
 levels on the west; and, interlacing all, the same rip- 
 pling brooks and swift-running streams with their 
 dashing waterfalls which we now behold. Settlers 
 were also here in considerable numbers. Who they 
 were and how they came to be here will be made to 
 appear as we proceed. 
 
 But first let us examine our title to the soil. On 
 
HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. 37 
 
 the 2 2cl of December, 1686, an indenture was made 
 between Joseph Trask, alias Paagushen, of Penni- 
 cooke, and Job, alias Pompomamy, of Natick, and 
 Simon Piticum, alias Wananacompon, of Wamisick, 
 and Sosowannow, of Natick, and James Wiser, alias 
 Qiialapunit, of Natick, — these five Indians dwelling 
 in his Majesty's territory in America, — all the above- 
 named of the one party, and Henry Willard, Joseph 
 Rowlandson, Joseph Foster, Benjamin Willard, Cyp- 
 rian Stevens, of the other party, by which indent- 
 ure, in consideration of " twenty-three pounds in 
 hand paid," the said " Indians, for themselves and all 
 their heirs, executors, administrators, and assigns, did 
 freely, fully, and absolutely give, grant, bargain, sell, 
 alien, enfeoflfe, make over, and confirm unto the 
 above-named Willard, Rowlandson, Foster, Benja- 
 min Willard, and Stevens, their heirs, executors, 
 administrators, and assigns, a certain tract of land 
 containing twelve miles square according to the butts 
 and bounds as described in the indenture." This 
 instrument is dated "■ A7Z7zo Regni Regis Jacob. Secund. 
 1686," and is duly signed and acknowledged, March 
 15, 1686. 
 
 This grant contained all the territory which is now 
 included in the towns of Rutland, Oakham, Hubbard- 
 ston, and Barre, with small portions of Princeton 
 and Paxton. The brothers Willard, whose names 
 appear in the instrument, were sons of that distin- 
 guished Major Simon Willard, who bore a conspicu- 
 ous part in the civil and military affairs of the colony 
 
38 BARRE CENTENNIAL. 
 
 for at least thirty years prior to 1675. But as his 
 fame, so honorable in his day and so long preserved, 
 is amongst the best treasures of our sister town of 
 Lancaster, where he passed the later years of his life, 
 and where his dust reposes; and as none of his de- 
 scendants had other connection with this town than 
 already indicated, I refrain from a more extended 
 notice of him or his posterity, simply remarking that 
 the name, wherever known, still retains untarnished 
 its original honor and worth. 
 
 At this date, then, 1686, and by this instrument, 
 the soil of our town passed from its Indian occupants 
 and became the property of civilized man; and thus 
 the initial step was taken for converting a " waste, 
 howling wilderness into a fruitful field." 
 
 Nearly thirty years elapsed from the above date 
 before any farther action was taken regarding the 
 ownership or the settlement of this territory. But 
 not far from the end of that interval, to wit, Febru- 
 ary 23, 1 7 13, an act was obtained from the General 
 Court confirming to the heirs of the Willards the 
 Indian title of 1686, ^' provided th.3it within seven years 
 sixty families be settled in the territory." In order to 
 effect such a settlement, the owners, who were of 
 small means, associated with them several gentlemen 
 of substance, who together constituted a " Proprietors* 
 Company." The names of these associates are here 
 inserted: Hon. William Tailer, Esq., of Dorchester; 
 Penn Townsend, Paul Dudley, Addington Davenport, 
 Adam Winthrop, Thomas Hutchinson, Esquires, 
 
HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. 39 
 
 Thomas Fitch, merchant, John White, gentleman, 
 all of Boston; Thomas How, Esq., of Marlboro'; John 
 Chandler, Esq., of Woodstock; William Dudley, Esq., 
 of Roxbury; John Farnsworth, of Groton, yeoman; 
 the children and heirs of Peter Bulkely, late of Con- 
 cord, deceased, and, in right of said Peter, Moses 
 Parker of Chelmsford, yeoman; and Jacob Stevens, of 
 Stow, yeoman. 
 
 Seven years were allowed, it will be remembered, 
 in which to settle sixty families on the grant. When 
 the seven years were completed it was found that the 
 condition had been fulfilled; and on the i8th of June, 
 1722, an act was passed "for the further establishing 
 of the town of Rutland," and empowering the inhab- 
 itants to " choose all proper officers, and to raise and 
 collect all moneys for the defraying the necessary 
 charges of the said town." 
 
 Thus another step in the progress of events towards 
 the incorporation of Barre was taken. 
 
 Several of the sixty families who settled Rutland 
 had their residences in this part of the town, and oth- 
 ers were added to them from time to time till the 
 Proprietors, at a meeting held November 7, 1733, 
 passed several votes having reference to the formation 
 here of a new town. They voted (i) that " some spot 
 as near the centre of the ' North-west Quarter ' (the 
 name by which this part of Rutland was then desig- 
 nated) as convenience allows, be found and pitched 
 upon for setting a meeting-house in the midst of some 
 considerable quantity of good land fit for settlement ; 
 
40 BARRE CENTENNIAL. 
 
 (2) that one lot for the minister ordained there, and 
 another lot for the school for ever, each of fifty acres 
 of good land, be laid out in a convenient place near 
 said spot pitched upon for the meeting-house, and 
 marked in the draft M for minister and S for school; 
 
 (3) that sixty-six other lots of good land, of fifty 
 acres each, as near as may be to the said spot for the 
 meeting-house, be laid out for homesteads; and when 
 any of the said sixty-six lots fall short in quality, to 
 be made up in quantity ; and said sixty-six lots to be 
 numbered, in order to be drawn for in some conven- 
 ient time ; (4) that convenient highways be, at the 
 same time, laid out so as to accommodate the several 
 lots." The 5th article acted upon at this meeting 
 assessed a tax of £330 on the Proprietors to pay the 
 expenses. The 6th appointed Capt. John Butolph 
 collector of the tax for the Proprietors in Boston, 
 Salem, and Marshfield ; and Phineas Brintnall, of 
 Sudbury, for the rest of the Proprietors. The 7th 
 appointed John Jeffries, Esq., Treasurer. 
 
 The Proprietors, it is here seen, with that forecast 
 and fidelity to their convictions of duty characteristic 
 of the founders of the colony, amongst their first acts, 
 made provision for the Church and the School, the 
 two great educators of society in religion and knowl- 
 edge ; and thus offered new inducements to those 
 who were inclined to come and make their homes 
 here. 
 
 The next thing necessary in forming the town was 
 to have the whole tract surveyed and divided into 
 
HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. 4I 
 
 lots and farms. Henry Lee, of Worcester, applied 
 for the contract to survey ; but it was awarded to 
 Samuel Willard, who immediately associated Lee 
 with him ; and when the survey was completed, its 
 plans bore the signature of Samuel Willard, con- 
 tractor, and Henry Lee, surveyor. 
 
 This Henry Lee was the father of five sons, all 
 of whom settled here. He was born in Ipswich, 
 May 16, 1686, and died at Concord, February 25, 
 1745. He was a man of considerable note in his 
 day, as is evident from his having been one of the 
 Justices of the Sessions of the county and one of the 
 selectmen of the town of Worcester. Though never 
 a resident in this place, the settlement of his five sons 
 here rendered him an earnest and efficient promoter 
 of the prosperity of the incipient town. 
 
 When the sixty-six lots of fifty acres each had been 
 .set off, the remainder was divided into "thirty-three 
 great Farms of five hundred acres each, to be drawn 
 for by the Proprietors at a convenient time." That 
 time was not far distant. The lots were drawn ; and 
 it would not be difficult, with a map before us, to 
 point out the farm which fell to each Proprietor and 
 the name of the present owner. Most of these farms 
 were at once put into market. They were offered on 
 liberal terms. The spirit of emigration in many of 
 the lower towns was alert, and soon gave most 
 acceptable additions to our sparse population. Those 
 who bought large farms, or shares in them, were ad- 
 mitted into the " Proprietors' Company," and attended 
 
 6 
 
42 BARRE CENTENNIAL. 
 
 their meetings in Boston. Thus, on June 6, 1739, 
 James Caldwell was present, representing one half of 
 Great Farm No. IX. This James Caldwell was the 
 eldest son of William Caldwell and Sarah Morison 
 his wife, who came to this country from Ireland in 
 1 7 18 or 1 7 19, and settled in Worcester. He remained 
 there, however, not many years, for prior to the year 
 1730 he had removed to the "North-west Quarter." 
 James Caldwell, tradition says, came before his father, 
 William, and " lived alo7ie all one winter tinder a 
 shelving rock !'''' then built a house — the first framed 
 house in the place — where now stands the residence 
 of Caleb Harwood. He is said to have acquired the 
 ownership of sixteen hundred acres of land ! 
 
 Dr. Palfrey, in his learned " History of New 
 England," informs us that " A hundred and twenty 
 Scotch-Irish families came over in 17 19, and settled 
 at Londonderry, in New Hampshire, and elsewhere^ . 
 There is little doubt that our Caldwells and Cunning- 
 hams were a part of this immigration. He mentions 
 another curious fact in this connection, which I am 
 glad to state on his authority. It relates to the sin- 
 gular freedom from admixture which the English 
 blood of the early immigrations preserved until a 
 quite recent date. "No race," he observes, "has 
 ever been more homogeneous than this remained 
 down to the time of the generation now upon the 
 stage. With a near approach to precision, it may be 
 said that the millions of living persons, either born 
 in New England or tracing their origin to natives of 
 
HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. 43 
 
 that region, are descendants of the twenty-one thou- 
 sand Englishmen who came over before the early- 
 emigration from England ceased upon the meeting of 
 the Long Parliament." * In our settlement, however, 
 the blood got a little mixed ; but it is by no means 
 certain that the Scotch-Irish infusion did not invig- 
 orate it. At any rate, the town never had reason to 
 be sorry that the immigrant Caldwell pitched his 
 family-tent in this place. 
 
 But there were settlers here before the Lees and 
 Caldwells. The earliest, it is believed, was Joshua 
 Osgood, born in Andover, September 2, 1694, who 
 bought a farm in the "North-west Quarter" in 1726. 
 He is represented to have been a substantial, excel- 
 lent citizen. Both he and his wife lived to a very 
 great age, faithful in the discharge of their duties to 
 God and man ; especially heedful of that most ancient 
 command, " Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish 
 the earth," — their posterity numbering, it is com- 
 puted, not less than twelve hundred souls ! These 
 descendants appear to have inherited the virtues of 
 their ancestors, those of them who continue unto this 
 day being highly respected and esteemed citizens. 
 
 A little later came two important and influential 
 settlers from Worcester, — Jotham Rice and James 
 Holden; and these were followed in a few years 
 (1753) by Jonas Rice from the same town. The 
 latter was a son of Jonas Rice, the " first settler " of 
 Worcester, known in its annals as the " father of the 
 
 * Preface to Hist, of New England. By John G. Palfrey. 
 
44 BARRE CENTENNIAL. 
 
 town." He filled many town offices, some of them 
 to the close of his life. It is a noteworthy incident 
 that in 1753, when he was eighty years old, he was 
 appointed one of the Justices of the Court of Common 
 Pleas for Worcester county, in which office he died 
 during the same year. Jonas, the son who came to 
 this town, was for many years a deacon of the church, 
 and died in 1793, at the age of eighty-six years. On 
 the same farm which he tilled now resides his grand- 
 son, Francis Rice, ninety-two j^ears old, who, after 
 having appeared mounted on his spirited horse in 
 the cavalcade of the morning, now honors and adorns 
 this platform by his venerable presence! Jotham Rice 
 was of another family, though from the same town, — 
 a man of great energy, whom no hardships could 
 daunt, no dangers alarm. When he came, there were 
 no roads, and he picked his way through the woods 
 between here and Rutland guided by marked trees. 
 It is a family tradition that he brought on his horse 
 before him a little boy but four years old, and that 
 they spent the first night in the woods, the father 
 placing the saddle over the boy to protect him from 
 the rain, and kindling a fire to scare away the wild 
 animals. Luckily, the young Jotham survived the 
 perils of that night. Barre has many reasons for 
 thankfulness that he neither died from exposure nor 
 was eaten up by bears; for one of the consequences 
 of his preservation is, that we are favored with the 
 presence to-day of many excellent men by the name 
 of Rice, and many handsome women who once bore 
 
HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. 45 
 
 that name. But this name was one of the good things 
 which those women could not very well keep and 
 follow out their better inclinations. Marriage proved 
 fatal to it. In due time, from this one seed grew up 
 a large Rice plantation here which proved highly 
 productive. For steadiness of yield, year after year, 
 never touched by frost or mildew, and for excellence 
 of quality, it may be doubted whether any other 
 product of our soil has done better. Cyrus Rice, who, 
 it is presumed, was a brother of Jotham, lived here a 
 short time, and then pushed on to the Connecticut 
 river and became the pioneer settler of the town of 
 Conway. Here he was soon joined by Israel Gates 
 and Robert Hamilton of this town, and the descend- 
 ants of these three men have been among the most 
 respected inhabitants of Conway. 
 
 Of those who came hither about the time of the 
 Rices I mentioned the name of James Holden. He 
 was evidently a man of character and weight, since 
 he was one of the selectmen of Worcester before 
 his removal to the " North-west Quarter." His 
 descendants have been highly respectable. Josiah, 
 his son, was father of James and Moses, whom some 
 of the older of us well remember, the last named par- 
 ticularly, he having been a very active, energetic, and 
 influential citizen, and for many years a deacon of 
 the church. His house was known of all the town as 
 a seat of the most generous hospitality and of unmeas- 
 ured charities. Of the first James Holden I think 
 there may be here to-day descendants of the fifth 
 
46 BARRE CENTENNIAL. 
 
 generation. Whether this be so or not, I lately saw 
 a young brood of them, children of Mr. J. Otis Weth- 
 erbee, of Boston, on whom any ancestor might look 
 with pride and joy. 
 
 But as the writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews, 
 pressed by the number of worthies crowding his 
 memory for distinct recognition, suddenly breaks off, 
 saying, " The time would fail me to tell of Gideon 
 and Baruch and Samson and Jephtha, of David also 
 and Samuel and the prophets," so it would utterly fail 
 me to tell of those brave pioneers, Cunningham and 
 Davis and Heaton, of Stevens and Hill, — of whom I 
 believe no relic remains amongst us, — or of Marma- 
 duke Black, commonly known as " the Old Duke," by 
 birth a Scotchman, who lived a short time at Nod- 
 dle's Island and thence removed to this place, where 
 he purchased what is known now as " the Silas Bemis 
 farm," and became a man of much influence; or of 
 that James Black who, when asked by James Wilson 
 for one of his daughters in marriage, taking the meas- 
 ure of the young man, answered, "Ah, Jamie! you'd 
 better take two of them, for one will never be able to 
 support ye; " or of Wallis and Forbush, of Nurss and 
 the Metcalfs, all men of substance; or of the two 
 brothers Jonathan and Nehemiah Allen, the former 
 of whom set out the first orchard in the place, having 
 brought from Lexington forty apple-trees and a 3'oung 
 wife on the back of his horse! All these, and their 
 offspring. and their good works, we must be content to 
 leave not " unhonored '' but " unsung." Let me only 
 
HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. 47 
 
 mention that one of the grandsons of Jonathan Allen — 
 whose memory shall live as long as there is an apple- 
 tree in Barre — a graduate of Amherst College, has 
 gained a widely extended reputation as an original 
 investigator in physiological science, and has recently 
 been honored with the degree of Doctor of Laws by 
 his alma mater. He has also distinguished himself 
 as a practical and sagacious philanthropist by ten 
 years' service in the State Board of Charities. I refer 
 to Nathan Allen, M.D., of Lowell, whom Governor 
 Talbot has lately appointed one of the " State Com- 
 missioners of Lunacy," with Wendell Phillips as his 
 colleague. 
 
 All these heads of families, and others to the num- 
 ber of nearly thirty, were here before or near 1750. 
 They were for the most part a God-fearing people, 
 and highly prized those ordinances of religion which 
 were the strength and glory of New England. But, 
 although the Proprietors from time to time made ap- 
 propriations for the support of public worship here, 
 there was no organized church, and on sacrament 
 days they were obliged to go to Rutland in order to 
 participate in the holy rite of communion. The dis- 
 tance was from six to fourteen miles, and in some 
 seasons of the year the road was almost impassable. 
 
 Such being the situation, the Proprietors, with con- 
 siderate regard for their own interest, as well as for 
 the comfort of the inhabitants, at a meeting held at the 
 Light House Tavern in Boston, Dec. 5, 1748, at which 
 were present Mr. Thomas Prince, John Jeffries, Esq., 
 
48 BARRE CENTENNIAL. 
 
 Samuel Willard, Esq., Jonas Clark, Esq., Thomas Hub- 
 bard, Esq., Captain William Salter, Mr. Thomas Allen, 
 Captain Bartholomew Cheever, Mr. Thomas Taylor, 
 and Mr. Noah Sparhawk, voted, " That the committee 
 be desired to prepare and sign, as soon as may be, a 
 petition, in the name of the Proprietors, to the General 
 Court, that the ' North-west Quarter ' of said township 
 [of Rutland] may be erected into a separate town, 
 and that a plan thereof be presented to the General 
 Court at the same time." At an adjourned meeting, 
 Jan. 5th, 1748, it was voted, "That the committee, in 
 their petition to the General Court, insert a clause 
 therein praying that a tax of six pence (old tenor) 
 upon every standard acre be laid for five years next 
 ensuing on all the lands within the * North-west Quar- 
 ter ' of said township (the land granted for the first 
 Orthodox minister ordained there, and for the use of 
 the school excepted), for ereciing a meeting-house^ 
 settling and maintaining a minister^ a7td laying out 
 and clearing all roads therein^ 
 
 In pursuance of these votes, the Proprietors' com- 
 mittee presented the following Petition, which is inter- 
 esting as part of the history of the town, and especially 
 as showing the concern manifested by the Proprietors 
 for the church and the school: — 
 
HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. 49 
 
 PETITION. 
 
 To His Excellency W'" Shirley^ Esq. Capt General & Gov- 
 ernour in Cheefe in <£; over His AlaJ^'y^ Province of Massa- 
 chusetts Bay in New England (& Vice Admiral of the 
 sajne & to the Honourable His Maf^y Council <& House of 
 Representatives in General Court assembled. 
 
 The petition of the Committee of the Proprietors of the Town- 
 ship of Rutland (the Original Settlers part excepted) in the 
 County of Worcester in sd Province in behalf of themselves & sd 
 Proprietors & according to their votes & directions, Humbly 
 sheweth. That the sd Proprietors have been for above these fifteen 
 Years at great & Constant Pains & Expense of time and many 
 hundred Pounds in Running the Bounds, surveying Dividing & 
 Laying out Lots, finding out & clearing Roads, Building of 
 Bridges, selling Inhabitants & paying for Preaching in the North- 
 western quarter of the Town ship of Rutland. That the sd 
 North Westerly Qiiarter is a boute the Qiiantity of Six miles 
 Square more or less according to the plan herew*^* exhibited 
 bounded East North Easterly about six miles on the North Easterly 
 Qiiarter of said Township, South South Easterly aboute six miles, 
 partly on the original settlers Quarters & partly on the West wing 
 of sd Township. West South Westerly about six Miles partly on 
 Brantree Grant & partly on Hardwick, North North Westerly on 
 Nichaway so called. That there are now Settled on sd Quarter 
 near Thirty famillys consisting of above one hundred souls who 
 stand in need of a Settled Gospel Ministry & Ordinances and 
 the Adult are Earnestly Dessirous of them, but cannot obtain 
 them without a propper Encouragement by your Excellency & 
 Honours. That the sd proprietors in view of sd Quarter being 
 erected into a Town have given Laid out & set apart a fifty acre 
 lot of Choice Good Land & another Farm of Two Hundred 
 Forty seven Acres for the first Orthodox Minister that shall be 
 ordained there, and a fifty acre Lot for the use of a School there 
 forever. 
 
 7 
 
50 BARRE CENTENNIAL. 
 
 And therefore your petitioners Earnestly Desire That yr Ex- 
 cell"<^y and Plonours would in your great wisdom set ofl'& Erect 
 the sd North Western Qimrter with all the Inhabitants into a 
 Town or otherwise into a seperate District with all the priviledges 
 & powers of a Town so far as to Chuse All sorts of Town Officers 
 among themselves & make all kinds of Rules on the Inhabitants 
 of sd District for building houses for Publick worship settling & 
 maintaining ministers laying out & making Roads & for all other 
 Services of a Public Nature which any Towns in the Province are 
 by Law Enabled to do, only reserving to themselves the Liberty 
 allowed by Charter & the Laws of joining in Common with the 
 other free holders of sd Township in chusing & being Chosen 
 Representatives to serve in the gen' assembly as also desiring the 
 Power of assessing Levelling & Raising a Tax of Six pence old 
 Tenor upon every standard acre in sd District for the first five 
 Years next Ensuing annually for the purposes above said Except- 
 ing only sd land granted to sd ministers & school wh. sd Tax 
 in their present Infant & feeble state of less than Thirty Families 
 is of absolute necesity for them. And your petitioners might hum- 
 bly offer the following among other Weighty Reasons i ) The sd 
 Quarter is neerly a Square body of generally gcJod Land suitable 
 & sufficient for such a Town or District. 2 The Centre of sd 
 Quarter is aboute Ten miles distant from the place of Worship of 
 the Original settlers & some parts of sd Quarter about fourteen 
 miles off", a very heavy Inconvenience either to be warned to their 
 common Town Meetings or to attend them or to sei've as Town 
 Officers for so great an Extent, & 3) The Inhabitants of the Origi- 
 nal Settlers part are so sensible of this hardship as they have 
 expressed their willingness above four years and nine months ago 
 of the sd North Westerly Qiiarter being deteeshed from them, as 
 appears by their attested vote herewith offered. 4 & Lastly, 
 Upon your Excellency & Honours now granting the sd District 
 there are so many people straitened in other places ready to move 
 into this as affbrd a most rational prospect that in case of another 
 war the sd Qiiarter will grow so full of people as, instead of need- 
 ing soldiers stationed among them at the Publick charge for their 
 Defence, they will not only be sufficiently able with the Divine 
 
HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. 
 
 SI 
 
 help to Defend themselves but also have numbers to spare for the 
 Defence of other places above them 
 
 And your Petitioners shall ever pray as Bound, &c. 
 
 Thomas Prince 
 Jonas Clarke 
 Thomas Hubbard 
 Cornelius Waldo 
 
 Committee. 
 
 The Inhabitants Do hei'eby 
 signing. 
 
 John Wallis 
 W"" Caldw^ell Jun' 
 James Holden 
 James Heaton 
 Thomas Tayler 
 Marmaduke Black 
 Nathi Davis 
 James Caldwell 
 William Caldwell 
 Jonathan Metcalfe 
 Rob' Cunningham 
 Joseph Metcalfe 
 William Forbush 
 John Caldwell 
 Aprl 6, 1749. 
 
 further manifest their desire by 
 
 Joseph Stevens 
 Jabez Hill 
 James Heaton Jun"" 
 George Caldwell 
 Matthew Caldwell 
 Thomas Holden 
 W-" Caldwell y^ 3d 
 Sam^ Heaton 
 Timy Nurss 
 Israel Gates 
 Arth'' Forbush 
 Abner Lee 
 Jo them Rice 
 Benj" Lee 
 
 Li the House of Repr" Ap^ 14, 1749. 
 
 Read & Ordered That the Prayer of the Petition be so far 
 Granted that the Lands in the North Westerly Quarter of the 
 Town Ship of Rutland Described in sd Petition and Delineated in 
 the plan presented therewith and the Inhabitants thereon be 
 erected into a Seperate District with full Power to choose Town 
 officers Grant & raise money from time to time to defray the 
 necessary charges arising upon sd District and for managing ye 
 other afFares Relating to ye sd District, setling a minister, Erect- 
 ing a meeting house Granting & making all needful Roads & 
 highways, together with all other powers priviledges & immuni- 
 ties ye Towns by Law enjoy Saving only the priviledge of sending 
 
52 BARRE CENTENNIAL. 
 
 one or move Represent^^ to the general Assembly in lieu whereof 
 there is hereby declared to be Reserved to them the sd Inhab- 
 itants all & every ye powers rights & priviledges of joyning with 
 the Town of Rutland in the choice of Representatives & of being 
 chosed to Represent sd Town w^hich by Law they now may or 
 do enjoy, and the sd Town of Rutland are hereby required to 
 notify the sd North West Quarter of all meetings for the choice 
 of Representatives in like manner as they now by Law are 
 required to notify them. And it is further ordered that Thomas 
 Tayler an Inhabitant of sd North Weste Qiiarter be hereby 
 empowered to call a meeting of sd District for the choice of 
 Officers for the present year on the fifteenth of June next to be 
 held at sd place of which he is to give notice by posting up a 
 notification in some publick place in sd Districk seven Days at 
 least before the time of holding sd meeting. Also ordered that 
 the Petitioners notify the non Resident proprietors of the Lands 
 mentioned in sd Petition by Inserting the substance of sd Petition 
 so far as it relates to a Tax in the Boston Gazette or some other 
 publick prints three Weeks successively That they shew cause if 
 any they have on the Second Fryday of the Next May Sessions 
 why the prayer thereof Respecting a Tax should not be Granted. 
 Sent up for Concurrance 
 
 T. Hutchinson Speak^ 
 
 In Co7i7icil April \\^ i749* 
 
 Read & Concur^ J. Wiixard, Secty 
 Consented to William Shirley. 
 
 Notice was given by Advertizement in the Boston Gazette a 
 copy of which signed by Order of the Committee, 
 
 Jonas Clark props clerk is 
 entered upon the records. 
 
 In Council June 13'* i749* 
 
 Read again and it appearing that the Non resident Proprietors 
 
 had been notified agreeable to the foregoing order and no answer 
 
 or objection being made, therefore ordered that there be a Tax of 
 
 One penny half penny of the last emition per acre annually be 
 
HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. 53 
 
 levied & assessed upon every standard Acre in the North Westerly 
 Qiiarf of Rutland now erected into a seperate District (Except- 
 ing only upon the Land granted to the Minister & school) for the 
 Term of five years next ensuing for erecting a meeting House 
 settling & maintaining a minister & laying out & clearing Roads 
 therein or for any Other service of a Publick nature [and the 
 assessors of the sd District for the time being are hereby Impovv^- 
 ered to assess the proprietors of the sd lands & the Collectors or 
 Constables to Collect & pay in the same to the Treasurer of the 
 sd District for the time being accordingly]. 
 
 Sent down for Concurrance by ord"" of the Board 
 
 John Osborne. 
 
 In the House of Rep r^"^^ Jtaze 19, 1749. 
 
 Read & Concurred J. Dwight Speaker. 
 
 In Coil ?icil 20, 1749- 
 
 Read & Concurred Sam'- Holbrook Depty Secty 
 
 Consenf^ to W. Shirley. 
 
 N. B. The final passage inserted between the Two Crotchets 
 [ ] was added by the council & agreed to by the house of rep- 
 rest^^ & consented to by the Governor. 
 
 In the year 1749, then, the North-west Quarter was 
 incorporated by the name of Rutland District. The 
 inhabitants acquired a legal corporate existence with 
 all rights belonging to a town, save only that of being 
 represented in the General Court. From this time 
 they begin to feel working in them that spirit of 
 independence which town governments have done so 
 much to foster. They are no longer part and parcel 
 of a municipality whose centre is far distant, nor 
 under the rule of a board of absentee Proprietors. 
 They can elect officers, lay out roads, establish 
 
54 BARRE CENTENNIAL. 
 
 schools, build a meeting-house, settle a minister, assess 
 and collect taxes, without asking anybod37's leave. 
 They are " their own men." They discuss the inter- 
 ests of their district, manage their local affairs, are 
 vigilant for the rights of the colonies, upon which the 
 mother-country has begun already to make encroach- 
 ments, with such pride and sense of personal liberty 
 as were felt, to the same degree, nowhere on earth 
 as in the towns of New England. 
 
 Let it be here observed, that in all their consulta- 
 tions the Proprietors appear to have been actuated by 
 a generous view of the immediate needs, and a wise 
 forecast for the future well-being, of the settlement. 
 At a meeting held in Boston, May 4, 1742, they took 
 action upon these articles: (i) "To agree with 
 some suitable person to prepare and raise the frame 
 of a meeting-house within the ' North-west Quarter,' 
 of such dimensions as the Proprietors shall deter- 
 mine." (2) " To give some encouragement for obtain- 
 ing occasional preacJiingP Again, at an adjourned 
 meeting, Sept. i, 1743, it was voted, "That i6£s 
 (old tenor) be allowed and paid to Mr. John Cald- 
 well to defray the charge of a minister's preaching 
 to the inhabitants of the ' North-west Quarter ' one 
 month the last winter." And again, Dec. 17, 1744^ 
 it was voted as follows : " Some of the settlers 
 having represented the great difficulty they labor 
 under by reason of their distance from all places of 
 publick worship, and desiring the assistance of the 
 Proprietors toward the procuring of preaching among 
 
HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. 55 
 
 themselves, — Voted, That 8o£s (old tenor) be allowed 
 them for obtaining preaching for one year next com- 
 ing, to be paid to such as the settlers shall choose a 
 committee for that purpose." Similar grants for 
 preaching were made till the year 1750, when ioo£s 
 was voted. At the same date, it was voted, " That 
 I2£s (old tenor) be allowed and paid to John Cald- 
 well for erecting a meeting-house in the north-west- 
 erly district of Rutland, and to be by him applied 
 towards the charge of erecting the same." Several 
 years earlier, Dec. 27, 1744, it had been voted, "To 
 have a saw-mill built by Samuel Willard, and that 
 he take an obligation to keep it in repair fifteen years, 
 supply boards to build a meeting-house and house of 
 minister for 3£s (old tenor) per thousand; and sell pro- 
 prietors and settlers boards at 4£s per thousand; and 
 to saw logs brought to the mill at the halves." 
 
 In these provisions we see the initial steps towards 
 a house of worship and the stated preaching of the 
 gospel. The work of building a meeting-house went 
 forward rather slowly; but in the year 1753 they had 
 the satisfaction of seeing it completed. Though we 
 have no account of its dedication, we can well imagine 
 with what joy and thankfulness the worshippers first 
 took their seats within its plain and humble, but, to 
 them, holy and beautiful walls. 
 
 The meeting-house completed, they proceeded, 
 with the help of neighboring ministers, to organize a 
 church. This was accomplished July 29, 1753; and 
 in the month of October following, the Rev. Thomas 
 
56 BARRE CENTENNIAL. 
 
 Frink was installed pastor of " The Congregational 
 Church and Society in Rutland District." Of Mr. 
 Frink's ministry not much is known to his advantage. 
 But though the notices of him are few and meagre, 
 they are sufficient to indicate that he was a man of more 
 than ordinary abilities and great strength of will, which, 
 combined with an irascible temper, made him self- 
 asserting and imperious. He was born in Sudbury, 
 and graduated at Harvard University in the class of 
 1722. With whom he studied divinity is not known; 
 but five 37ears after his graduation he was ordained 
 in Rutland, and continued the minister of that town 
 thirteen years, from 1727 to 1740. Dismissed in 
 1740, he was installed four years later in the Third 
 Church of Plymouth. The fact that Mr. Chauncy, of 
 the First Church in Boston, preached the sermbn at 
 his installation, raises a suggestion that he was a man 
 of some note. This suggestion is confirmed by the 
 fact that he was chosen to preach the sermon on the 
 occasion of the ordination of Mr. John Willard at 
 Stafford, Conn., in 1757, and also the annual "Elec- 
 tion Sermon" in 1758, while he was minister of this 
 town. A copy of the "Election Sermon" has fallen 
 into my hands. No one can read it without perceiv- 
 ing that the author was a man of vigorous intellect 
 and extensive erudition. His ministry in Plymouth 
 was not of long duration, — only four years. It came 
 to an end " by mutual consent, no blame attaching to 
 either pastor or people." At its termination, in 1748, 
 he returned to Rutland, and nothing is heard of him 
 
HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. 57 
 
 from that time till his settlement here in 1753. His 
 ministry in the district was of thirteen years' duration. 
 Before its close such misunderstandings had arisen 
 between him and a majority of the church-members 
 as led to the calling of a mutual council to hear the 
 parties and adjudicate the case. The council was 
 composed of eminent men, both clerical and lay, all 
 from distant churches, and was in session six days. 
 The following is a copy of the " Result": — 
 
 " An Ecclesiastical Council, consisting of five churches, by the 
 elders and messengers from each, that is to say, — 
 
 1. Stephen Williams, pastor of a church in Springfield, 
 Simon Colton, messenger; 
 
 2. Seth Storer, pastor, Watertown, 
 Deacon Samuel Fisk, messenger; 
 
 3. David Parsons, pastor, Amherst, 
 Simeon Strong, messenger; 
 
 4. Robert Brick, pastor, Springfield, 
 Edward Pjnchon, Esq., messenger; 
 
 5. Jonathan Mahew, pastor. West Church, Boston, 
 Andrew Craig, messenger; 
 
 in pursuance of 'Letters Missive' from the Rev. Mr. Thomas 
 Frink, in the name of the church and of the aggrieved in Rut- 
 land District, to look into some affairs that labor in said church, 
 to use their endeavors for an accommodation and to give their 
 best advice, being convened in said District June loth, 1766, for 
 the purpose aforesaid, after solemn repeated prayer to Almighty 
 God for light and direction, and after six days spent in hearing 
 the parties and deliberating on the matters laid before them, 
 came unanimously unto the following result in every particular 
 of it, viz. : — 
 
 1st. That the Rev. Mr. Thomas Frink is justly chargeable with 
 proceeding in a very arbitrary manner with respect to Mr. 
 Nathaniel Davis in desiring him to withdraw himself from the 
 communion of the church, and also for using him very indecently 
 in a discourse concerning the duty of tything-men, also in reviling 
 
 8 . 
 
58 BARRE CENTENNIAL. 
 
 him in a more private way, and speaking both to and of him in a 
 most contemptuous, opprobrious manner, all, so far as we can 
 learn, without any just foundation. 
 
 2dly. Voted unanimously. That the Rev. Mr. Frink has been 
 very culpable with respect to Capt. Lee in promoting a sort of 
 inquisition into his private Domestick concerns or the govern- 
 ment of his family ; in declining to pray at his house at a time of 
 affliction when desired, as also in treating liim with most outra- 
 geous language from time to time, such as no Christian ought on 
 the greatest provocation to use respecting another. 
 
 3dly. It has not by any means appeared to us that Mr. Jed. 
 Winslow has discovered an implacable disposition with respect 
 to Mr. Robinson, or that he ever made any formal confession of 
 having treated him in an injurious manner, as has been intimated 
 by some, though he did indeed use some conciliatory expressions 
 for the sake of peace ; and consequently, that the Rev. Mr. Frink, 
 in what he calls a pastoral admonition or sharp rebuke of said 
 Winslow before the church, gave him just and great cause of 
 uneasiness, especially as he did not lie under any formal censure 
 of the church. It also appears to us that Mr. Winslow was 
 treated in an unjustifiable manner in being desired by message 
 from the pastor to abstain from the communion ; that he was 
 repeatedly, both in public and private, used by the Rev. Mr. 
 Frink with extremely hard, abusive, and scurrilous language, 
 altogether unbecoming a minister of the gospel towards a brother. 
 Neither upon supposition that Mr. Winslow had made such a 
 confession as Mr. Frink and some others suppose he did in the 
 church can we in any measure justify Mr. Frink in refusing to 
 him a copy thereof when repeatedly requested, and also in hav- 
 ing denied several other papers to Mr. Winslow and some of the 
 aggrieved contrary to his repeated engagements, at the same 
 time denying that he had promised to do so. 
 
 4thly. It appears to us that that article of grievance wherein 
 the Rev. Mr. Frink is charged with uttering numerous contempt- 
 uous and defamatory speeches concerning many of the regular 
 standing ministers of this county, tending to obstruct the impor- 
 tant uses of the ministry and to the great reproach of religion, 
 has been very fully supported by evidence, and that even the 
 righteous dead whose memory is blessed have some of them been 
 treated by him with great indecency and undeserved contempt. 
 
HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. 59 
 
 5thly. To us it appears from indisputable evidence that with- 
 out any just provocation, and even notwithstanding very kind and 
 respectful treatment, from John Caldwell, Esq., Mr. Frink has 
 frequently used him in the most abusive and unchristian manner, 
 with much undeserved contempt, with bitter reviling, and with 
 railings in the highest degree both in publick and in private, 
 such railings as we have scarce if at all known any professed 
 Christian chargeable with towards a brother, much less any 
 Christian minister towards a respectable person of his pastoral 
 charge. 
 
 6thly. As to those two complaints against the Rev. Mr. Frink, 
 that he has neglected to catechise the children of his pastoral 
 charge and to preach lectures upon week-days, it is our opinion 
 that though these methods have been and are serviceable to the 
 interests of religion, yet we think that the particular method in 
 which children are to be instructed and the preaching of lectures 
 are in a good measure prudential matters; and after hearing what 
 Mr. Frink has to say relative to his conduct in these respects, we 
 do not think him justly censurable by this Council. 
 
 ythly. To us it appears that in a particular instance the Rev. 
 Mr. Frink claimed and exercised a power to adjourn a church 
 meeting after the mind of the chvu-ch to the contrary had been 
 requested by and signified to him, and that he did this in such a 
 manner and under such particular circumstances as strongly 
 indicated an overbearing, arbitrary disposition in him. 
 
 Sthly. It also appears to us that on a particular occasion the 
 Rev. Mr. Frink did in an unconstitutional and arbitrary man- 
 ner deny to brethren of the church, namely, Capt. Lee and Mr. 
 Winslow, their undoubted privilege and right of speaking and 
 giving their suftVages at a church meeting. 
 
 9thly. It also appears to us that the Rev. Mr. Frink on a par- 
 ticular occasion unwarrantably and arbitrarily refused to put a 
 vote in a church meeting after it was regularly proposed and 
 seconded by some of the brethren. 
 
 lothly. It appears to us, from a great variety of testimony, that 
 the Rev. Mr. Frink has for several years past and on different 
 occasions discovered a remarkable and almost unexampled bitter- 
 ness of spirit towards divers reputable persons of his pastoral 
 charge, as well as towards other people, to the great dishonor of 
 
6o BARRE CENTENNIAL. 
 
 his sacred office and tending directly to alienate the aflections of 
 his flock from him, to expose him to contempt from them, and as 
 by his own ill example in this respect to frustrate in a great 
 measure whatever exhortations he might give them to the neces- 
 sary duties of Christian meekness and forbearance and brotherly 
 love, and to give such countenance to the contrary vices of pride, 
 wrath, and a furious, ungovernable temper of mind ; and we 
 cannot but look upon it as a great aggravation of some of his 
 intemperate speeches and railing accusations that they were at 
 first delivered and afterwards spoken of by him as pastoral 
 rebukes. 
 
 For the reasons aforesaid, it is the unanimous opinion of this 
 Council, — after a public, full, and large hearing of the parties 
 concerned and much deliberation on the premises, — 
 
 That the pastoral relation between the Rev. Mr. Frink and the 
 church in Rutland District should be dissolved. 
 
 This advice we give, as we trust, in simplicity and the fear of 
 God, to whom we expect to give an account, we being induced 
 thereto by a full persuasion that, all circumstances being duly 
 considered, there is no rational prospect of the Rev. Mr. Frink 
 ever being serviceable to the people as a minister of the gospel, 
 and seeing no grounds to hope that they will be wholly at peace 
 one with another till the person who has already been the occa- 
 sion of so much confusion and contention in this town is removed 
 from his pastoral office. 
 
 We protest before the Searcher of hearts that we give this 
 advice not without much reluctance and great heaviness of heart, 
 especially when we consider the Rev. Mr. Frink's age and what 
 we have transiently heard concerning his worldly circumstances ; 
 when we consider the age and infirmities of his consort, and the 
 grief it may probably occasion to his numerous family, to all of 
 whom we sincerely wish prosperity and happiness, earnestly 
 commending them to the blessing of Almighty God. 
 
 To the Rev. Mr. Frink himself we earnestly wish the modera- 
 tion and wisdom calmly to consider the unhappy condition to 
 which in our opinion he has brought himself by his own bad 
 temper long indulged, and such a course of conduct for years 
 together as has long given those who knew him great reason to 
 apprehend what the issue would be. We entreat him not to think 
 
HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. 6l 
 
 we are become his enemies because we so plainly tell him what 
 appears to us to be the truth, and such trutli as we think very 
 nearly concerns him to seriously consider and ponder in his heart ; 
 and we earnestly beseech Almighty God to dispose and enable 
 him rightly to improve the present dispensation of Divine Provi- 
 dence towards him that so, although it may not be joyous but 
 grievous, it may in the end yield unto him the peaceable fruits of 
 righteousness. 
 
 This beloved flock of our Lord Jesus Christ and the people in 
 general in this place we commend to the blessing and direction 
 of Heaven in this day of trial, earnestly exhorting them all to 
 study the things that make for peace, and wherewith they may 
 edify one another, that the God of peace may be with them. 
 And we think it but a piece of justice to declare that from what 
 we have observed during our being in this place we think both 
 the standing part of the church and the aggrieved have in general 
 discovered a good and peaceable disposition, though they enter- 
 tain different opinions concerning their pastor. We entreat them 
 on both sides to cultivate the same good disposition by the help 
 of God, hoping they will ere long be all joined together in the 
 same mind to their mutual edification and comfort and to the 
 glory of God. 
 
 To his gracious acceptance and blessing we humbly com- 
 mend our endeavors to promote the kingdom of Christ in this 
 place, beseeching him who has the hearts of all men in his 
 hands to give efficacy to them for the sake of Christ Jesus, the 
 Prince of peace, whom he hath made head over all things to 
 the church, to whom be glory and dominion now and ever, 
 Amen. Rutland District, June iSth, 1766. 
 
 Signed by all the members of the Council." 
 
 From the great respectability of the council, it is 
 not to be questioned that the " Result," however painful 
 to Mr. Frink, was according to the evidence; and we 
 are forced to the conclusion that, whatever may have 
 been the learning and piety of this minister of the 
 gospel, he was disqualified by the imperiousness of 
 his will and his choleric temper for the work of the 
 
62 BARRE CENTENNIAL. 
 
 ministry amongst a people so sensitive to their eccle- 
 siastical rights, and so determined to maintain them, as 
 this church and congregation. He meant to be abso- 
 lute ruler, and could brook no opposition to his des- 
 potic authorit}'. But it is not to be forgotten that the 
 charges against him, as far as they relate to matters of 
 administration, might have been preferred at that day 
 with equal justice against not a few of his brethren. 
 Popes were then frequently seen in the ranks of the 
 Protestant clergy; and their race is not 3'et quite 
 extinct! Undoubtedly Mr. Frink carried his preten- 
 sions farther than most others; and this, together 
 with his violent and ungovernable temper, caused the 
 trouble and scandal which resulted in his dismission. 
 
 After struggling for some time, aided by a few faith- 
 ful adherents, to retain his place, notwithstanding the 
 decision of the council, he finally gave up the contest 
 and returned to Rutland, the field of his first ministr}'. 
 Here he spent the ten remaining years of his life, — 
 an old age which could scarcely have been peaceful 
 save as it ma}^ have been cheered by the unwasted 
 love of some of his early parishioners, or upheld and 
 brightened by the tender compassions of Him whose 
 mercy endureth for ever. 
 
 On a stone in the burying-ground near the meeting- 
 house in Rutland may be read this brief inscrip- 
 tion: — 
 
 "In Memory 
 
 Of the Reverend and Learned Mr. Thomas Frink, 
 
 The first settled Minister of Rutland, 
 
 Who departed this life for a better on 
 
 the 2 1 st day of august, i777, in 
 
 the 73d year of his age." 
 
HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. 63 
 
 And on a slate-stone slab, in the north burying-ground 
 in this town, is the following inscription: — 
 
 " Here lies the body of Mrs. Isabel Frink, wife of Rev. Mr. Thomas 
 Frink, and youngest daughter of Samuel Wight, Esq., late of Rutland, 
 deceased. Descended by her mother from the Honourable Major Willard, 
 of Lancaster, by his second wife, Isabel, sister of President Dunster. 
 She departed this life on Monday evening, March ye 2d, a.d. 1772, in the 
 63d year of her age, and was interred on Thursday, March the 5th. 
 
 " Her flesh rests in hope of a happy resurrection at the last day, when 
 this mortal shall put on immortality and death be swallowed up in vic- 
 tory." 
 
 But other matters besides those of the church 
 claimed the attention of the inhabitants durino: the 
 period between the incorporation of the District and 
 the dismissal of Mr. Frink. The raachiner}^ of a town 
 was to be set up and men selected to manage it. In 
 the township, as in the state, there must be an execu- 
 tive. Of whom it should here consist was a question 
 not difficult to decide. In every community, at its 
 starting, certain men are nominated as it were by 
 intuition. All eyes are fixed on them because all see 
 that they are best fitted for doing the thing that is to 
 be done. They are born leaders. When any public 
 duty of moment is to be performed they are immedi- 
 ately pushed to the front. Hence, in the organization 
 of the District and the administration of its various 
 aftliirs, certain names were always prominent. Un- 
 fortunately the records of the District from 1749 to 
 1763 were destroyed in the fire which consumed the 
 house of John Caldwell, Esq., the town-clerk. In the 
 records commencing at the latter date, the name of 
 John Caldwell still appears as town-clerk, often, also, 
 
64 BARRE CENTENNIAL. 
 
 as moderator of town-meetings, and sometimes as 
 chairman of the board of selectmen. He may be 
 judged to have been, in local affairs, the leading citi- 
 zen. Soon there came to be associated with him 
 Deacon John Mason, Nathan Sparhawk, Asa Hapgood, 
 and Deacon Andrew Parker. The last named came 
 from Lexington, and possessed many of the traits 
 exhibited by his blood-relation of Revolutionary fame, 
 Capt. John Parker, and also the late distinguished 
 reformer and preacher, Theodore Parker. Under the 
 management of these men, with the industrious co- 
 operation of their constituents, the District advanced 
 rapidly in population and prosperity. Forests were 
 felled, roads were opened, streams were spanned by 
 bridges, saw-mills turned out lumber, houses went 
 up, harvests ripened, and, on every hand, were signs 
 of thrift which made all hearts glad. Each year the 
 District was re-enforced by immigrations. Those who 
 came were strong men, the greater part in the prime 
 of manhood, full of grit, willing to endure hardness, 
 and bent on making cheerful homes for themselves 
 where land was cheaper and more productive than in 
 the towns they had left. These additions kept things 
 lively. There was exhilaration in every step of 
 progress towards comfort ; in every house-raising 
 and house-warming; in the sight of every new field 
 ploughed and planted; of every fleece carded, spun, 
 and woven; and of every addition to herd or flock. 
 
 Amonsfst those who came about the middle of 
 the last centur}', and who were important acces- 
 
HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. 65 
 
 sions, were Benjamin Jenkins, with three adult sons, 
 from Barnstable County; Seth Perry from Martha's 
 Vineyard; William Buckminster from Framingham; 
 Launcelot Oliver from Georgetown; William Robin- 
 son from Newton. There were also here, at this 
 period, two brothers BuUard and two brothers Bent. 
 Of the latter, one was a magistrate, town-clerk, and 
 town-treasurer. 
 
 Of the famil}^ of Mr. Seth Perry, from whom de- 
 scended the late Marshall S. Perry, M.D., of Boston, 
 a correspondent furnishes to me a touching and ro- 
 mantic incident, which I cannot relate so well as in 
 her own words: "About the year 1750, a man by 
 the name of Perry, young, ambitious, and desiring 
 an inland home, left Martha's Vineyard, and after long 
 and patient search decided upon a tract of land in the 
 westerly part of what is now called Barre. Hills on 
 the north and west sheltered the little spot he selected 
 for a home. After building a primitive house and 
 barn, and clearing and planting a portion of the land, 
 he left all and went back to ' the Cape ' for the prom- 
 ised wife. Meantime, the prospective wife had made 
 ready every thing which the domestic wheel and 
 loom could produce, from damask table-linen to meal- 
 bags. Even the horse, a part of her outfit, was in the 
 stable, and the saddle-bags were in readiness for the 
 expected journey. They were married, and, with all 
 their worldly goods packed upon their two horses, 
 they started on their pilgrimage, and in due time 
 safely arrived at their new home. 
 
 9 
 
66 BARRE CENTENNIAL. 
 
 " At the end often years of successful farm-life, and 
 having been blessed with five children, the 3'oung 
 parents' hearts yearned for a sight of the old friends 
 by the sea and for a sniff of the salt breeze. Finding 
 competent persons to take care of their treasures, 
 they started, one clear June morning, and after five 
 days' ride v^^ere again within sound of the surging 
 ocean, and soon the dear familiar voices welcomed 
 them. Before the visit was over, the husband fell 
 sick of fever, and, after three weeks of suffering, died. 
 Hearts were as tender and love was as true then as 
 now. The strong, brave widow must bury her dead, 
 and must go back to her children. She took a last 
 and only look at the grave of her early hopes, neatly 
 folded her husband's scanty wardrobe, fastened it to 
 his saddle, and started on her lonely journey, the 
 faithful horse, with empty saddle, keeping her com- 
 pany, unled. Can greater heroism be imagined? 
 
 "No word could be sent to the waiting hearts at 
 home, and the prolonged absence of the parents was 
 a source of deep anxiety. Night after night the little 
 children would go to the top of the hill and watch 
 for their coming until, with the sinking sun, the tender 
 voice of the housekeeper called them, and, gathering 
 them inside the house, drew in the latch-string for the 
 night. At last, a large company was seen on a distant 
 hill; for a neighbor from each house for miles had 
 joined the lone woman on her way to her home, 
 divininof all too well the sorrow that had befallen her. 
 The empty saddle needed no interpreter. It was thus 
 
HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. 67 
 
 that this woman * gained her residence' in Barre. 
 After a busy and useful life, she left us at the age of 
 ninet3'-one years!" 
 
 I may add, that this heroic woman was mother of 
 the wife of our former deacon Moses Holden; that 
 wife, whom everybod}" loved in her lifetime, and 
 whose memory is green and fragrant still. Let me 
 also observe, that whoever knew Dr. Perry intimately 
 will trace a close resemblance between traits of his 
 character and those here exhibited in his paternal 
 grandmother. 
 
 The Jenkins family, before mentioned, was large 
 and influential. The first of the name had three 
 sons, Benjamin, Jr., Southworth, and Timothy. The 
 father came first, and then returned to bring the 
 others. He purchased of Nathaniel Jennison about 
 three hundred acres of land in the western part of 
 the District, where he lived, and where, at four- 
 score years of age, he died; having first divided the 
 estate into three equal farms, constructed commodious 
 buildings, and settled his three sons, who all lived, 
 died and were buried on the paternal acres. Ben- 
 jamin, Jr., the " old squire," was a man of strong and 
 vigorous understanding, quite distinguished as a mag- 
 istrate, and left, it is said, the best farm and farm- 
 buildings in western Worcester. Southworth, a name 
 traceable to the " old comers " of Plymouth Colony, 
 left six sons whose united height was thirty-six feet 
 seven inches. One of these became a clergyman of 
 eminence, and was settled first at Greenfield, then at 
 
68 BARRE CENTENNIAL. 
 
 Portland, Maine, the honored father of the Rev. John 
 L. Jenkins, now a highly respected minister of Am- 
 herst. Timothy married a sister of Seth Perr}^, whose 
 brief career has been noticed, and had nine children. 
 Of one of these, bearing his name, I shall speak 
 farther on. 
 
 During the period we are now reviewing, a new 
 minister was chosen. The dismission of the Rev. Mr. 
 Frink had been advised by a mutual council, June i8, 
 1766. On the i6th of July the qualified voters, 
 assembled by warrant in town meeting, formally 
 accepted the " Result." On the 9th day of Septem- 
 ber a town meeting was called to take measures for 
 securing a successor; and "Deacon John Mason, 
 Jonathan Fletcher, and Ezra Jones were appointed a 
 committee to engage candidates." The pulpit was 
 supplied by one and another for about the space of a 
 year, when the choice fell, with great unanimity, on 
 Mr. Josiah Dana, of Pomfret, Ct. Mr. Dana was a 
 graduate of Harvard University of the class of 1763. 
 His letter of acceptance is dated July 9, 1767, and his 
 ordination took place on the 7th of October following. 
 So much was accomplished for the church. Mean- 
 while, as before, the schools received their share of 
 attention. Liberal appropriations were made annually 
 for their support. In 1765 the town voted "that 
 school be kept in six places." These were private 
 houses in different neighborhoods. The sums paid 
 to the several masters each year are duly recorded, 
 the largest, £10. 7^-. 2^., having been received by Jonas 
 Plowe, in 1768. 
 
HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. 69 
 
 Passing now into the next period of ten years, — 
 the period of the rise and progress of the American 
 Revolution, — we must trace, as rapidly as possible, 
 the part borne by this town in the great contest. 
 
 On the 23d of February, 1773, a town meeting was 
 called "to consider of a Circular Letter from the town 
 of Boston concerning the State and Rights of this 
 Province." The letter was referred to a committee, 
 consisting of John Caldwell, Esq., Nathan Sparhawk, 
 Ezra Jones, Matthias Stone, and Asa Hapgood, who 
 made the following report: — 
 
 " The committee appointed at a meeting in Rutland District, 
 legally assembled on the 23d day of February, a.d. 1773, to con- 
 sider of the letter from the town of Boston, with their statement 
 of the Rights of the Colonies and the Infringement made upon 
 them, which was publicly read at said meeting, beg leave to 
 report : That, upon a full consideration of the propriety and 
 expediency of the measure, they do recommend to the inhabitants 
 of said District to pass the following Resolves, viz. : i. Resolved, 
 That the rights of the colonists and of this province in particular 
 as stated by their respectable brethren of the metropolis of this 
 province are agreeable to the real sentiments of the inhabitants of 
 this District, and that it is of the utmost importance that the in- 
 habitants of the Province stand as one man to support and main- 
 tain all their just rights and privileges. 2. Resolved, That the 
 inhabitants of this and the other British Provinces have an equal 
 right with the people of Great Britain to enjoy and dispose of 
 their own property, and the same cannot be taken from them 
 but by their own consent. 3. Resolved, That the Parliament of 
 Great Britain have passed several acts in the execution of which 
 American subjects are burdened with unconstitutional taxes. 4. 
 Resolved, That to render the Governor and Judges of the Superior 
 Court of the Province independent of the grants of the General 
 Assembly is an innovation and infraction on the Chartered Rights, 
 as it destroys that check which should remain in the hands of the 
 
70 BARRE CENTENNIAL. 
 
 people. 5. Resolved, That the thanks of this District be given 
 to the town of Boston for their zeal shown in defence of Charter 
 Rights." 
 
 This report was signed by the whole committee, 
 and adopted unanimously March i, 1773. It was cer- 
 tainly a spirited beginning. 
 
 The grave questions then agitating the colony made 
 it important to the District to be represented in the 
 General Court. Its population had more than doubled 
 since its incorporation, and it was therefore entitled 
 to all the rights of a town. Accordingly, in a war- 
 rant issued March 15, 1773, the article numbered 
 eight reads: "To see if the District will petition the 
 Great and General Court to be set off as a town, or 
 to act anything relative thereto." The meeting was 
 held in April, when the proposition was adopted 
 unanimously; and John Caldwell, Asa Hapgood, and 
 Nathan Sparhawk were chosen a committee to present 
 the petition. This petition was entered, as appears 
 by the Journal, June 22, 1773, when an order of notice 
 to the adjacent towns was passed. " Thursday, Feb- 
 ruary 10, 1774, William Sever, Esq., brought down 
 the petition of Rutland District." " Read again and 
 ordered. That the pra3'er be so far granted as that the 
 petitioners have leave to bring in a bill for the pur- 
 poses mentioned. Sent down for concurrence. Read 
 and concurred." " Wednesday, Feb. 16, 1774. A bill 
 for incorporating Rutland District into a town, by 
 the name of Barre, read the third time and passed 
 to be engrossed." "Wednesday, Feb. 23, 1774. 
 
HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. 7I 
 
 Upon a motion, ordered^ that the Secretary lay on 
 the table the bill for erecting Rutland District into a 
 town. The Secretary laid the same on the table ac- 
 cordingly." 
 
 Here the matter abruptly drops. Why, after the 
 bill had passed to be engrossed, it was recalled and 
 laid upon the table, does not appear; but it is conject- 
 ured that the reason lay in the iiarjte proposed to be 
 given; and that it came to the knowledge of those 
 entrusted with the bill that Governor Hutchinson 
 would not give his assent to it unless the name were 
 changed. 
 
 On the last Wednesday of May following, the leg- 
 islature met and organized the government for the 
 year by the usual election of councillors. On the 
 next Saturday it was unexpectedly prorogued, to meet, 
 after ten days, at Salem. The second day of the ses- 
 sion bears this record: "June 8, 1774. A bill to 
 incorporate Rutland District into a town. Read the 
 first and second time. Ordered, that the bill be read 
 again to-morrow at ten o'clock." "June 9. Read the 
 third time, and passed to be engrossed." "June 14. 
 An engrossed bill for incorporating Rutland District 
 into a town. Read, and passed to be enacted." On the 
 17th the famous message of Governor Gage dissolv- 
 ing the General Court was read from the steps of the 
 Court House, the Secretary being refused admission; 
 but before the message was sent, we have the au- 
 thority of the "Massachusetts Spy" of that week for 
 saying that several acts, and amongst them that for 
 
72 BARRE CENTENNIAL. 
 
 the erection of Rutland District into a town, passed 
 the Council and were consented to by the Governor. 
 So that there can be no doubt that this is our legal 
 birthday. 
 
 The following is the act of incorporation: — 
 
 "An act for incorporating a tract of land in the county of Wor- 
 cester by the name of Ruthuid District into a town by the name 
 of Hutchinson. 
 
 " Whereas, the north-westerly part of the township of Rutland, 
 in the county of Worcester, at the session of the General Court 
 held on the 28th day of March, 1753, was incorporated into a 
 district by the name of Rutland District, and invested with all 
 the powers and privileges that towns in this province do or may 
 enjoy, that of sending a representative to the General Court only 
 excepted ; and whereas the said District, which is of the contents 
 of six miles square, is now completely filled with inhabitants, 
 who have made it appear to this court that it is very inconvenient 
 for them to join with the town of Rutland and the District 
 of Oakham and Hubbardston in the choice of Representatives, 
 as by law they are now obliged, by reason of their great distance 
 from the place of election, they living many of them more than 
 sixteen miles therefrom. Be it therefore enacted by the Gov- 
 ernor, Council, and House of Representatives, that the said 
 Rutland District be and hereby is incorporated into a town by 
 the name of Hutchinson, and that the inhabitants thereof be and 
 hereby are invested with all the powers, privileges, and immuni- 
 ties that the inhabitants of towns in this Province do or ought to 
 enjoy. 
 
 "And be it further enacted, that all the several District officers 
 in said District that have been chosen into and have actually been 
 legally in office in said District until the passing of this Act, shall 
 be and hereby are empowered to continue to exercise all the 
 powers in the several offices in said town that they might by law 
 exercise in said District if this law had not been made, until new 
 officers may be chosen in said town in the month of March next, 
 when the selectmen shall call a meeting for the choice of all town 
 
HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. 73 
 
 officers in all respects as they might have called a meeting of 
 this said District if this act had not been passed. 
 
 "Passed to be enacted at Salem, lune 14, 1774. 
 
 "Consented to by the Governor, June 17, 1774." 
 
 Between the action of the legislature in February 
 and that in June, Hutchinson had been succeeded in 
 office by Gage, who, it is believed, caused the name 
 of his predecessor to be inserted in the bill instead of 
 Barre. How much honor accrued to his distin- 
 guished friend by this change we shall soon see. 
 
 Pending this petition, what stirring events had 
 transpired! The tea had been emptied into the Bay. 
 The Port bill had been passed, and with it the bill 
 abolishing town meetings " except for the choice of 
 town-officers or on the special permission of the gov- 
 ernor." Gage had landed at Long Wharf, amidst 
 salutes from ships and batteries, to take the place of 
 Hutchinson, who had embarked for England. Boston 
 harbor had been blockaded. The " Kino-'s Own " and 
 " The Forty-third " had encamped on Boston Com- 
 mon. "The solemn league and covenant" had been 
 agreed upon. And, last of all, on the ver}' day when 
 Governor Gage gave his consent to our act of incor- 
 poration, the legislature at Salem had adopted the 
 motion of Samuel Adams for the call of a Na- 
 tional Congress to meet at Philadelphia on 
 
 THE first day OF SEPTEMBER FOLLOWING, the 
 
 most pregnant event of all. 
 
 Thus it is seen that we came into existence as a 
 town amid the birth-throes of the Revolution, in the 
 
74 BARRE CENTENNIAL. 
 
 last day of the existence of a House of Representa- 
 tives under the Provincial Charter. Since the day- 
 spring of History, when has there been a more 
 momentous epoch? As Mr. Webster said, in one 
 of his memorable orations, the election of delegates 
 under the resolution of Adams, and the proclamation 
 which dissolved the General Court at Salem, " ter- 
 minated for ever the actual exercise of the political 
 power of England in or over Massachusetts." 
 
 The interest in passing events at this time became 
 all-absorbing. Not confined to the metropolis and 
 its vicinity, it extended to the far-away towns and 
 settlements of the Province, where wh-at was done 
 in Faneuil Hall was heartily indorsed and ap- 
 plauded. Eagerly the people waited for news by 
 each opportunity from Boston and London. At the 
 fireside, when at night the pine-knot had been lighted 
 for a candle, the father related to his listening house- 
 hold each new step in the exciting and ominous 
 controvers}-; and in the daytime, when he could 
 snatch a few hours from the labor of the farm, he 
 mounted his horse and rode to the village for con- 
 sultation with others gathered there, or to be fired up 
 by the appeals and denunciations of some citizen 
 more " tonguey " than the rest on the momentous 
 theme. The tavern was their place of resort; and 
 there, as the foaming mug went round from hand to 
 hand, and faces grew ruby under the dispensation, the 
 love of Liberty, kindled into an intense passion and 
 resolves to maintain it or die, came solid as cannon- 
 balls from their united and invincible will. 
 
HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. 75 
 
 All public proceedings soon became as well known 
 at Gates's tavern as in King Street. Caldwell, Mason, 
 Sparhawk, Hapgood, Buckminster, Parker, and many 
 others, fully understood their portentous significance, 
 and the whole population responded in burning words 
 to the suggestions and appeals of their brethren in 
 Boston. 
 
 The District did not assume its functions as a town 
 until the January following its incorporation. But in 
 the August previous it voted, to " pay the town's pro- 
 portion for support of Congress to be holden at Phila- 
 delphia;" and, also, chose Asa Hapgood, Nathan 
 Sparhawk, Andrew Parker, John Mason, and Peter 
 Fessenden, the " Committee of Safety." And on the 
 1 2th of September, eight days before the assembling 
 of Congress, a movement was made for reorganizing 
 the militia under the following preamble and vote: — 
 
 "Whereas, the state of our publick affairs in this province at 
 the present day is very ahinning, and in consequence hereof the 
 militia officers have resigned their respective posts, thereby throw- 
 ing the militia of the town, as it were, into a state of nature : 
 Whereas, we being exposed to be called upon by our brethren 
 in the metropolis of this Province for our attendance, we judge 
 it Highly necessary that some method be prescribed immediately 
 for the regulation of the militia ; and Whereas, it is recom- 
 mended by the Committee of Correspondence for the county of 
 Worcester that every town in this county, under the situation, 
 should immediately meet and unanimously choose officers to lead 
 them wherever they may be called until the government shall be 
 brought under a proper Regulation, these are, therefore, to desire 
 the Inhabitants of Rutland District to meet at the meeting-house 
 in said District on Monday, the twelfth day of September current, 
 at one of the clock in the afternoon, for that purpose ; and it is 
 earnestly recommended by the selectmen of said District and said 
 
Committee of Coi-respondciice 
 for Rutland District. 
 
 ^6 BARRE CENTENNIAL. 
 
 committee that the Inhabitants of said District would unanimously 
 meet at the hour above mentioned, inasmuch as a former meet- 
 ing stands adjourned to the twelfth day of September, and there 
 will matters of importance be brought under consideration. 
 
 Asa Hapgood, 
 Nathan Sparhawk, 
 John Mason, 
 Andrew Parker, 
 Asa Hapgood, ^ 
 
 TV-, o Selectmen of Rutland Dis- 
 
 NaTHAN bPARHAWK, > . "^ 
 
 -r- T I *^^<^i- 
 
 Ezra Jones, J 
 
 "Rutland, September 12, 1774." 
 
 " The District met at time and place, and, after solemn prayer 
 to God, the following votes weie passed: i. To form into two 
 companies as usual. 2. Voted to the company I. of this District 
 as follows, viz. : Captain, Ezra Jones ; Lieut., Nathan Sparhawk ; 
 Lieut., Andrew Parker; Ensign, Benjamin Nye. Company IL in 
 said District, Captain, William Buckminster ; Lieut., Josiah 
 Holden ; Lieut., William Henry; and Ensign, James Black. 
 " And that, they will obey them till further orders. 
 
 " Attest, Nathan Sparhawk, Town Clerk" 
 
 One article of a warrant dated February 24, 1775, 
 was, " To see what sum or sums the town will grant 
 to the Minute-men in said town for their encourage- 
 ment, or to act any thing relative thereto." " March 
 7th. A committee was chosen to confer with the Min- 
 ute company, and the meeting was adjourned to the 
 fourteenth." " 14th. The committee appointed to con- 
 fer with the Minute company report as follows: 
 " That it is reasonable the captain should have five 
 shillings for each half day that the said company 
 shall be by the town appointed to be under arms, 
 and that the two lieutenants shall have four shillings 
 
HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. 77 
 
 each, and sergeants two shillings each, and the pri- 
 vates one shilling and sixpence each for each half 
 day as aforesaid; and that they shall be paid for four 
 half days previous to the above date. And, further- 
 more, said company shall not exceed fifty men, includ- 
 ing officers; that they shall attend to discipline two 
 half days in each month during the term of eight 
 months, unless- it shall be thought by the said town 
 hereafter to be unnecessary; and if the company 
 shall be called by the Committee of Safety of the 
 Province to march to any part of the Province within 
 the term above-mentioned, that each private shall re- 
 ceive as a bounty out of the town treasury the sum 
 of six shillings upon their marching. 
 
 " And furthermore, in case said company shall be 
 called to march as above-mentioned, then their pay 
 above-mentioned to cease as to the town." 
 
 This is the meagre account which our records fur- 
 nish of the " Minute-men." It is enough, however, to 
 show that they were not that undisciplined mob of 
 soldiers they have sometimes been represented. 
 
 The first legal meeting of the town of Hutchinson 
 w^as held January lo, 1778, when it was voted, "to 
 accept the Continental Congress Resolves in full;" 
 and John Mason was chosen delegate to the Provin- 
 cial Congress at Cambridge. A committee was also 
 appointed to prepare Instructions to the Delegate and 
 report at an adjourned meeting. The committee, on 
 the da}' to which the meeting stood adjourned, re- 
 ported Instructions as follows: — 
 
78 BARRE CENTENNIAL. 
 
 "To Deacon John Mason, of Hutchinson. 
 
 " Sir, — You being constituted by the Inhabitants of said Hutch- 
 inson legally assembled to act for and in behalf of said town in 
 Provincial Congress to be holden at Cambridge the first day of 
 February next ensuing, — and we, on intimation that it was the 
 opinion of the former Provincial Body in general and your desire 
 in particular (being now elected again as a member of said Body) 
 that we vour constituents afford you some particular Instructions 
 in this difficult and troublesome day, in which is needed the great- 
 est wisdom and most profound knowledge in matters of a politick 
 nature — We therefore, in a united manner, filled with the deep- 
 est concern for the public Weal, and our fears being much alarmed 
 by the oppressive and arbitrary measures concerted and really in 
 Execution upon us by the British Parliament, think it our duty to 
 instruct you in every consistent way in our Rights by compact to 
 stand for and vindicate the same in a firm, steady, and uniform 
 manner. And secondly and particularly, as Civil Government at 
 this present Juncture seems to be a point that labors in tlie minds 
 of the inhabitants of this Province in general — whether to 
 assume it or not — every circumstance considered. We your 
 constituents having deliberately weighed the matter in our 
 minds, and finding, upon the most mature consideration, that it 
 will be attended with danger to assume civil government at the 
 present day (unless there is something of more importance turns 
 up to view than what comes within the reach of our comprehen- 
 sion at this time). Union hath been looked upon as our Life 
 under God, and if so, when broken, destruction ensues. And as 
 the Continental Congress hath advised to the suspension of civil 
 government in this Colony upon their Deliberations upon the state 
 of the colonies, we mean to coincide with their determination in 
 general and in this matter in particular — unless sad necessity 
 should oblige you to do it [otlierwise?] 
 
 " We leave it, sir, with you, in connection with the Honorable 
 Provincial Body, to judge and determine as to what may turn up 
 to view during your session that doth not come within our com- 
 prehension at this time. 
 
 Signed, "John Caldwell, Chairman, 
 
 In behalf of the Comviiltee. 
 " Hutchinson, January 23, 1775." 
 
HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. 79 
 
 Evidently John Caldwell, Esq., found the business 
 of inditing Instructions not very easy. " He draweth 
 out the thread of his verbosity finer than the staple of 
 his argument." But Deacon Mason put the Instruc- 
 tions in his pocket, went to the Congress, and voted 
 straight, as a true patriot, every time. 
 
 This was the Year of years! The minute-men 
 were soon needed. The bugle-blast of the Revolu- 
 tion sounded from Lexington and Concord, and re- 
 verberated amongst these hills. It was a summons 
 to arms. The men were ready, and, on the " minute," 
 obeyed; being led by their brother-farmer, the cool, 
 brave Buckminster. Is there pluck in these tillers of 
 the soil? Will they go to the front without flinching? 
 We shall see. Trained to the use of a fire-arm from 
 the hour when they were big enough to lift it and rest 
 it on a stump or in the crotch of a tree, it was to them 
 a plaything. It had been aimed hitherto at destructive 
 birds and dangerous animals. It will now be pointed, 
 with as good a will and as steady an aim, at any red- 
 coat who comes within its range. The day which is 
 to try them is at hand. The 19th of April has al- 
 ready scored itself in the calendar of days immortal. 
 Another of equal significance and sublimity is shortly 
 to be registered. In a little less than two months a 
 hill in Charlestown, undistinguished except by its 
 natural features from others in and around Boston, 
 suddenly blazes into everlasting renown. Lexington 
 received the first bloody shot of the usurping foe; 
 Concord resisted, and turned him back with dauntless 
 
8o BARRE CENTENNIAL. 
 
 braver}' ; but Bunker Hill fought the first Great Battle, 
 and in smoke and dust and gore covered itself with 
 unfading glor)^ And vvhere were our minute-men 
 on that day of victorious defeat? Loitering and 
 straggling on the road between Barre and Cambridge ? 
 Munching their rations as they halted to rest under 
 the trees of Waltham and Watertown? No, no! 
 They were there where Patriotism demanded their 
 valor and their blood. They were on that perilous 
 field, in the midst of that thunder-storm of Lib- 
 erty which has cleared the air for a century and 
 the echoes of which are still shaking the nations. 
 They had been attached to Colonel Brewer's regi- 
 ment, of which their gallant neighbor, immediately 
 upon joining it, had been appointed lieutenant-colonel. 
 The command of the company devolved on their 
 townsman, John Black, whilst Benjamin Gates was 
 its lieutenant, and John Patrick its ensign. To have 
 been thus represented in that grand and awful 
 moment of American history, when the patriots 
 " crossed the bridge and burnt it behind them," is 
 martial honor enough for our town if she had 
 achieved no other. 
 
 Our principal hero of that day deserves a more 
 particular, though it be a very brief, notice. 
 
 Colonel William Buckminster was born in Framing- 
 ham in 1736. He was a brother of the Rev. Joseph 
 Buckminster, of Rutland, who was the father of the 
 Rev. Joseph Buckminster, D.D., of Portsmouth, N. H., 
 and grandfather of the Rev. Joseph S. Buckminster, 
 
HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. bl 
 
 the celebrated minister, in the early part of this cen- 
 tur}^ of Brattle Street church, Boston. 
 
 At the age of twenty-one years, William Buckmin- 
 ster removed to this place and purchased a farm. Of 
 recognized character and abilities, he soon became a 
 leading and influential citizen. When the troubles 
 with the mother-country began, he was at once " zeal- 
 ously affected; " and his earnestness continued with- 
 out abatement till the final triumph of our arms. He 
 was active in raising and equipping the company 
 of "Minute men" which he commanded. Mr. Froth- 
 ingham, in his careful " History of the Siege of 
 Boston," bears this testimony to him: " Lieut.-Col. 
 Buckminster acquired much reputation for bravery 
 and prudence in the battle. Just before the retreat, 
 he received a dangerous wound from a musket-ball 
 entering his right shoulder and coming out in the 
 middle of his back. This made him a cripple during 
 life. He was much respected for his sterling integ- 
 rit}^, patriotism, and goodness of heart." Bancroft 
 speaks of the men furnished from Brewer's regiment 
 who "hastened to the aid of Prescott,"' "and with 
 them the prudent and fearless William Buckminster, 
 of Barre, their lieutenant-colonel. 
 
 His wound disabled him for further service in the 
 war, though his name was continued on the army-list 
 till its close. He returned to his farm, and by his 
 word and spirit inspired his townsmen with courage 
 and zeal to do their full part in the long and severe 
 contest. He was universally respected while he lived; 
 
82 BARRE CENTENNIAL. 
 
 and in the grave3'arcl where his body was interred 
 is a monument with this inscription: — 
 
 " Sacred to the Memory of 
 
 Col. William Buckminster, 
 
 An Industrious Farmer, 
 
 A Useful Citizen, 
 
 An Honest Man, 
 
 A Sincere Christian, 
 
 A Brave Officer, 
 
 And a Friend to his Country, 
 
 In whose cause he courageously Fought 
 
 And was dangerously wounded at 
 
 The Battle of Bunker Hill. 
 
 He was born Dec. 15, 1736, 
 
 Died June 22, 1786." 
 
 It would be a grateful task to set forth in its various 
 detail the part borne by our town — the men enlisted, 
 the money appropriated, the resolutions adopted, the 
 sacrifices made, the lives given up in camp and on 
 battle-fields — during the War of Independence. I 
 should love to recall the memory and the merits of 
 that ardent patriot, John Gorham, who served under 
 General Lafayette; of William Henry, a daring but 
 kindly officer, as careful of his command in the camp 
 as he was rigorous in the field; of Peter Fessenden, 
 the good soldier and noted wit; of the younger Dan 
 Hawes, still remembered for his eminently Christian 
 character, who gave the freshness of his youth to the 
 cause of his country; of the Holdens, and Rices, and 
 Nyes, and Bacons, and scores besides, whose descend- 
 ants justly glory in the honorable part they bore in 
 the struggles of the Revolution. 
 
 But this belongs rather to a history of the town 
 
HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. 83 
 
 than to a commemorative discourse. And I shall 
 content myself with noticing only one other of our 
 soldiers, who was also an eminent citizen. Many 
 here will remember the stalwart form and dignified 
 bearing of General Samuel Lee. Born in this town 
 in the year 1767, he enlisted as a soldier in the army 
 in 1780, being but thirteen years old, though of physi- 
 cal proportions far beyond his years. Joining the 
 army at West Point about the time of Arnold's trea- 
 son, he was transferred to a flying regiment under 
 Col. Alexander Scammel in New Jersey, and took 
 part in a severe engagement, in which one of his 
 townsmen, Silas Smith, fell by his side. He was en- 
 gaged in many actions, Yorktown being the most im- 
 portant, and was honorably discharged at the end of 
 the war. Returning home, he developed superior 
 qualities of mind, and soon acquired such an educa- 
 tion as made him a popular teacher of the common 
 schools and an efficient town-officer. In the militia 
 he rose rapidly till he became a brigadier-general. 
 For many years he served with fidelity on the school- 
 committee. In five legislatures he was a represen- 
 tative. He was also a State senator, and at two 
 successive elections one of the presidential electors for 
 the Commonwealth. A man of unquestioned integ- 
 rity and public spirit, of sound judgment and manly 
 presence, he was one of the most honored fathers of 
 the town. He died Oct. 17, 1839, aged 72 3^ears. 
 
 " To Freedom's cause his ardent youth was given, 
 His riper age to rural cares and Heaven." 
 
84 BARRE CENTENNIAL. 
 
 Leaving now the disturbances, conflicts, and sacri- 
 fices of the war, we will take up again the thread of 
 our municipal history. " Let us have peace! " 
 
 Our town has been bearing, since its full incorpora- 
 tion, June 17, 1774, the name of Hutchinson. The 
 public course of Governor Hutchinson had made it 
 an odious name to all earnest patriots. Our people 
 could not patiently endure to date their letters, or sub- 
 scribe their names, or anywhere report themselves, as 
 belonging to Hutchinson. It seemed ignominious; 
 and after bearing the reproach as long as they could, 
 they resolved to take the necessary steps to wipe it 
 out. For this purpose a town meeting was called 
 and a petition to the legislature was adopted. The 
 phraseology of the petition is sufficiently emphatic to 
 express the feeling of the people. It was probably 
 the joint production of Mason and Parker. It is as 
 follows : — 
 
 " To the Goteral Assembly of the Colony of Massachusetts 
 Bay^ now sitting at Watertoxvn. 
 
 " Gentlemen, — We your humble petitioners beg leave luim- 
 bly to show that, whereas the inhabitants of a certain tract of land 
 or plantation lying in the county of Worcester, formerly known by 
 the name of Rutland District, being desirous of a new incorpora- 
 tion, did, in the year 1773, petition the General Assembly of this 
 Colony for to be set ofl' as a town, and to have the connection 
 with Rutland cease ; and we so far succeeded in our attempt as to 
 obtain tiie approbation and conciu'rence of both houses; but the 
 matter was non-concurred by Governor Hutchinson, who was 
 then in the chair, unless he could have the privilege of filling the 
 blank ; but the House not willing to give up what they viewed as 
 their right, the matter was not completed till Air. Gage took the 
 
HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. 85 
 
 chair, who very soon after gave us a specimen of what he was, or 
 intended to be, to the Colony, by filling up the blank with that 
 obnoxious name Hutchinson, that well-known enemy of the 
 natural and stipulated rights of America, which £-ave ms a very 
 disagreeable sensation of ?nind, not being able to speak of the 
 town in which we lived but our thoughts were necessarily turned 
 upon that ignominious enemy of mankind, and in a measure filled 
 with shame to tell where we live when requested. Therefore, 
 we, your humble petitioners, on the seventeenth of January last, at 
 a town meeting notified for the purpose of taking the mind of the 
 inhabitants of our town, passed the following votes, viz. : Voted 
 unanimously, To petition the General Assembly of this Colony 
 to take oft^and cancel that obnoxious name Hutchinson. 2. Voted 
 unanimously, That it would give content to the inhabitants of this 
 town to be incorporated by the name of that ever-memorable 
 friend to the rights and liberties of America, Wilkes. We, your 
 humble petitioners, wishing success to the American cause, ex- 
 pecting our petition to be granted which we in duty are bound 
 shall ever pray. 
 
 (Signed) 
 
 John Mason, 
 Nathan Sparhawk, 
 Peter Fessenden, 
 Andrew Parker, 
 
 "Hutchinson, 5th February, 1776." 
 
 Commiitee in behalf 
 of the TovJtt. 
 
 John Mason was the representative of the town that 
 year. The petition took the usual course; and on the 
 seventh of November — four months and three days 
 after the Declaration of Independence — an Act was 
 passed entitled: "An Act for Discontinuing the name 
 of a Town in the County of Worcester, lately incor- 
 porated by the name of Hutchinson, and calling the 
 same Barre." With the foregoing title, the Act runs 
 as follows: — 
 
86 BARRE CENTENNIAL. 
 
 "Whereas, the inhabitants of the town of Hutchinson have, 
 by their petition, represented to this Court, that, in June, 1774, 
 when tlie said town was incorporated. General Gage, the then 
 governor, gave it the name of Hutchinson, in honor to, and to 
 perpetuate the memory of, Thomas Hutcliinson, his immediate 
 predecessor in the chair of government, whom they justly style 
 the well-known enemy of the natural and stipulated rights of 
 America ; and that, at a town meeting notified for that purpose, 
 they voted unanimously to petition, and accordingly have peti- 
 tioned, the General Court, that the name of the said town might 
 be altered, and that it might no longer bear the disgraceful name 
 of Hutchinson ; 
 
 " And whereas, there is a moral fitness that traitors and par- 
 ricides — especially such as have remarkably distinguished them- 
 selves in that odious character, and have long labored to deprive 
 their native country of its most valuable rights and privileges, 
 and to destroy every constitutional guard against the evils of an 
 all-enslaving despotism — should be held up to public view in 
 their true characters, to be execrated by mankind ; and that there 
 should remain no other memorials of them than such as will 
 transmit their names with infamy to posterity ; 
 
 " And whereas, the said Thomas Hutchinson, contrary to every 
 obligation of duty and gratitude to this his native country, which 
 raised him from private life to the highest and most lucrative 
 offices in the government, has acted towards her the part of a 
 traitor and parricide, as above described, which has been clearly 
 manifested to the world by his letters lately published ; and, by 
 his having thus acted, it has become fit and just that every honor- 
 able memorial of him should be obliterated and cease; 
 
 " Therefore, be it enacted by the Council and House of Rep- 
 resentatives of the State of Massachusetts Bay, in General Court 
 assembled, and by the authority of the same, that the land lying 
 in the county of Worcester, formerly called Rutland District, and 
 in June, 1774, incorporated into a town by the name of Hutchin- 
 son, shall no longer bear that nam.e, but henceforth shall be called 
 and known by the name of Barre, the aforesaid incorporating 
 act notwithstanding ; and all officers in the said town shall hold 
 and exercise their offices respectively in the same manner as 
 
HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. 87 
 
 they would have done had not the name of the said town been 
 altered. 
 
 (Signed) " S. Dalton, Speaker^ fro tcm. 
 
 (Also signed by the Council.) 
 "Nov. 7, 1776." 
 
 The petitioners, it will have been seen, suggested 
 the name of Wilkes. John Wilkes, whom they pro- 
 posed to honor, was an English liberal and agitator who 
 espoused our cause zealousl}^, and at that time was 
 much applauded by the patriots. He was a radical of 
 a daring spirit, with vigorous powers of mind, which 
 he employed in the interest of the people against 
 privilege. But he was turbulent and indiscreet; was 
 expelled from Parliament; and upon a second and 
 third election was refused a seat, but was at last ad- 
 mitted to the same Parliament of which Colonel Barre 
 was a member. In compliment to both these friends 
 of America, one of the towns of Pennsylvania took 
 the name of Wilkes-Barre. Wilkes was a man of 
 immense popularity, but was more a demagogue than 
 statesman; and of his personal character no word of 
 commendation can be spoken. Let us rejoice, then, 
 that the "Great and General Court" did not put upon 
 us the name of Wilkes, w^hen it took away the 
 reproach of being called Hutchinson. At whose 
 instance the name of Barre was given to the town 
 is not known. In the Act, as in that incorpo- 
 rating Hutchinson, the place for the name was left 
 blank, and was filled in the council-chamber before 
 receiving the approval of the Executive. 
 
 Between the petition and the passage of the Act, 
 
05 BARRE CENTENNIAL. 
 
 to wit, on the loth of June, 1776, in town meeting, 
 the following glorious vote was passed: — 
 
 " Voted, To ABIDE BY THE CONTINENTAL CoNGRESS IF 
 THEY SHOULD DECLARE US AN INDEPENDENT StATE, AND THAT 
 WE WILL DEFEND THE SAME WITPI OUR LiVES AND FORTUNES." 
 
 And in less than a month the Declaration was 
 made! 
 
 In October of that year, wearied with the pro- 
 tracted strugrgle which was draining: their resources 
 and making fresh demands for men difficult to meet, 
 several of the prominent citizens, in apparent con- 
 travention of the vote so recently passed, drew upon 
 themselves great displeasure by signing a call for a 
 town meeting " to consider Lord Howe's Hand Bill 
 and Declaration, as it appears to us, by said declara- 
 tion, that it contains as much as that all the acts that 
 we complain of should be revised; and if that may 
 be depended upon, that they will be repealed, and our 
 rights and privileges established to us, we take it that 
 is all the Congress pra3'ed for in their petitions; and 
 as all proposals must begin somewhere, we think it is 
 time to know whether the people of this town mean 
 to fight Great Britain only for independenc}^, and if not, 
 that their minds may be known thereon." This was 
 the language of accommodation. It was the expres- 
 sion of a lingering love for the old government and a 
 painful weariness of war. This feeling was shared, it 
 is well known, by large numbers in several of the 
 States. Fortunately, it did not control the action of 
 any. But it ought not to be regarded as impeaching 
 
HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. 89 
 
 either the honor or the patriotism of those in whom 
 it appeared. In this town it was met with decided 
 opposition*. A warrant was issued as requested, but 
 at the meeting pursuant, it was " voted, not to act 
 upon the warrant^ This vote, undoubtedly, meant 
 not only opposition but indignation; and upon its 
 adoption so true a man as John Black, who led the 
 Barre minute-men at Bunker Hill only a year before, 
 on the January ensuing was summaril}^ dropped from 
 all town offices. John Caldwell, Esq., was visited 
 with a similar fate; and even William Buckminster, 
 still feeble from his severe wound, scarcel}^ escaped 
 it. The town was right. The time for accommoda- 
 tion had gone by. But these good and true men 
 thought, or hoped, differently; and, in consequence, 
 suffered the loss, for a while, of the good opinion of 
 their townsmen. John Caldwell was censured more 
 and suffered longer than the rest; and it is not 
 unlikely that his impatience at the rejection of 
 his counsels gave some occasion for suspecting his 
 patriotism. The other signers very soon began to 
 participate again in public affairs with the entire 
 confidence and respect of the people of the town; 
 and after a few years he himself was restored to 
 political favor and office. 
 
 In the same month of October the town voted 
 " to authorize the present House of Representatives 
 to frame a Constitution of government for the State." 
 But when the constitution had been framed, and the 
 vote was taken on its acceptance eighteen months 
 
go BARRE CENTENNIAL. 
 
 later, April 27, 1778, the town, acting with a great 
 majority of the people of the State, rejected it. 
 Again, in April, 1779, it was voted by the legislature 
 to call a convention of delegates of the towns to meet 
 at Cambridge on the first of September following, for 
 the express purpose of framing a form of government. 
 The convention was held. It was an able and dig- 
 nified body. Many of the most distinguished men of 
 the State were members; among them James Bow- 
 doin, John Adams, John Lowell, Theophilus Parsons, 
 James Sullivan, to name no more. In this important 
 convention, Barre was represented by those clear- 
 sighted and trusty men, always foremost when any 
 grave public service was to be rendered, John Mason, 
 Esq., Lieut. Andrew Parker, and Lieut. Asa Hap- 
 good. A frame of government was agreed upon by 
 the convention and proposed to the people. It was 
 discussed freely, chapter by chapter, in every town 
 of the State, so attentive were the people to all things 
 connected with their rights and liberties. In this 
 town it was carefully examined, and, as it failed to 
 give entire satisfaction, a committee of seven was 
 appointed to report amendments at an adjourned 
 meeting of the convention. This committee consisted 
 of the Rev. Josiah Dana, Ebenezer Rice, Esq., John 
 Caldwell, Esq. (risen again), Benjamin Lee, Lieut. 
 Andrew Parker, John Mason, Esq., and Lieut. Corlis 
 Hinds (a new name). The Rev. Mr. Dana, Chair- 
 man, reported amendments, some of which would 
 hardly find supporters in Barre to-day. (i) "That 
 
HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. 9I 
 
 no person shall be eligible to office either as gov- 
 ernor, lieutenant-governor, councillor, senator, or rep- 
 resentative, unless he declare himself to be of the 
 Protestant religionP (2) " That no person shall be 
 eligible to any office in the legislature who does not 
 contribute to the support of the civil government." 
 (3) " That the governor, lieut. -governor, senators, 
 councillors, or representatives, ought not to serve 
 more than four years out of seven." (4) " That no 
 person shall have a seat in Congress and the State 
 legislature at the same time." (5) "A particular 
 day should be appointed for choice of Representa- 
 tives." (6) " Each town to nominate one Justice of 
 the Peace." These proposed amendments were re- 
 ferred, no doubt, to the appropriate committee; and 
 that was the last that was heard of them. A Consti- 
 tution, in a new draught, was shortly submitted to 
 the people, and their votes for or against it were 
 directed to be taken the first Wednesday in June, 
 1780; and at that date it appeared that more than 
 two-thirds of the votes were in its favor. 
 
 Not long after the adoption of the Constitution, to 
 wit. May i, 1781, arose the famous " Barre Slave 
 Case," a detailed account of which, from the learned 
 and accurate pen of Professor Emory Washburn, was 
 published a few years ago in " Proceedings of the 
 Massachusetts Historical Societ}^" The case w^as 
 first tried before the Court of Common Pleas at 
 Worcester, and afterwards, on appeal, before the 
 Supreme Court. There were, in fact, two cases; one 
 
92 BARRE CENTENNIAL. 
 
 of Quork Walker v. Nathaniel Jennlson, who claimed 
 to be his owner, declaring "that at the time of suing 
 out the writ, and long before, and ever since, the said 
 Quork was the proper negro slave of the said Na- 
 thaniel." To which the plaintiff replied, " that he, 
 the said Qiiork, is a free man, and not the proper 
 slave of the said Nathaniel," and tendered an issue to 
 the jury, which was joined by the defendant. The 
 verdict was for the plaintiff. The other case was an 
 action brought by Jennison against John and Seth 
 Caldwell, alleging that, "on April 2, 1781, at Barre, 
 a certain negro man named Qiiarco [the same as 
 Quork] was the plaintiff's servant, and was kept, re- 
 tained, and employed in and about his proper affairs 
 and business; yet, the defendants .... unlawfully 
 solicited and seduced the said negro man from the 
 business and service of the plaintiff .... and em- 
 ployed the said negro in their own proper business; 
 and did hinder, prevent, and molest him in claiming 
 and reducing his said servant to his business and ser- 
 vice," &c., &c. The trial resulted in a verdict and 
 judgment for the plaintiff'. The defendants appealed 
 to September term, 1781, of the Supreme Judicial 
 Court; and upon a trial there were found not guilty, 
 and had judgments for costs against the plaintiff. At 
 this same term of the Court an indictment was found 
 against Jennison for assault on Qiiock Walker, — "the 
 said Quock did beat, bruise, and evilly entreat, and 
 him the said Quock, without warrant, just cause, or 
 lawful authority, did imprison, during the space of 
 two hours, &c." 
 
HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. 93 
 
 This case did not come to trial, as appears by the 
 records, till the April term of 1783, when the ques- 
 tion of the right of slavery under the constitution was 
 fully argued, and it was settled for ever that slavery 
 v^as wholly abolished in this Commonwealth by the 
 Declaration of Rights prefixed to the Constitution of 
 1780. It was tried before the full bench, Cushing 
 Chief Justice. The minutes of the Chief Justice on 
 this trial have been lately brought to light by Mr. 
 William Cushing Paine, the namesake and great 
 grand-nephew of Chief Justice Cushing. Those of 
 his charge cannot fail to be of an interest at this day 
 corresponding to the great importance of the question 
 involved. 
 
 *' Fact proved. 
 
 "Justification that Qiiack is a slave, — and to prove it 'tis said 
 that Quack, when a child about 9 months old, with his father 
 and mother, was sold by bill of sale in 17^4? about 29 years ago, 
 to Mr. Caldwell, now deceased ; that, when he died, Qiiack was 
 appraised as part of the personal estate, and set off to the widow 
 in her share of the personal estate ; that Mr. Jennison, marrying 
 her, was entitled to Qiiack as his property ; and therefore that he 
 had a right to bring him home when he ran away ; and that the 
 defendant only took proper measures for that purpose. And the 
 defendant's counsel also rely on some former laws of the Province 
 which give countenance to slavery. 
 
 " To this it is answered that, if he ever was a slave he was lib- 
 erated both by his master 'Caldwell, and by the widow after his 
 death, the first of whom promised and engaged he should be free 
 at 25, the other at 21. 
 
 " As to the doctrine of slavery and the right of Christians to 
 hold Africans in perpetual servitude, and sell and treat them as 
 we do our horses and cattle, that (it is true) has been heretofore 
 
94 BARRE CENTENNIAL. 
 
 countenanced by the Province Laws formerly, but nowhere is it 
 expressly enacted or established. It has been a usage, — a usage 
 which took its origin from the practice of some of the European 
 nations, and the regulations of British government respecting the 
 then colonies, for the benefit of trade and wealth. But whatever 
 sentiments have formerly prevailed in this particular, or slid in 
 upon us by the example of others, a different idea has taken place 
 with the people of America, more favorable to the natural rights 
 of mankind, and to that natural innate desire of Liberty with 
 which Heaven (without regard to color, complexion, or shape of 
 noses) (features) has inspired all the human race. And upon this 
 ground our Constitution of Government, by which the people of 
 this Commonwealth have solemnly bound themselves, sets out 
 with declaring that all men are born free and equal — and that 
 every subject is entitled to liberty, and to have it guarded by the 
 laws, as well as life and property — and, in short, is totally repug- 
 nant to the idea of being born slaves. This being the case, I think 
 the idea of slavery is inconsistent with our own conduct and Con- 
 stitution, and there can be no such thing as perpetual servitude 
 of a rational creature, unless his liberty is forfeited by some crim- 
 inal conduct or given up by personal consent or contract. 
 
 " Verdict, gtiiltyr 
 
 " It can hardly be doubted," says Chief Justice Gray, " that 
 the case of Jennison v. Caldwell is the one to which Chief Justice 
 Parsons, in iSoS, referred in these words: "In the first action 
 involving the right of the master, which came before the Supreme 
 Judicial Court, after the establishment of the Constitution, the 
 judges declared that, by virtue of the first article of the declara- 
 tion of Rights, slavery in this State was no more."* 
 
 From the adoption of the Constitution to the Treaty 
 of Peace in 1783, the town was busily and anxiously 
 engaged in providing men, clothing, and money for 
 
 * See " Proceedings of the Mass. Historical Society from January to 
 June, 1874." For a full treatment of this wliole question, see paper by 
 Professor Washburn in the " Proceedings of the Mass. His. Soc," 1S55- 
 1858, pp. 191-203. 
 
HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. 95 
 
 the prosecution of the war. It was a period of de- 
 pression and difficulty; and there were diversities of 
 opinion in respect to the matter of equahzing the bur- 
 dens of the citizens and the pay of their soldiers. But 
 these were happily overcome, and when the day of 
 Peace dawned there was but one mind and one heart 
 in the triumphant acclaim. 
 
 The treaty was arranged and provisional articles 
 were signed November 30th, 1782. These articles 
 were brought before Parliament in the January fol- 
 lowing; but the definitive Treaty was not signed till 
 September 3d, 1783. Meantime, a representative was 
 chosen to the General Court which met in June, and 
 to him the town gave the following pithy instruc- 
 tions: — 
 
 " Nathan Sparhawk, Esq. 
 
 "Sir, — Having made choice of you to represent the town in 
 General Court the year ensuing, we confide in your integrity and 
 good understanding to conduct the public affairs in our behalf in 
 such a manner as to promote the interest and safety of the Com- 
 monwealth at large and of this town in particular. It is neverthe- 
 less our unalienable right to communicate to you our sentiments 
 when we shall judge it necessary or convenient and to give you 
 our instructions on any special matters, and we expect you will 
 hold yourself bound at all times to attend to and observe them. 
 You will constantly bear it on your mind that this Commonwealth 
 is free, sovereign, and independent, and that it retains every power, 
 jurisdiction, and right which is not by the Confederation or may 
 not hereafter by the people be expressly delegated to the United 
 States in Congress assembled. You will therefore conceive it to 
 be your bounden duty in your legislative capacity to exercise the 
 powers of the Commonwealth vested in you with your utmost 
 wisdom, to guard its rights with all possible vigilance, and take 
 
96 BARRE CENTENNIAL. 
 
 care that its sovereign jurisdiction be not impaired or unreason- 
 ably delegated to other persons beside those in whom the Consti- 
 tution has vested it, on any pretence whatever. Self-preservation 
 is said to be the first law of nature. It holds good equally with 
 societies and individuals. You will carefully advert to those prin- 
 ciples which are essential to the preservation of a free Common- 
 wealth ; in this you will be greatly aided by our excellent frame of 
 government and the Declaration of Rights which we recommend 
 to your frequent perusal. There we find it to be the express sen- 
 timent of the body of this people, that the preservation of good 
 government essentially depends upon Piety, religion, and morality ; 
 and that these cannot be generally infused among a community 
 but by the institution of the public worship of God ; that Wisdom 
 and Knowledge as well as Virtue are necessary to the preservation 
 of the Rights and Liberties of the people ; that piety, justice, 
 moderation, temperance, industry, and frugality, are absolutely 
 necessary to preserve the advantages of liberty. These are the 
 principles of our Constitution which it was incumbent on us very 
 particularly to attend to, in our choice of you to represent us ; 
 and we require of you the strict observance of them in the part 
 you shall take in the formation of all laws necessary for the good 
 administration of the affairs of the Commonwealth. We shall 
 always submit cheerfully to laws formed on those principles, and 
 wish for as powerful a system as human wisdom can contrive. 
 At the same time as faithful citizens we must enjoin it upon you 
 to use your utmost influence that the Act of the Commonwealth 
 entitled an Act for the due observance of the Lord's day and other 
 penal laws may be carefully considered, that such of them as are 
 repugnant to the rights and liberties contained in the Constitution 
 may be altered and amended or repealed. Moreover, in tiie 
 aforesaid Declaration of Rights the impartial interpretation of the 
 law and administration of justice are expressly held to be essential 
 to the preservation of the rights of every individual, his life, lib- 
 erty, property, and character. You will also take care that the 
 three great powers of government, the Legislative, Executive, 
 and Judicial, be kept distinct, agreeable to the letter of our Con- 
 stitution and the spirit of our free government. This we more 
 especially remind you of inasmuch as we believe there has been an 
 interference in the exercise of these several powers which leads 
 
HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. 97 
 
 to a fatal change of a free commonwealth for tyranny or anarchy 
 and confusion. 
 
 " We cannot too warmly express our gratitude to Almighty 
 God who hath smiled on the virtuous struggles of the United 
 States and crowned the conflict with so happy a conclusion. Our 
 Independence is confirmed, — a blessing for which patriots have 
 long toiled and heroes fought and bled. Posterity can never 
 justly charge us with tamely surrendering their rights. We and 
 they shall be free so long as we desire freedom. It will depend 
 upon our virtue. 
 
 "But while we contemplate the Treaty in general with pleas- 
 ure, we cannot help feeling anxious for the event of the fifth arti- 
 cle,* which respects those men who fled from their country when 
 its liberties were invaded and took refuge in the dominions of the 
 invader. Congress can only recommend. They will not obtrude 
 citizens in any of the States, much less declared traitors. Agree- 
 able to the Treaty of Peace the town wishes for no recollection 
 of past disputes with Great Britain, no repetition of past injuries, 
 
 * " Bj the fifth article it is agreed that the Congress shall earnestly recom- 
 mend it to the legislatures of the respective States, to provide for the resti- 
 tution of all estates, rights and properties which have been confiscated 
 belonging to real British subjects, and also of the estafes, rights, and 
 properties of persons resident in districts in the possession of his majesty's 
 arms and who have not borne arms against the said United States ; and 
 that persons of any other description shall have free liberty to go to any 
 part or parts of any of the Thirteen United States and therein to remain 
 twelve months unmolested in their endeavors to obtain the restitution of 
 such of their estates, rights and properties as may have been confiscated: 
 and that Congress shall earnestly recommend to the several States a recon- 
 sideration and revision of all acts or laws regarding the premises, so as to 
 render the said laws and acts perfectly consistent not only with justice and 
 equity but with that spirit of conciliation which on the return of the 
 blessings of peace should universally' prevail. And that Congress shall 
 also recommend to the several States that the estates, rights and properties 
 of such last-mentioned persons shall be restored to them, they refunding 
 to any persons who may be now in possession the bona fide price (when 
 any has been given) such persons may have paid on purchasing any of 
 the said lands, rights or properties since the confiscation. And it is 
 agreed that all persons who have any interest in confiscated lands, either 
 by debts, marriage settlements or otherwise, shall meet with no lawful 
 impediment in the prosecution of their just rights." 
 
 13 
 
98 BARRE CENTENNIAL. 
 
 but, the seeds of discord being excluded, that a beneficial inter- 
 course may be established between the two countries so as to pro- 
 mote and serve to perpetuate peace and harmony, which would 
 be extremely difficult were these persons to reside among us 
 whom this country regards as the occasion of interrupting that 
 intercourse formerly, and the cause of all this suffering; especially 
 as these wretched beings have already begun quarrels with that 
 peace, and those who made it, which terminates a long, bloody, 
 unnatui'al war. Therefore, in the opinion of this town, the happi- 
 ness, the liberties, interests, and safety of these States forbid us to 
 suffer persons of the above description to become the subjects of 
 and to reside in this government. It would not only be danger- 
 ous but inconsistent with Justice, Policy, our past Laws, the public 
 Faith, and the Principles of a Free and Independent State, to admit 
 them ourselves or have them forced upon us without our consent. 
 " As every transaction of the respectable body of which you 
 are a part concerns the public at large as well as us particularly, 
 constant and unremitted attention to business is strictly recom- 
 mended and enjoined upon you. 
 
 John Williams, "1 
 Andrew^ Parker, > Committee. 
 Benjamin Lee, J 
 " Barre, March 26, 1783." 
 
 John Williams is a new name in our annals. He 
 was a popular physician, and married a daughter of 
 Captain Ezra Jones. He removed before the end of 
 the century to Providence, R. I., and thence in 1806 
 to Cambridgeport, where he is still remembered as an 
 amiable and courteous "gentleman of the old school," 
 with powdered hair and a quelle, always dressed 
 in drab-colored clothes, busy in his garden, experi- 
 menting and compounding medicines in his chemical 
 laboratory, a constant and devout attendant on the 
 public worship of the Unitarian church, erect and 
 
HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. 99 
 
 active at the age of ninety years, an obliging neigh- 
 bor, and useful citizen. 
 
 Other new names will soon follow. " Your fathers, 
 where are they.^ and the prophets, do they live for 
 ever ? " 
 
 During the thirty years preceding peace little or 
 nothing had been done in the way of repairing and 
 preserving the meeting-house, and it was beginning 
 to show signs of decay. The question whether to 
 repair the old or to build a new one, became a matter 
 of general discussion. As the result of the discussion, 
 a committee was appointed by the town, January 3, 
 1783, to consider the subject. In their report they 
 say: "Taking into consideration the intimations we 
 have of late of a peace which, if we are favored with 
 so great a blessing, will make a very considerable 
 alteration in the circumstances of men and things, we 
 recommend a postponement till September." Noth- 
 ing more appears to have been done until two years 
 later, when the business was taken up in earnest, and 
 at the same time a considerable addition was made 
 by purchase to the common or meeting-house lot. 
 The committee to whom was entrusted the plans and 
 arrangements for building were Lieut. John Patrick, 
 Deacon Isaac Tobey, a native of Berkley, Capt. Joel 
 Bent, Benjamin Jenkins, Jr., Deacon Andrew Parker, 
 Mr. Francis Nurss, Dr. Ephraim Brooks. It was first 
 decided that " the size of the house should be sixty- 
 eight by fifty-four feet." The committee hit upon a 
 novel way of ascertaining the cost and providing for 
 
lOO BARRE CENTENNIAL. 
 
 it. They estimated the number and value of each 
 stick of timber from bottom to top, the roof, rafters, 
 shingles, boards, and mouldings; and before a blow 
 was struck they sold pews at auction for enough to 
 cover the whole expense. They then allowed each 
 man who had bought a pew to bring into the com- 
 mittee such material as he might, to be used and 
 allowed for at a stipulated rate. This was excellent 
 econom}^ and gave to every contributor a sense of 
 responsibility in the matter. There were eighty-six 
 pews. The amount realized by their sale was 
 £1184. 6s. 
 
 But, after all, there came a hitch. What caused -it 
 does not exactly appear; but it is evident that when 
 good progress had been made in collecting the mate- 
 rials some disagreement arose about the pews, and 
 at an adjourned meeting, March 19, 1787, it was voted 
 " to reconsider all former votes and postpone the 
 building a year." Meanwhile the committee was 
 instructed " to get what more was needed, make the 
 best arrangement they can to collect the fifteen per 
 cent forfeited by those who decline to take the pews 
 they had bid off, and build the meeting-house accord- 
 ing to their best discretion." No further difficulty 
 occurred. When the house was ready to be raised, 
 May 12, 1788, the town voted, "That the committee 
 make suitable provisions as to victuals and Drink for 
 the raising of the new meeting-house. Drink only 
 for spectators ! " It was probably not considered safe 
 for those engaged in the complicated and hazard- 
 
HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. lOl 
 
 ous business of lifting up the heavy framework and 
 putting the numerous pieces in the mortises, which 
 required a steady head and steady legs, to taste the 
 liquor, at least till the last pin had been driven, 
 and the rounds of cheers from the spectators had 
 greeted the ears of the workmen and rung through 
 the village. A raising in those days of even a dwell- 
 ing-house or barn was an important affair, and drew 
 together not only the residents of the neighborhood 
 but persons from all parts of the town. The con- 
 course was often large. When they were assembled, 
 and the workmen were at their posts, at a signal all 
 uncovered; and the minister, standing on the founda- 
 tion, lifted up his voice in prayer, praying that the 
 work in hand might be carried forward without acci- 
 dent; that the building might be completed to the 
 satisfaction of the owner; that it might be saved from 
 the ravages of lire; and (if a dwelling-house) that it 
 might long be an abode of hospitality, love, and piety. 
 My own recollection recalls such prayers. After the 
 prayer, the toddy was passed round among the thirsty 
 spectators ! 
 
 Nothing more is related of this undertaking until 
 October of the next year, when there was an article 
 in the warrant for a town meeting, " to see if the 
 town will meet for the public worship of God for 
 the time to come in the new meeting-house." At the 
 meeting which followed, it was voted, " To meet the 
 Sunday after next, it being the seventh day of Novem- 
 ber, 1790, for the public worship of God in the new 
 
I02 BARRE CENTENNIAL. 
 
 meeting-house, for the time to come." It was also 
 voted, " To choose a committee to settle with the 
 town-committee for building, to report at an adjourned 
 meeting." At the adjournment, they reported the 
 cost of the meeting-house to be . £1201 i 6 
 Due from individuals for pews ... 29 12 7J 
 
 £1230 14 i^ 
 Amount received for sale of pews in 
 
 notes 1 182 18 6 
 
 £47 15 7i 
 The old meeting-house sold for . . 37 14 2 
 
 Balance £10 i 52 
 
 The committee also reported that the building 
 committee " deserve the thanks of the town for their 
 faithfulness in executing of their trust." And the 
 " Thanks were voted." 
 
 It is worthy of notice that the town would not 
 agree to go into their new house for worship till all 
 accounts were made up and debts discharged. If any 
 remained, as it appears, from a report of the commit- 
 tee two years later, a few did, they were very small. 
 That excellent report is worth preserving. It is as 
 follows : — 
 " To THE Inhabitants of the Town of Barre, in Town Meeting 
 
 ASSEMBLED, 
 
 "Gentlemen, — We, your committee for building the new 
 meeting-house, ask leave to report, viz : We have made a final 
 settlement with every man who worked at said House or was any 
 way concerned in finding provisions or by boarding workmen, 
 or any other way concerned in said work being performed, and 
 we find there is yet due to Capt. Joel Bent One pound Four 
 shillings £1. 4- 
 
Committee- 
 
 HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. IO3 
 
 And we find that on settlement with Mr. Samuel Low 
 there is yet due to him his pay for three days work 
 which through mistake was not allowed to William 
 
 Forbes which is o. I3. 
 
 Furthermore, there is yet due to your committee for their 
 trouble in performing a number of small and trouble- 
 some matters which they have now completed by set- 
 tling with every man, and the said committee think 
 tliey ought to receive for their above-mentioned trouble 
 six shillings each which is One Pound, ten Shillings . £1. 10. 
 
 John Black, 
 John Patrick, 
 Benj. Jenkins, 
 
 Joel Bent, 
 
 " Sept. 3, 1792." 
 
 Not far from the meeting-house and in every re- 
 mote neighborhood was a burying-ground; and when- 
 ever a death occurred the remains were borne on a 
 bier to their final resting-place.* Often the distance 
 was long and the service of the bearers wearisome. 
 For greater ease and convenience, the town voted, 
 March, 1789, "to procure a carriage to carry the 
 corpse from any distressed house to the burying- 
 ground." 
 
 As far as the inference may be drawn from the 
 entries in the Records, the church, during this period 
 of its history, had a good degree of prosperity and 
 peace. One case of church discipline only, growing 
 out of the alleged complicity of a member in Shay's 
 rebellion, occurred. It is a little curious, particularly 
 
 * The location of the first meeting-house was nearly opposite the 
 present post-office; that of the second at the east side of the Park; while 
 the meeting-house lot in the Proprietors' plan was a little south of the 
 house of Samuel Hamilton. 
 
I04 BARRE CENTENNIAL. 
 
 in the manner of Its termination. After many prayers 
 and conferences between the aggrieved church and 
 the offending brother, he at last came to his knees in 
 the following rather Pickwickian apology: — 
 
 " Whereas there has been long difficulties in this church occa- 
 sioned by the part I took in tlie winter of 1786-7, and many 
 things that have been said and done since have increased the 
 difficulties between me and the church — I now say that I would 
 wish to do any thing in my power to prevent further trouble to 
 the church or myself and to heal the difficulties among us. And 
 I am willing to confess that in matters of government of a civil 
 nature I have acted under too great a degree of zeal, as I should 
 not do if I should act the part again. And I am sorry that my 
 overt acts have given offence, and wish my brethren to forgive me. 
 And as to my statement of facts wherein my veracity is concerned, 
 if I have made any error I now declare that it was without design, 
 and ask my brethren to pass by my faults and restore me to their 
 
 charity. 
 
 (Signed) " Richard Mills. 
 
 " Barre, Aug. 17, 1791." 
 
 " Voted satisfactor}^; " and the church " had rest." 
 Here we turn again from the church to the in- 
 terests of education, next in importance. The first 
 settlers of this town, before school-houses could be 
 built, opened rooms in their own houses, as we have 
 seen, where the children could be gathered for in- 
 struction, and whenever they appropriated money for 
 the support of religion they did the same for the 
 schools. The annual appropriations were liberal for 
 their circumstances; and all through the war they 
 were continued without material diminution. 
 
 In the year 1790, it was voted " to assess the in- 
 habitants £400 to build eight school-houses," having 
 previously divided the town into eight school-districts. 
 
HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. IO5 
 
 It was also voted, that " a committee be appointed to 
 ascertain each man's proportion, and to assign to each 
 man an equal lot in providing materials as near as 
 may be, according to their best judgment." And, to 
 make all sure, a standing committee of three was 
 chosen, 1792, "to examine the several school-houses 
 now building and to be built by the town, and to 
 report, as fast as completed, respecting the goodness 
 of the several buildings, and the economy of the re- 
 spective committees in laying out the town's money; 
 and lay the several accounts before the town at the 
 time or times the said meetings may be adjourned to." 
 In an interesting table of statistics, prepared with great 
 care and labor by our respected townsman, Dr. Rus- 
 sell, are found the sums annually appropriated for the 
 support of schools from the forty pounds of 1776 to 
 the four thousand nine hundred dollars of 1873. 
 
 The first mention of a school-committee occurs un- 
 der date of 1799, when the Rev. Josiah Dana, Major 
 Caldwell, and Deacon Jonas Eaton were chosen "a 
 committee to visit schools." 
 
 Though much is left untold, the story of the Barre 
 of the eighteenth century here closes. " The little 
 one has become a thousand." On every hand are 
 evidences of thrift and plenty. The valleys shine 
 with golden grain, and the hills are clothed with verd- 
 ure. The cattle find rich and ample pasture. The 
 shelves of the dairies glisten with well kept pans of 
 creamy milk or bend with long rows of finest cheese, 
 
 14 
 
I06 BARRE CENTENNIAL. 
 
 pride of the laborious housewife. Orchards make a 
 part of every homestead, the forty apple-trees brought 
 by good Mr. Allen on the back of his horse from 
 Lexington having multiplied to forty hundred; while 
 their fruit, ground and pressed, sets tider running 
 at every man's door. Handsome houses rise on the 
 eminences near the village, and within them healthy 
 children laugh and play. In the farm-houses, women 
 " seek wool and flax, and work diligently with their 
 hands;" and there is heard, morning and evening, the 
 whizz of the little wheel for flax and the buzz of 
 the big wheel for wool, and the clatter and thump of 
 the hand-loom weaving fabrics for family wear. The 
 mother " rises up while it is yet dark and gives meat 
 to her household, and a portion to her maidens." 
 
 During the last quarter of the century many new 
 heads of families came in to replace those who had 
 finished their course. Near every little settlement 
 were small inclosures of grass-grown graves by the 
 side of which mourners had stood in pensive silence, 
 over which they had bent with streaming eyes. 
 
 " Beneath those rugged elms, that yew-tree's shade, 
 Where heaves the turf in many a mouldering heap, 
 Each in his narrow cell for ever laid, 
 The rude forefathers of the hamlet sleep. 
 Oft did the harvest to their sickle yield. 
 Their furrow oft the stubborn glebe hath broke ; 
 How jocund did they drive their team a-field ! 
 How bowed the woods beneath their sturdy stroke ! " 
 
 Brave, strong, all-enduring men and women of our 
 small beginnings! 3^ou knew that you w^ere building 
 well, but 3'ou " built better than 3'ou knew." With 
 
HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. IO7 
 
 pious affection we take leave of you, and bid farewell 
 to the Barre of the century which is gone, while with 
 hearts of hope we cry. All hail! to the morning glory 
 of that which succeeds. Welcome the new faces 
 which appear, the new men in the management of 
 affairs, the new names whose intelligence, industry, 
 and virtue are to impress themselves on the character 
 of the town. Thanks to the towns which gave to us 
 these worthy additions, — the Harwoods and Sibleys, 
 the Hollands and Rowlands, the Broads and Hoard- 
 ings, the Robinsons and Adamses, and others whose 
 coming was for help and strength and honor. 
 
 To that part of Boylston which is now Shrewsbury 
 we are indebted for the Hollands, who, as a corre- 
 spondent writes, "have made a mark in the community 
 as straightforward, honorable men, prompt and ener-> 
 getic in discharge of all public duties, and truly valu- 
 able citizens." Certainly the record of their official 
 service is most creditable to them, some one of the 
 family having filled important posts in the town for 
 more than sixty years. Thanks to the town of Sutton 
 from whom we received the first Daniel Harwood, 
 who came in the opening of the century bringing ten 
 children, of a tough stock and remarkable for lon- 
 gevity. The father died at the age of eighty-seven 
 years; and the aggregate age of the ten children was 
 seven hundred and ninety-nine; making an average 
 of a fraction less than eighty years.* The sons all 
 
 * A still more remarkable example of longevity is that in the family 
 of Allen previously mentioned. Jonathan Allen lived on the same place 
 
I08 BARRE CENTENNIAL. 
 
 settled here, possessing themselves of some of the 
 best land in the town, and becoming foremost among 
 its agriculturists. Many of the descendants are still 
 excellent citizens. One of them, Daniel Harwood,« 
 M. D., of Boston, reflects particular honor upon his 
 birthplace by the eminence he has attained in his 
 profession, having stood for years confessedly at the 
 head of it in his chosen department. When a chair 
 of instruction in it was established at Harvard Univer- 
 sity, he was selected by the government to fill the 
 professorship, but felt compelled to decline the honor 
 and service. Thanks to the same affluent town — 
 rich in men — for the Sibleys, Samuel and Job, who 
 came a few years before the close of the last century 
 and settled in the easterly part of the town. The for- 
 mer brought with him four sons, all remarkable for 
 muscular development and strength; and it was true 
 here in that day as when David composed his Psalms, 
 that "a man was famous according as he had lifted up 
 axes upon the thick trees." One of the sons, Capt. 
 Lyman Sibley, began early to take an active part in 
 town affairs. More than forty years he was the accu- 
 rate and popular town-clerk. Those of the generation 
 now passing away will recall the interest with which, 
 after the benediction, at the close of the afternoon ser- 
 
 vvith the same wife over sixty years ; died at 92, his wife at S7 ; had six 
 children, three sons and three daughters, whose average age at death was 
 just 80 years. Nehemiah Allen, his brother, had ten children, four sons 
 and six daughters, who reached at death these ages respectivelj' ; viz., 96, 
 96. 95X> 92/^, 92, 84, 82, 80, 80, 78, — making an average of 87! We chal- 
 lenge any town in New England to exhibit a parallel to this instance of 
 family longevity. 
 
HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. IO9 
 
 vice on Sunday, his clear ringing voice proclaimed, 
 above the clatter of the pew-seats as they came down, 
 "the intention of marriage" between sundry parties 
 about to enter the bands of wedlock. In winter for 
 many years he was a successful teacher. His disci- 
 pline was of the rigorous kind. The way he plied 
 the ferule " was a caution " to all offending boys, as 
 this uplifted hand tremblingly attests. In later life he 
 was the prompt and courteous landlord of our princi- 
 pal inn. Mr. Sibley was the father of a numerous 
 famil}'. Two of his sons are respected citizens of 
 Boston; one a merchant and an esteemed officer of 
 " Hollis Street church;" the other well known in the 
 Bunker Hill district, a citizen of merit, distinguished 
 for his military services in our late civil war, and 
 since its close a commander of the Grand Army of 
 the Republic for Massachusetts. 
 
 Into the same section of the town where the Sibleys 
 lived had come, somewhat earlier, from Holliston, 
 David Underwood. Of him was Joseph, and of him 
 General Orison, who has long been a prominent citi- 
 zen of Milford, and, till lately, the head of a large 
 mercantile house in Boston. His career from the 
 smallest beorinnino-s has been his^hly successful, and he 
 has received many marks of consideration from the 
 political party to which he belongs. But that which 
 he probably regards as his chief distinction is his 
 being the father of another General Underwood, the 
 hero of no sham-fight of a holiday muster, but the 
 intrepid leader of the Massachusetts Thirty-third in 
 
no BARRE CENTENNIAL. 
 
 the storming of Lookout Mountain, whence he was 
 borne with loss of a leg and his body riddled with 
 bullets. For his conduct and bravery in the battle, he 
 was promoted brigadier by Hooker on the spot; and 
 subsequently by Secretary Stanton in person was 
 brevetted major-general. Amongst her numberless 
 grandchildren Barre rejoices to see him here to-day. 
 Early in this century the town was cast into sorrow 
 and gloom by the death of its minister. In those 
 days, when there was but one minister in a town, and 
 when he was usually the one person best informed and 
 most consulted on all subjects, his death was a very 
 impressive event. It affected all hearts. It was a 
 great public bereavement. It suspended, or at least 
 interrupted, the functions of the church until a suc- 
 cessor was found to take the vacant place. The 
 Rev. Josiah Dana died October i, 1801, after a min- 
 istry of thirty-four years. There are those living who 
 still remember him. They describe him as a tall, 
 erect man, of dignified mien and pleasing address. 
 He wore the cocked hat and breeches of the time, 
 and carried a gold-headed cane, which, with his im- 
 posing presence, excited a certain awe of him in the 
 young, and made him an object of reverential regard 
 to passing strangers. A laboring man, it is related, 
 seeking employment, with great diffidence approached 
 him. When asked, "What is your occupation?" — 
 embarrassed by the lofty figure and manner of his 
 interrogator, he hesitated, but at last stammered out, 
 " A little inclined to Baptist, sir." In the college 
 
HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. Ill 
 
 catalogue he is placed next but one in family rank to 
 his classmate, Timoth}^ Pickering, and of his scholar- 
 ship some opinion may be formed, perhaps, by the 
 following entry in the Faculty records: " 1759, Sept. 
 24th. Dana, Freshman, received after examination 
 as to excelling in learning. Watts' Logick, £2. 16." 
 His successor, who had the best of opportunities for 
 knowing the regard in which he was held here, de- 
 scribes him as " a man of strong powers of mind, of 
 highl}^ respectable acquirements, of great social quali- 
 ties, and of very popular address in the pulpit." He 
 also testifies of him that "during his long ministry, he 
 maintained great influence in this place, and left a 
 deep mark on the character of his people." These 
 impressions were undoubtedly received from leading 
 parishioners two years after his decease. I am led to 
 think that, whilst he was quite sociable, and had a 
 keen relish for humor and wit, he was, at the same 
 time, high-spirited, out-spoken, and independent. 
 This is inferred from two incidents. An aged lady, 
 who remembers him, recentl}' related to me this an- 
 ecdote: A certain Mrs. was a fidgety woman, 
 
 and whenever she was a little ill she thought that she 
 was surely going to die, and always sent for the min- 
 ister. Many times he had responded to her calls; 
 when, at last, he was summoned in the night by a 
 
 messenger announcing that Mrs. was dying and 
 
 must see him. So he dressed himself and rode to her 
 house two or three miles distant. Entering her room, 
 his eye instantl}' perceived that there was no danger, 
 
112 BARRE CENTENNIAL. 
 
 and standing by her bed he spoke sharply, "Mrs. , 
 
 I have travelled, first and last, fifty miles to see you 
 die, and you will outlive me yet!" The good woman 
 was very angry; but the next morning she Was seen 
 plying her broom with uncommon dexterit}^ She 
 never forgave him, but, as to living, she fulfilled his 
 prediction. The other incident is of a difterent nature. 
 In the Book of Records is found a warrant for a town 
 meeting dated May 21, 1783, one article of which runs 
 thus: "To see if measures can be mutually consulted 
 and concerted for the peaceable and regular dismis- 
 sion of the pastor from his pastoral office in this place, 
 masmuch as a question touching his support lately sub- 
 initted to the toiun did not have a very kind and coztr- 
 teous reception^ After some conversation upon this 
 article, it was moved, "that this meeting be adjourned 
 for the further consideration of the matter in ques- 
 tion." The explanation is, that on the third of May 
 the town "voted to allow Mr. Dana £15. and not to 
 allow any more salary the present yearP It is prob- 
 able that this vote was characterized in terms of de- 
 served severity by Mr. Dana; and that many of those 
 who gave the vote, offended or ashamed, thought to 
 avenge themselves by dismissing him. But better 
 counsels prevailed; and on a new warrant, the 9th of 
 June, the town "voted £'})2,' 6- 8- in addition." And 
 the trouble was no more heard of. Twice after this 
 little breeze his salary was increased. 
 
 Mr. Dana had a large family, and two of his daugh- 
 ters for a number of years taught the grammar school 
 
HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. II3 
 
 of the town. On the occasion of his funeral, his friend 
 and college-classmate, and for thirty years neighbor 
 in the ministry, the Rev. Ephraim Ward, of Brook- 
 field, preached the sermon. In the course of it he 
 says of Mr. Dana: "He was possessed of natural 
 firmness of mind; of a sprightl}^ imagination; and of 
 an easy and happy elocution. His manner of utter- 
 ance was solemn and manly, which added dignity to 
 his addresses, especially on religious and important 
 subjects. His preaching was serious, instructive, and 
 practical. He adopted the Calvinistic scheme, but 
 was not a bigot. He was tenacious of the important 
 doctrines of the gospel, but charitable towards those 
 who differed with him in smaller matters. His natu- 
 ral temper led him to be facetious with his friends, 
 yet his conversation was savory and instructive. He 
 was easy of access to all, benevolent and charitable. 
 As a husband, he was kind, attentive, and prudent; as 
 a parent, tender, careful, and affectionate; as a friend, 
 hospitable and beneficent. Some of his last years were 
 attended with much bodily weakness and infirmity, 
 which enfeebled in a degree his natural fortitude of 
 mind. Towards the close of life, the All-wise suffered 
 a veil to be drawn over his mind, which obstructed 
 the exercise of his reason two or three weeks before 
 his final adieu." 
 
 So passed away the second minister of Barre, leav- 
 ing behind him that good name which is better than 
 riches, with all the imperishable influences of a life 
 consecrated to Truth and Righteousness, to " Christ 
 
 15 
 
114 BARRE CENTENNIAL. 
 
 and the Church." His remains are interred in the 
 south burial-ground, near the house in which he Hved. 
 His monument, a marble slab, bears this inscrip- 
 tion: — 
 
 " In Memory 
 
 OF THE 
 
 Rev. Josiah Dana 
 
 WHO WAS 
 
 Ordained to the Pastoral Care 
 
 OF the 
 
 Church in Barre 
 
 Oct. 7th, 1767, 
 
 And departed this life 
 
 Oct. 1801, 
 
 In the 60TH year of his Age. 
 
 Erected by the Sons of the Deceased." 
 
 The vacancy made by Mr. Dana's decease was 
 filled two years later by a candidate, who began to 
 preach on the first Sunday of October, 1803. At a 
 town meeting, holden November 28th, it was " voted 
 unanimously, to unite with the church to invite Mr. 
 James Thompson to the pastoral charge of this church 
 and people." "Voted, to choose a committee of seven 
 to wait on Mr. Thompson and inform him of the pro- 
 ceedings of the town, and to see if there is a prospect 
 of his settling with us in the ministry, and report at 
 the time to which this meeting may be adjourned." 
 The committee consisted of Samuel Bigelow, Moses 
 Holden, Noah Ripley, Joel Bent, Eleazar James, 
 Ebenezer Rice, David Fisk, and Nathaniel Jones, — 
 all men of high character and much influence. At 
 the adjourned meeting it was voted, " To give Mr. 
 
HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. II5 
 
 Thompson four hundred dollars settlement and five 
 hundred dollars as annual salary so long as he con- 
 tinues to be our minister." Instead of sending a let- 
 ter, as was, and still is, customary, "Mr. Thompson 
 came into the meeting attended by the committee, 
 and announced his satisfaction with the terms pro- 
 posed, and his acceptance of the call." A committee 
 of five was appointed to make arrangements for the 
 ordination, which took place January nth, 1804. 
 The occasion was regarded with great interest, and 
 the people thronged from neighboring towns to wit- 
 ness its proceedings. All things were done " de- 
 cently and in order," and to the great gratification of 
 the people. This was an orthodox ordination. But 
 orthodoxy in those days was not afraid of a little 
 merriment as an after-part of the impressive cere- 
 monial; and so the event was celebrated by a ball 
 in the evening, in which the beautiful bride of the 
 minister led the dance, greatly to the admiration of 
 the company. 
 
 The church is happy and jubilant over its fresh 
 start. It becomes, it may be feared, a little proud; 
 for its meeting-house, though only fourteen years 
 built, does not satisfy its ambition. Therefore, some 
 time in the year 1806 it was voted, "to build a hand- 
 some and beautiful steeple, cupola or belfry, provided 
 there be raised by subscription sufficient to purchase 
 a bell and clock;" and a committee was chosen to 
 carry the vote into effect. The work was entered 
 upon without delay; and when completed the church, 
 
Il6 BARRE CENTENNIAL. 
 
 with its large shapely pillars and finely proportioned 
 steeple, was regarded as the handsomest in the 
 count}^; and when the clear, rich-toned bell had been 
 hung, its far-reaching peals reverberated amongst 
 these hills hour after hour to the great satisfaction 
 of the inhabitants. 
 
 In proceeding with the narrative from this date, 
 after which events become increasingly familiar to an 
 increasing number who have had part in them, it will 
 not be necessary to observe a very strict chronological 
 order, nor to enter into such minuteness of detail as 
 seemed to be expedient in an endeavor to rescue 
 from oblivion names and incidents belonging to the 
 forming period of the town which were hid away 
 from general knowledge in the obscurity of ancient 
 records and scattered documents. Besides, not be- 
 lieving that the world is very soon coming to an end — 
 having, indeed, a comfortable persuasion that Barre 
 will live on to a second Centennial — I think it right 
 to leave to my successor a chance to indulge his curi- 
 osity and to use a little of his valuable time in finding 
 out what remarkable people we were, and what great 
 things we did. " Let another man praise thee, and 
 not thine own mouth; a stranger, and not thine own 
 lips." If the orator on that occasion should chance 
 to be a woman! — which many signs foretoken, — let 
 her be duly thankful to her masculine predecessor of 
 to-da}^, that, in fulfilling his task, he consulted the 
 words of Holy Writ, where it is recorded for our 
 instruction, " Boaz commanded his young men, sa}^- 
 
HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. II7 
 
 ing, Let her glean even among the sheaves, and 
 reproach her not ; and let fall also of the handfuls on 
 purpose for her, and leave them, that she may glean 
 them, and rebuke her not." 
 
 During the first thirty years of this century the 
 local ambition which had existed from the start 
 became a marked feature. The leadinof men were 
 public-spirited. They could tolerate no narrow 
 policy in matters pertaining to the interests of the 
 town. They were not men to be satisfied with any 
 thing short of the best attainable, whether in their 
 crops, their horses, their breeds of cattle, their barns, 
 their schools, or their preaching. Every thing pro- 
 jected by them was on a larger scale than in the 
 towns adjacent. First amongst these leaders and in- 
 spirers, it will be gladly conceded on all hands, stood 
 the Hon. Nathaniel Jones; a farmer and a courtly 
 gentleman; quick to devise and energetic to sustain 
 enterprises which might conduce to the convenience, 
 honor, and welfare of the town; postponing private 
 advantage to public service; entertaining friends and 
 strangers with large hospitality; and giving to the 
 church the benefit of his weight}^ influence. With a 
 cultivated taste for music, he led the choir forty years, 
 and at every town meeting, with few exceptions, 
 secured appropriations to keep up, by singing-schools, 
 the style of that part of the worship. His devotion 
 spared neither time nor property. Five years he was 
 an assessor of taxes; sixteen years a selectman, most 
 of them Chairman of the Board; eight years a repre- 
 
Il8 BARRE CENTENNIAL. 
 
 sentative; four years a senator; and in 1820 a mem- 
 ber of the Convention for revising the Constitution of 
 the State. But the mention of these offices affords 
 only a hint of the extent and value of his public ser- 
 vices. Sad that no child or descendant or near rela- 
 tion survives him in the town! His three sons are 
 dead. His daughters, of rare personal attractions in 
 their youth, were educated and married in Montreal, 
 one of his grandsons, the Rev. Dr. Charles Bancroft, 
 being now a canon of the Episcopal Church in that 
 city. 
 
 The associates of Major Jones in these local offices, 
 in the earlier years, were such excellent citizens as 
 James Holland, Jason Hawes, Samuel Lee, John 
 Allen, Joseph Farrar, Simeon Metcalf, John Gorham, 
 Jotham Rice, Moses Holden; in the later, Silas Bemis^ 
 Artemas Hapgood, Rufus Holden, Francis Rice, the 
 Harwoods, Harding P. Woods, Seth Caldwell, Nathl. 
 Holland, Luke Adams, Luke Houghton, Nathl. Lor- 
 ing, David Rice, and many others, — all able and 
 faithful coadjutors. 
 
 With such men for administrators of its affiiirs, and 
 stimulated by a virtuous ambition, it is not strange 
 that the town flourished. 
 
 Until about the close of the first quarter of this 
 century the business here was almost exclusively 
 agricultural. There were, indeed, a few tanneries; 
 one or two fulling mills for finishing homespuns; and 
 grist and saw mills sufficient for the uses of the town. 
 There were also mechanics' shops for such work as 
 
HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. II9 
 
 was indispensable in farming; stores, three or four, 
 which drove a flourishing trade; and generally two 
 good taverns for the accommodation of travellers — 
 and other purposes! In 1805, it is also true, and to 
 be noted, that Capt. Seth Pratt, who had moved here 
 from Shrewsbury, built a dam on Ware River and dug 
 a canal through a hill ; and that on a water-power 
 thus made several mills were erected, one of which, 
 built and owned by Mr. Phlneas Heywood, was a 
 factory for making woollen frocking of a superior 
 quality; and near this establishment there grew up 
 a pleasant village of considerable trade, known as 
 Barre Plains. But with these, and perhaps a few 
 other minor exceptions, the all-engrossing pursuit was 
 agriculture. The annual products of the soil for mar- 
 ket were enormous. I have asked one of the gen- 
 tlemen who had the vending of these productions a 
 number of years in the regular course of his mer- 
 cantile pursuits to furnish to me an estimate of the 
 weight and value of the two principal staples, pork 
 and cheese, for any period of five successive years. 
 His answer for the years 1846 to 1850 is as follows: 
 
 Cheese, 2,754,664 pounds, bringing in 
 
 market, all transported in wagons . $220,373.12 
 Pork, 539,998 pounds, bringing . . . 377799-86 
 
 Making a total of ... . $258,172.98 
 
 This exhibits only a small portion of the agricul- 
 tural products. 
 
 Not far from this date, 1825, a new enterprise was 
 
I20 BARRE CENTENNIAL. 
 
 projected by Mr. Benjamin Clark, a successful mer- 
 chant here. It was the erection of a Cotton Factory, 
 clown in the woods near Coldbrook, on Ware River. 
 Many shook their heads and pronounced the project 
 chimerical. But he was confident, and entered into 
 it with all his energy, embarking his entire fortune. 
 The project succeeded, but he was ruined in estate. 
 The factory which he built with its privileges passed 
 into other hands, whilst, after a term of imprisonment 
 for debt in Worcester jail, he went forth penniless, to 
 win success in other fields. It is gratifying to those 
 who knew him and held him in esteem, that in a 
 ripe old age he is still living in peace and content, 
 with more than ample resources for all his needs. 
 In the hands of his successors, Smith, father and sons, 
 the business has gone on prosperously; and in the 
 neighborhood of the factory has grown up one of 
 the prettiest villages, embowered by lofty trees, to 
 be seen anywhere in New England. 
 
 How shall I speak of Dennyville in the dignified 
 presence of him whose name it bears and of whose 
 works it tells.? Let me relate a little of its story and 
 leave the rest to the researches of m}^ successor! In 
 the year 1833, several gentlemen, who had had expe- 
 rience in woollen manufacture, purchased of Mr. 
 John Wadsworth a tract of land and a water-power 
 on Ware River, and secured an act of incorporation 
 as " The Wadsworth Woollen Manufacturing Com- 
 pany." The company proceeded to erect a factory and 
 other buildings necessary. This enterprise, however, 
 
HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. 121 
 
 like the other, did not prove a success in first hands. 
 At a critical juncture, our sagacious townsman, the 
 Hon. Edward Denny, saw his opportunity and pur- 
 chased the property. Adapting the machinery to the 
 manufacture of flannels, instead of fine broadcloth, 
 he easily and rapidly turned the property to good 
 account; and, as a result, Barre is glad to show to her 
 visitors, down there in the happy valley amidst the 
 pines, Mr. Denny's fine house and grounds, and 
 numerous buildings of various st3'les of architecture, 
 the plates of which I have not discovered in any 
 work, and which it is not necessary here to describe! 
 I forbear to speak of " Wadsworth's Scythe Factory," 
 which flourished for a considerable time, but exists 
 no longer. And why should you be wearied with 
 the various fortune of the " Bemis Powder-mill;" the 
 tons of " villanous saltpetre" it consumed; the num- 
 ber of times it was blown up and rebuilt; its profits 
 in money, its losses in men; or how, at last, it " went 
 up," never to come down again. Leaving these, I 
 invite you to investigate our palm-leaf operations. 
 • Do not expect me to aid you. The work is intricate 
 and manifold altogether beyond my powers of eluci- 
 dation. But I wjll give you a few figures. In the 
 year 1865, there were manufactured here palm-leaf 
 hats of the value of $47,941, and Shaker hoods of the 
 value of $158,583. In the twenty years ending with 
 1873, one concern, Mr. Desper's, finished 1,929,040 
 dozen hats! This will do as a specimen. 
 
 But a truce to business. This is a holiday, and 
 
 16 . 
 
122 BARRE CENTENNIAL. 
 
 other themes invite. Thought and fancy turn rather 
 on persons than on things, — persons whose Hves 
 illustrate our history. Amongst these is one who 
 rose to a distinction in his calling above all other sons 
 of Barre, the first recorded mention of whom is in 
 these words: "Voted Horatio Gates one hundred 
 and ten dollars for teaching school." This was in 
 1802. Horatio was one of the sons of Capt. Benja- 
 min Gates, who was a rough man, of strong mind 
 and considerable influence. The son was capable 
 and energetic. In the prime of manhood he found his 
 way to Montreal; and in a few years it came to be 
 known here that he was prosecuting a lucrative busi- 
 ness. He went on prospering and winning respect 
 and confidence in the community till his commercial 
 house became the wealthiest and the largest in its 
 correspondence in Lower Canada. It was not till 
 he had attained this eminence that he returned for a 
 visit to his native town. His coming created an 
 immense sensation, and his noble presence and unos- 
 tentatious bearing made a most favorable impression 
 upon those who saw him. He was entertained by a 
 banquet and ball, which he greatly enjoyed. Our 
 Major Jones married his sister, and this is the expla- 
 nation of the fact that the daughters of the former, as 
 I have mentioned, were educated and married in 
 Montreal. And this, again, leads me to observe that 
 the influence of this connection, through the occa- 
 sional visits of these refined and accomplished ladies, 
 was not inconsiderable in formini: the manners and 
 
HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. I 23 
 
 kindling the aspirations of our young people. Mr. 
 Gates's life was not lonsr. But " honorable ajre is not 
 that which standeth in length of time, nor that is 
 measured by number of years; but wisdom is the 
 gray hair unto men, and an unspotted life is old age." 
 The newspapers of his adopted city announced his 
 decease as follows: "Died at Montreal, on the nth of 
 April, 1834, after a short but severe illness, the Hon- 
 orable Horatio Gates, Member of the Legislative 
 Council of the Province of Lower Canada, in the 57th 
 year of his age." In their obituary notices the}^ vie 
 with each other in the warmth of their eulosfies. 
 One of them says: "Distinguished as his name was, 
 wherever the trade of British North America had 
 spread, for honorable dealing, for candor and a high 
 sense of moral rectitude, for vigilance, activity, dis- 
 crimination, and decision, he was no less eminent for 
 the valuable nature of his correspondence. . . . Per- 
 haps no individual has been called away from us since 
 Canada became a British Colony whose demise in- 
 volves such important consequences. . . . He pos- 
 sessed all the nobler traits of American character in 
 an eminent degree. Liberality of sentiment, munifi- 
 cence, hospitality, urbanity, and benevolence were 
 prominent in his personal character. Our charitable 
 institutions shared largely in his liberal support. His 
 house was ever open to such of his respectable coun- 
 trymen as visited this city. His example was looked 
 up to with no ordinary degree of deference by his 
 fellow-citizens; and all works of beneficence in which 
 
124 BARRE CENTENNIAL. 
 
 he lent a helping hand secured the sanction of general 
 support." Another observes: "We write under the 
 feelings which must agitate every man in this com- 
 mercial community upon losing the brightest orna- 
 ment — the most widely known, the most highly 
 appreciated — of the commercial bod}^ There may 
 arise men of wealth or men of integrity, men of enter- 
 prise or men of talent, but we fear never again to 
 behold in Montreal a merchant of such untiring per- 
 severance, or possessing the renown — the generally 
 diffused, the exalted, the unimpeachable renown — 
 that was enjoyed by Horatio Gates." Still another 
 writes: "At the hour appointed for consigning to the 
 tomb the mortal remains of our deservedly esteemed 
 and venerated fellow-citizen, the Hon. Horatio Gates, 
 every avenue to his residence was closed by a multi- 
 tude of persons, who, without distinction of creed or 
 politics, hastened to testify their respect for the mem- 
 ory of him whose virtues will long be remembered by 
 those who witnessed that beautiful but rare combina- 
 tion of private worth with public enterprise which dis- 
 tinguished his character. The native of a country 
 that may proudly boast of such a scion, his identity 
 with British feeling never for a moment affected his 
 partialities for the land of his origin. An American 
 by birth, he was equally the friend of his own and the 
 country of his adoption." 
 
 It is not as ministering to our local pride that I 
 refer at so much length to this distinguished son of 
 Barre, but that he may be contemplated as a stimu- 
 
HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. I25 
 
 lating example by our young men of the present and 
 the comino^ time. 
 
 Quite a different man was his brother, Samuel 
 Gates, whom, as connected with one of the best 
 institutions of the town, it is proper to call to your 
 remembrance. As I recollect him he was a quiet, 
 silent, somewhat austere man, and a small farmer. 
 But though his property was not large, by his will he 
 left five hundred dollars for a Free Public Library, 
 on condition that a like sum should be appropriated 
 b}'^ the town for that purpose. The condition was 
 complied with, and for several years additional appro- 
 priations were made. From time to time donations 
 of valuable books have been received. A donation 
 of twelve hundred dollars in money was made seven 
 or eight years ago. The institution is still fostered 
 w^ith care, and its good influence cannot well be over- 
 estimated. Let me use the privilege of a son and 
 beg that it may continue to be cherished by the peo- 
 ple of the town as a treasury of useful knowledge, a 
 fountain of intellectual improvement and pleasure, 
 and one of the best possessions they can secure in per- 
 petuity to their children. Honor to the thoughtful 
 beneficence of Samuel Gates! 
 
 Other distinguished names will be brought to your 
 notice farther on. Meantime we return once more to 
 the affairs of the church. Until the year 1827, the 
 whole people of the town had been united in one 
 religious society of the Congregational order, with 
 the exception of a small body of Baptists living on 
 the easterly border, and a small organization of Uni- 
 
126 BARRE CENTENNIAL. 
 
 versallsts at the Plains. This was a state of things 
 which no one could have reasonably expected long 
 to continue. Theological opinion was every year 
 becoming more definite and pronounced. Theologi- 
 cal controversies had come, here as elsewhere in 
 New England, to be earnest and often acrimonious. 
 On one side. Unitarian Christianity was feared; on 
 the other, Calvinism was hated. The old church, 
 with its minister, had ranged itself on the liberal side. 
 A small minority were of the opposite party. As was 
 natural, they were not happy in their church relations; 
 and, withdrawing, were organized by an Ecclesiastical 
 Council, convened for the purpose August 15, 1827, as 
 " The Evangelical Congregational Church in Barre." 
 
 This was according to the spirit of the time, and, 
 in itself, was right. But the separation produced 
 much ill-feeling. Criminations and recriminations 
 were freely interchanged; and even neighborl}- inter- 
 course, in man}^ instances, was suspended. Doubtless 
 there was blame on both sides. But wherever it lay, 
 it was soon forgiven; and between the successive 
 pastors of the "Evangelical Church" and the minister 
 of the old church there was never a moment's jar, 
 but always the friendliest interest, and — where it 
 was possible — cooperation. The new society, from 
 small beginnings, went on prosperously, and I am 
 glad to learn is flourishing still, and doing its part in 
 sustaining the moral and religious character of the 
 town. Of its ministers this is not the occasion for 
 speaking. Their work is too recent for history. The 
 
HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. 1 27 
 
 record of some of them is in the hearts of their people 
 and in the Book of Life. Most of them had short 
 ministries; for, in the forty-seven years of the soci- 
 ety's existence, it has had no less than ten settled 
 pastors. 
 
 Not man}^ years later the Universalists erected a 
 church in the centre of the town and settled a minis- 
 ter. The society never prospered, but, after a few 
 years, sold its church to the Methodists and dissolved. 
 The Methodist society has since enjoyed a fair measure 
 of prosperity. A Roman Catholic church has also 
 been organized here within a few years. But of none 
 of these, nor of their ministers, is it my purpose to 
 speak. It is only the church which was here before 
 the birth of the town, and which was an elementary 
 part of its forming life, that properly claims a place 
 in this commemorative discourse. Of the ministers 
 of this church, the three who served it during the 
 first one hundred years of its existence are the only 
 ones whose character and ministries it is my duty to 
 notice. Two of the three have already been brought 
 before you in brief sketches. Of the third, my revered 
 father, whose ministry was much the longest, let me 
 speak in the words of others rather than my own. 
 Many of you know the hearty testimony which was 
 borne to his worth and influence on the fiftieth anni- 
 versary of his ordination, January ii, 1854. Many 
 of you also know that w^ith failing strength but un- 
 failing resignation and more than usual peace of 
 mind, he continued from that day until the 14th of 
 
128 BARRE CENTENNIAL. 
 
 May ensuing, when, on a bright Sunday morning, 
 just as the bells had ceased sounding your summons 
 to church, — a summons which he heard, faintly 
 whispering, " The bells," his last words, — he closed 
 his e3/es and ascended. Man}^ of you remember, too, 
 the tender and filial tribute paid to his memory by his 
 former colleague, the Rev. Henry F. Bond, whom he 
 greatly loved. 
 
 The first published notice of this minister which 
 I remember to have seen records a calamity which, 
 to some extent, clouded his whole after-life. It 
 occurs in an oration pronounced at Templeton, on 
 the 5th of July, 1813, " before the ' Washington Benev- 
 olent Societies of the county of Worcester and other 
 citizens,' by Lewis Bigelow," a lawyer of distinction. 
 The oration begins with a laudatory reference, a part 
 of which I transcribe, as showing, with all due allow- 
 ance for oratorical extravagance, the kind of estimation 
 in which my father was then held. " The misfortune," 
 says Mr. Bigelow, " which has been the occasion 
 of my undertaking an important part in the cere- 
 monies of this day can be no less a source of regret 
 and embarrassment to me than of sorrow and disap- 
 pointment to this assembly. While we deplore the 
 afflictive and calamitous stroke which has in a measure 
 paralyzed the powers of our brother, who had been 
 selected, for his conspicuous talents as an orator, to 
 perform the service so recently transferred to me, we 
 shall forcibly feel, at this gloomy crisis in our national 
 affairs, the want of his powers to excite those proud 
 
HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. 1 29 
 
 emotions which once glowed in our breasts on the 
 return of this anniversary." At the foot of the page 
 is this note: "The Rev. James Thompson, of Barre, 
 was chosen to deliver the oration, but in consequence 
 of a severe paralytic affection was rendered incapable 
 of performing tho service." This is the first notice. 
 The last is that contributed to " The Christian Exam- 
 iner," shortly after his death, by his former neighbor 
 in the ministry, the late Rev. George R. Noyes, D.D., 
 Theological Professor in Harvard University. After 
 some account of Dr. Thompson's early life, — as, that 
 he was born of Puritan parents in Halifax, in the 
 county of Plymouth, on the 13th of April, 1780; that 
 he was graduated with high honors at Brown Univer- 
 sity in 1799; read divinity with the Rev. Jonathan 
 French, of Andover* and was ordained as minister of 
 this town by a council selected without reference to 
 doctrinal opinions in 1804, — he proceeds to say: — 
 
 " Dr. Thompson, soon after his settlement, acquired a high 
 reputation as a preacher and orator in the part of the Common- 
 wealth in which he was situated. By nature and culture he 
 possessed a combination of extraordinary qualifications for the 
 ministry. A noble form, a commanding presence, a full, rich, 
 and musical voice, a quick and clear apprehension of truth, a 
 strong, good sense, deep sensibility, a fervid, earnest manner, and 
 unmistakable sincerity, were his. By a quick and clear intuition 
 he seized upon the prominent and important points of a subject, 
 which, in simple, direct, and strong language, he impressed on 
 the minds of his hearers. His discourses were full of weighty 
 matter, solid and substantial, but not scholastic, critical, nor often 
 argumentative. He very seldom discussed abstract subjects, but 
 addressed as a friend the men, women, and children of his con- 
 gregation on what most intimately concerned them, applying 
 
 17 
 
130 BARRE CENTENNIAL. 
 
 acknowledged and essential Christian principles to the various 
 duties, changes, and trials of life. He had a certain sympathy 
 with his audience, which taught him how long he might dwell 
 upon a topic without being dull and uninteresting, and led him 
 to a directness of appeal, which caused his hearers to say, ' We 
 love to hear Dr. Thompson, because everything he says seems to 
 come from the heart.' 
 
 " Dr. Thompson was a great reader, and in respect to all kinds 
 of information ever kept up with the times. But he was not 
 given to laborious study or extensive research. Had his inclina- 
 tion, and the demands made upon his time by the active duties 
 of a very large parish, allowed him to be a deeper and more 
 methodical student, and to devote more labor to the composition 
 of a single discourse, he might have produced greater sermons, 
 perhaps more durable in their influence. But it may be doubted 
 whether, taking all his duties into view, he would have been a 
 more useful man. As it was, he was for many years accounted, 
 by the most cultivated as well as by ordinary minds, the best 
 preacher in the county of Worcester. In logic and learning, he 
 could not be compared to , Bancroft, of Worcester. Thayer, of 
 Lancaster, may have occasionally penetrated to a greater depth. 
 But in his power of arresting the attention of an audience by his 
 clear and strong manner of presenting a subject, in the elegance 
 of his diction, in the aptness and beauty of his illustrations, and 
 the gracefulness and impressiveness of his delivery, he probably 
 had no superior in his vicinity, and few in the Commonwealth. 
 As he advanced in life, he lost, in consequence of a stroke of 
 paralysis, that confidence in his own powers which he had before 
 enjoyed, and became more retiring, irresolute, and reluctant to 
 undertake offices for which his apparently unimpaired abilities 
 fitted him. His preaching, however, seems to have lost none of 
 its unction or effectiveness. After forty years' service he was still 
 preferred by the congregations to which he preached to almost 
 any of the younger men. The published sermon preached at the 
 end of a ministry of fifty years, in the 75th year of his age, affords, 
 by its simplicity, beauty, and strength, a satisfactory indication 
 of what he could do in his best days. In the year 1S41, the gov- 
 ernment of Harvard University conferred on him the well-merited, 
 
HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. I3I 
 
 and by him highly-prized, honor of the degree of Doctor in 
 Divinity. 
 
 " The devotional exercises of Dr. Thotnpson were remarkable 
 for copiousness, appropriateness, and fervency. They were truly 
 the eloquent utterances of a believing soul, full of tenderness, full 
 of reverence, full of tranquil faith and hope. Hence his services 
 as chaplain on public occasions were much sought after. And 
 it is said that it was not uncommon for farmers to leave their 
 work and ride five miles on purpose to hear him pray at a funeral. 
 
 " Dr. Thompson was careful to exert his influence, not only in 
 the pulpit, but in every possible way. When Lyceums began to 
 be established in the country, some five and twenty years ago, he 
 engaged in the iarge one of Barre with great ardor, delivered 
 lectures, took an active part in the discussions, and exerted an 
 influence over the large assembly, ' like a king in the midst of an 
 army.' 
 
 " He ever manifested a deep interest in the young, and a ready 
 sympathy with their minds, which made him a favorite companion 
 to them. He held the office of Chairman of the School Com- 
 mittee for forty years, and employed in visiting the schools time 
 which, as he said, would amount, in the aggregate, to the working 
 days of four years. Respecting his influence in this department 
 of duty, one of his former parishioners gave the following pleas- 
 ing reminiscence at the celebration of the fiftieth year from his 
 settlement : ' You at this time could not have been aware of the 
 full effect produced by your inspiring influence in these little nur- 
 series of virtue and knowledge. I remember to this day with 
 what admirable address and natural tenderness you brushed off" 
 the rough edge of a remark which had inadvertently fallen from 
 another, and caused joy to beam from the bright eye which had 
 just been clouded by a tear.' 
 
 " Dr. Thompson's influence was felt in the association of min- 
 isters to which he belonged. His dignified bearing, the eagerness 
 with which he welcomed, as well as the willingness with which he 
 imparted information, and the readiness with which he encour- 
 aged any measure having in view the interests of religion, con- 
 tributed much to make the meetings of the association useful and 
 delisrhtful. 
 
132 BARRE CENTENNIAL. 
 
 " Dr. Thompson's character, as a husband and a father, may 
 be inferred from what has been ah'eady said. Depending for his 
 support on the small stipend of five hiuidred dollars a year, never 
 free from debt until the close of his life, he gave his large family 
 the best education they could receive ; and no sacrifice which he 
 could make for them was ever withheld. He governed in the 
 mildest way ; but he did govern. His family were completely 
 under the charm of his beneficent influence. 
 
 " The writer well remembers how desirable it was to exchange 
 on Sundays with Dr. Thompson, not only to secure his valuable 
 services for his pulpit, but to enjoy for one or two evenings the 
 open-hearted hospitality and delightful society of his accomplished 
 wife and daughters. In the loss of this most excellent of women, 
 and of five children. Dr. Thompson was most deeply afflicted ; 
 but his was a piety that never murmured and never doubted. 
 When most afflicted, it was most calm. Resignation was his 
 habitual frame, — not induced by any spasmodic effort, but the 
 natural posture of his mind and heart toward God. In society Dr. 
 Thompson ever showed himself high-minded, sincere, courteous, 
 and cordial. No man could have more or warmer friends in pro- 
 portion to the number of his acquaintances ; and this was large. 
 Of a dignified and commanding presence, as has been intimated, 
 there was with him not the least appearance of assumption, but, 
 on the contrary, much of retiring modesty and self-distrust. Yet 
 so eminently social was his disposition, that in all social meetings 
 where he was expected he was sure to be found, and never failed, 
 sooner or later, to contribute even more than his share to the inter- 
 est of the occasion. By a lively or instructive anecdote, by a vivid 
 delineation of the characters of the deceased, on which his keen 
 observation had been fixed, or by instructive remarks on the event 
 or subject of the day, he riveted attention, and was in truth a most 
 agreeable and valuable companion. He could sympathize with 
 persons of every age. Those who were twenty or thirty years his 
 juniors always found him as young as themselves. 
 
 " On the 9th of June, 1845, in the 42d year of his ministry, his 
 distrust of his own powers, which has been alluded to, the exces- 
 sive jealousy with which he watched the encroachments of age 
 upon his mind and body, and his disinterested regard for the wel- 
 
HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. I33 
 
 fare of his parish, led him to ask a discharge from the active 
 duties of the ministry in Bari'e, still retaining his connection with 
 the- church, but relinquishing the whole of his salary. This 
 request was accepted by the parish with the vote, ' that the self- 
 sacrificing proposition evinces that deep interest in the growth 
 and prosperity of the society which has ever marked his conduct 
 in regard to this Christian flock.' After this time Dr. Thompson 
 continued to preach in several vacant pulpits, to great accept- 
 ance, till near the close of his life. In Cincinnati, Dover, N. H., 
 Leicester, Hardwick, and Worcester, his services were highly 
 appreciated, and are remembered with respect. 
 
 "On January 11, 1854, on the fiftieth anniversary of his settle- 
 ment, there was a gathering of those who at any period had en- 
 joyed his religious ministrations in Bari^e, and who had been 
 scattered in various parts of the country. At this jubilee the most 
 hearty tokens of respect and affection to the aged patriarch were 
 manifested, and a valuable present made in money. It was an 
 occasion to him of the utmost delight and thankfulness, and 
 sweetened all his remaining days. His strength seemed gradually 
 to fail soon after the jubilee, but his serious illness was only for a 
 week. It was old age, diminishing his ability to bear up against 
 a chronic difficulty with which he had long been afflicted. His 
 strength was exhausted ; enfeebled nature yielded, and he sank 
 serenely in the conscious possession of all his mental powers, and 
 with a cheerful submission of his soul to God, into the arms of 
 death, and was, as we trust, borne upward into the invisible realm 
 of his faith and hope. Farewell, venerated, true, and faithful 
 friend ! Thine ever-welcome form will no more meet our mortal 
 eyes. But thine image shall remain engraved on our hearts, and 
 the precious memory of former intercourse with thee shall refresh 
 and strengthen us under life's duties and trials, till the summons, 
 which calls to the higher home, shall come to us, as it has to 
 thee." 
 
 The following is the inscription on a marble monu- 
 ment with a granite base at the left of the entrance of 
 the north burial-ground : — 
 
134 BARRE CENTENNIAL. 
 
 " In Memory of 
 
 The Rev. James Thompson, S. T. D., 
 
 Pastor of the First Congregational Church. 
 
 Born April 13TH, 1780. 
 
 Graduated at Brown University 1799. 
 
 Ordained Jan. ii, 1804. 
 
 Died May 14, 1854, 
 
 In the 75TH YEAR OF HIS AGE. 
 
 A LOVER OF Peace, 
 
 Amiable in temper and Catholic in spirit, 
 
 Of tender sympathies 
 
 And warm affections, 
 
 Of strong faith and modest 
 
 But fervent piety, 
 
 Of solid gifts and a persuasive eloquence, 
 
 He was eminently fitted for 
 
 The Sacred Office, 
 
 And highly distinguished as 
 
 A Christian Minister." 
 
 Here we take final leave of the Church, grateful for 
 the piety which planted, the care and love which have 
 watered, and the increase in Christian works and 
 charities which God has given to it; and with the 
 fervent aspiration that, a century hence, it may still be 
 seen a stately tree, with all its branches, by whatever 
 names designated, green and vigorous, like that de- 
 scribed in the Apocalypse, "which bare twelve man- 
 ner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and 
 the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the 
 nations." 
 
 Reference has several times been made in this dis- 
 course to the subject of education. It is gratifying 
 to observe that this great interest of the people has 
 received increasing attention here during the progress 
 
HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. I35 
 
 of the present century, affording a hopeful augury for 
 the future. This increase is shown in part by figures 
 compiled from the valuable tables of Dr. Russell, 
 before referred to. 
 
 In iSio, the population was ^97^ 
 
 ,, ,, ,, valuation ,, $659,600 
 
 „ „ ,, appropriation for Schools $Soo 
 
 In 1S70, the population was 2573 
 
 ,, ,, „ valuation ,, $1,832,888 
 
 ,, ,, „ appropriation for Schools $4,220 
 
 This gives the praiseworthy result that, while the 
 population in sixty years increased only 34 per cent, 
 and the valuation not quite 200 per cent, the appro- 
 priations for schools advanced to 425 per cent! 
 
 But this is not the only evidence. About half a 
 century ago an effort was made to establish and en- 
 dow an Academy in the town, which, although it 
 proved a failure, turned ambition in the right direc- 
 tion; and when Horace Mann, a dozen years later, 
 was stirring up public sentiment on the subject 
 throughout the Commonwealth, the slumbering fires 
 were kindled anew, and there was a grand awakening 
 in this town. Dr. Thompson and his associate in the 
 school-committee, the Rev. Mr. Fay, of the Evangeli- 
 cal Society, his much-esteemed friend, worked to- 
 gether, with a zeal that never slackened, in carrying 
 on the revival. A convention of friends of education 
 was held in the Unitarian church, in which its min- 
 ister, and Mr. Fay, the Rev. Josiah Clark, of Rutland, 
 Rev. Luther Willson, of Petersham, and many others. 
 
136 BARRE CENTENNIAL. 
 
 actively participated. I well remember the delight 
 with which Mr. Mann spoke to me of the timely and 
 hearty service rendered to him by these gentlemen. 
 One of the fruits of this awakening was the establish- 
 ment here, in the year 1839, of the second of the 
 Normal Schools of the State. There were many com- 
 petitors for the honor; but, though the town labored 
 under the disadvantage of having no access by rail- 
 road, yet, in consequence of the educational interest 
 here manifested, as well as the beauty and healthiness 
 of the place, it was finally accorded to Barre. The 
 Rev. S. P. Newman, a Professor in Bowdoin College, 
 was appointed its Principal. It flourished for a few 
 years; but the inconvenience of the location was found 
 to be too great, and to the regret of the people of the 
 town it was discontinued. But its influence was a 
 lasting benefit. 
 
 As belonging to the general subject of education, a 
 list, as far as I have been able to complete it, of our 
 graduates of colleges is here subjoined: — 
 
 William Caldwell, H. U., 1773. Studied law 
 and practised the profession several years in Rutland; 
 removed to Worcester; received the appointment of 
 high sheriff", and was said by Governor Lincoln to 
 have been "the model sheriff";" died in 1805. 
 
 Ezra Ripley,^ D.D., H. U., 1776. A Congrega- 
 tional (Unitarian) minister; ordained at Concord, 
 
 * Dr. Ripley was born in Pomfret, Conn.; but his parents removed to 
 Barre when he was sixteen years old. The gravestone in the south burial- 
 ground of his twice-married mother bears this inscription : " In memory of 
 
HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. I37 
 
 1778; died in his pastorate in 1841, having preached 
 his last sermon on the day after he had completed his 
 90th year; a highly respected and eminent divine. 
 
 Lincoln Ripley (brother of the above), Dart. 
 College 1796. A Congregational minister, settled in 
 Waterford, Me., in 1799, where he died in 1858, aged 
 96 years. Mr. Ripley was the minister of the child- 
 hood and youth of the Rev. Dr. T. T. Stone, who 
 bears this testimony concerning him: "Take him in 
 his whole character, while I should differ from him in 
 many things, I must say that I never knew a minister 
 more faithfully devoted to his work, more conscien- 
 tious in fulfilling whatever appeared to him duty." 
 
 Alpheus Harding, Dart. C. 1805. A Congrega- 
 tional (Unitarian) minister; settled at New Salem, 
 where he died Feb. 9th, 1869, aged 89 3'ears. A 
 sound and instructive preacher; a faithful pastor; an 
 industrious farmer; a useful and honored citizen. 
 
 Charles Jenkins, W. C. 1813. A Congregational 
 minister of marked ability. First settled in Greenfield, 
 then in Portland, Me., where he died Dec. 28, 1831. 
 
 Seth E. Winslow, B. U. 1814. A Congregational 
 minister; settled and died in Hartland, Vt. 
 
 Samuel Caldwell, H. U. 1818. Studied law; 
 settled in Canajoharie, N. Y. ; removed to Buffalo, 
 where he died in 1849. 
 
 George Brooks James, H. U. 1821. Son of 
 
 Mrs. Lydia Burnett, who was first consort of Mr. Noah Ripley, by whom 
 she had 8 sons and ii daughters, 17 of whom lived to have families. Her 
 descendants at her death were 97 grandchildren and 106 great-grandchil- 
 dren. She died June 17th, 1816, aged 91 years. ' Many daughters have 
 done virtuously, but thou excellest.'" 
 
138 BARRE CENTENNIAL. 
 
 Eleazar. Studied law; broke down in health, and 
 died at Somerville, 1833. 
 
 David Oliver Allen, A. C. 1823, where he also 
 received the honorary degree of D.D. A Congrega- 
 tional minister. Spent 30 years in India. Author of 
 a large octavo volume, " India, Ancient and Modern." 
 Born in Barre, 1799, and died in Lowell, 1863. 
 
 Charles Wadsworth, B. U. 1827. Studied law, 
 and practised a few years in Barre. Removed to 
 New York, and engaged extensively in real estate 
 operations. Sent a son to Harvard College. Died in 
 New York, May 3, 1866. 
 
 James W. Thompson, B. U. 1827. A Congrega- 
 tional (Unitarian) minister, Jamaica Plain. 
 
 Henry L. Plummer, U. C. 1829. Physician; 
 died in California. 
 
 Charles Eames, H. U. 1831. A lawyer of emi- 
 nence and a brilliant political writer. Settled in 
 Washington, D.C., where he died in 1867. 
 
 Daniel Ruggles, West Point 1833. A resident 
 of Virginia, and Brig.-Gen. in late Confederate Army. 
 
 Robert T. Conant, A. C. 1836. A Congrega- 
 tional minister, Ogdensburgh, N.Y. 
 
 Abraham Jenkins, Jr., A. C. 1838. A Congrega- 
 tional minister, Fitzwilliam, N.H. Deceased. 
 
 Reuben T. Robinson, H. U. 1841. A Congrega- 
 tional minister. Settled in Winchester. Died in 1871. 
 
 Joseph P. Plummer, West Point, 1841. Brevet 
 Maj.-Gen. of Volunteers in the Union Army. Died 
 at Corinth, Ala., of disease contracted in the service. 
 
HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. I39 
 
 J. Martin Gorham, H. U. 185 i. A lawyer in Barre. 
 
 Samuel Fay Woods, Y. C. 1856. A lawyer in 
 Barre. Adjutant of the 34th Mass. Infantry, and mor- 
 tally wounded at Stanton, Va. Died at Worcester. 
 
 William Crawford, A. C. 1857. A Congrega- 
 tional minister, Green Bay, Wis. 
 
 Joseph W. Grosvener, Dart. C. 1859. A ph}^- 
 sician, Lockport, N,Y. 
 
 Sidney Crawford, A. C. 1861. A Congrega- 
 tional minister. 
 
 Charles Lee Bixby, H. U. 1861. Merchant, 
 Boston. 
 
 William Bullard Durant, H. U. 1865; LL.B. 
 1869. Boston. 
 
 James Thompson Bixby, H. U. 1864. A Congre- 
 gational (Unitarian) minister, Belfast, Me. 
 
 Frederick Holland, A. C. 1865. Farmer, Barre. 
 
 Geo. F. Babbitt, H. U. 1872. Journalist, Boston. 
 
 Charles Herbert Bixby, West Point 1873. 
 
 Here I leave the subject of Education, inscribing on 
 my page, as I do it, to be kept by you and your pos- 
 terity as a golden lesson for all time the memorable 
 words of Winthrop, first governor of " the Massachu- 
 setts Bay in New England: " — 
 
 " It being one chief project of that old deludei", Satan, to keep 
 men from the knowledge of the Scriptures, as in former times by 
 keeping them in an unknown tongue, so in these latter times by- 
 persuading them from the use of tongues, that so at least the true 
 sense and meaning of the original might be clouded by false 
 glosses of saint-seeming deceivers, — that learning be not 
 
 BURIED IN THE GRAVE OF OUR FATHERS IN THE CHURCH AND 
 
140 BARRE CENTENNIAL. 
 
 COMMONWEALTH, the Lord assisting oui* endeavors, — It is there- 
 fore ordered, . . . that when any town shall increase to the num- 
 ber of one hundred families or householders they shall set up a 
 Grammar School, the master thereof being able to instruct youth 
 so far as they may be fitted for the university." 
 
 It is a just and proud commentary on these words 
 of far-seeing wisdom when Dr. Palfrey proclaims that, 
 "Since the seventeenth year of Massachu- 
 setts NO CHILD OF HERS HAS BEEN ABLE TO SAY, 
 THAT TO HIM POVERTY HAS CLOSED THE BOOK OF 
 
 KNOWLEDGE OR THE WAY TO HONOR 
 
 5? * 
 
 Some account of the members of the learned pro- 
 fessions, other than ministers, who from time to time 
 have been in practice in this town, should have a place 
 in a memorial discourse; but necessity compels me 
 to pass them with only a hasty glance. We have had 
 seventeen lawyers, and still exercise ourselves " to 
 have always a conscience void of offence toward God 
 and toward man!" An equal number of doctors; 
 and, it is enough to say, "We still live!" Of the 
 lawyers, eight were graduates of colleges; namely, 
 four of Harvard University, two of Yale, one of Dart- 
 mouth, one of Brown University. Of the doctors, 
 four are academical graduates; namely, three of Har- 
 vard University and one of Dartmouth College. In 
 the legal profession, of those still alive, one, the 
 Hon. P. E. Aldrich, after attaining to eminence at the 
 bar of the county, has recently been appointed a jus- 
 tice of the Superior Court of the State, and has al- 
 
 * Palfrey's History of New England, II. 262. 
 
HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. I4I 
 
 ready made himself " a terror to evil-doers." The 
 others — let their own works praise them! Of the 
 dead, three only, on account of the length of the term 
 of their practice and their reputation and influence as 
 citizens, demand a brief reference. Eleazar James 
 was the first in time, having opened an office here in 
 the year 1793. He was a native of Cohasset, and a 
 graduate of Harvard in the class of 1767. His ap- 
 pointment as Tutor is proof that he was a scholar of 
 no ordinary rank. During the period of eight years 
 he discharged the duties of that office in such a 
 manner that he was regarded as the ruling spirit in 
 the faculty of instruction and government. Whilst 
 living at Cambridge he studied for the ministry and 
 preached a few Sundays. But an insufficient voice 
 and hesitating manner soon discouraged him, and he 
 abandoned that profession. Entering the law-office 
 of the first Levi Lincoln, of Worcester, he was ad- 
 mitted, in due time, to the bar of this county, and 
 opened an office at Rutland. He remained there only 
 a year, and then removed to this town, where he mar- 
 ried a daughter of Dr. Brooks, and resided till 1838. 
 Mr. James's scholastic attainments were probably not 
 exceeded by those of any man in this part of the 
 State. He was a gentleman of taste, refinement, and 
 general culture. He loved books. He loved culti- 
 vated society. He brought with him the manners 
 and habits of the best circles in Cambridge and Bos- 
 ton. He always dressed with neatness and elegance. 
 He took much pains in the education of his children, 
 
142 BARRE CENTENNIAL,. 
 
 and by his example stimulated others. A lover of 
 the church and its ordinances, he held up the hands of 
 its minister. He had no gift for public speaking, no 
 fluency. His points in argument were generally well 
 taken, and he managed to make them well under- 
 stood; but it was in a jerkey, laborious way. His 
 practice, however, was extensive, and he was much 
 respected by the courts. His influence in improving 
 the tone of society was very considerable. When 
 superior taste and refinement appear in one or two 
 leading families in a town, the example becomes con- 
 tagious, and reaches many others. Mr. James had 
 one son, who was graduated at Harvard University in 
 the class of 182 1, — a very promising youth, dying 
 young, the victim of an overtasked brain. Besides 
 this son, he had three daughters, one only of whom 
 survives, my own wife; and the others are repre- 
 sented here to-day, by a son of the late Rev. Dr. 
 Young, of Boston, and by daughters of the late Chief 
 Justice Allen, of Worcester, his grandchildren. 
 
 A very different man was Mr. Seth Lee, born in 
 this town Sept. 13, 1770, and a lawyer of reputation. 
 He began life a farmer with only the scant education 
 of our common schools, and not until he was married 
 and had a family did he enter on a course of study 
 for his profession. This was pursued under many 
 embarrassments; but he had great courage and perse- 
 verance, and in August, 1809, was admitted an attor- 
 ney of the C. C. P., and at once opened an office in 
 this town. An inhabitant by birth, everybody was ac- 
 
HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. I43 
 
 quainted with him, and his practice soon became 
 considerable. A man of a rugged nature, an iron 
 will, with strong common-sense and much shrewd- 
 ness, with clear perceptions and a good grip, with a 
 talent for raillery and sarcasm, at that time deemed 
 indispensable in an advocate, though unlettered and 
 without the slightest faculty for rhetorical expression, 
 he grew to be an advocate of no mean rank, and in 
 the various wrestling-matches of the bar was an 
 antagonist hard to throw. His family added greatly 
 to the attractions of our town. Three of his sons be- 
 came prominent merchants in New York, and one of 
 his daughters, Mrs. J. G. Thurston, remembered by 
 many here with affection, is a highly esteemed resi- 
 dent of Lancaster. Mr. Lee, late in life, during the 
 progress of a " revival of religion," became warmly 
 interested, and united with the Evangelical church. 
 An amusing anecdote is told of him in this connec- 
 tion, the truth of which I do not vouch for. It is said 
 that in a conference-meeting, soon after his conver- 
 sion, his minister asked him if he would offer prayer. 
 It was a tight place for the old lawyer; but after 
 removing the contents of his mouth and clearing his 
 throat, he replied, " I don't care if I make you a short 
 one." Rising and closing his eyes, he began, as if 
 addressing the court: " May it please your Honor!" 
 but instantly corrected himself, and almost as quickly 
 sat down, greatly to the consternation of the meeting. 
 Contemporary with Mr. Lee was Nathaniel Hough- 
 ton, Esq., a native of Sterling, who came here in the 
 
144 BARRE CENTENNIAL. 
 
 first decade of the century, a young man of prepos- 
 sessing appearance and pleasing address. Soon after 
 coming he married one of our most cultivated ladies, 
 a daughter of Capt. Edmund Howes, a highly respect- 
 able gentleman who, after following the seas till he 
 had accumulated a handsome property, removed to 
 this town from Cape Cod and purchased an estate, 
 which, for beauty of situation, is almost unrivalled. 
 Mr. Houghton's practice after a few years became 
 quite lucrative. He had a musical voice, a flowing, 
 " flowery " style of speaking, was good-tempered and 
 affable, a popular and useful citizen. He was never 
 an advocate, but in the common run of practice in a ' 
 country town satisfied his clients. The two political 
 parties of that time were known as Federal and 
 Republican. Mr. Houghton was an ardent sup- 
 porter of the latter. This gave him an advantage 
 as a lawyer; for the town was nearly equally divided, 
 and both the other lawyers were of the opposite party. 
 When his party had the ascendancy Mr. Houghton 
 was often chosen as its representative in its various 
 conventions; several times as a senator of the State, 
 and once or twice as a member of the Executive 
 Council. He was a kind neighbor and a friendl}^, 
 agreeable companion. 
 
 There are other names in the legal profession, the 
 mention of which would readily recall to some of 
 your minds men of eminent gifts and brilliant accom- 
 plishments. Christopher C. Baldwin was one of 
 these. More remarkable still was Walter A. Bryant, 
 
HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. I45 
 
 who in a lifetime of a little more than thirty years 
 attained to the foremost rank of counsellors and advo- 
 cates in "the heart of the Commonwealth." All these 
 names will have a proper place in some future his- 
 tory of the town. 
 
 The name of W. A. Bryant suggests that of a 
 kindred genius lodged in an equally frail tabernacle 
 of flesh, his lamented nephew, the late George Bryant 
 Woods, whom it would be unpardonable neglect to 
 pass wholly unnoticed even in this cursor3'' review. 
 Mr. Woods was not a lawyer, but belonged to that 
 noble and growing profession to which every other 
 and all callings are indebted for a large part of their 
 intellectual food and pleasure. I mean the profession 
 of Journalism. His earthly career was short; but, 
 like his uncle, he was well-nigh a full-grown man in 
 intellect at eighteen. Though doomed to struggle 
 from childhood with the enervating conditions of a 
 feeble constitution and the encroachments of insidious 
 disease, he lived long enough to develop powers of 
 unusual force and brilliancy as a writer, and to earn 
 an enviable reputation amongst the younger members 
 of his craft. Mr. Woods was the son of Edwin 
 Woods, Esq. He died on the 29th of April, 1871, 
 aged twenty-seven years. A handsome volume, en- 
 titled " Essays, Sketches, and Stories, selected from the 
 Writings of George Bryant Woods," has been pub- 
 lished since his decease, which fully sustains the high 
 estimate his friends had formed of his versatile and 
 extraordinary powers. 
 
 19 
 
146 BARRE CENTENNIAL. 
 
 In closing these brief notices, I am impelled by a 
 profound respect for their memory to pay a tribute 
 to two other sons of Barre who practised law and 
 rose to distinction in other places. To one of these, 
 Timothy Jenkins, allusion has been made before. 
 He was born in this town, Jan. 29, 1799- Till he was 
 eighteen years of age he worked on his father's farm. 
 But not content with so monotonous a life, he left his 
 home determined to make a career in some intel- 
 lectual pursuit. Two years he devoted to study at 
 academies in the interior of New York, fitting himself 
 for school-teaching, to which employment he gave 
 two or three years, improving all the time he could 
 save from its duties by reading and study. During this 
 period he conceived the idea of being a lawyer; and, 
 giving up his school, he entered the office of Judge 
 Beardsley, of Utica, where he gave undivided atten- 
 tion to the studies of the profession. Establishing 
 himself first at Vernon and then at Oneida Castle, he 
 soon rose to distinction at the Bar; acquired fortune 
 as well as reputation; was sent to Congress in four 
 elections; and in Congress, though a Democrat, took 
 strong ground by the side of the foremost in oppo- 
 sition to slavery. " Mr. Jenkins, at the time of his 
 death, enjoyed a wide professional practice," says one 
 of the newspapers of the county in which he lived, 
 " and was regarded as among the ablest of the mem- 
 bers of the Bar in the State of New York." " No 
 spot darkens his reputation, no shadow rests on his 
 memory," said one of his eulogists of the Bar. . . "lie 
 
HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. I47 
 
 was simple and unpretending in his manners, unos- 
 tentatious in his tastes, fond of the quiet of the country, 
 deUghting in rural occupations. As a lawyer, he was 
 distinguished for his careful and laborious research, 
 his unwearied industry, his clear and orderly mind, 
 his fairness and liberality in practice. With no pre- 
 tensions to the graces of oratory or the charms of 
 eloquence, he possessed an earnestness of thought and 
 vigor of expression that always commanded the atten- 
 tion of courts and juries." And, best of all, the Rev. 
 Samuel J. May, in a funeral sermon, bears the strong- 
 est testimony to his Christian faith and noble example 
 as an avowed and loving disciple of Christ. 
 
 The other bore the same name, being the eldest 
 son of our late intelligent and esteemed fellow-citizen, 
 Capt. James W. Jenkins. This young man pursued 
 much the same course with his cousin, stimulated 
 probably by his example. In his office he studied 
 law, and on his removal from Vernon to Oneida 
 Castle succeeded in part to his practice. He, too, by 
 patient industry and a sound judgment, with excellent 
 qualities of heart, rose to eminence in his profes- 
 sion and in the confidence of the community in which 
 he lived. But his upright, benevolent, large-souled 
 character was his highest distinction. He was not 
 merely respected, but universally beloved. The basis 
 of that character, its guiding motive, its controlling 
 force, was religion; and to all the institutions of 
 religion he gave hearty support. The Rev. Mr. 
 Emmons, his minister, speaking at his funeral, cries: 
 
148 BARRE CENTENNIAL. 
 
 " And who of us, brethren and friends, are not 
 mourners? Who in all this community has not felt 
 that a blow has fallen, which has touched his own 
 sympathies and moved his sorrow? The presence of 
 this large representation from all the bounds of our 
 town, the feeling depicted on every countenance, the 
 tone of anxious inquiry and of desponding grief, tes- 
 tify that a man of no common mark has fallen. Not 
 his family alone are mourners, not this religious soci- 
 et}?^ alone, not the circle, large as it was, of personal 
 friends, are they whom grief and sorrow pervade; 
 but all classes, all interests, share deeply in a sense of 
 loss. What great interest was there of this commu- 
 nity that he did not aim to promote ? What circle, 
 from the home of the poor to the dwelling of the 
 affluent, did not welcome the sunshine of his presence? 
 What sick or afflicted or needy soul has wanted for 
 sympathy or friendly offices, that he has known and 
 not rendered? " 
 
 Coming now to the Physicians, the notices must be 
 still more brief The first, Dr. Brooks, has already 
 been spoken of Dr. Ebenezer Rice, who was also a 
 magistrate, was a graduate of Harvard of the class of 
 1760. He came here rather late in life, and is be- 
 lieved to have been occupied chiefly in agricultural 
 pursuits. He is characterized by Dr. Thompson, in 
 his half-century sermon, as " a ripe scholar," an " ac- 
 complished man," " a sound Christian," "dignified and 
 urbane in manners," and " highly respected in all the 
 relations of life." Dr. Asa Walker was here in full 
 
HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. I49 
 
 practice before the end of the last century, and con- 
 tinued to be a popular physician till his retirement at 
 an advanced age. Dr. Anson Bates, a young man 
 from Fair Haven, after a course of professional study 
 at Hanover, N. H., established himself in this tow^n, 
 and in a short time proved to be a man of much skill 
 both in medicine and surgery. Of fine personal ap- 
 pearance, of great energy and power of endurance, 
 cheerful and hearty in social relations, easily gaining 
 the confidence and attachment of his patients, his 
 range of practice became very large; and at all times 
 of night and day, in fair weather and foul, in heat and 
 cold, he was on the drive. His practice was of the 
 kind called " heroic." Is it because it required so 
 much heroism on the part of the patients to endure 
 it? Oh, how much of the best blood of Barre did 
 he draw otT! Phlebotomy, ipecacuanha, calomel and 
 jalap, salts and senna, each according to the circum- 
 stances, did the business! When a very sick patient 
 got well, nothing saved him but the extraordinary 
 skill of the doctor; when he died, it was the will of 
 God! The doctor's saddle-bags were the only apothe- 
 cary shop in town; and the problem seemed to be 
 how most expeditiously to dispose of the contents. 
 It may be presumed that Dr. Bates prescribed more 
 physic in a single case of fever than either of his emi- 
 nent sons, now in practice, would deem necessary 
 in fifty. So great has been the change in the treat- 
 ment of disease during the last thirty years! How- 
 ever, on the Darwinian principle of the " Survival of 
 
150 BARRE CENTENNIAL. 
 
 the fittest," or some other, a few of us remain to tell 
 the story! Dr. Bates was a man of marked points, 
 entertaining in conversation, decided in opinion, at- 
 tached by early education and the convictions of his 
 mature life to that branch of the church known as 
 " orthodox," and lending to its support the whole 
 weight of his character and influence. He died, 
 greatly lamented, in the peace of the Christian faith, 
 on the 14th of Jul}^, 1836.* 
 
 To this sketch of a few of our departed physicians, 
 I could not excuse myself if I failed to add some 
 memorial of one who, born amongst us, and known 
 with affection by many here, rose to the highest rank 
 in his profession in the city of Boston. I refer to 
 Dr. Marshall Sears Perry, grandson of that heroic 
 woman of whom I spoke early in the discourse. Dr. 
 Perry was from the same neighborhood and of the 
 same age with the 370unger Mr. Jenkins, the lawyer. 
 They were intimate friends, and not unlike in the ele- 
 ments of their character. Both worked hard during 
 most of their youth on their fathers' farms. Both 
 were early fired with an ambition to be something 
 
 * The elder of Dr. B.'s sons (Dr. J. N. Bates, of Worcester) would seem to 
 have gone quite to the opposite extreme of his father's practice, if he may 
 be judged by an anecdote which has been told me since the delivery of 
 this discourse. A certain deacon of the town, an excellent but rather 
 austere Christian, suffering grievously from rheumatism in his limbs, met 
 the doctor one day, and, stopping his carriage, asked him, with many 
 grimaces and contortions, if he could tell him of any thing that would help 
 him. The doctor reflected a moment, and answered he thought he could. 
 " Well, what is it?" cried the deacon in agony. " Fear God and keep his 
 commandments, deacon," answered the doctor, and drove on. At last 
 accounts the deacon was trying the prescription and doing well. 
 
HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. I5I 
 
 more than ordinarily good and useful men. Both 
 were of a serious cast of thought, high-toned, clean- 
 hearted, conscientious, open to good impressions. 
 Both were obliged to struggle with uneasy circum- 
 stances, to form their own plans, and make their own 
 way in life. Both qualified themselves for teaching, 
 and made their first efforts, in an independent way, as 
 school-masters. Dr. Perry began on Cape Cod, where 
 he had influential kindred. But his predilection from 
 the start was for the medical profession, in which 
 some of his father's relatives had distinguished them- 
 selves; although, for a short time, there was a debate 
 in his mind between this and the ministry. In one 
 sense he was a born physician; he had a natural taste 
 and aptitude for its delicate offices. Returning from 
 his winter of school-keeping on the Cape, he made 
 the acquaintance of Dr. Doane, then a physician of 
 extensive practice in Boston, who listened to the story 
 of his wishes with the utmost kindness, and at once 
 made it easy for him to prosecute his studies 
 through their entire course. On receiving his di- 
 ploma, he opened an office on the corner of Washing- 
 ton and Eliot Streets in Boston, put out his sign and 
 waited anxiously for his first patient. At that time he 
 supported himself on three dollars a week, exclusive 
 of rent. He waited — but not long. The call came, 
 and others in quick succession, insomuch that the 
 vessel of his prosperity in two or three years was 
 fairly under sail with a favoring breeze. Continuing 
 the nautical figure, he took for his mate one who 
 
152 BARRE CENTENNIAL. 
 
 " knew every rope in the ship," her father being a 
 physician of eminence, the late Dr. Stimson, of Ded- 
 ham. In this choice he was singularly fortunate. 
 When the wife, an admirable and attractive woman, 
 made new friends, or introduced him to old ones, he 
 was sure to keep them. There was no halting now 
 in his onward march. From a doctor on foot he 
 became a doctor in his chaise, and from one horse 
 he advanced to two and three; and before he had 
 reached the fiftieth year of his age his practice, em- 
 bracing families in the highest walks of life, had 
 become the most lucrative of any physician's in the 
 city. But in the high noon of his fame and his use- 
 fulness he was overtaken by a fatal disease, and re- 
 moved from the world, to the great grief of thousands 
 who loved him and who felt that his loss as their 
 physician and friend could never be made good. I 
 transcribe for preservation in these pages two or three 
 obituary notices, which none who knew him will 
 deem extravagant. The first is from a newspaper 
 published in Dedham, where he spent the spring and 
 summer previous to his death : — 
 
 " Dr. Marshall S. Perry, of Boston, who, during the past sum- 
 mer, resided in this town, died at his residence in Chauncy Street, 
 Boston, at twelve o'clock, on Friday night, November 18, iS';9. 
 Dr. Perry was a native of Barre, and his age was about 54 years. 
 He leaves two daughters and four sons. His medical studies 
 were principally pursued with the late Dr. Doane, and he com- 
 menced practice in Boston about twenty-five years ago. 
 
 " Dr. Perry was the physician who attended Senator Sumnei 
 during the early stage of the illness which resulted from the 
 
HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. I53 
 
 assault by Brooks ; and, there is little reason to doubt, was the 
 providential means of saving his life at that critical moment. 
 
 " Few men have ever lived who have accomplished more real 
 good in their lives, and in their death have been more sincerely 
 mourned. The profession has lost in him one of its brightest 
 and noblest examples, and the sick and the poor a steadfast and 
 sympathizing friend. At the close of a discourse delivered last 
 Sunday morning in the First Church in this town, the pastor, 
 Rev. Dr. Lamson, made the following feeling and truthful allu- 
 sion to his life and character: — 
 
 " ' " The world passeth away," and we are all passing on to 
 judgment. When I began the preparation of this discourse, I 
 little thought that before its delivery intelligence would come that 
 one, eminently entitled to be called the " beloved ph3'sician," who 
 had passed the summer and early autumnal months among us, 
 though in the chamber of the invalid and visible to but few, had 
 entered the eternal world. I had trusted, at least hoped, for the 
 sake of the living, that he would be spared to be the instrument, 
 under Providence, of extending to multitudes the benefit of his 
 inspiring counsels, his soothing words, and his skill in the healing 
 art. But Heaven had ordained a different result. 
 
 " ' He bore with Christian fortitude and patience a long and 
 painful illness ; he was resigned to the decrees of Providence, and 
 murmured not at their seeming severity. As was said of another, 
 a great man, who, a little more than half a century ago, passed 
 away, an occupant of the same dwelling, " He had many reasons 
 for wishing to live. The summons came to demand of his noon 
 of life the residue of a day which had been bright and fair ; . . . 
 of his parental tenderness, the surrender of his children to the 
 chances and vicissitudes of life without his counsel and care." * 
 Yet, like that other, " with composure and dignity, he saw the 
 approach of his dissolution," and bowed in calm submission to the 
 will of Heaven. Entering on his profession in the capital of New 
 England, he rose by gradual and sure steps, and, in the extent of 
 his practice at the time of his attack by the malady which proved 
 fatal, stood, I believe, foremost among his professional brethren 
 in the city. This is the more remarkable and the more to his 
 
 * Dr. Kirkland's Life of Fisher Ames. 
 20 
 
154 BARRE CENTENNIAL. 
 
 credit, as his early advantages were not great ; he had difficulties 
 to struggle with ; he had no powerful patrons ; he was eminently 
 what is called a self-made man. But he had peculiar merits. 
 To his industry and correct habits and a youth unspotted, he 
 added the strictest conscientiousness, sincerity, truthfulness, and a 
 manner in a marked degree kind and affectionate. This was 
 evidently not put on, was not assumed for effect ; it cost him 
 nothing to appear kind, because he was kind at heart ; his sym- 
 pathies had their fountain there, and flowed out as naturally as 
 streams from the head-spring. He was gentle, yet firm and 
 decided, — an example of one who offended not in word, though to 
 win favor he never compromised truth. Over all there was, in 
 his intercourse with his patients, an undefined charm, an inde- 
 scribable something, which instantly won confidence and inspired 
 a warmth of affection which I have never seen equalled in any 
 similar case. His presence and counsels accomplished as much 
 as his prescriptions. They gave courage to the heart ; the spirits 
 rallied ; and I do not know that I express myself extravagantly 
 when I say, that as a visitant in the sick-room his inffuence 
 seemed that of a being of another sphere. Yet he was modest 
 and humble ; he was an instrument, as he regarded himself, in the 
 hands of Providence. He had self-respect, but none of the arro- 
 gance which sometimes attends great success. There is no one 
 who will be more missed in the community ; uncounted tears will 
 be shed in secret chambers over his early removal. May He, 
 whose prerogative it is to educe good out of evil and bring light 
 out of darkness, cause all to turn to a happy issue, bind up the 
 broken-hearted, and heal the bruised in spirit. 
 
 " ' To the young, I know of no example more precious than that 
 of him who has thus passed away amid tears which fall " fast as 
 rain." It shows what steadfastness of purpose, industry, Chris- 
 tian conscientiousness, and a kindness of heart, to which no one, 
 and especially no sufferer, can remain insensible, may accomplish. 
 In such a presence, how fade into nothingness all the gorgeous 
 shows of things which so dazzle the unthinking world ! God 
 help the young to profit by the lesson.' " 
 
 Of his religious character, let his revered pastor, 
 the late Dr. E. S. Gannett, bear witness : — 
 
HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. 1 55 
 
 " He did not become a communicant in this church till he had 
 settled the momentous questions on which the soul's peace rests. 
 He read religious books, and thought much on points of Christian 
 evidence and Christian doctrine. He was a believer from convic- 
 tion. And how true and practical was his faith, we saw, not only 
 in the spotless integrity of his life, the blameless consistency of his 
 whole course, the unchanged temper with which he met the 
 perils of prosperity, the high honor and the generous courtesy 
 which he always maintained, but also in the submission with 
 which he received the terrible blow that, two years and a half 
 since, deprived him of her who, with every wifely and womanly 
 virtue adorning her character, had shared with him the earlier trials 
 and the later responsibilities of life ; in the uncomplaining spirit 
 with which he endured the sharp pains which were consuming a 
 vitality that resisted them to the last moment ; and in the calm- 
 ness with which he anticipated his departure from all the pros- 
 pects of usefulness that had opened upon him ; and, what was 
 still harder to bear, from them who seemed, to him and to us, to 
 need his presence in the household of which he had become sole 
 head. . . . 
 
 " Taken though he was in the midst of his years, he lived long 
 enough to build up a worthy and beautiful character, to achieve a 
 noble reputation, to leave a cherished name, and to instruct us by 
 an example that will not fade out of their remembrance whose 
 grief at his loss was shown by such a signal manifestation on the 
 day when the last offices were paid to his lifeless body." 
 
 In connection with these notices of members of the 
 medical profession, let me refer to the institution 
 established here in the 3^ear 1848 by Dr. Henry G. 
 Wilbur for the care, comfort, training, and hygienic 
 treatment of children and youth of defective mental 
 organization. The first private asylum of the kind 
 in America, it soon became widely known; and, under 
 the direction of its original org^anizer and his accom- 
 plished successor, the President of the day, has been 
 
156 BARRE CENTENNIAL. 
 
 sustained and commended by a large patronage from 
 almost every State in the Union. Its situation, build- 
 ings, grounds, and appointments of every kind, pre- 
 sent the most attractive feature of our village. Hun- 
 dreds of parents made heart-sick by the coming to 
 them of children, through the divine mystery of hu- 
 man creation, with all the faculties necessary for self- 
 direction and the exercise and expression of thought 
 feeble or wholly wanting, and who knew not what 
 to do, either to relieve their burdened affections or 
 rightly to " order the child," have here found a happy 
 solution of the painful problem. For they have had 
 the gratification, not only of seeing the imbecile 
 tenderly cared for as to the health of his bod}', but 
 also of witnessing a partial removal, in many cases, 
 of the bandage from the eyes of his mind; a start- 
 ing of the germs of intellectual perception and activ- 
 ity, and even a surprising development of the mental 
 and moral powers. And what a miracle of human- 
 ity is this! 
 
 A quarter of a century ago or more, a little girl 
 was brought to the asylum for the blind at South 
 Boston who could neither see nor hear nor smell 
 nor taste: she could only feel. Touch was her only 
 medium of communication with the outward world. 
 But it soon became evident that, pent up in that little 
 cerebral cave, was a mind with various faculties, a 
 soul with oferms of a divine and immortal life. But 
 how to get at it, how to open communication with 
 it, how to cultivate and develop it, was a problem 
 
HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. I57 
 
 which seemed utterly insoluble by human ingenuity. 
 Yet, by the help of God, the solution was found. 
 Thought, feeling, desire were collected at this little 
 girl's fingers' ends, and there met the intelligence and 
 love which sought access to her mind and heart. It 
 was a marvellous achievement of physiological sci- 
 ence. I do not, however, depreciate it when I say 
 that here has been achieved a grander triumph. For 
 here boys and girls have come with all their senses 
 perfect, but connected with nothing within, telegraph- 
 ing no communication to or fro, reaching inward only 
 to dumb inanition. Was there a mind hid away there? 
 Were there elements out of which a mind could be 
 formed? Was it possible to find a wa}' into that empty 
 space, to pick up the buried germs of mental faculty, 
 if such there were, attach them to the delicate wire of 
 some sense, and thus open a communication between 
 the world within and the world without? 
 
 This was the problem which the institution here, 
 with kindred ones in other lands, has, with a sublime 
 faith, attempted to solve; and the result has been 
 such as to fill all observers with admiration. A work 
 has been wrought in our village scarcely less won- 
 derful than the creation of a human mind; forcibly 
 reminding us of that declaration of Jesus : " He 
 that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he 
 do also; and greater works than these shall 
 
 HE DO." 
 
 Passing down from the lovely eminence on which 
 this institution stands to the Common, the eye is 
 
158 BARRE CENTENNIAL. 
 
 attracted by a finely proportioned marble monument 
 erected to commemorate the patriotism and valor of 
 fifty-nine brave sons of the town who fell in the late 
 civil war. It is a sadly grand memento, more im- 
 pressive than funeral oration, more inspiring than 
 song of victory. Let the observer pause reveringly 
 before it, and renew the solemn vow faithfully to 
 maintain what they died to secure. 
 
 As he leaves that sacred memorial, let the visitor 
 descend the eastern slope, and there, in the quiet vale 
 below, let him enter the newly consecrated enclosure 
 for the dead, tranquil as a summer's evening, where 
 treasured dust is kept apart; where mourners, moving 
 with measured step, soft and slow, soliloquize their 
 sorrow; where the frequent tear attests a riven heart; 
 and where, unto the listening ear of faith, comes the 
 inspiring whisper: "Why seek ye the living among 
 the dead? He is not here, but is risen! " 
 
 Continuing his walk in the same valley, he will 
 come, in one direction, to a cheerful settlement busy 
 in manufactures of various sorts; and, in the other, 
 to the spacious Fair-grounds and hall where agricul- 
 ture and mechanic arts annually exhibit their choicest 
 products; and competitions for prizes, trials of speed, 
 the inevitable " soap-man," a twenty-score-pound 
 cheese, self-turning, swains and lasses dancing on the 
 sward, an excellent dinner with speeches and toasts 
 but no cider, make up a gala-day which princes might 
 envy. 
 
 But our visitor must be getting wear}', and begin- 
 
HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. I59 
 
 ning to feel that sight-seeing, like garrulous age, is a 
 bore. Let him have rest. 
 
 From the survey v^hich we have taken of our 
 town, two or three characteristics are easily deducible. 
 First, Enterprise. This has been strongly marked from 
 the beginning. There never has been a day when Barre 
 was a dull, lifeless place, looking as though nothing 
 were going on and the people were all " waiting for 
 something to turn up." Something has always been 
 up and going on. The brain of the town has teemed 
 with projects and contrivances. It has been as bus}'- 
 as its hands. Its time and sentiment have not been 
 spent in bewailing the past. It has steadily and 
 bravely, even under many discouragements, kept its 
 face to the future. Enterprise brought our fathers 
 here in the first place. They left their homes in the 
 older and more populous settlements impelled by the 
 spirit of enterprise. And the spirit which brought 
 them hither their sons, in each succeeding generation, 
 have inherited. Their motto has been, " What ought 
 to be done, can be." They could not be diverted from 
 a purpose by obstacles. What were obstacles made 
 for but to be overcome? " There ought to be a turn- 
 pike from here to Princeton," some one said. " So 
 there ought," the whole town answered. And it was 
 made. " We ought to have a line of daily stages 
 over that turnpike to Boston," said Seth Holden. 
 " So we ought," said enough to form a company with 
 capital to run it. And it was done. " Before I 
 
l6o BARRE CENTENNIAL. 
 
 take the presidency of the Boston and Worcester Rail- 
 road or go to Congress," said Genery Twichell, " I 
 want to drive a six-horse stage-coach with twenty pas- 
 sengers daily from Worcester to Brattleborough, via 
 Barre." Barre answered, " Go ahead, and we will 
 back you!" And it was done. How can we get a 
 railroad up here amidst these hills? enterprise has 
 been asking these twenty years. Every year or two 
 a survey of some new route has been made. Money 
 has been freely subscribed. Postponements and de- 
 lays have been courageously endured. Determina- 
 tion has never flagged. The spirit of prophecy has 
 been bold and assuring. Wh}^, two years ago I was 
 promised a delightful trip three times a day, if I chose, 
 over " The Central Massachusetts " to Barre Common, 
 this very summer! I did not come by that route. I 
 missed the train ! But we have one railroad com- 
 pleted surely, if the " Central " is not — "The Boston, 
 Barre, and Gardner.'' We have seen its advertise- 
 ment in all the papers ever so long. I am sorry to 
 say, that that " is a hard road to travel." I wonder 
 if any of you came over it this morning! On the 
 whole, the most satisfactory way of reaching this 
 town by rail yet ascertained — the committee are still 
 hard at work — is to take a two-horse wagon at Hub- 
 bardston; or, as an alternative, to imagine yourselves 
 at Barre when you hear the conductor cry, " The 
 Plains! " At any rate, you may as well get out there. 
 " You might go farther and fare worse." But enter- 
 prise does not doubt. A railroad is sure to be seen 
 
• HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. ' l6l 
 
 crossing this high table-land where you sit. Every 
 Barre man believes it ; and, being a Barre man, I 
 believe it. 
 
 In the progress of my discourse, before coming to 
 this special topic, I had given pretty free illustration 
 of the enterprise of our people in matters of business. 
 One or two examples of a somewhat different kind 
 ought not to be omitted. The mention of them is 
 due to the truth of history, although we do not claim 
 for them the gratitude of posterity. 
 
 During the war of 1812, quite a number of our 
 wide-awake citizens were seized with a strange pas- 
 sion for finding new and untried wa3^s across the line 
 into Canada. 
 
 The)' made paths through the woods of Maine; 
 they went in wagons; they went in sleighs; they 
 went in pungs; they went on horseback, and possibly 
 on foot. There was something mysterious, spoken 
 of in whispers, about their movements. Their " ways 
 were dark " if " their tricks were not vain." It was 
 always observed that when they returned from these 
 distant journeyings certain descriptions of dry goods 
 became cheaper in the market; certain ladies appeared 
 in new gowns; a certain clergyman, being a federalist 
 in politics, shone out in new broadcloth and his wife 
 in a fresh silk. These latter, of course, were presents; 
 and if a minister received a present from one of his 
 parishioners, who will maintain that it would have 
 been polite in him to ask, whether the duty had been 
 paid. 
 
1 62 BARRE CENTENNIAL. 
 
 Such was the hostility to the war and the adminis- 
 tration, that proceedings of this kind were winked at 
 and even applauded. Some of the respectable mer- 
 chants of Boston were in collusion^ with the smart and 
 venturesome smugglers of Barre. 
 
 Here is another example. Certain British officers, 
 confined as prisoners of war in Worcester jail, effected 
 an escape one night; and the next morning, "by 
 hook or crook," or the virtue of " British gold," they 
 were quietly eating their breakfast at the house of one 
 of our respectable citizens; and after waiting a week 
 or two in an unsuspected place of concealment, were 
 spirited away by some of the daring fellows, who 
 knew neither treason nor contraband, over the new 
 roads they had found to the British possessions in 
 America. 
 
 Still another example is brought to my recollection 
 by the recent discussions of Congress and the political 
 press on the question of Inflation. It will be seen that 
 this is no new question. About half a century ago 
 we had a number of shrewd and brilliant inflationists 
 in this town. One of our leading citizens, who was 
 no mere theorist, succeeded in putting a good deal of 
 his irredeemable paper in circulation. But his suc- 
 cess was his ruin. It involved him in difficulties 
 which compelled him to leave the place and make 
 his abode for a term of years in Charlestown! Here 
 he was engaged in the service of the Commonwealth. 
 His duties were laborious and confining, but he per- 
 formed them to the satisfaction of the government, and 
 
HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. 163 
 
 on his discharge returned to spend the remnant of his 
 days in the bracing air of his native hills. Towards 
 the last of life he grew melancholy; tried to get a 
 little comfort out of the Bible and his ministers prayers 
 by his bedside, but died broken in body and mind, 
 protesting that inflation had ruined him. If his fate 
 shall serve " to point a moral," let us be thankful 
 that he did not live wholly in vain. 
 
 A second characteristic is a certain liveliness of spirit^ 
 inclining to joviality and f7in. A churl could never 
 have been comfortable in this atmosphere fifty years 
 ago. A mean man was despised ; and a mean man was 
 one who never laughed, who did not stand up square 
 to an agreement, or to his share in the cost of any so- 
 cial pleasure, or in the support of any good institution. 
 The men found a remedy for fatigue from hard work 
 in a little jollification. Merriment was victuals and 
 drink to them. They enjoyed a practical joke amaz- 
 ingly. A good-natured trick played off by one upon 
 another would perform much more than its original 
 service: the story of it would travel the rounds of the 
 neighborhood, and provoke laughter wherever it went. 
 There were some families who were full of mother- 
 wit, and in whom this turn for jollity was innate; 
 conspicuously the Holdens and Bacons. The mem- 
 bers vied with each other in wit-contests. The sally 
 and repartee were quick and sharp, and created great 
 amusement. Almost everybody had a good story, 
 and there was a good story about almost everybody. 
 Thus an aspect of cheer was exhibited quite generally. 
 
164 BARRE CENTENNIAL. 
 
 The taverns were the evening resorts of jokers and 
 story-tellers as well as of men who had business to 
 transact, being, for such, an exchange. 
 
 All this flavored social intercourse, of which there 
 was not a little. Small tea-parties, beginning in the 
 middle of the afternoon and ending at sundown, were 
 of frequent occurrence (I speak of fifty or sixty 3''ears 
 ago) ; and from harvest through the winter, suppers 
 were given by farmers to as many as their tables 
 would accommodate, at which were served the best 
 dishes the careful housewife could provide, rich, sub- 
 stantial, savory, and abundant. Balls at farmers' 
 houses were common for the young people, the long 
 kitchen, lighted by a blazing fire and innumerable 
 tallow-candles, serving as a dancing-hall; while a 
 white-haired black man of my own name, good old 
 Dick, limbered his elbow for the music. When the 
 occasion was intended to be more than usually brill- 
 iant, the dancing-master, Mr. John White, was em- 
 ployed instead of Dick. In the latter case, each male 
 guest paid fifty cents and in the former twenty-five 
 cents! Certainly not an extravagant entertainment. 
 Once or twice each winter there was a rather aristo- 
 cratic ball at one of the public houses, to' which the 
 more opulent and stylish families of neighboring 
 towns were invited. This was conducted on a liberal 
 scale, and had an air of refinement and even elegance 
 which you of to-da}^ could not easily excel. Besides 
 the balls, there came off, at least once in the season, 
 a glorious sleighing-party, composed of thirty or forty 
 
HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. 165 
 
 couples, who drove to Hardwick or Petersham, pos- 
 sibly to Rutland, and there regaled themselves with 
 a hot supper, and danced or played cards to a late 
 hour; careful only to get home before morning. How 
 pleasant to affections which never grow old to recall 
 the charming scenes, the innocent joys, the youthful 
 witcheries, the dear companions of those by-gone 
 days! How redolent of delight the memory of out- 
 door sports of men and boys, in the afternoon of a 
 holiday, — base-ball, quoits, trials of strength by lift- 
 ing, foot-races! And, ah! let tears moisten the recol- 
 lection of the husking-party on the barn-floor, the red 
 ear, the bashful protest, the hot chase, the articulate 
 result! 
 
 " These were thy charms, sweet village ! sports like these 
 With sweet succession taught e'en toil to please." 
 
 And who, repeating these lines, does not respond to 
 these other verses of the same charming poet? — 
 
 " To me more clear, congenial to my heart. 
 One native charm, than all the gloss of art. 
 Spontaneous joys where nature has its play, 
 The soul adopts, and owns their first-born sway ; 
 Lightly they frolic o'er the vacant mind, 
 Unenvied, unmolested, unconfined." 
 
 A third characteristic is local pride and ambition, 
 or a certain esprit de corps animating the people. I am 
 acquainted with no town where this feature is (or was 
 in my early life) so observable. It grew up here spon- 
 taneously. Always to its sons Barre was a great town 
 to hail from. If anywhere in the United States or 
 
1 66 BARRE CENTENNIAL. 
 
 Canada a genuine Barre man were asked, " Where is 
 Barre?" his face reddened with indignation at the 
 question. Other towns in the neighborhood were well 
 enough in their way. Petersham was indeed beauti- 
 ful for situation; and our little sister, New Brain- 
 tree, was fair and fruitful. As for Dana on the west — 
 now alive and thriving — and Oakham on the east, it 
 was a proverb, "out of this world into" either of those 
 places. And how we laughed at the primitive ways, 
 the small reckonings, the staid and sober manners, of 
 occasional visitors from " below." We regarded them 
 as belonging to an inferior race or an anterior age, 
 and felt that if they would only stay long enough we 
 could improve them, and set them forward a genera- 
 tion or two. This spirit still lives. I really think 
 that if, to-day, it were decided by the General 
 Court that the State-house should be removed to 
 the interior of the State, Barre would have a peti- 
 tion signed by every legal voter by to-morrow 
 night, praying that it might be placed here as alto- 
 gether the most eligible spot, infinitely surpassing 
 any other, and affirming that by trigonometrical meas- 
 urement a certain stake on Robinson's hill marked 
 the exact centre of the Commonwealth! Now, there 
 may be a little romance and exaggeration in this vir- 
 tuous self-estimation, but it is genuine. There is no 
 personal glorification in it; not this or that man or 
 woman, but the iown, is exalted. You may say what 
 you please of any man and nobody will be offended 
 to the point of knocking you down; but if you touch 
 
HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. 167 
 
 the good name of the town, wo be to you! We do 
 not mind a little brag; and so, being a Barre man, I 
 ask. Is there another town, of no larger population, in 
 the Commonwealth, that could get up a " Centennial " 
 on such a scale as this? When we set out to do a 
 thing we do it. Why, do you remember what hap- 
 pened here in the year 1840? It was the year of the 
 Harrison campaign, in which " log-cabins " and " hard 
 cider " were potent arguments. The democrats were 
 awake early to the duties of the hour, and determined 
 on a grand party-celebration of the Fourth of July, 
 and to have a first-class orator. In due time it was 
 announced that George Bancroft, the historian, and 
 collector of Boston, would deliver the oration. It 
 was expected, of course, that he would carry all before 
 him. No democrat dreamed that the whigs would 
 have a celebration of their own. But the whiof leaders 
 got their heads together, and agreed that if they could 
 secure a certain gentleman as orator they would cel- 
 ebrate too, and spoil the fun of the other side. Ac- 
 cordingly, in a quiet way, a committee of one, Mr. 
 James W. Jenkins, made a hasty journey to Washing- 
 ton, and on his return it was announced in the papers 
 that there would be a whig celebration of the Fourth 
 of July in Barre, for Central Massachusetts; and that 
 Daniel Webster would pronounce the oration! 
 The democrats were crest-fallen; the whigs elated 
 and crowing. The day came. It was for splendor 
 the queen of days. In the early morning carriages 
 began to pour into the village from all directions. 
 
I05 BARRE CENTENNIAL. 
 
 They came ten, twenty, and thirty miles to see and 
 hear the most illustrious statesman and orator of the 
 land. Every house was filled with visitors and all 
 the town astir. Bands of music, whig and democrat, 
 filled the air with patriotic strains. Processions were 
 formed by either party and marched to their respec- 
 tive tents. Poor democrats! were they not happy 
 when they were quietly seated out of sight, six hun- 
 dred all told, as the mischievous whig boys, who 
 made the count, reported ? The whigs marched three 
 thousand strong, a man for every plate. Charles 
 Allen, then in his prime, presided, and led off in a 
 short pithy speech of singular beauty and power, and 
 closed by introducing the orator of the day. Mr. 
 Webster rose with a never-surpassed dignity of pres- 
 ence to meet the enraptured greetings of thousands 
 who had never seen him before. He was in his full 
 vigor of body and mind, and looked the demigod. He 
 had no notes; but proceeded for nearly two hours, 
 with that directness, cogency of argument, breadth of 
 survey, and grandeur of rhetorical expression, which 
 characterized his noblest efforts. Expectation was 
 fully satisfied. The day was a signal triumph for 
 Barre. The newspapers, far and near, were full of it. 
 " The town had covered itself with glory." It was 
 Saturday. Mr. Webster remained over Sunda}'', at- 
 tending the Unitarian church in the morning and the 
 Evangelical in the afternoon. 
 
 This was Barre's greatest performance. Its effect 
 on the election was not of much consequence in 
 
HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. 169 
 
 Massachusetts, the majority being so decidedly on the 
 whig side; but to every son of the town, as showing 
 what Barre could do when aroused, it was of much 
 moment. The gibes of the Avhigs at their opponents 
 were generally received with good nature, and re- 
 turned with such retaliatory compliments as they 
 were capable of. 
 
 Having glanced at the prominent characteristics of 
 our town, and at many of the more important events 
 and incidents of its history; having also called up 
 before you the images of those ruling spirits who con- 
 tributed largely to the moulding of its character, I 
 leave the unfinished tale to the annalist of 1974! 
 What the present generation is, — its pursuits, the 
 ideas that bear sway in it, its devotion to science and 
 art, its boundless philanthropy, its zeal in education, 
 its freedom in religion, — is so fully disclosed* in our 
 various literature that no sfreat labor of research will 
 then be requisite. Whilst he will discover much in 
 our social and political life to call forth animadver- 
 sion, — much extravagance, profligacy, corruption, and 
 crime, — he will perceive, at the same time, that this 
 is not an idle generation; that it is not dozing in un- 
 ambitious content; that in all departments of thought 
 and activity it is reaching forward eagerly; that, hav- 
 ing destroyed Slavery at a terrible cost of blood and 
 treasure, it is now solemnly demanding, through the 
 leading organs of its opinion and influence, the ex- 
 tinction of abuses in government, a higher style of 
 
170 BARRE CENTENNIAL. 
 
 character in public men, greater independence of 
 party-dictation, more strenuous endeavors for raising 
 the standard of intelligence and morality throughout 
 the land, and, finally, the granting to Woman all the 
 social rights and opportunities claimed by her, to the 
 end that, possessing equal advantages for education 
 and the use of her talents with the other sex, she 
 may advance pari passu w^ith it in all that gives 
 beauty and strength to personal character, or that 
 ministers knowledge, virtue, and grace to society. 
 Thus it will be manifest to him that the Present is not 
 wanting in benign and gratifying auguries. 
 
 With all modesty, yet without fear, we submit our- 
 selves and our works to the calm judgment of that 
 far-off reviewer. When he shall come to walk 
 amongst the grassy mounds that will cover our dust, 
 and to scrape the moss from our gravestones that he 
 may read our names and epitaphs, let him know 
 this: that we, of this generation, lived with faith in 
 God and in man, — in the Infinite compassions of the 
 One and the measureless possibilities of the other; 
 that we rejoiced in the nurture of the Christian Church, 
 and held in reverence that Divine Word which is 
 "the same yesterday, to-day, and forever;" that, not- 
 withstanding any materialistic tendencies of philo- 
 sophical speculation, we constantly affirmed, in the 
 words of Jesus, that " God is spirit," not matter; that 
 man, being the child of God, as he bears " the image 
 of the earthly shall also bear the image of the heav- 
 enly; " that eternity is the measure of his existence 
 
HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. I7I 
 
 and not time; and that "all things," whether on the 
 earth or under the earth or above the earth, " work 
 together for the good of them that love God." 
 
 Advance, ye generations that are to occupy our 
 places! Come, with your ampler knowledge of nature 
 and of the Divinity that breathes through all its parts; 
 with your fuller experience of the wonder-working 
 providence of God; with your worthier conceptions 
 of man and his destined end; come, and enter into 
 our labors and glorif}^ your inheritance by whatso- 
 ever 3'ou can add to its riches. What fields shall 
 ripen for your harvesting in the vast unexplored 
 domains of science; what improvements in the arts 
 that utilize nature or minister to the love of beauty 
 shall enhance the comfort and happiness of your life; 
 what truths in the realms of philosophy and of faith 
 not dreamed of by us shall reveal themselves to 3'Our 
 apprehension, we vainly strive to imagine. But all 
 our reflection on the past assures us that your course 
 will be marked by great advantages beyond our lot 
 through the increase of knowledge and virtue; and 
 that whoever shall stand in this place a hundred years 
 hence will thankfully trace the manifold proof of a 
 marvellous progress, — our fairest visions more than 
 realized, our boldest imaginations far outrun. And 
 as we are now showing unto the children what we 
 " have heard and known and our fathers have told 
 us," we enjoin it as a sacred duty on you, our suc- 
 cessors, that on the 17th of June, 1974, assembling 
 yourselves together, you take up and carry on the 
 
172 BARRE CENTENNIAL. 
 
 story, so that " to the generations to come may be 
 known the praises of the Lord, and his strength, and 
 his wonderful works that he hath done." 
 
 " Let children hear the mighty deeds 
 Which God performed of old ; 
 Which in our younger years we saw, 
 And which our fathers told. 
 
 " Our lips shall tell them to our sons, 
 And they again to theirs, 
 That generations yet unborn 
 May teach them to their heirs. 
 
 " Thus shall they learn in God alone 
 Their hope securely stands, 
 That they may ne'er forget his works, 
 But practise his commands." 
 
 ACKNOWLEDGMENT. 
 
 The author of the foregoing discourse gratefully acknowledges the 
 careful assiduity of Edwin Woods, Esq., in furnishing for his use mat- 
 ters of record and many other facts of interest. Without such aid the 
 discourse could scarcely have been written. 
 
HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. I73 
 
 Note to Page 6i. 
 THE REV. JONATHAN MAYHEW, D.D. 
 
 It is with a just pride that we are able to associate the name of this dis- 
 tinguished divine and patriot with the history of our town, how much 
 soever the difficulties in the church, which were the occasion of his coming 
 here, and the personal consequences to himself, are to be deplored. A 
 single incident connected with his visit; like "the great matter which a 
 little fire kindleth," is of historic importance. 
 
 It is generally understood that the idea of i\\e union of all t/ie colotiics 
 for the maintenance of their liberties was first suggested by Dr. Majhew, 
 and that it came to his mind while he was reflecting on the commuuion of 
 the churches. It is of peculiar interest to us that the idea arose when he 
 was meditating in his bed on the duty he was to perform during the fol- 
 lowing week as a member of the council to be holden in this f lace in the 
 case of the Rev. Mr. Fri7ik. This is told in the letter which follows ad- 
 dressed to James Otis : — 
 
 " Lord's-Day Morning, June Sth, 1766. 
 
 " Sir, — To a good man all time is holy enough; and none is too holy 
 to do good or to think upon it. Cultivating a good understanding and 
 hearty friendship between these colonies appears to me to be so necessary 
 a part of prudence and good policy that no favorable opportunity for that 
 purpose should be omitted. I think such an one now presents. 
 
 " Would it not be proper and decorous for our assembly to send circulars 
 to all the rest, on the late repeal of the Stamp Act and the present favor- 
 able aspect of affairs .'' — letters conceived at once in terms of friendship and 
 regard, of loyalty to the king, filial affection towards the parent country, 
 and expressing a desire to cement a7id perpetuate union among ourselves, 
 by all laudable methods. . . . Pursuing this course, or never losing sight 
 of it, may be of the greatest importance to the colonies, perhaps the only 
 means of perpetuating their liberties. . . . You have heard of the com- 
 fnunion of churches, and I am to set out to-morrrow morning for Rutland 
 [District, now Barre], to assist at an ecclesiastical council. While I was 
 thinking of this in my bed the great use and importance of a communion 
 of colonies appeared to me in a strong light; which led me immediately to 
 set down these hints to transmit to you. Not knowing but the general 
 court may be prorogued or dissolved before my return, or my having an 
 opportunity to speak with you, I now give them, that you may make such 
 use of them as you think proper, or none at all." 
 
 There was a sad termination to this visit of Dr. Mayhew. His laborious 
 duties in the council, with the heat and fatigue of the journey, induced an 
 illness from which he never recovered, his death in the full beauty and 
 glory of his manhood occurring in about four weeks after his return. No 
 death could have been the cause of a profounder sorrow to the friends 
 of liberty, for so important was his influence regarded that Robert 
 Treat Paine called him "The Father of Civil and Religious Liberty in 
 America." 
 
 The measure recommended by Dr. Mayhew was deemed premature, and 
 therefore was not, at that time, adopted. But scarcely had two years 
 elapsed before a circular was sent to all the colonies of similar purport. 
 
[74 BARRE CENTENNIAL. 
 
 After the Discourse, the choir sang the Centennial 
 Hymn. 
 
 The delivery of the address occupied two hours and 
 twenty minutes. It was listened to with close attention and 
 appreciation ; and the countenances of many told, better 
 than words could do, how faithfully were cherished the 
 memories of other days, and of ancestors and kindred who 
 were brought back to recollection. 
 
 After the singing of the Ode by the choir, the audience 
 standing, the assembly was placed in charge of the Mar- 
 shal and his assistants, find a recess for an hour was 
 announced for the Collation. The prompt and orderly 
 manner in which this was served, and the quality and 
 quantity of the supply, elicited expressions of satisfaction 
 from all sources ; and it was a gratification to the Committee 
 to feel that, through the careful consideration and manage- 
 ment of the Dinner Committee, the character of the town 
 for substantial hospitality had been so handsomely main- 
 tained. 
 
 Though a severe shower delayed the resumption of order 
 and quiet in the tent for nearly an hour, yet, as soon as the 
 ceasing of the noise of the rain enabled the voice to be 
 heard, the Band having rendered their music, the Presi- 
 dent announced the exercises of the afternoon, which 
 were resumed according to the programme, and may be 
 found in the following pages as the manuscripts of the 
 speakers and the science of the phonographer have pre- 
 served them. 
 
EXERCISES OF THE AFTERNOON. 
 
 POEM. 
 
 By Charles Brimblecom, Esq. 
 
 On yesternight, in yonder sacred tower 
 
 The clock struck twelve, and in that starlit hour 
 
 Of midnight, rising, swelling, fading fell 
 
 The pensive music of that sweet-voiced bell 
 
 On the calm air, tolling a parting knell. 
 
 As the soft stealing echoes gently thrilled 
 
 Night's blue dome, the expiring breath was stilled 
 
 Of a century of time. 
 
 As the last chime o'er seas aerial flew, 
 
 And its last ripple faint and fainter grew, 
 
 Until the throb which the deep silence broke 
 
 Again was still, and it no longer woke 
 
 The softest murmur in our listening ears. 
 
 Hushed were the voices of a hundred years. 
 
 All, all, which woke, on every hill and plain, 
 
 The glorious echoes of labor's grand refrain ; 
 
 That leaped in accents hoarse from passion's throat, 
 
 Or softly flowed in lovers' whispered note ; 
 
 Which in devotion lifted up the prayer 
 
 In solemn pleading for the Maker's care ; 
 
 Which burst in joy from youth's hilarious morn, 
 
 Or sobbed in sorrow when the heart was torn ; 
 
 Whose wailing cry pierced through the heavy air 
 
 As hope's bright ray was shadowed by despair ; 
 
 Which rung with shouts when bloody fields were won. 
 
 And patriots saw the rise of freedom's sun ; 
 
176 BARRE CENTENNIAL. 
 
 Which bubbled up in orgies dark and drear, 
 
 When blear-eyed ribalds lingered o'er their cheer ; 
 
 In busy life, in every hamlet wrought, 
 
 Peaceful or stormy, full of meaning fraught ; 
 
 Enamoured all with music, which inspires 
 
 The air which murmurs from a thousand lyres ; 
 
 The voice of pi'ophet, patriot, and sage, 
 
 Of rosy youth and venerable age ; 
 
 Mystic voices, that through the stilly night 
 
 Steal o'er the senses with a calm delight ; 
 
 All, all of earth and of revolving spheres 
 
 That sung their anthems through a hundred years, 
 
 Were hushed in silence ! Silence, deep, profound, 
 
 Shall hold them ever as by giant bound. 
 
 Yet memory brings to our delighted ears 
 
 The changeful music of the bygone years ; 
 
 Enraptured thought her kindling touch inspires 
 
 As her light fingers sweep the trembling wires. 
 
 A hundred years ! a sand-speck on the shore ; 
 
 A bubble floating in the air ; no more ; 
 
 A single drop of glistening morning dew ; 
 
 A passing cloud that on the light wind flew ; 
 
 A breath ; a shadow on the dial thrown ; 
 
 A fleeting thought we scarce can call our own ; 
 
 But in such thoughts combined we e'er shall trace 
 
 All our knowledge, all wisdom of the race ; 
 
 And ever, by the dial's pregnant shade, 
 
 Mankind have highest calculations made ; 
 
 That breath of air to some being brought 
 
 The life and vigor which the sick man sought ; 
 
 That passing cloud, conveying wealth untold. 
 
 Dropped its rich treasure on the parching mould ; 
 
 That glistening dew-drop of the morning hour 
 
 Painted with beauty some opening flower; 
 
 That bubble, bursting in the noontide sun, 
 
 Charmed youth's bright eye, — and all its duty done ; 
 
 And formed of sand, this orb of ours to-day, 
 
 Majestic on in its imperial way, 
 
POEM. 177 
 
 Mid shining worlds, unnumbered, moves apace, 
 Holding high converse on its revolving race. 
 Great Century ! in the dead past lying, 
 Dead, yet immortal art, and undying ; 
 Voiceless, yet from thy deep silence reaching 
 Onward, ever, with resistless teaching ; 
 Thy light extinguished, thy refulgent glory 
 Still emblazons all thy wondrous story. 
 
 With rapt delight would we pause, and here 
 Recount the splendors of thy gi'eat career; 
 The noble past unveil, and faintly trace 
 With simple words the progress of the race ; 
 With hearts ablaze, a grateful tribute pay 
 To those high spirits of another day, 
 Whose genius liglits the pathway of the past, 
 And o'er the world shall e'er a radiance cast. 
 But Time's swift current warns us to desist ; 
 The fascinations of that field resist ; 
 Plume our pinions for a lower flight, 
 Circling o'er Barre, she our central light. 
 And here outspread what beauties we behold ! 
 What marvels have been wrought, changes untold! 
 No more Wachusett, from its hoary height. 
 Looks down on forests dense, and dark as night ; 
 Within whose gloomy depths no sunlight gleams 
 To flash in beauty from their myriad streams ; 
 Within whose dark embrace dread silence broods, 
 And Nature lingers in her sullen moods ; 
 Within whose covert lurks the beast of prey, 
 The wily savage more fearful far than they ; 
 No more dark forests and the chill morass 
 Distil foul miasm, and from Nature's glass 
 Pour fetid horrors, and in gases dense 
 Spreading their fevers, breeding pestilence. 
 
 The brave Caucasian, sweeping towards the West, 
 Over these hills his empire early pressed ; 
 Severed the forest, dispelled the dusky shade, 
 23 
 
178 BARRE CENTENNIAL. 
 
 Solitude disrobed, and sweet convert made 
 To life and home in loveliness arrayed. 
 
 A hundred hills, to the enchanted view. 
 Kissed by the sunshine and by morning dew, 
 Instinct with life, with swelling breasts arise. 
 With smiling glance salute the arching skies ; 
 Their fertile fields with lustrous beauty glow, 
 A grateful tribute bring, with wealth o'erflow. 
 
 When the light with radiance robed the hills. 
 With brilliance sparkled in their hundred rills, 
 The savage beast its ancient haunts forsook. 
 To deeper shades its rapid steps betook ; 
 Shuddering with terror at the light of day, 
 To its dim caves it swiftly slunk away. 
 
 The Indian too, oh, whither has he fled? 
 
 To wandering life and to the forest wed, 
 
 By forms untrammelled, his unbending mind 
 
 Free as the air, untaught as flowing wind, 
 
 By arms unconquered, his natui-e, howe'er rude, 
 
 Defiant, proud, his spirit unsubdued, 
 
 To commerce yields, and the heroic braves 
 
 Leave their hunting-grounds and their fathers' graves. 
 
 Not long they live the hapless day to mourn 
 
 When from these happy regions they are torn ; 
 
 Each, as he goes, with gloomy joy retires. 
 
 Soon the last remnant of the tribe expires. 
 
 Haply his spirit flies to seek his I'ace, 
 
 With them to dwell and follow still the chase. 
 
 And Peace, sweet Peace, fair goddess of the train, 
 O'er these fair hills established her mild reign : 
 With sweeping glance the enraptured eye will scan 
 The mighty triumphs she has won for man. 
 To paint the picture's beyond the power of art ; 
 The fairest forms are traced upon the heart. 
 The secret tablets he alone shall view 
 Who is to home, truth, love, and nature true. 
 
POEM. 179 
 
 When France, her arms, in former times, sent forth 
 
 To bear her lilies to the distant North, 
 
 And there her power, her empire to maintain. 
 
 O'er haughty Albion new conquests still to gain ; 
 
 France, with all her glory, all her pride. 
 
 With savage men and savage tribes allied, 
 
 Poured barb'rous war on all her foes around, 
 
 With sudden carnage often strewed the ground. 
 
 No age or sex the savage foeman spared. 
 
 But all alike the treacherous butchery shared ; 
 
 The cry for mercy thrilled the very air ; 
 
 The white-winged angel did not wander there. 
 
 'Twas then a Barre, reared in humble life, 
 
 With motives high enlisted for the strife ; 
 
 Well might the cry which swept across the wave 
 
 His heart to pity move, his arm to save ; 
 
 W ell might ambition's fires within have burned. 
 
 For its rewards his heart vv^ith fondness yearned ; 
 
 Ancestral voices to his memoiy brought 
 
 The wrongs of France to fleeing Huguenot ; 
 
 Full well his loyal heart a tribute bring 
 
 Devotion to his country and her king. 
 
 O'er the wild tempestuous seas he sailed, 
 
 Canadian shores with all their dangers hailed ; 
 
 Through tedious years he bore his country's arms 
 
 Through every peril and all of war's alarms ; 
 
 His valiant arm no tremor ever knew, 
 
 But glory sought where dangers thickest flew ; 
 
 Intrepid daring displayed on every hand, 
 
 Attention gained from those in high command ; 
 
 On many a stormy field, his duty done, 
 
 Heroic valor the prize of honor won ; 
 
 From rank to rank he rose, and soon his name, 
 
 Through gallant deeds, was wedded high to fame. 
 
 Gigantic blows the arms of England gave ; 
 Nought the power of Imperial France could save: 
 Louisburg, Quebec, latest Montreal, 
 In quick succession bravely fighting fall. 
 
l8o BARRE CENTENNIAL. 
 
 France an empire lost, — for man and Albion 
 Courage, patience, genius, an empire won. 
 *Twas Barre, on the grateful errand sent, 
 Bore the great tidings to his government ; 
 Britain's heart with ecstatic joy o'erflowed ; 
 With wild enthusiasm, lavishly bestowed 
 Triumphal honors on her legions brave, 
 Who to her sway a mighty province gave : 
 In every form her high applause declared, 
 And welcomed Barre, who the honor shared. 
 
 Through desperate years 'twas Barre's to inhale 
 
 The breath of freedom borne on every gale ; 
 
 And, when returning to his native shore, 
 
 Columbia's spirit in his heart he bore. 
 
 Of noble form, cast in heroic mould. 
 
 Crowned with a head whose pose and feature told 
 
 Where'er he moved what spirit dwelt within, 
 
 To what high nature his was most akin. 
 
 Temper keen he had as the steel he bore, 
 
 A mind as brilliant as the sword he wore ; 
 
 A courage, dauntless as a lion's, his ; 
 
 A heart as tender as a woman's is ; 
 
 A tongue with native eloquence inspired. 
 
 Smoothed by the graces in the schools acquired : 
 
 Loyal to King, to Liberty as well 
 
 His pulses throb, his generous breast doth swell : 
 
 Over his life his genius threw the charms 
 
 Which of all caste the prejudice disarms : 
 
 And honors cluster ; Barre soon is sent 
 
 Chosen as member of parliament. 
 
 Soon his quick eye perceived the deep intent 
 
 Of royal power towards this continent. 
 
 His ardent soul against the scheme rebelled. 
 
 With brilliant speech provincial rights upheld ; 
 
 Before the foe in arms he never quailed, 
 
 And the new contest cheerfully he hailed ; 
 
 Where'er Columbia's foeman ever breathed 
 
 Barry's keen-edged cimeter was unsheathed ; 
 
POEM. l8l 
 
 His voice he raised, its signal warning gave 
 
 To king and parliament our rights to save. 
 
 However hopeless for freedom to contend, 
 
 She found in Barre a patron and a friend. 
 
 With Burke and Chatham side by side he wrought, 
 
 And many a contest gloriously fought. 
 
 Such, such the man whose fame our fathers prized, 
 
 In whose high name these noble hills baptized. 
 
 In honored measure let his name be sung, 
 
 Let every banner to the breeze be flung ; 
 
 And may his spirit ever here reside, 
 
 His love of freedom o'er these hills "preside : 
 
 Through all the past its pure and lustrous ray 
 
 Has led our sons along the darkest way. 
 
 When Sumpter's thunders pealed along the sky. 
 
 Mingling close with Freedom's piercing cry. 
 
 And myriad bondmen, crouched in fear and dread 
 
 As hope's bright vision seemed for ever fled. 
 
 Turned to the North a pallid, pleading face. 
 
 To brother men, though of another race ; 
 
 At that sad time, when madness ruled the hour, 
 
 And fiercely threatened, if it had the power, 
 
 A nation's starry banner should be furled. 
 
 And Freedom's light extinguished for the world ; 
 
 When patriot hearts, to jealous thoughts unused. 
 
 Found Treason's genius all the air infused, 
 
 And strove, with matchless cunning, to install 
 
 Her seat of power within the capitol ; 
 
 When President and Senates gravely sat 
 
 With fear and trembling in the Halls of State, 
 
 Not knowing sure who would be friend or foe. 
 
 Or who, in secret, strike a fatal blow : — 
 
 'Twas then our Lincoln, anxious, hoping, sent 
 
 Electric flashes o'er a continent. 
 
 Calling for aid, but only for a few. 
 
 Who, free from treason's wiles, would e'er be true. 
 
 And bear aloft the red, the white, and blue. 
 
 Most glorious moment of recorded time ! 
 
 Thy praise shall sound through every age and clime ! 
 
l82 BARRE CENTENNIAL. 
 
 That lightning flash, that sped along the wire, 
 Touched every soul with an electric fire : 
 A light divine illumed the Northern sky. 
 The grand auroral flaming its reply : 
 A power unseen assumed supreme control, 
 And held its sway o'er every Northern soul : 
 Sublime enthusiasm for a while possessed 
 The inmost recess of every Northern breast ; 
 Every hill and valley found a tongue, 
 And with the noble rapture grandly rung ; 
 From where Atlantic's mighty surges roar, 
 To the remote Pacific's peaceful shore, 
 Millions of hearts seemed welded into one. 
 One answer gave to Treason's signal gun ; 
 All, as one spirit, bent a devotee 
 To God, and Country, Union, Liberty. 
 Treason shuddered at the amazing sight. 
 Astonished Europe gazed with no delight ; 
 While suffering man, where'er the tidings flew, 
 High hope and courage and sweet comfort drew. 
 
 In the great contest, which history shall trace, 
 The sons of Barre held an honored place : 
 During the strife, from many a battle-field 
 A son of Barre was borne upon his shield. 
 O'er the wide range of war's majestic tread 
 Rise the green barrows of her noble dead. 
 
 In that rugged vale, where the waters roar 
 
 Along the rocky bed of Shenandoah ; 
 
 Where, year by year, beside the rolling flood. 
 
 In dread aiTay the hostile armies stood ; 
 
 O'er whose red fields the clouds of battle hung, 
 
 And storm and strife in furious accents rung; 
 
 Where ebbed and flowed and flowed and ebbed the tide 
 
 Of legions grim, as oft, from side to side, 
 
 The changing fortunes of the contest swayed, 
 
 And victory halted, and was long delayed ; 
 
 Where not alone, in open strife arrayed. 
 
 The foe met foe, and with closed ranks assayed 
 
POEM. 183 
 
 The conflict fierce, where shot and bursting shell 
 And gleaming steel of awful carnage tell ; 
 But wily foes, in every form concealed, 
 Kept their keen watch in telescopic field ; 
 'Twas here our Woods received his fatal wound, 
 And Piedmont's field to us is hallowed ground. 
 Young, able, cultured, of high promise, he 
 Gave all he had to God and Liberty. 
 
 At early dawn, on one September day, 
 
 A peaceful vale in sleeping beauty lay ; 
 
 By rise of sun were plainly to be seen 
 
 The glistening arms of many thousand men ; 
 
 In threatening order darkly do they stand 
 
 Along the crests of hills on either hand ; 
 
 By second set of sun how changed the vale ! 
 
 Let War's dread record tell the fearful tale 
 
 Of clashing arms, the crashing, deafening roar 
 
 That from the throbbing throats of batteries pour ; 
 
 Of whistling bullet and the screaming shell. 
 
 The shout of onset and responsive yell ; 
 
 The bugle's blare, the cry of agony 
 
 From dying braves as on the field they lie ; 
 
 The fearful gaps in living columns rent 
 
 By conquering missiles on death's errand sent ; 
 
 The ghastly faces, upturned to the sky. 
 
 Who've shown how men could do and how could die ; 
 
 Of the fair fields in mighty ridges torn. 
 
 Of all their smiling beauty quickly shorn ; 
 
 Of hills that shuddered at the appalling sight. 
 
 And skies that welcomed the approaching night ; 
 
 How raged the contest until set of sun, 
 
 And then the fearful work was scarcely done ; 
 
 Where Mars this hideous legacy bestowed. 
 
 And where Antietam's crimson current flowed, 
 
 'Twas there young Holbrook, noble, brave, and true, 
 
 Closed his bright eye and bade the world adieu. 
 
 Where moved the loyal arms, in morn's clear light. 
 In open fields for the stern bristling height 
 
184 BARRE CENTENNIAL. / 
 
 Of Fredericksburg, from whose sheltered crests 
 All war's high enginery upon the breasts 
 Of loyal, unprotected men with dire 
 Destruction hurled an avalanche of fire ; 
 And shattered columns halt, but quickly close, 
 And steady move undaunted toward their foes, 
 Again to meet the avalanche of death. 
 Where hundreds disappear as with a breath ; 
 'Twas here young Friar, our adopted son. 
 Closed his career and honor bravely won. 
 An ardent, generous Celt, he freely gave 
 All with which nature had endowed the brave. 
 
 Not he alone who boldly met the foe 
 
 Where steel crossed steel, and in the heat and glow 
 
 Of battle glory won, but also he 
 
 Who lay 'neath scorching suns, in agony 
 
 Of fell disease, encountered perils high, 
 
 That called for courage, patience, constancy. 
 
 And many a hero's life, like morning dew, 
 
 With lofty patience faded from the view. 
 
 And so our Ainsworth bravely passed away, 
 
 And o'er his head we'd drop a tear to-day ; 
 
 The blood of revolutionary sires 
 
 Kindled his heart with freedom's holy fires ; 
 
 The patriot heart of Lee was born anew. 
 
 And gave an Ainsworth to his country too ; 
 
 In distant clime, near Mississippi's flow, 
 
 He gently rests, where leafy maples grow, 
 
 And o'er his grave a grateful shadow throw ; 
 
 And round his couch perpetual roses bloom. 
 
 Oh, sweetest rose, embalm the pati'iot's tomb ! 
 
 Then, southern breezes, bring us their perfume ! 
 
 But Newbern, Port Hudson, and Gettysburg, 
 Cold Harbor, New Market, and Petersburg, 
 Bisland, Lynchburg, and Spottsylvania, 
 Had every one its own terrific day, 
 O'er whose hot fields the sons of Barre trod, 
 And found their rest beneath the crimson sod. 
 
POEM. 185 
 
 Heroic sons ! our jewels nobly set, 
 
 The shining brilliants in our coronet ; 
 
 Go count them now, their names are deeply traced 
 
 In marble tablets, not to be effaced. 
 
 On yonder shaft which loving hearts have reared 
 
 In reverent memory of the gallant dead ; 
 
 Where now Columbia's Eagle sorrowing sits 
 
 With drooping wing, and ne'er his watch remits ; 
 
 Whose fearless heart, whose sleepless, blazing eye, 
 
 Shall guard the fame which never now shall die ! 
 
 Spirit of Barre ! in thy glorious flight 
 Through upper worlds, in the pure realms of light, 
 Thou'lt find our children sitting by thy side, 
 From Freedom's battles gathered far and wide. 
 And here to-day in flower of manhood stand 
 The comrades of the dead, a gallant band ; 
 Through equal peril, equal valor shone. 
 And every heart, by noble deeds, is won. 
 
 Where yonder cross and towering spires arise 
 To lead the toilworn wanderer to the skies, 
 We mark the way wherein our fathers trod. 
 And reverent bow to Thy great name, O God ! 
 To Thee our sires, through all the ancient days, 
 With hearts united, joined in prayer and praise : 
 'Twas then this people one sweet impulse felt, 
 And at one shrine with pure devotion knelt ; 
 Led by one spirit, by one common thought. 
 In one temple Thy holy presence sought. 
 
 As memory wanders back to former years, 
 A noble form before us reappears ; 
 For fifty years he led our wayward feet 
 To Thy green pastures, and by waters sweet : 
 With quiet dignity himself he bore ; 
 With modest piety his heart ran o'er; 
 His spirit gentle, with humility impressed, 
 W^ith tender sympathy for all distressed : 
 24 
 
1 86 BARRE CENTENNIAL. 
 
 Wherever sorrow brooded o'er the heart, 
 His tender words, beyond the power of art, 
 Oft rent the cloud and let the sunshine through ; 
 The night dispersed with heavenly light and dew ; 
 O'er gaping wounds he poured the heavenly balm 
 To soothe the anguish, keenest pangs disarm. 
 
 Wherever joyous transport ruled the hour, 
 And budding life unfolds the sweetest flower ; 
 And when from higher worlds seemed come to this 
 Love's brightest angel bearing heavenly bliss, 
 And loving hearts the nuptial tie confessed, 
 His genial presence was a welcome guest ; 
 And from his heart a sacred current flowed. 
 And its blessed sanction on the scene bestowed ; 
 A holy influence seemed to fill the air, 
 And leave a blessing on the happy pair. 
 
 His Christian faith ! oh, what words can tell 
 
 Its simple beauty and its magic spell ! 
 
 It on his spirit sat as sweet and mild 
 
 As filial trust and virtue on a child ; 
 
 As its deep current poured itself in prayer. 
 
 The listening throng could but its influence share ; 
 
 And sweet charity so his soul imbued 
 
 No bigot thought could e'er its front intrude ; 
 
 While flowing eloquence inspired his tongue. 
 
 And Christian hearts on the smooth accents hung. 
 
 'Twas twenty years in May's sweet month of bloom 
 
 We laid his honored dust within the tomb ; 
 
 His ransomed spirit to its glorious rest 
 
 Flew, a winged angel to its Master's breast. 
 
 Revered and honored he, both far and wide, 
 
 The world a Christian lost when Thompson died. 
 
 In social life we've steady progress made. 
 On social customs waged a fierce crusade ; 
 On Washingtonian waves we launched a sail, 
 And spread the canvas to the fiivoring gale, 
 
POEM. 187 
 
 The pirate craft from the wide sea to sweep, 
 To seize and scuttle and sink them in the deep ; 
 And Rum's black banner for a time went down, 
 And Temperance streamers flew above the town ; 
 The light of burning liquors rising high, 
 A Temp'rance calcium flaming in the sky, 
 Warning of sunken reef and hidden rock, 
 Where many a gallant bark with fearful shock 
 To pieces went, nor dreamed of peril there, 
 'Till hope's fair promise changed to grim despair. 
 All approved methods, known to modern days, 
 We've tested well to purify our ways ; 
 One method only here has been employed. 
 Less favored regions have not yet enjoyed. 
 We trust, however, none will envy us ; 
 But the tradition tells the story thus : — 
 
 In years agone, 'tis said that Uncle Jack 
 Was steering home with something in a sack, 
 When some skilled marksman, before Jack knew it, 
 Poised his rifle and put a bullet through it: 
 What, on the instant, streaming to the ground, 
 Sent its fresh odors steaming all around? 
 What terror first, in sudden pallor spread 
 O'er Jack's quaint visage, then, in trembling tread, 
 His onward footsteps stayed, until, at length, 
 His wonder o'er, his passion gave him strength ; 
 His treasure gone, so swiftly run away. 
 What could he do, or e'en what could he say? 
 With boiling rage, 'twas then that Uncle Jack 
 Turned on his heel and took the backward track ; 
 On laughing crowds a furious tempest burst, 
 And all around most terribly was cursed ! 
 For Jack was mad, and madder yet he grew, 
 Until most surely all his lights burned blue ; 
 But one poor mortal, whatever may be said. 
 That night, though sorrowing, sober went to bed ! 
 Oh ! where's that keen-eyed marksman, tell me, say, 
 Come from distant fields, is he here to-day ? 
 
l88 BARRE CENTENNIAL. 
 
 Or, gone with Jack, now only to be found 
 In purer realms on other hunting-ground? 
 If here to-day, ask him, 'tis a trifle. 
 If he thought to bring with him that rifle? 
 If so, tell him, if any game be found. 
 With certain aim to bring it to the ground ! 
 
 Oh! memory, memory, what art thou? 
 
 From what secret chamber, coming now, 
 
 Dost bring the polished tablets where are traced 
 
 The lovely forms that ne'er will be effaced? 
 
 By what ethereal fingers bring to view 
 
 Each object, feeling, thought, we ever knew? 
 
 In thy charmed galleries ever seem to stand . 
 
 The cherished forms we've loved on eveiy hand ! 
 
 All the wondrous alcoves radiant glow 
 
 With pictures painted in the long ago ; 
 
 The colors laid in life's earliest prime 
 
 But slightly softened by the touch of time: 
 
 We yield our hearts to thy delightsome sway ; 
 
 Wave o'er our thoughts thy magic wand to-day ! 
 
 All the sweet pictures of the past unveil. 
 
 With clustering rapture all our hearts assail ; 
 
 Oh ! for an hour that to the charmed sight 
 
 We could turn the pictures memory brings to light 
 
 Of early life so jocund and so free. 
 
 So full of present joy and that to be ! 
 
 But power imperious gives the stern command ; 
 
 We must obey, and stay the willing hand. 
 
 Yet where'er you turn, wander where you will. 
 
 The heart is moved by some delightful thrill ; 
 
 Or mellowing sorrow, to the heart as dear, 
 
 Chastens the spirit, yields the past a tear. 
 
 The ancient church, its very precinct brings 
 The sweet aroma of most sacred things ; 
 The old school-house, and yonder village inn, 
 Swarm with briglit images of what have been ; 
 If they could speak, such stories might be told 
 As for one day would save us growing old. 
 
POEM. 189 
 
 Go ramble in the valley 
 
 By the river's rushing din, 
 
 Perchance you'd find the very spot 
 
 Where once you tumbled in : 
 
 Go stroll along the brookside, 
 
 In the shadow of the glen, 
 
 And watch the sprightly waters play, 
 
 And think of now and then : 
 
 Then, when in youth's bright morning. 
 
 Free from all guile and sin. 
 
 You often wandered by the stream, 
 
 A-fishing with a pin ; 
 
 And as in youthful patience 
 
 You sat there on the stone. 
 
 Waiting for the fish to bite. 
 
 In the shadows all alone. 
 
 To your youthful fancy 
 
 Each rustling leaf and spray 
 
 Seemed but the answering voices 
 
 Of fairies in their play ; 
 
 Perchance the fairy whispered 
 
 To the naiad of the stream, 
 
 And a voice within the waters 
 
 Replied to the fairy dream I 
 
 The waters dash as gail}' 
 
 To-day from side to side ; 
 
 The bubbles ride as daintily 
 
 On the brimming tide ; 
 
 The lights now flash as brightly 
 
 As in the days of yore ; 
 
 The stone rests there upon the bank 
 
 With mosses covered o'er ; 
 
 But the sitter has departed. 
 
 Not quite the same is he. 
 
 He comes though, joyous-hearted, 
 
 With waking memory. 
 
190 BARRE CENTENNIAL. 
 
 At twilight's pensive hour, with rev'rent tread 
 
 We'd wend our way where I'est our treasured dead, 
 
 From whose vast labors we see here arise 
 
 From out a wild, almost a paradise ; 
 
 Or who, in life's most bright and happy hours, 
 
 Entwined love's tendrils round these hearts of ours. 
 
 To still another spot our steps will turn. 
 
 For which, through all the life, the heart will yearn ; 
 
 Where'er we wander, and whate'er our lot. 
 
 The early homestead cannot be forgot. 
 
 Home ! Home ! most sacred spot of all the earth, 
 
 Where holy love, unselfish, had its birth. 
 
 The trees, the rocks, the streams, the bending skies, 
 
 The mansion old, and every thing that lies 
 
 Around the place, to memory ever dear. 
 
 Why to the eye so fresh do they appear? 
 
 Why to the thought do they so quickly start? 
 
 'Tis love alone embalmed them in the heart. 
 
 When near the spot with moistened eyelids trace 
 
 The dear old record of the happy place. 
 
 As from these fair scenes you soon shall sever, 
 
 All sweet thoughts and memories you can gather 
 
 Bear away to bless you all for ever. 
 
 Of all the memories which this day can bring 
 To all our thoughts, most gladly would we sing, 
 But flowing sands, how quickly do they run 1 
 And now the singer's fitful song is done. 
 Where'er you go, wherever you may stray. 
 We hope you'll bear kind memories of to-day. 
 With hearty thanks for kind attention, I 
 Now say Goodby, Goodby, Goodby, Goodby ! 
 
REMARKS OF MR. EDWIN WOODS. I9I 
 
 A piece of music having been rendered by the Band, — 
 
 The President. — We now introduce the regular senti- 
 ments, and propose — 
 
 I. The Day we Celebrate : As it is the horizon Hne of two centuries, 
 may it be the initial point of increased morality, intelligence, and enter- 
 prise to all who come after us. 
 
 REMARKS OF MR. EDWIN WOODS. 
 
 The swiftly-flying moments, — crowded with memories, aspira- 
 tions, reminiscences, — the varied expectations of this assembly to 
 listen to words from those who have to-day returned here to honor 
 their birthplace on its one hundredth birthday, and to renew the 
 friendships and acquaintance of younger days, as they grasp the 
 hands and look into the faces of the few that remain, and recall 
 to mind the many who, commencing life here with them, and 
 passing away to distant and scattered lands, with fortune's smile 
 or fortune's frown, have passed to the land of the unknown, — of 
 the great hereafter, — as well as the proprieties of the position 
 assigned me, demand that bievity be my watchword as it is to be 
 the key-note of this occasion. 
 
 Brevity, you know, is the soul of wit, and the wit for this occa- 
 sion ought to be 
 
 " Sparkling and bright 
 In its liquid light, 
 Like the wacer in our glasses." 
 
 But how can this be? Who can tell the story of an hundred 
 years in five minutes? Who can recall in that brief space the 
 conspicuous men of those generations, and enumerate the deeds 
 they have wrought and the impressions they have made on the 
 tablet of history.? What traditions of intei'est mingle with the 
 well ascertained facts that have transpired, and go to throw an 
 atmosphere of brilliant romance around our contemplation of the 
 reality ? 
 
 The day we celebrate marked an era for others as well as for 
 us. It was the dividbtg line between the future and the past in 
 the State as well as the commencement of a career for the town. 
 
192 BARRE CENTENNIAL. 
 
 It was a step forward in the progress of civilization and free- 
 dom and development for this community and for the State and 
 the country. And yet neither town nor State had been without a 
 past, full of interest and of romance, of heroic enterprise, and of 
 patient, persistent toil. 
 
 The nation had not then been born. The influences which 
 were to produce a country to take a place in the front rank of the 
 nations of the world were silently working in these little town 
 organizations, which were making practical the theories first 
 roughly written out on board the " Mayflower," and telling the 
 world that the true rule of government was self-government, and 
 that the rights of men were not dependent upon charters, nor the 
 gifts of kings, but were God-given, — inalienable and dependent 
 upon the virtue and the valor of those who enjoyed them. 
 
 And so it is a noteworthy coincidence of the day we celebrate, 
 that the Act giving us an existence was practically one of the last 
 acts of the government of the Crown in this State, and so, as I 
 have said, connecting us both with the past and with the future. 
 And fitting, too, was it that, thus connected, we should take a 
 name at first that was connected with the past by the laurels won 
 by its owner, as historian, legislator, judge, and governor in the 
 service of that government which our country had outgrown, and 
 bear the name of Hutchinson. 
 
 And right worthily did our fathers illustrate the spirit of the 
 blood of the Puritans of the " Mayflower," which flowed through 
 the veins of some of them, when they repudiated that name of 
 Hutchinson, as intended to perpetuate the memory of one whose 
 act merited oblivion, and, with the name of the gallant defender 
 of the rights of American colonies, take their place with the party 
 of the people against the party of the crown, — with liberty and 
 independence against that of slavery and servility, — teaching 
 anew the lesson that loyalty to truth, to duty, and to man is sure 
 to be appreciated sooner or later, while treachery, however gilded, 
 ever merits and is sure to receive contempt. 
 
 Nor is it alone on account of the incidents of our starting upon 
 a municipal career that this day an hundred years ago deserves 
 commemoration. 
 
 A generation of men and women lived here then whose char- 
 acters and deeds deserve to be recalled to the knowledge of the 
 
REMARKS OF MR. EDWIN WOODS. I93 
 
 men and women of to-day. And it is fitting that, as a century has 
 run its round, their sons and daughters should recall the memo- 
 ries of them that they possess, and make permanent the record of 
 their life-work, so that their memories shall not j^erish from 
 among men. And so, for the history and the biograph}' of an 
 hundred years completed, is it convenient and proper that we 
 celebrate this day. 
 
 The connection that one generation has with its successors in 
 determining its course of conduct and the influence it shall exert 
 is a subject well worthy attention ; and so it is well to know in 
 whose veins runs the blood, so as to see if the children inherit the 
 virtues of the fathers, and therefore, in connection with the gene- 
 alogy of the town, would we celebrate its Centennial. Traditions 
 and anecdotes exhibit character and tendencies, while the prog- 
 ress made in wealth and the means of wealth, the course of busi- 
 ness and the results thereof, the development of agriculture, 
 manufactures, and the mechanic arts, our social, educational, and 
 religious influences, all fitly pass in review at least at the close of 
 a century, and make this day worthy to be celebrated. 
 
 And, to crown the whole, as these friends of ours, who share with 
 lis the honor of our good old town, who have here been born, and 
 whose parents' dust lie quiet in our peaceful cemeteries, or who 
 have for a time resided here and engaged in the toil of our fields, 
 or the activities of our business pursuits, and the sons and daugh- 
 ters of the early settlers and former residents, recall to mind this 
 anniversary, and come home to mingle the congratulations of the 
 occasion and the tribute of honor and praise to those who have 
 so well deserved it, — the claims and compensations of kindred 
 and friends unite to render fitting the commemoration of this day. 
 
 And so, with the thanks of the Committee of Arrangements, 
 mingled with the welcome already spoken, I make way for the 
 next sentiment on your programme. 
 
 II. The United States : Our country ! Last among the great nations 
 to assume an independent position ! Among the first in rank, power, and 
 influence to-day. Its history is the triumph of republican principles, and 
 justifies the pride with which we anticipate the celebration of its centen- 
 nial year. 
 
 The President. — I introduce to you a descendant of a 
 
 25 
 
194 BARRE CENTENNIAL. 
 
 son of Barre, whose deeds on other fields have entitled him 
 to the position and right to speak to-day in behalf of the 
 country he has so gloriously defended, — General A. B. 
 Underwood, of Boston. 
 
 REMARKS OF GENERAL UNDERWOOD. 
 
 I remember, Mr. President, that I am rather undersized for 
 the average Barre man, which is, I believe, six feet, therefoi'e I am 
 not very anxious to come to the front, although I have been in 
 the front I believe sometimes with some of your good citizens of 
 Barre. 
 
 Mr. President, and ladies and gentlemen, when, a few moments 
 ago, I had the sorrow to be disturbed in the enjoyment of the day 
 by learning that I was to be called upon to speak, and was in- 
 formed that it was to be to " The United States," it seemed to me, 
 under the spell of the eloquence of the distinguished Orator of the 
 day, — and 1 desire for one to express my very great gratitude to 
 him for the eloquent and tender tribute which he has paid to the 
 achievement of its citizens, — it seemed to me that the sentiment to 
 which I was to respond should have been worded in this way : 
 " The United States, settled largely by emigrants from Barre." 
 Everybody I have met with to-day or heard of to-day, — and it 
 seems that about everybody I ever knew, — I find hails from 
 Barre. Not only that, but I find everybody proud to say so, and 
 that is a tribute to Barre. And I feel a little like blushing, sir, 
 in standing here to-day, that I cannot say that I was born in 
 Barre ; but then, sir, the next best thing is, to say that my father 
 and my grandfather were born in Barre, and that my great- 
 grandfather was one of the early settlers. And therefore, sir, 
 I believe that I have some claim to be here. To-day I find that 
 there is a marvellous recognition of brothers coming toget4ier, old 
 residents of Barre. I think my father has discovered about 
 seventy-five of his schoolmates, all taught in that same little 
 district school, about nine feet square ; and considering the diffi- 
 culties which they underwent in getting their education, I don't 
 wonder at what they have disseminated among the other parts of 
 the earth. But, Mr. President, Barre has not only done her share 
 
REMARKS OF GENERAL UNDERWOOD. 1 95 
 
 in peopling the United States, — and I assure you she has done her 
 share in our neighborhood, — but Barre has done her share in build- 
 ing the government of which we are proud to-day. And, sir, how 
 can we appreciate the greatness of our country without recalling, 
 as our Orator has done to-day, the sacrifices which were made by 
 our fathers and by the sons of the fathers? Think of this little 
 town of Barre, the anniversary of which occurs to-day, then not 
 a year old, sending its minute-men to fight for the struggling 
 nation at the battle of Bunker Hill ; and then, sir, when, a year or 
 two afterwards, in the darkness of the war, — and, remembering 
 what I do of our own war, I wonder, — when a few men were found 
 in Barre, as elsewhere, who classed themselves as accommodation- 
 men, — remember, sir, this little town of Barre, then in its infancy, 
 hardly knowing where the next man shall come from, or the next 
 dollar, still again pledging to defend the little germ of a republic 
 by its lives and sacred honor. That, sir, settled the certainty of 
 this republic ; that tells us where this nation, the United States of 
 America, of which we are proud to be citizens to-day, had its 
 origin. But then, sir, how can we appreciate the nation further, 
 without remembering the sacrifices of this generation, when, sir, 
 tlie liberties of the country were attacked, although the country 
 had grown to an unprecedented degree ; think, sir, that a million 
 of men started up at once and left their business industries all 
 over the land, and rushed to the front to defend this same country 
 and flag of our fathers, and for four long years were never willing 
 to give it up — not even listening for a moment to the accommo- 
 dation-men — till the Union was saved, and our flag floated proudly 
 and victoriously as it does to-day. Oh, fellow-citizens ! if you would 
 appreciate the sacrifices of this generation, go and read the names 
 on that beautiful shaft which the people of Barre have erected to 
 the memory of her heroic sons. See the battles, — Port Hudson, 
 Newbern, Gettysburg, and then look over the names and see 
 many others. Why, sir, if all brings back to us memories, and 
 we recall — you recall, fellow-citizens — these sons and fathers and 
 brothers, and the sacrifices of this generation. And to-day, sir, 
 standing here a grandson of Barre, I feel proud to recall what 
 you have done, and your sons have done, for the defence of the 
 Union. And I feel at home here, for I remember that these same 
 
196 BARRE CENTENNIAL. 
 
 sons, whose names, some of them, I know, were my comrades in the 
 battle-field. I remember the regiments in which they fought side 
 by side with my own, — the 21st, 31st, 35th, 36th, 53d, and others, 
 and I feel that they were my comrades, and that here, in presence 
 of that monument erected to them, it is my home as it is your 
 home. I not only remember them, but also that there were others 
 who served near me, sons of Barre, grandsons of Barre, and so, 
 sir, I could find many ways in which I feel myself related to those 
 Barre sons who fought in the late war if it was the place and 
 time. In closing, let me simply say, my fellow-citizens of Barre, 
 as we are all drawn together to-day in these memories, let us, 
 while we recall these sacrifices of our fathers, and the sacrifices 
 of the sons, let us pledge ourselves in the memory of all that we 
 will try to make the Union, these United States, which I have the 
 honor to respond to at this moment, sir, worthy of those great 
 sacrifices, and worthy of all the dead that have fallen in its 
 defence. 
 
 III. Massachusetts : Home of the pilgrims ! Cradle of liberty ! Her 
 first constitution in its preamble wiped out slavery from among her insti- 
 tutions, and as justice has been associated with liberty and law in her 
 legislation, so has civilization and prosperity been stamped on her 
 progress. May her influence in the councils of the nation, and her exam- 
 ple among the fraternity of States, be ever on the right side, and ever 
 increasing. 
 
 Acting Governor Talbot had been invited to be present, 
 but previous engagements prevented. 
 
 IV. The Coitnty of Wo7xester : Heart of the Commonwealth ! Her 
 extensive territory, of easy access to the centre by railroad facilities, her 
 influence according to her extent. Let there be no division of the heart ; 
 but let head, heart, and limb work in harmony for increased development 
 and prosperity. 
 
 Hon. W. W. Rice, late District, Attorney, was expected 
 to speak for the County, out of his abundance ; but his 
 voice was not heard. 
 
 V. Bench and Bar : While the Barre lawyers have presented to the 
 courts the conflicting views and claims of their clients with ability and 
 fidelity, and so secured respect and gratitude as well as the pecuniary 
 
REMARKS OF MR. GEORGE F. BABBITT. I97 
 
 reward of services rendered, the bench has not suffered when occupied by 
 a lawyer hailing originally from Barre, and carrying into his profession, as 
 advocate, counsellor, and judge, those quahties of mind and heart that 
 Barre ever delights to find animating public men. 
 
 This sentiment was announced out of its appropriate 
 place, as some of the speakers were obliged to leave in the 
 cars ; and so the response from a former resident of Barre, 
 who now adorns the Bench of the Superior Court, and had 
 been obliged to retire, was lost. 
 
 VI. Col. Isaac Barre: A poor emigrant's son; a gallant soldier; a 
 leader of fashion ; an eloquent statesman ; and a glorious defender of 
 popular rights. May the town prove worthy of the name it bears. 
 
 The President said, — When I came to Barre, some 
 twenty-five years ago, among my early patients was a 
 white-haired, pale-faced boy, whose chances for life seemed 
 to be not of the most promising, but \Vho early evinced a 
 faculty of mind that would compensate for feebleness of 
 body. I have watched his progress since during his 
 school-days and through his college career, and rejoice 
 to know that now, by his ready and incisive pen, in his 
 chosen profession, the promise of his youth is redeemed in 
 his manhood, and am happy to present to you Mr. George 
 F. Babbitt, of the Boston " Post." 
 
 REMARKS OF MR. GEORGE F. BABBITT. 
 
 Mr. President., Sons and DaiigJiters of Barre., — After lis- 
 tening to all that has been so eloquently said and sung in honor 
 of Barre and of the many virtues of her sons and daughters, I feel 
 all the more deeply the importance of the sentiment to which, 
 Mr. President, you have honored me with the request to respond. 
 Looking around me upon this joyful company, assembled from 
 far and from near to participate in the festivities attending the 
 one hundredth birthday of our native town, the thought occurs to 
 me that if the tree is to be known by its fruit a grand and beau- 
 tiful tree it must have been. Of the personal, or even of the 
 public, history of Col. Isaac Barre, but short and imperfect notices 
 
198 BARRE CENTENNIAL. 
 
 have been written. He boasted none of the titles of nobility, but 
 was one of nature's noblemen, living in an era and country in 
 which the symbols of high birth too often went for far more than 
 personal merit or achievement. He was born in Dublin in the 
 latter part of the year 1726, the exact date of his birth, I am sorry 
 to say, not being recorded. His parents were refugees from 
 France, and we are told that his father, Peter Barre, was settled 
 by the Bishop of Clogher in a small shop in Dublin, his wife hav- 
 ing earned the bishop's favor by nursing one of his children. 
 Isaac's youthful ambition was evidently a high one, despite his 
 humble birth, for the records of Trinity College, Dublin, show 
 him to have entered that institution as a student at the early age 
 of fourteen. Intending him for the law, his father, who appears 
 to have been getting on in the world, sent him to London, where 
 he entered his name in one of the Inns of Court. Barre, how- 
 ever, seems to have disliked his profession ; for when he was only 
 twenty years of age he obtained a commission as ensign in the 
 army, and went with his regiment to the Continent. He was 
 subsequently ordered to Canada, where he remained until the 
 surrender of Montreal. 
 
 It was during the long war against the French in Canada 
 that the personal career of Barre became more clearly defined. 
 The first step to his rise in his profession was the patronage 
 he received from the immortal General Wolfe, who appears to 
 have admired our young officer, and to have honored him with 
 frequent promotion. He became a lieutenant, a major of bri- 
 gade, and finally, during the siege of Qiiebec, his rank was that 
 of an adjutant-general. And here occurs a notable incident in 
 the career of young Barre. Upon tlie fatal Plains of Abraham 
 Wolfe received his death wound, and Barre was severely wounded 
 in the face, so as to destroy the use of his left eye, and ultimately 
 induce total blindness. He carried the bullet in his head to the 
 day of his death, and on more than one occasion in his subse- 
 quent career he proudly alluded to it as a tangible evidence of his 
 early patriotism. In West's celebrated picture of the "Death of 
 Wolfe," Barre is prominently represented among the group of 
 officers around the dying general ; and in placing him in that 
 position the artist was no doubt influenced by a desire to com- 
 
REMARKS OF MR. GEORGE F. BABBITT. I99 
 
 mcmorate the friendship subsisting between Barre and his illiis- 
 tiioiis commander. The death of Wolfe was disastrous to Barre's 
 subsequent success in the army. The bullet that had slain the 
 brave general likewise shattered the young soldier's fortunes, and 
 he was left to look out for himself. Gen. Townshend assumed 
 command of the army, and the shabby manner in which he 
 treated Barre was the subject of a scathing letter addressed by 
 the slighted soldier to Mr. Pitt. Subsequently, however, the 
 army of Townshend w^as merged into that of General Amherst, 
 and Barre's new patron soon rendered him important service. 
 The surrender of Montreal, in 1760, completed the subjugation of 
 Canada, and Amherst appointed Barre bearer of despatches, 
 announcing the event to the home government. He arrived in 
 London in the month of October of that year, and immediately 
 thereafter he entered upon a new career in life. Hitherto he had 
 served his country as a soldier only. Now he assumes a place 
 in the foremost rank of statesmen and patriots. It appears to 
 , have been owing to Lord Shelburne's influence that Col. Barre, 
 in the year 1761, was nominated to a seat in Parliament, where 
 he at once distinguished himself as one of the ablest and most 
 intrepid speakers on the opposition side of the House of Com- 
 mons. He boldly and repeatedly encountered the foremost men 
 of the times with fervid eloquence and animation, mingled with a 
 degree of sarcasm and humor which, even in the scanty reports 
 of his speeches, stamp him as a highly successful and accom- 
 plished orator and debater. 
 
 "■ Would you know a little of Parliament?" wrote Sir Andrew 
 Mitchell to a friend, at this time. " I must tell you that Col. 
 Barre, a soldier of fortune, a young man born in Dublin, of 
 parents of a mean condition, his father and mother from France 
 and established in a little grocer shop, — this young man, found 
 out, pushed and brought into Parliament by Lord Shelburne, 
 had not sat two days in the House before he attacked Pitt ! " 
 This circumstance alone is regarded as of sufficient significance 
 to mark him as a leader in debate. Pitt was already great 
 and powerful in office, and it required great courage to break 
 through the difficulties which would have paralyzed ordinary 
 opponents. It was not this remarkable courage alone, how- 
 
200 BARRE CENTENNIAL. 
 
 ever, that made his name famous. He was, as well, an ardent 
 lover of liberty, a friend and champion of human rights; and it 
 is for this, Mr. President, sons and daughters of Barre, that our 
 town bears his name, and that we honor and cherish his memory 
 to-day. His experience, while serving his country in America, 
 had taught him to admire the sterling worth and character of the 
 struggling colonists; and when an opportunity was offered him 
 to raise his voice in their behalf, he did so with a vigor and elo- 
 quence that made tyrants tremble. 
 
 In 1765? 3" attempt was made in Parliament to raise a reve- 
 nue from the British colonies in America. The celebrated Stamp 
 Act was introduced by Mr. Grenville, and although popular 
 with the people of Great Britain, it excited a storm of indig- 
 nation in the colonies. Burke declared that no more than two 
 or three voices were raised against the Act, and there was but 
 one division in the whole progress of the bill. The hopeless 
 minority in which he found himself did not discourage Barre 
 from rising in his seat to denounce the infamous measure. In 
 veply to Townshend, the most prominent supporter of the bill, 
 he made an admirable appeal to the House, v\'hich ev^ery 
 school-boy knows by heart, and which deserves a place in the 
 memory of every American. Townshend had spoken of the 
 colonists as " children planted by our care, nourished by our 
 indulgence, and protected by our arms." Barre's indignant re- 
 tort produced a great sensation in the House. " They planted 
 by your care.'*" exclaimed he. "No! your oppressions planted 
 them in America! They nourished by your indulgence? They 
 grew up by your neglect of them ! They protected by your arms? 
 The sons of liberty have nobly taken up arms in your defence ! 
 The people, I believe," he continued, " are as truly loyal subjects 
 as the King has ; but a people jealous of their liberties, and who 
 will vindicate them should they ever be violated ! " This memo- 
 rable speech produced a profound impression in America ; and 
 at a meeting held shortly afterwards in Boston, presided over 
 by James Otis, a committee, composed of eminent citizens, 
 was appointed to draw up an address to Col. Barre, expressing 
 the sincere thanks of the citizens for his noble, generous, and 
 truly patriotic speech in behalf of the colonies. It was also voted 
 
REMARKS OF MR. GEORGE F. BABBITT. 20I 
 
 that his picture be placed in Faneuil Hall as a standing monu- 
 ment to all posterity of the virtue and justice of their benefactor, 
 and as a lasting proof of their gratitude. This was by no means 
 the only effort made by Col. Barre in America's behalf. He 
 fought and voted for Wilkes, the ever-memorable friend of the 
 rights and liberties of America, and on all questions relating to 
 the public welfare he was always found on the side of the op- 
 pressed. Throughout the administration of Lord North, during 
 the war of the Revolution, he distinguished himself as the friend 
 of the colonies, always favoring the noble cause for which our 
 fathers were fighting. 
 
 In 17S4, just at the close of the American war, Barrd was 
 precluded from longer taking part in public affairs by the total 
 loss of his eyesight, a misfortune with which he had been 
 threatened ever since the engagement at Qiiebec. He finally 
 retired from Parliament in 179O1 ^^id spent the remaining 
 twelve years of his life in complete retirement. An interesting 
 anecdote is founded on the fact that Lord North also retired into 
 seclusion at about the same time, and from the same cause, — total 
 blindness. It is said that Barre, being afterwards at Bath, was 
 told that his lordship was also in the city, and Barre replied, with 
 a trace of his former pleasantry, that, though old antagonists, he 
 was sure they would be glad to see each other. During his polit- 
 ical career, Barre held various prominent positions under the 
 government, becoming First Lord of the Board of Trade under 
 his friend and patron, Lord Shelburne, and subsequently Vice- 
 Treasurer of Ireland. He did not dissolve his connection with 
 the army until the year 17735 when his political opinions caused 
 his claims to promotion to be slighted by those in power. Barre 
 felt the insult keenly, and, having attained the rank of a lieu- 
 tenant-colonel, he left the army in disgust. His title of colonel, 
 therefore, was only one of courtesy. 
 
 It is fitting to mention also that the " Letters of Junius," the 
 most celebrated and powerful satires on the tyranny of King- 
 craft and Minister-craft that have ever appeared, have been 
 attributed to his pen. Mr. John Britton, a distinguished Eng- 
 lish author and antiquary, wrote a pamphlet in support of 
 this theory, describing Barre as a man of great moral and 
 
 26 
 
202 BARRE CENTENNIAL. 
 
 physical courage, a scholar, an acute politician, and fully com- 
 petent to carry out and complete the arduous and hazardous 
 task of writing those famous letters. Barre lived and died a 
 bachelor ; but his personal connections, although almost entirely 
 political, included some of his relations. His oratory is described 
 as having been powerful, but somewhat coarse, his manner 
 rugged, his countenance stern, and his stature athletic. 
 
 The following is the brief notice of Col. Barre's death, as 
 related in the " Gentleman's Magazine," under date July 20, 1S02 : 
 '• At his house in Stanhope Street, May Fair, after two days' ill- 
 ness, in his seventy-sixth year, the Right Honorable Isaac Barre, 
 Clerk of the Pells. His health was declining for a considerable 
 time past ; and a few hoius before his dissolution he was seized 
 with a paralytic stroke, wiiich was the immediate cause of his 
 death. Though blind for nearly the last twenty years of his life, 
 he still continued a cheerfid companion to the last. He began to 
 distinguish himself as an orator at the same time with his country- 
 man, Edmund Burke, and was a celebrated Parliamentary leader 
 during the American war. The office which has become vacant 
 by his death he had held for fifteen or sixteen years, it having 
 been granted to him during the early part of Mr. Pitt's adminis- 
 tration, in order to save the country the expense of a pension 
 which had previously been granted to the Colonel. It is one of 
 the largest benefices in the gift of tlie minister, worth three thou- 
 sand pounds a year, and a complete sinecure. Colonel Bane has 
 died possessed of no more than twenty-four thousand pounds, a 
 moiety of which he has bequeathed to the Marchioness of Towns- 
 hend." 
 
 Such, Mr. President and fellow-citizens, is the brief story of the 
 life of him whose name is indissolubly connected with the history 
 of our dear old town. There are many other noble things that 
 might be said of him did time permit ; but perhaps sufficient has 
 been narrated to impress upon your minds the loftiness of liis 
 aims and the grandeur of his character. Standing almost alone 
 on the side of liberty and justice, waging incessant war upon the 
 foes of American independence, and pleading the cause of our 
 fathers with a power and earnestness that commanded the admi- 
 ration of his opponents, constantly being tempted by his superiors 
 
REMARKS OF MR. CHARLES E. STEVENS. 2O3 
 
 in Station to barter his fidelity to principle in exchange for royal 
 favor, but never yielding one jot to his would-be seducers, he 
 stands the Sumner of his time, an ardent and consistent lover of 
 freedom, firm and unshaken to the last. How fitting it is, Mr. 
 President, sons and daughters of Barre, that all these sterling virt- 
 ues should have for their lasting monument this prosperous and 
 thriving town, with its broad and fertile acres, its free and en- 
 lightened people, and its noble institutions ! 
 
 VII. The Early Setilers of Barre : Wisely and well they chose their 
 homes. Wisely and well they laid here the foundations of true social 
 prosperity and happiness, by honorinor religion, practising morality, giving 
 to their children a good common education, and setting them an example 
 of economy without meanness, and hospitality without extravagance. 
 May their memory be kept ever green with the residents of Barre ! 
 
 The President. — A teacher of our High School, and 
 editor of one of our village papers, would be likely to know 
 of what manner of men were the early settlers of Barre ; but 
 when he indicates his judgment of them by taking one of 
 the fair descendants of the first settler of the fifth genera- 
 tion for his wife, he certainly is entitled to speak for them. 
 I therefore introduce to you Charles E. Stevens, Esq., 
 of Worcester. 
 
 ' REMARKS OF MR. CHARLES E. STEVENS. 
 
 ]\Ir. President^ — How shall I respond to 30ur sentiment? 
 The early settlers of Barre, — has not their case already been 
 settled by the distinguished orator of the day.^" I think he has so 
 effectually reaped that field that little is left for me but the work 
 of a gleaner. And, even so, I am not like to fare as well as Ruth, 
 the Moabitess, to whom he referred, for she had a generous Boaz, 
 who was careful to leave some ears of wheat for her to gather up. 
 But our Boaz knew that no pretty maiden, or widow even, was to 
 glean after him, and so, I suppose, he did not feel called on to be 
 so particular. However, at the risk of some repetition, I will 
 proceed with what I had to say. 
 
 We all know, sir, that New England was chiefly planted with 
 Puritan seed from Old England. But, here and there, seed of a 
 
204 BARRE CENTENNIAL. 
 
 different sort was scattered. In Oxford, for example, there was a 
 settlement of French Huguenots. Elsewhere, in various places, 
 there was a liberal sprinkling of so-called Scotch-Irish, or, more 
 properly, Irish-Scotch. Lincoln, in his history, says that a hun- 
 dred families of these people came to this country in a body about 
 the beginning of the last century. Some of them founded the 
 town of Londonderry, New Hampshire, one of whose descend- 
 ants was the late Horace Greeley. Some found a home in 
 Boston, others in Pelham ; and a considerable body pitched in 
 Worcester. Of the latter, a portion pushed on into the wilder- 
 ness and laid the foundations of Barre. 
 
 But who and what were these Irish-Scotch? They were sim- 
 ply Scotchmen born in Ireland. This, to be sure, sounds some- 
 what like an Irish bull ; but, nevertheless, it states the precise fact. 
 These men were the descendants of Scotchmen who, in the pre- 
 ceding century, had been forced to leave their own country on 
 account of their religion, and had found a home in the north of 
 Ireland. There, however, they were as oil in the midst of water. 
 The native Irish were of a different blood and a different religion, 
 and there was little, if any, intermingling. But Ireland proved to 
 be only a temporary home. The Scots were still dissenters from 
 the church established there also ; hence they were oppressed ; 
 and hence their emigration to this country. And a good thing for 
 this country it was. Not to speak now of other things, let me 
 remind you that to them it is we owe the introduction of the flax 
 spinning-wheel and the manufacture of linen, and, better still, the 
 potato, that prime article of food on all our tables. 
 
 Of these Scotch who settled Barre were the Cunninghams, the 
 Nursses, the Forbeses, the McFarlands, the Blacks, and the 
 Caldwells. Earliest of all was James Caldwell, who is said to 
 have built the first habitation for civilized man in the town. Then 
 came William, his father, a more notable person, who, as an 
 honorary testimonial of his services, had been made free of tax- 
 ation throughout the British provinces.* That was a testimo- 
 
 * Lincoln's History of Worcester, page 49. I assume that the William 
 Caldwell who is named by Lincoln is the same William Caldwell who 
 settled in Barre, for the following reasons: i. The William Caldwell, and 
 the only emigrant of that name mentioned by Lincoln, was of the com- 
 
REMARKS OF MR. CHARLES E. STEVENS. 205 
 
 nial of service ; but he was careful also to bring with him a testi- 
 monial of moral and Christian character, the original of which, 
 written upon parchment, signed by the minister of Dunboe, and 
 dated in the year 1718, it has been my privilege to inspect.* Ex- 
 tremely poor when he came, by his rare energy and enterprise he 
 accumulated great wealth, and became one of the largest land- 
 holders in his day. He lived to be a century old, wanting one 
 year, and may justly be styled the patriarch of the town. His 
 son John, who came over with him, also lived to be near a cen- 
 tury old. Representing the town for many years in the General 
 Court, and its leading magistrate in his own day, he was altogether 
 the most conspicuous figure of the family. And here I must not 
 fail to notice the suggestion which has been made, that John 
 Caldwell, by signing with others a petition for an " accommoda- 
 tion " with the mother-country, had incurred the distrust of his 
 fellow-townsmen. I think, sir, there is a very natural explanation 
 of his course in that matter. He had often sat in the General 
 Court, he had held the King's commission, he had repeatedly taken 
 the oath of allegiance to King George ; and the inevitable effect of 
 all this was to be^et a conservative habit of mind. We have had 
 
 pany of Scots who came to this country in 1718, and settled in Worcester. 
 2. The William Caldwell who settled in Barre came to this country in 
 1 718, as his certificate of church-membership attests. 3. He went from 
 Worcester to Barre. The conclusion is most natural, if not inevitable, 
 that the two were one and the same person. There is a difficulty about 
 the exemption from taxation. From the context in Lincoln's account, it 
 might be inferred that the exemption was for services at the siege of Lon- 
 donderry, in 1689, when William Caldwell of Barre could not have been 
 more than five years old. But we are not compelled to adopt such an 
 inference. 
 
 * The original was in the possession of the late Seth Caldwell, Esq., of 
 Worcester, a great-grandson, and was as follows: "The bearer, William 
 Caldwell, his wife, Sarah Morrison, with his children, being designed to go 
 to New England in America — These are therefore to testifie they leave us 
 without scandal, lived with us soberly and inoftensively, and may be ad- 
 mitted to Church priviledges. Given at Dunboe Aprile 9, 1718, by 
 
 Jas. Woodside, Jr. Minister." 
 
 Dunboe is a parish in the barony of Coleraine, county of London- 
 derry, Ireland. Carlisle, Topog. of Ireland. Joyce, in his Irish Names 
 of Places (Dublin, 1S71), says that "Dunboe" means "fortress or hill of 
 the cow." 
 
206 BARRE CENTENNIAL. 
 
 eminent examples of the same thing in our own day. But if John 
 Caldwell was slow to sever the bond that bound us to the mother- 
 country, he was swift, after it had been severed, to secure to every 
 man his rights. For remember, it was he who aided and abetted 
 the slave Quock in escaping from his master, and gave him shel- 
 ter in his own family. And he it was who became the prime 
 mover in that first memorable trial under our own constitution, 
 the result of which certified to all the world that slavery had for 
 ever ceased to exist within the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. 
 Under the new order of things, he and his were trusted and hon- 
 ored as under the old ; and, in illustration, I may mention his son 
 William, who in the last years of the last century was the sheriff 
 of the county, and of whom the late Governor Lincoln was wont 
 to say that, of all the sheriffs he had known, William Caldwell 
 was the model sheriff. Let me add only, that while this stock 
 has been transplanted into five or six other States of the Union, 
 where it has taken root and flourished, all here are witnesses that 
 it has never ceased to flourish and bear fruit on this its original 
 soil. 
 
 If, now, we turn to the settlers of English blood, we first meet 
 "with Joshua Osgood, conspicuous as the first of that race who 
 settled here, and as the ancestor of more than a thousand known 
 descendants. Then come the families of Jenkins, Rowland, 
 White, who are said to trace their origin to the Pilgrims of the 
 Mayflower. Next are the Lees, a band of brothers whose frater- 
 nal affection led them to establish themselves in neighborly con- 
 tiguity in a part of the town hence known as " the Lee quarter." 
 Of them sprang General Samuel Lee, the boy-soldier, carrying a 
 musket in the battles of the Revolution at the age of thirteen ; 
 storming a redoubt at Yorktown ; a veteran in his teens, and per- 
 haps the most distinguished man the town has produced. And 
 who of us, at mention of the name of Lee, will not on this occa- 
 sion call to mind that last conspicuous representative of the family, 
 the late Colonel Artemas Lee, of Templeton, also a son of Barre, 
 — a man who, for native force, clear insight, independence, indomi- 
 table will, and all the qualities that go to make a leader of men, 
 had not his superior in the county? Around these, as well as 
 other names, doubtless cluster interesting family histories and 
 traditions, which it would give me pleasure to rehearse were they 
 
REMARKS OF MR. CHARLES E. STEVENS. 207 
 
 at my command, and which I trust will be forthcoming at the 
 proper time and from the proper source. 
 
 Of such were the early settlers of Barre, — Scotch Covenanters 
 and English Puritans. What better seed with which to plant a 
 town? Lord Bacon says, " It is a shameful and unblessed thing 
 to take the scum of people, and wicked and condemned men, to 
 be the people with which you plant." No such shameful and un- 
 blessed thing marked the origin of this town. Here there were 
 neither penal convicts nor yet idle gentlemen. Barre was neither 
 a Botany Bay nor a Virginia. 
 
 And now, if we ask what these men did, I might reply in the 
 words of that inscription in St. Paul's Cathedral to the memory of 
 its architect, Sir Christopher Wren : " If you seek his monument, 
 look around you ! " And if you seek their monument, I say, look 
 around you. This town, sir, is their monument, — built by them- 
 selves. They felled its forests, mellowed its soil, outlined its 
 features, impressed its character, introduced civilized life within 
 its savage borders. All that we now see was not, of course, their 
 work ; but what they did made possible and easy what succeeding 
 generations did. They labored, and other men entered into their 
 labors. They bore the brunt. It is the first step that costs, and 
 they took that first step. " Plantations," says Lord Bacon again, 
 "are among heroical works ;" and I would, sir, that we might 
 know just where stood that first log cabin built by James Cald- 
 well, buttressed against a rock, and occupied by him during one 
 whole season in brave solitude. That, I think, is a kind of heroi- 
 cal picture, worthy to fill a panel of any monument that might be 
 erected to the fathers of the town. Doubtless the dwellings which 
 immediately followed that first cabin were, if not like it, yet suffi- 
 ciently plain and primitive ; still, at a comparatively early period, 
 the native energy and good taste of the fothers had developed the 
 town into much of the beauty and fine appearance which it wears 
 to-day. More than eighty years ago, Peter Whitney, tke historian 
 of the county, described it in terms tiiat would fitly describe it 
 now. " The pleasantness of Barre," said he, " consists in the 
 richness and fertility of the land, and the large, handsome, well- 
 finished buildings of all kinds." And he adds that '" the town 
 then had the largest meeting-house in the county." " Here, too," 
 
208 BARRE CENTENNIAL. 
 
 he continues, " they fat great multitudes of cattle and make tlie 
 best of beef;" and " it is supposed that more butter and cheese is 
 carried from hence to market than from any other town of the 
 same extent." The best of huid, the best of beef, the most but- 
 ter and cheese, the best buiklings, the biggest meeting-house in 
 the county! And this was nearly a century ago. After such a 
 picture, we are prepared for the further statement, from the same 
 authority, that " the town was then one of the foremost in the 
 county, there being but three others which paid a larger State 
 tax." The valuation tables of that period are instructive on this 
 point. From them it appears that in 1772, two years before the 
 incorporation which we to-day commemorate, Barre was only 
 the fourteenth town in the county. In 177S, four years after the in- 
 corporation, it had grown to be the seventh ; in 1782, it was the 
 sixth; in 17S6, the fifth; and in 1793, the fourth. In exactly 
 twenty-one years, the period of a boy's majority, the town had gone 
 up on the valuation list from the fourteenth place to the fourth. 
 Yes, sir, Barre, almost the youngest town in the county, then ranked 
 next after Worcester, almost the oldest. And this rapid growth, this 
 culminating prosperity, — and here is my point, ■_ — this growth and 
 prosperity may fairly be credited to the early settlers, some of 
 whom were still lingering on the stage. For, not to instance 
 others, John Caldwell, who saw the beginning of the town, and 
 died in 1S07, lived more than sixteen years after the erection of 
 that largest meeting-house in the county celebrated by Whitney. 
 
 But I am trespassing. Let me say, in conclusion, that if the 
 relative position of Barre is now somewhat changed; if circum- 
 stances beyond her control compel her to halt and wait, I know 
 of no town which can better afford to wait. Her resources are 
 ample, and are within herself. Here she can sit and feed upon 
 the fatness of her hills and bide her time. And that time, sir, — 
 the time of her enlargement, — cannot be distant. We shall yet 
 see the blaek plume of the locomotive coming up these hill-slopes, 
 and, like the ancient pillar of cloud by day, guiding the multi- 
 tude to the very centre and heart of this land of promise. 
 
 VIII. Soldiers atid Soits of Barre in late War, living and dead : In 
 rank near the head of the column, and in varied parts all the way down 
 the line, the sons of Barre have well illustrated the character and upheld 
 
 I 
 
REMARKS OF COLONEL SIBLEY. ' 209 
 
 the honor of the town ; and to the heroic dead and the honored survivors 
 of that fearful contest we pay the tribute due to the brave defenders of 
 their country's freedom, and to the instrumentalities in the hands of 
 Providence of ri,<i;hting the wrongs of centuries, and wiping out slavery 
 from the scroll of the republic. 
 
 Responded to by Colonel H. R. Sibley, of Boston, a 
 native of Barre. 
 
 REMARKS OF COLONEL SIBLEY. 
 
 Ladies and Gentlemen^ — I have been prepared to assert and 
 defend the statement for a great many years, tliat Barre had 
 the bravest men and the fairest women of any town on God's 
 footstool ; and I have found to-day that you have the virtue of 
 endurance, for you have sat here constantly for seven hours to 
 celebrate your centennial. I am proud that on this occasion I 
 can say " I am a son of Barre," although I was not consulted in 
 the matter ; and, so far as I was concerned, I might have been born 
 anywhere else. But I xvas born in Barre, and to-day I thank God 
 for it. There is something about the people here I like. There 
 is no meanness about them. 
 
 But to speak of the soldiers of the war, it does appear to me 
 that my subject has been pretty thoroughly scratched over al- 
 ready to-day, and I don't know that there is much left for me 
 to say. Yet I don't propose to abandon the subject at this early 
 stage. Now, sir, reference has been made to the fact that the 
 men who participated in the act by which Barre was organ- 
 ized were at once required to grapple with a very serious ques- 
 tion. It was this : Should they continue to own allegiance to the 
 mother-country, or should they stand up upon the side of the 
 colonies? They were Englishmen, or the children of Englishmen, 
 and shared in all the traditions and prejudices of that proud peo- 
 ple ; but you know that very early they took their stand in behalf 
 of Liberty and the struggling colonies, that they possessed in their 
 hearts the great virtue of patriotism and the equally great virtue 
 of endurance. For from the beginning to the end of the struggle, 
 in spite of disaster and defeat, they never had a doubt but that 
 they would succeed, and at last, by the blessing of God, they did 
 succeed. They laid, in common with their brethren of other 
 
 27 
 
2IO BARRE CENTENNIAL. 
 
 towns, the foundations of the republic broad and deep and strong. 
 And so, for three-quarters of a century the government continued 
 to bless this people, and to rejoice the hearts of thousands that 
 panted for liberty all over the Vi^orld ; and yet there was a serious 
 defect in it, because the fathers had compromised with evil. 
 They had permitted the institution of slavery to exist in this, the 
 boasted land of freedom. " Righteousness exalteth a nation, but 
 sin is a reproach to any people." So for a long time we were 
 troubled with dissension and the fear of disunion. We were 
 afraid to grapple with the monster evil, but at last it reared its 
 awful head in rebellion. There came at length a call to the 
 loyal men of the republic, one which had been dreaded, because 
 nobody could tell how we should meet it. Men said that here, 
 under this system of government, we had no throne, or other 
 centre around which loyalty could gather ; that we were so absorbed 
 in the pursuit of gain that we were dead to loftier aims. Indeed 
 we did not know ourselves what we could stand. We knew 
 that no words could adequately express our veneration for Amer- 
 ican institutions, our reverence for the flag ; our love for the land 
 of our birth ; its grand old hills, which sit stern and moveless for- 
 ever, its majestic rivers, and its broad fields and prairies, green in 
 spring-time but golden in harvest. Yes, as all these rose up 
 before us, we knew that we loved our country, but we did not 
 know how much till it was threatened with destruction. At 
 last the call came. It came to the sons of Barre, both to those 
 who lived here and to those who had left their native town. 
 They heard it ; nobly they responded to it. We very soon proved 
 that a government like this, wliere the people are sovereigns, and 
 where no man calls another man " master," was not only capable 
 of promoting the growth, prosperity, and happiness of the people, 
 but that it was the strongest to resist both external and internal 
 attacks that was ever set up among men. 
 
 I have said the call came to the sons of Barre. I have, since 
 I received the notice that I was to speak on this occasion, been to 
 some little trouble to ascertain what kind of a response the sons of 
 Barre who resided here made. I find there were 203 men, out of 
 your population of about 2,600, who enlisted in the army or navy, 
 and served a portion or the whole of the time during the war. Two 
 
REMARKS OF COLONEL SIBLEY. 2TI 
 
 hundred and three men, I think, made twenty-nine more than were 
 required to furnish all the calls made upon you. Of these 203, 
 eleven were commissioned officers, and upon looking over the 
 town record, in which this is all set forth, I find they served in 
 most, if not in all, our great armies. If there is any thing con- 
 nected with the great struggle that will illuminate the page of 
 history, and thrill every American heart with pride in the great 
 campaigns of Sherman and the Army of the Potomac, and the 
 battles of Newbern, Antietam, Wilderness, and Fredericksburg, 
 you, as sons and daughters of Barre, have a right to a participation 
 in the glory of it. For you were represented there. The sons of 
 Barre, on all those and many other fields, did their whole duty ; 
 and many of them have watered the southern soil with their blood. 
 By their efforts, united with those who went out from other towns, 
 other counties, and other commonwealths, we were at last, by the 
 great favor of God, permitted to preserve this country, which had 
 come down to us as a precious heritage, to be transmitted in 
 turn to our children. The sentiment to which I am responding 
 makes reference to the survivors of the war as well as to those 
 "who have passed on. I think I may say and express the senti- 
 ment which animates every heart here, — every man, woman, and 
 child within the sound of my voice, — that I sincerely hope those 
 who served in the army or navy may live long to enjoy the bless- 
 ings which a strong and just government confers, and to receive 
 the gratitude of their fellow-citizens. 
 
 I have thought that there must be many persons here to-day 
 who, when these matters were referred to, had a pang of regret 
 that some loved one was missing here to-day. The town of 
 Barre has with great liberality provided a splendid monument, 
 upon which are inscribed the names of fifty-nine of her sons who 
 lost their lives during the war. Of course this embraces the names 
 of only those who resided here. I think an equal number of those 
 who are identified with the town either by birth or adoption, but 
 who entered the service from other places, will be found to have 
 lost their lives in the war. By this I mean, that fifty-nine does not 
 represent more than fifty per cent of the men whom Barre has a 
 right to claim. I want to make a simple reference to the organi- 
 zation of the men in the place. Two hundred and three men, I 
 
212 BARRE CENTENNIAL. 
 
 have told you, served. Co. K., Tw^enty-first Massachusetts, a three 
 years' regiment, had thirty-nine Barre men in it. The regiment 
 was mustered in July 19, 1861. They were engaged at Roanoke 
 Island, Newbern, Second Bull Run, Antietam, Fredericksburg, 
 Knoxville, the Wilderness, and Petersburg. Of the thirty-nine, 
 four were reported to have been killed outright, besides a consid- 
 erable number who died in consequence of exposure, climate, or 
 other causes. I have been told that the departure of that com- 
 pany created a profound sensation here ; that the people of both 
 sexes and of all ages, breaking down the bounds of political party 
 and social condition, came out in order to testify their respect and 
 their love for those men who were willing to take their lives in 
 their hands and go out in vindication of their country, — that they 
 departed amid the tears of the women and the benedictions of the 
 old men. Company K. of the Forty-second regiment, organized 
 for nine months' service, contained thirty-three Barre men. They 
 were mustered in October 14, 1S63. Three of them died from 
 disease. Company F. of the Fifty-third regiment contained fifty- 
 four Barre men, and was mustered in October 17, 1S63. It was 
 the fortune of that regiment to do a larger amount of service 
 and to lose a larger percentage of its men than any other nine 
 months' regiment. Eleven men lost, six killed in action, and five 
 died from wounds or disease. Captain John G. Mudge — God 
 bless him ! — was in command of that company. He ought to be 
 here to-day, and if you are the men I think you are, you will have 
 him stand up, so that you may testify your respect for him. About 
 thirty men served in the Thirty-fourth, and the remainder were 
 scattered among ditierent regiments and batteries. 
 
 I have said that there must be more or less persons here who 
 have a pang of regret that a brother or son or husband is not here 
 to-day to join in this centennial. It happens in some cases that 
 they don't know just where the remains of the loved one repose ; 
 but they have this consolation, at any rate, that whether they 
 repose here among their friends and kindred, or whether they 
 sleep in the valleys or on the mountains of the South, or are 
 rocked in the cradle of the deep, far, far o'erhead the jewelled 
 stars are keeping God's watch above them. His hand reaches 
 very wide ; and they shall all be gathered. Though you cannot 
 
REMARKS OF COLONEL SIBLEY. 213 
 
 see the form of your precious one, — fair temple of manliness 
 and honor as he was, — yet may you think of him, with — 
 
 " His white tent pitched on the beautiful plain, 
 Where the tumult of battle comes never again ; 
 Where the smoke of the war-cloud ne'er darkens the air, 
 Nor the spirit is troubled by the shadow of care." 
 
 To those who were lost in the war, I know this people have 
 the warmest gratitude ; and although they have erected a hand- 
 some monument to their memory, their best monument shall be, 
 their country redeemed, and at last, thank God, wholly free. 
 
 Now, then, Mr. President, ladies and gentlemen, there is a 
 lesson to be derived from all this, — from the toil and labor and 
 sacrifice it cost to preserve this country for transmission to our 
 children ; and I don't know that I can do better than to give you 
 the words of President Lincoln, spoken on the field of Gettysburg. 
 The love we bore that great man, and the appropriate character 
 of his language on that occasion, give it great significance and 
 power. He said : " The world will little note, nor long remember, 
 what we say here ; but it can never forget what they did here. 
 It is for us, the living, to be here dedicated to the great task 
 remaining before us ; to take from these honored graves increased 
 devotion to the cause for which they here gave the last full meas- 
 ure of their devotion ; that we here highly resolve that the dead 
 shall not have died in vain ; that the nation shall, under God, 
 have a new birth of freedom ; and that the government of the 
 people, by the peo^Dle, and for the people, shall not perish from 
 the earth." * 
 
 IX. Old Men and Women of Ba?'re : Worthy representatives of a past 
 generation. Honored in old age for their sterling worth no less than the 
 respect and deference due from youth and middle life. Fortunate in being 
 permitted to witness this day. May the evening of their lives be calm as 
 a summer's morning, and their final sleep the sleep of the just. 
 
 The President. — On this platform, as the First Vice- 
 President, there sits an honored citizen of the town, whose 
 birthday came very near to the day we celebrate, whose 
 
 * In obedience to the suggestion of this speaker, the President presented 
 Capt. Mudge to the audience, who received him with three hearty cheers. 
 
214 BARRE CENTENNIAL. 
 
 father and grandfather were among the first settlers, who 
 has for near an hundred years gone in and out among this 
 people, in all the varied relations of life, so as to win uni- 
 versal respect, and who, connected as he is with the memo- 
 ries of the past, still retains his interest in the affairs of the 
 present, and honors this day by riding on horseback at 
 the head of the mounted escort that would have escorted 
 the procession through the streets but for the rain, though 
 ninety-two years have passed over his head. I greet him 
 here to-day, and introduce to you Mr. Francis Rice. 
 
 REMARKS OF MR. FRANCIS RICE. 
 
 Mr. Presldetit^ — I feel glad so many of my aged friends are 
 able to be here to witness the events of this historic day. Age 
 has wrinkled our brows and whitened our locks, but none of us 
 remember a hundred years. 
 
 I can remember when the centre of Barre was a small place ; 
 the common was about one acre, lying on the east side of Peters- 
 ham road ; on this was the meeting-house and school-house. 
 Around this acre was one store and dwelling-house connected, 
 a barn, a few horse-sheds, and two taverns, and but few buildings 
 near the centre. The first house on the Dana road was on the 
 Houghton hill. On the Petersham road was Dr. Brooks's house, 
 near where J. F. Woods lives ; the next was Esquire Bent's, 
 where Lyman Rice lives. On the Templeton road there was 
 no house between the common and the Samuel Bacon place, 
 where Willard Fessenden lives. What there is of Barre built 
 up since then is within my recollection. 
 
 I rejoice to see so many old residents of Barre present to par- 
 ticipate in our social meeting. May you have a pleasant time, 
 and a safe return to your respective homes. 
 
 We shall soon part; many of us will never meet again in this 
 world. 
 
 May we all meet again in the fold of the Living God, no wan- 
 derer lost. 
 
 X. The Clergy : 'E.vtrywhtvQforefJtost in influencing for good the gener- 
 ations of men, and in Barre not behind. We cherish the memory of a 
 
REMARKS OF REV. WILLIAM CRAWFORD. 215 
 
 Dana and Thompson, of Storrs and Bullard, and Fay and Peck, of Cate 
 
 and Walker, and all the others whose ministrations here have received 
 their reward in the great hereafter ; and to all who, having served their God 
 and their fellow-man for a season here, have passed to other fields of labor, 
 we send a hearty all hail ! 
 
 Responded to by Rev. William Crawford, a native of 
 Barre, now of Green Bay, Wisconsin. 
 
 REMARKS OF REV. WILLIAM CRAWFORD. 
 
 In behalf of the clergymen who claim to belong to Barre, by 
 the fict either of having been born here or having lived or 
 labored here, allow me to express the gratification we must feel 
 at the honorable mention of us you have been pleased to make. 
 Paying honor as we do to the long procession of workers who 
 for more than a century have worn out their lives to amass the 
 fair heritage into which we have entered, we are glad that we 
 may also pay honor to the faithful and godly men who beat 
 down the rank growth of error and vice and planted here for us 
 the seeds of truth and righteousness. While we float happily 
 upon the tide of this ample civilization, or dwell upon its fruitful 
 banks, we may remember that in the period of wandering and 
 weariness some prophet smote the rock in the desert and waters 
 gushed out ; that when the waters were bitter, some prophet cast 
 his handful of healing salt into the spring, and the sweet stream 
 which issued thenceforth carried life and beauty and joy whither- 
 soever it went. 
 
 I say this the more freely, because 1 feel as if just now I were 
 less of a clergyman than a layman. For a year past it has been 
 my privilege to sit in the pews and hear and criticise, absorb 
 and reject, glow with pleasure or disgust, like the congregation 
 around me. I have learned by experience how vapid and tedious 
 a thing a sermon may be, — how utterly profitless by reason of 
 arid learning or goodish commonplace or absolute controversy. 
 I have learned, also, how vital and stimulating a force a sermon 
 may be, — how, by its just views of life, its sympathy with sorrow 
 and doubt, its rebuke of littleness and wrong, its enthusiasm for 
 what is true and pure and noble,- it may kindle ordinary men 
 into heroism, and prove like that meat from heaven in the strength 
 of which the fainting prophet walked for many days. 
 
2l6 BARRE CENTENNIAL. 
 
 In glancing back over the ecclesiastical history of Barre, and 
 gathering up my own fragmentary recollections, my impressions 
 have been strengthened that many good and true men have 
 labored here in the ministry. The unions between pastor and 
 people have been formed for better, for worse ; some of them evi- 
 dently for worse, but most of them for better. In the first class, 
 doubtless many would be disposed to place that bellicose and 
 obstinate man who labored here as the pioneer, — Rev. Thomas 
 Frink. I think this may be the judgment of the committee, as 
 his name is omitted from the sentiment which has been placed 
 in my hands. It certainly was the judgment of the council, who 
 were in session for six days, that Mr. Frink had displayed an 
 arbitrary and passionate temper, and his usefulness was at an 
 end ; and this judgment was endorsed by the people, who assem- 
 bled in large numbers in the old church, and, after being drawn 
 together in a ring near the easterly end of the church upon the 
 green, voted by a great majority that the pastoral relation should 
 be dissolved. It must be confessed that Mr. Frink has not made 
 a very imposing figure, when Mr. Caldwell marches him out of 
 church by the coat-collar. Nor does he exhibit a very Christian 
 spirit in carrying his case into the courts. As an offset to this, 
 however, we recollect that Mr. Frink lived in Rutland close by 
 for thirteen years before he was called here, and the presumption 
 is, that unless he had borne a creditable reputation he never would 
 have been sought by the people of Barre ; that he labored here 
 for fourteen years in just the period when every thing was unsettled 
 and perhaps turbulent, and when collision was most likely to oc- 
 cur ; that perhaps his offence may have sprung from great provo- 
 cations ; that he was chosen to perform some important services, 
 such as that of preacher before the General Court ; that he has 
 honorable mention from his successor. Dr. Thompson, for his 
 ability and reputation ; and that his tombstone in the church-yard 
 at Rutland (not always a trustworthy witness) speaks of him as 
 a "reverend and learned" man, who "departed this life for a 
 better" at the goodly age of 73. If we consider the peculiar 
 difficulties of the pioneer, we may be more lenient to his faults. 
 
 Of Mr. Dana, his successor, there is but one testimony, — that 
 he was a man of good presence, happy elocution, spicy and 
 
REMARKS OF REV. WILLIAM CRAWFORD. 217 
 
 facetious in conversation, who lived esteemed and beloved, and 
 died lamented, after a pastorate of thirty-four years. That he was 
 also of a thrifty and prudent turn, may be inferred from a sentence 
 in his letter of acceptance of July, 1767, which says, " I must beg 
 leave to desire, expect, and depend upon being provided yearly 
 with a sufficient quantity of firewood fit for use at the place of my 
 abode, if Providence should put me into ^ family state." The 
 parish did not see the matter in the same light ; it is, nevertheless, 
 handed down by tradition that they provided him with wood by 
 donation for a number of years, and finally by vote. 
 
 Of Dr. Thompson, his successor, it is needful I should say but 
 little. His record is in the church he so long served ; in the 
 school which he visited and tended for forty years as chairman 
 of the school committee ; in the memories and hearts of those to 
 whom he ministered, many of whom still survive ; and in his 
 semi-centennial sermon and the accompanying speeches, which 
 make an impression on the reader of a sweet, mellow, and vener- 
 able old age. 
 
 The next name mentioned in the sentiment is that of Mr. 
 Storrs, the first pastor of the Evangelical Church, I have had 
 the means of learning but little of him, save that he was esteemed 
 by all as a man of good ability and consistent Christian char- 
 acter. Toward his death, which occurred after his removal from 
 this charge, it was his earnest desire that all his children should 
 receive a liberal education, though to an observer it might have 
 been a puzzling question from what source the means were to be 
 drawn. As an illustration of what tact and perseverance can do, 
 it is of interest to know that his three sons graduated at one of 
 our best colleges, and his two daughters at one of our best semi- 
 naries, and that all occupy places of credit and usefulness. 
 
 Mr. Fay's name — the next one mentioned in the sentiment — 
 is mingled with my earliest recollections, but I cannot recall his 
 features, and perhaps I never saw them. His letter accepting his 
 call is long, carefully worded, and breathes good taste, sincerity, 
 and earnestness in every line. During his pastorate of three 
 years, he acquitted himself as a workman " needing not to be 
 ashamed," in pulpit and parish, and the regrets and affection of 
 the people followed him as he retired from his work only to die. 
 
 28 
 
2l8 BARRE CENTENNIAL. 
 
 Succeeding him, for a few months only, was Rev. Mr. Spofford, 
 a young man pale and consumptive, who worked the more ear- 
 nestly because he knew the night was soon coming, and was 
 consumed the more rapidly from the exceeding brightness of his 
 burning. Upon my imagination, too young to measure but old 
 enough to feel, his energy left the impression of unexampled 
 heroism. 
 
 Of Mr. BuUard my impressions are more definite. A graduate 
 of Amherst, where, I think, he bore away the highest honors of 
 his class, and a successful teacher in Leicester Academy, he 
 came here at the age of thirty-five with a high reputation, which 
 he sustained and increased during a pastorate of seven years. A 
 careful scholar and a logical thinker, he employed the forms of 
 argument rather than of appeal, and excelled more in addresses 
 to the reason than in the fervid and sympathetic discourse which 
 finds its way by the straighter avenues of intuition and feeling to 
 the heart. Once or twice a year he would visit our home and 
 remain at tea ; and on such occasions we children felt that we 
 had received a peculiar honor, though we regarded him with 
 reverence and awe. I do not think he knew how to approach 
 nearer to the young than bowing distance, though perhaps in 
 those days I was too shy to be approached. His pulpit per- 
 formances were listened to with admiration and pride. One dis- 
 course on the "dignity of labor" received much praise; and 
 some here may recall with a smile the repetition of it at a brill- 
 iant wedding, and what emphatic honor he then gave not only 
 to those who till the soil and provide for our material wants, but 
 to those who secure our rights in the courts of justice. He must 
 have had a hearty hatred of dogs, for in his discourse at the dedi- 
 cation of the nev/ church he deemed it necessary to say, with 
 great energy of manner, with reference to them he could use the 
 language of a heathen poet, " Procul, O procul, este profani," or 
 the plainer injunction of an inspired apostle, " Beware of dogs." 
 He was a man of rare power and purity of character, and when 
 he died it was felt that there was a singular fitness in the text 
 chosen by Dr. Paine, of Holden, for the funeral : " Know ye not 
 that there is a prince and a great man fallen this day in Israel." 
 The house on that occasion was full of people gathered from near 
 
REMARKS OF REV. WILLIAM CRAWFORD. 219 
 
 and from far. As the preacher drew towards the close of his 
 discourse, he spoke of some engagements he had recently made 
 with the deceased, " engagements," he continued, " which can 
 now never be fulfilled." Here his voice faltered and broke, and as 
 he paused to recov^er his self-possession, the sobbing of the whole 
 congregation told how deeply they were moved. After the ser- 
 vices the coffin was placed upon a table on the green in front of 
 the door, and as the people passed by and gazed with reverence 
 on those pale features, they certainly felt, if they did not say, — 
 
 " He was a man, take him for all in all, 
 We shall not look upon his like again." 
 
 Mr. Cate, of the Baptist Church, I recollect as an eminently 
 good man and deservedly beloved. Mr. Walker was exceedingly 
 plain, rather long and prosy, but evidently sincere. I think he 
 might have said, as did that Scotch minister who was asked, after 
 having preached for an hour and a half, " if he was not tired," 
 " Ha ! ha ! I was as fresh as a new-blown rose ; but it would have 
 done your heart good to have seen how tired the people were." 
 One of his texts, " Go and speak to that young man," is still 
 fresh in my mind. My whole heart pays its homage of respect 
 to that plain and guileless man, who toiled in his field all the 
 week and preached the word of God upon the Sabbath, and I 
 have no doubt that he has received a good reward. 
 
 Of Rev. David Peck, the last called from the world, I must say 
 a few words. He was a man of slight frame and delicate 
 health, and was weighed down during a part of his ministry by 
 peculiar domestic afflictions. He was often obliged to spur him- 
 self through his tasks, and could not help betraying the languor 
 which he felt. He was, nevertheless, a man far above the average 
 in scholarship, literary taste, and oratorical ability. In his last 
 years he wrote frequently for the papers, and a series of articles 
 on the development hypothesis obtained much commendation. 
 In botany he was an enthusiast, and amid his severer studies he 
 diverted himself by his love of flowers. There were probably 
 few professional botanists in the State who had made larger col- 
 lections in this department. One of his discourses for the spring 
 was from the text, " Thou blessest the springing thereof; " and I 
 
2 20 BARRE CENTENNIAL. 
 
 can i-emember how, with the precision of a scholar and the enthu- 
 siasm of an amateur, he described the tender bud folded in down 
 and shielded by an impenetrable covering until Providence sent 
 upon it the reviving airs of spring and called it forth to the light. 
 A beautiful park, which was set off by his efforts in his last parish 
 of Sunderland, will remain as one of his memorials. 
 
 As a matter of interest, I have endeavored to ascertain how 
 many clergymen the town has produced, and I give you the list 
 made out, imperfect as it doubtless is. You may be reminded of 
 the net which was cast into the sea and " gathered of every 
 kind." 
 
 Rev. Seth E. Winslow ; Rev. James W. Thompson, D.D. ; 
 Rev. Abraham Jenkins, Rev. James T. Bixby, Rev. A. W. Ste- 
 vens, Rev. Elijah Demond, Rev. Robert T. Conant, Rev. R. 
 T. Robinson, Rev. Thomas G. Grassie, Rev. William Craw- 
 ford, Rev. Sidney Crawford, Rev. David Sherman, Rev. M. V. 
 B. Johnson, Rev. Charles L. Howe, Rev. Owen Patterson, Rev. 
 A. Cleaveland, Rev. Alpheus Harding, Rev. Charles Jenkins. 
 
 XI . Schools and Education : As very early in our history it has been seen 
 that our fathers recognized the importance of education, and provided for 
 the support of the schools as the basis of our prosperity and safety as a 
 community, — and as along the progress of the century we have kept up 
 with the progress of the times, — so to-day we appreciate our school sys- 
 tem, and honor all connected with its administration as holding in their 
 hands the future character of the town. 
 
 Dr. Joseph W. Grosvenor, of Lockport, New York, was 
 introduced, who said : — 
 
 REMARKS OF DR. GROSVENOR. 
 
 The schools of a town are the exponent of its character. De- 
 scribe to me the schools of any community, and I will paint for 
 you, in accurate outline and correct coloring, its character, moral, 
 intellectual, aesthetical. 
 
 My knowledge of the educational pulse of this goodly town 
 excites in me no surprise, as I behold the array of talent and 
 beauty exhibited by the sons and daughters of Barre here to-day. 
 
 Memory takes me back nearly a quarter of a century to the 
 
REMARKS OF DR. GROSVENOR. 221 
 
 school-room under the hill, with its theatrical rows of seats, the 
 monster stoves, ofttimes made savory with the spices of India, 
 the chalk-line along the floor where we were made to toe the 
 mark, huge benches cai"ved by youthful artists with caricatures 
 worthy of the pencil of Thomas Nast, and written all over with 
 hieroglyphics of which Egyptian scribes never dreamed. Here 
 fought with bullets of paper the same boys who in after years, as 
 men, on a wider field fought with bullets of lead. The girls fought 
 with billets-doux. The snowy forts were but miniatures of the 
 fortifications of stone and earth behind which, in after-time, many 
 a brave son of Barre maintained the law, the liberty, and honor 
 of his country. Oft did the walls of that very room resound with 
 the eloquence of Webster and Clay, as the juvenile orators decided 
 the fate of states and nations ; oft on the rostrum there did Norval 
 feed his father's flock on the Grampian hills ; oft was heard, 
 " You'd scarce expect one of my age to speak in public on the 
 stage ; " and oft mid snow and ice bore a youth a banner with 
 this strange device, " Excelsior," 
 
 Mathematics, reading, and spelling went hand-in-hand with the 
 birchen rod. Whoever broke a rule of school was sure to feel the 
 breaking of another rule. " Spare the rod and spoil the child" 
 was the educational philosophy of those days. Seeds of rudi- 
 mentary knowledge, of science and philosophy, were sown in 
 rich mental soil, and cultured with a careful hand. The developed 
 trees have blossomed apd borne abundant fruits of usefulness, 
 integrity, and honor, which have influenced for good nearly every 
 quarter of the globe. Schools similar in character have crowned 
 the hills of this fair centre of the Commonwealth ever since the 
 corner-stone of its foundation was laid. 
 
 In process of time, the High School reared its noble form in 
 our midst as the crowning glory of our educational system. Time 
 would fail to tell of the streams which have flowed forth from it 
 to beautify all the earth. Let me not forget that private educa- 
 tional institution which has been a blessing to stricken humanity 
 and an honor to the town. 
 
 Barre may be proud of her schools, because she may be proud 
 of the men and women who have graduated from them. The 
 schools of our land are the conservators of its peace and prosperity. 
 
222 BARRE CENTENNIAL. 
 
 The freer and more universal is education, the more thoroughly 
 will the mind and heart of the people be imbued with the prin- 
 ciples of purity and truth that are a blessing to our homes ; of 
 honesty and good faith between man and man which cement the 
 framework of the social compact; of justice and equal rights 
 which are the foundation of national success and national happi- 
 ness. Let me say to the sons and daughters of to-day, Guard 
 your schools with the most jealous care. They are a priceless 
 legacy transmitted from your forefathers. Furnish your school- 
 houses with the comforts, elegancies, and refinements of your 
 homes. Give your children all the apparatus and means needful 
 for a thorough education. Let there emanate from these schools 
 an influence to bless your firesides, your country, — all humanity. 
 These school-houses that dot your hills and valleys are so many 
 sentinels to guard your liberties and to teach the great truth, 
 " Righteousness exalteth a nation." 
 
 I should like, Mr. Chairman, in closing, to make some rotund 
 and proper ending; and I am reminded of a saying of a gen- 
 tleman named David Lee, who said that he believed he could 
 make as good a prayer as any man in town except Parson 
 Thompson, with the exception that he didn't know how to 
 taper off" at the end. But perhaps I may best close by simply 
 drawing your attention to a remark made this morning in the 
 finished and splendid historical address, that our thoughts were 
 turned to-day to persons rather than tg things. I confess that, 
 for myself, while listening to the speaker my heart swelled most 
 with pride, not while he was speaking of your enterprise, your 
 fair landscape, your material prosperity, but while he was speak- 
 ing of the living men who have gone forth to every part of the 
 world. Allow me, then, to close by expi-essing the hope that you 
 will give your support to those who, in this materializing world, 
 hold up the truth that mind is higher than matter, that man is 
 greater than the things with which he works, and that all is vain 
 and futile unless it carries us forward in righteousness and peace, 
 and lifts us nearer to God and to heaven. 
 
 XII. Scenery of Barre : Though perhaps not strikingly grand, its pictu- 
 resqueness makes an abiding impression of assthetic pleasure upon all who 
 behold it. 
 
REMARKS OF MESSRS. ALDEN AND YOUNG. 223 
 
 Mr. Albert Alden, of Cambridgeport, a former resi- 
 dent of Barre, was cordially welcomed, and said: — 
 
 REMARKS OF MR. ALBERT ALDEN. 
 
 It is too late to respond to the sentiment in the manner in which 
 I had intended ; but let me say to the friends and companions of 
 my early years that the hours of this day are rapidly closing upon 
 us. They will soon find place in that great record of the past 
 which no time nor circumstances can change. Those of us who 
 have come back here to extend heart-felt greetings to the living 
 and entwine fresh garlands of affection around the memory of the 
 dead, will soon pass out from these scenes of joy and of gladness 
 and of heart-felt union, to mingle again in the great world of 
 business activity ; but wherever we go, wherever our feet may 
 rest or wander, in this great land or in foreign lands, the recollec- 
 tions of this day will abide with us for ever. When we have 
 passed out of these scenes of gladness and of beauty, and have 
 entered the realms of eternal verdure, in the lines of one who 
 bore my name and who loved this people, — 
 
 " There once more we will dwell together, 
 Heart in heart and hand in hand, 
 Pain and death shall part us never 
 In the peaceful spirit-land." 
 
 Xin. The Press : The potent organ of public opinion ; the instructor 
 of freemen in their rights and duties ; the conservator of republican in- 
 stitutions ; the ally of education and religion. 
 
 REMARKS OF MR. ALEX. YOUNG,* OF THE "BOSTON GLOBE." 
 
 ]\Ir. President^ Ladies and Gentle7nen^ — It has been said 
 by one of the brightest of American wits and poets, — 
 
 " Little of all we value here 
 Wakes on the morn of its hundredth year 
 Without both looking and feeling queer. 
 In fact, there's nothing that keeps its youth, 
 So far as I know, but a tree and truth." 
 
 * A grandson of Eleazar James, Esq. 
 
224 BARRE CENTENNIAL. 
 
 Now, Mr. President, and ladies and gentlemen, it seems to me 
 that Barre on this occasion certainly comes within the rule here 
 laid down. As I look upon this centennial exhibition, it seems to 
 me that Barre does not appear as trembling under the weight of 
 years, a decrepit crone, tottering to receive her guests, but a 
 buxom dame, pretty, blithe, and jaunty as a June morning, wel- 
 coming her children and her children's children to her generous 
 hospitality. I regret, gentlemen, that the press could not have 
 had a worthier spokesman on this occasion. I regret especially 
 that the dispensation of Divine Providence should have called too 
 early to his kindred skies that genial gentleman and most accom- 
 plished journalist, who would naturally have represented the press 
 on this occasion, — I need not say that I allude to the late George 
 B. Woods, of this town. And I may regret also that no one 
 bearing the name of James should have been present to respond 
 on this occasion. The Jameses have gone all over the country ; I 
 don't know that there is any trace of them here ; but, sir, it is a 
 somewhat significant fact, that one of the most gifted of American 
 authors should have given us perhaps the most characteristic of 
 American productions, under the name and as the statement of 
 " Truthful James of Table Mountain." 
 
 "I came from Table Mountain, 
 And my name is Truthful James ; 
 I am not up to small deceits, 
 Nor to any sinful games." 
 
 I maintain that there, gentlemen, the characteristics of the fam- 
 ily have not suffered. 
 
 It is among the pleasantest duties of the press, gentlemen and 
 ladies, to investigate the significance of celebrations like this; for 
 in our time, as never before, the press has come, while gathering 
 and giving news, to find its highest duty in setting forth the prin- 
 ciples that underlie the events and occurrences of the times. It does 
 not merely record history, but it creates it. The newspaper is 
 now the recognized instrument for the dissemination of the facts of 
 literature, politics, and science ; and it has also, to a large extent, a 
 power in all the great reforms of the day. Lord Mansfield told 
 the Duke of Northumberland, who pleased himself in enjoying the 
 
REMARKS OF MR. ALEXANDER YOUNG. 225 
 
 newspaper, that the newspapers he was interested in would, 
 sooner or later, write the Duke of Northumberland out of his titles 
 and possessions, and the King of England out of his throne. 
 Said he, " You may not live to see it, but your descendants will." 
 I think, gentlemen, tliat the condition of aftairs in England point 
 to a no distant day for the consummation which was foreseen by 
 so keen an observer and so solid a statesman as Lord Mansfield. 
 
 Certainly the great achievements of the daily newspaper in our 
 day show it is not only taking all knowledge for its domain, 
 but is conducting great enterprises to advance the interests of liter- 
 ature and science, and the laws of social and political reform. 
 How was it, gentlemen, a hundred years ago? A hundred years 
 ago to-day thei'e was a meeting in the town-hall of Boston, called 
 to resist the oppressions of the British crown, and at that time the 
 liberty of the people had no more earnest advocate than the daily 
 papers, and among which were the " Massachusetts Spy," now pub- 
 lished in Worcester, where it was removed some years afterwards, 
 and the " Boston Gazette," to which John Adams and Josiah Qiiincy 
 were brilliant contributors. By the way, the " Massachusetts Spy " 
 bore at its head this title: "A weekly political and commercial 
 paper ; open to all parties, but influenced by none." There is a 
 good deal of talk nowadays about independent journalism ; but I 
 don't know where you will find a more independent motto than 
 that. I think the "Massachusetts Spy" was the first independent 
 journal that I know of in America. Certainly it showed itself in 
 opposition to British encroachment. About the first of June, you 
 remember, the Boston port-bill took effect. The "Spy" of that 
 day thus says : " Most of the stores along the long wharf are now 
 shut up, hundreds of poor are out of employment, and many who 
 lived genteelly will be reduced to the last farthing. Yet, under 
 these unhappy circumstances, people in general have that fortitude 
 which did honor to the ancient Romans, — ' Undaunted by tyrants, 
 we'll die or be free.'" We will die or be free. The office of the 
 " Spy " was styled the sedition-factory by the royalists ; and, on the 
 third of May, 1775, it was thought prudent to remove it to Wor- 
 cester. 
 
 It is a little curious, and illustrates very strikingly the defects 
 in our institutions as they existed at that time, which were trans- 
 
 29 
 
226 BARRE CENTENNIAL. 
 
 mitted from the past, that on the very day that that stirring appeal 
 for freedom appeared in the " Massachusetts Spy," as I looked over 
 its musty pages at the Boston Athenaeum, I read there the adver- 
 tisement which, thank God, cannot be read in any paper, North 
 or South, in all this broad land of ours : " To be sold, for want of 
 employment, a strong, healthy negro boy, about nine years of age, 
 who can be well recommended for his honesty." There is one 
 name in connection with the press of that period to which I will 
 refer as that of one of the most striking and brilliant writers of his 
 time, — Joseph Greenleaf. In closing an article in the "Spy," 
 written nearly three years before the Concord fight, he uses these 
 words, certainly significant of the influence of the press at that 
 period : " Let the liberty of the press be once destroyed, farewell 
 the remainder of our rights and privileges. We may hence ex- 
 pect padlocks on our lips, fetters on our limbs, and only our hands 
 left to slave for our worse than Egyptian task-masters, or to fight 
 our way to constitutional freedom." Where can you find an utter- 
 ance better than that in the press of this or of any other country.'* 
 
 I have referred somewhat to the functions of the press as a 
 great power in all reforms of the day, and I think it will be well 
 illustrated by a few examples of what it has done in recent years. 
 It is not a great many years ago, onl}' a few, that the " London 
 News" sent one of its correspondents into Warwickshire, at the 
 time of the great strike of the agricultural laborers, to live in the 
 cabins of these poor men, and share their scanty fare, living as 
 they did with hardly enough to keep themselves alive. In that 
 magnificent country, set with the charm of English poetry, where 
 every thing seems fit for human enjoyment, that correspondent 
 went and lived with those wretched people, enduring their suffer- 
 ings, and, in fact, exposing his life in showing up the enormities of 
 that system of which Joseph Arch has lately been the earnest and 
 faithful rebuker. This is one example. Another is tliat of the 
 correspondent who went into the slums of London to reveal the 
 horrors of life in the suburbs of the great metropolis. 
 
 But to pass from what English journals have done, let us see 
 what we have done. I know of no more legitimate feat of jour- 
 nalistic enterprise than that of the "New York Herald," in send- 
 ing Stanley to search out the African traveller in those desolate 
 
REMARKS OF MR. ALEXANDER YOUNG. 227 
 
 wilds where the English government expedition had failed to find 
 him ; but Stanley, who literally took his life in his hand, we 
 know what he accomplished for the cause of science by the dis- 
 covery of one who, alas! has since become its martyr. 
 
 But tOj pass on to another achievement of journalism, which I 
 consider not certainly among the least of what has been done in 
 late years, of a great journal of New York, which dragged from 
 his heights of infamy, from the palatial grandeur of his resi- 
 dence in New York, the corrupt head of the ring that had so 
 long misgoverned that metropolis, and was the means of bring- 
 ing him where he is to-day, in convict garb, a warning to 
 those who would buy courts and corrupt judges in a republican 
 government. 
 
 One reference more, gentlemen, and I have done. I think the 
 power of the press has never been more strongly shown than in 
 very recent days, when the utterances of the journals of this coun- 
 try in defence of national faith and of national honor nerved the 
 President of the republic to take the stand he did for the protec- 
 tion of American credit. I don't know any thing that the con- 
 queror of Lee has ever done ; I don't think, sir, that the victory at 
 Donaldson, Vicksburg, or the fall of Richmond will shed more 
 lustre upon the career of President Grant than that act; and, sir, 
 I realize in that act the truth of the statement, that, in the hands 
 of men entirely great, the pen is mightier than the sword. I 
 thank you for the attention you have given me and for the 
 pleasure I have received on this occasion. 
 
 There were several sentiments of a local character pre- 
 pared, to which the responses were omitted on account of 
 the lateness of the hour ; but as the subjects discussed have 
 a permanent interest, the addresses are herein inserted. 
 
 XIV. The Farmers of Barre : Their industry and honest toil has made 
 the wilderness and solitary place glad, and fruitful fields take the place of 
 the forest and marsh. Though not, as a class, rich, they abound in all the 
 essentials of a true civilization. 
 
228 BARRE CENTENNIAL. 
 
 REMARKS OF MR. ADDISON H. HOLLAND. 
 
 j\fr. President^ — It would be interesting if we could look 
 back and see and examine the work done here at different periods 
 since the settlement of the town by farmers, and note the changes 
 that have occurred, and understand the feelings, incentives,' and 
 objects of those who have been concerned in what has taken place. 
 It is to be regretted that there are so few statistics relating to these 
 matters, the more because that, perhaps, with the labors of no 
 occupation is time more unsparing than with those of the agri- 
 culturist. Lands once " flowing with milk and honey" are now 
 barren wastes. Here the great farms and house-lots have been 
 parcelled out ; forests, and log-houses, with their magnificent fire- 
 places, have disappeared ; and there is much that we have received, 
 and now enjoy, of which we cannot estimate the labor or the cost. 
 It may excite a smile, perhaps a sneer, but I think it worthy of 
 remark, that of the material monuments erected by Barre farmers 
 the most costly are, like those of the Chinese, stone-walls. These, 
 unsightly as they appear, are suggestive of forethought, industry, 
 stability, and good neighborhood. 
 
 Of the rank of Barre, agriculturally, it may be said that the 
 statistics of 1S65 show that it was then the leading town in the 
 State in the production of hay, and in dairying. Any statement 
 in regard to dairying would be unjust and incomplete if reference 
 to the women in connection therewith was omitted. I apprehend 
 that but few women fifty years hence will have any real concep- 
 tion of the " industry and honest toil," and hardship too, which 
 dairying, as carried on here previous to the introduction of cheese 
 factories in 1S64, required of farmers' wives. 
 
 What a gratification it would be if many of the farmers, who 
 were once prominent in their calling, and for otlier reasons, 
 could be seen now as some of them were seen by us in our 
 younger days. We should desire, also, that they should manifest 
 those peculiarities by which some of them were best known, and 
 will be longest remembered. Men like the Rices, — Earl, Jotham, 
 and Charles, — fond of good stories and jokes, but with always an 
 eye to the main chance in matters of business ; the Harwoods, 
 
REMARKS OF MR. ADDISON H. HOLLAND. 229 
 
 industrious, frugal, and observing, rather easy to take offence, and 
 quick and sharp in their resentments ; Perry Johnson, known 
 everywhere as " Uncle Perry," tall, slim, shrewd, witty, and re- 
 puted to possess just enough of the infirmity of deafness for profit ; 
 Peter Fessenden (the second by that name), whose aptness of 
 tongue often proved better to him than scrip. When advanced 
 in years, he sold most of his farm, and, to piece out a short crop, 
 would turn his " old meer," as he called his horse, into the high- 
 way. She seemed to know what her owner could say for her, 
 and satisfied her wants in grain fields or wherever else she pleased. 
 The losers sometimes complained and were angry, but the old 
 man invariably recompensed and sobered them by saying some- 
 thing that would cause them to be laughed at by the whole 
 neighborhood. It is related that the " old meer " once got into 
 a neighbor's pasture and remained there some time before the 
 owner of the lot knew of it. The man was impulsive though 
 generous, and when the fiacts came to his knowledge he went to 
 Mr. Fessenden and called him hard names, threatening to " kill" 
 his horse, &c., if he found her there again. Mr. Fessenden re- 
 ceived the lecture very coolly, but, as he was not in the habit of 
 speaking out of time, he said but little. Reflection induced the 
 owner of the pasture to regret saying what he had, and, meeting 
 Mr. Fessenden shortly after, acknowledged that he had done 
 wrong, and concluded by telling the old man to put his horse 
 " back into the pasture." " I haven't taken her out yet," was the 
 old man's quiet response. Charles Sibley, whose presence indi- 
 cated one of nature's noblemen, and prompted a regret that he 
 was lacking that ambition which would have enabled him to 
 have reached and done honor to high places of public trust. 
 Mr. Sibley had a part in the capture of the British officers in 
 this town. There was no organization among the captors, and 
 when the officers came out of the house, one of them, who ap- 
 peared to be the chief, a man of Herculean size, and resolute, 
 drew a pistol and demanded to know who was the leader of 
 the party. It was one of those occasions when men are not often 
 emulous of rank, and there was no reply. But the suspense must 
 be broken, and Mr. Sibley told the officer that he was the leader. 
 The officer then advanced and presented his pistol to Mr. Sibley's 
 
230 BARRE CENTENNIAL. 
 
 breast, who told him to " fire, if he dared," but that there would 
 be "enough left to take care of him." 
 
 There was one, the late Mr, Elias Ayres, whose memory 
 should be cherished for the inestimable service he rendered by 
 tlie introduction of the famous short-horn cattle, some forty years 
 ago. To appreciate the enterprise Mr. Ayres exhibited in this, we 
 should consider that at that time there were but few agricultural 
 newspapers in the country, and these were regarded with suspicion 
 and contempt by many who were successful farmers ; that the 
 oldest of our agricultural societies had hardly begun their work ; 
 and that it was only about a dozen years after those pioneers, 
 Col. Jaques and Gorham Parsons, made their first importations of 
 short-horn stock. It is a noticeable fact that that period marks 
 the beginning of a new era agriculturally here and throughout 
 the country. Chemists tried more successfully to utilize their 
 knowledge by its application to the problems of soils and crops ; 
 the perfected iron plough had just come into general use, to be fol- 
 lowed by the horse-rake, mowing-machine, tedder, cheese facto- 
 ries, &c. Mr. Ayres was a stout, thick-set man, and ambitious as 
 a farmer. He finally sold his farm in Barre, and removed to Vir- 
 ginia to occupy a part or the whole of the estate of ex-Pi-esident 
 Monroe, where, during the rebellion, he was suspected, plundered, 
 and imprisoned by both Confederate and Federal. 
 
 Men are sometimes unconscious actors in great events. Proba- 
 bly neither of the Barre farmers, Mr. Jennison or Mr. Caldwell, 
 when acting to bring about the abolition of slavery in Massa- 
 chusetts, comprehended the magnitude of the work they were 
 doing. And though matters of the past claim our attention 
 to-day, it is difficult to resist the temptation to glance at the 
 future. The present prime minister of England is reported 
 to have said recently, that he had noticed that it was usually 
 the " unexpected that happens." It may be so here. The 
 changes that have occurred during the last twenty-five years 
 have had an important bearing on the forming interests of our 
 town. There has been much to stimulate exertion, and much 
 that has been disturbing. The fascinations of wealth, sud- 
 denly and apparently easily acquired in other pursuits, and 
 
REMARKS OF HON. EDWARD DENNY. 23 1 
 
 the advantages it gave for culture and refinement, could not be 
 regarded with inditi'erence. It is too true that our farmers are 
 " not, as a cUiss, rich." But whatever uncertainty may be felt in 
 regard to the future, we may be sure there is no occasion for 
 despondency. With new and redirected etibrts, all responsibilities 
 and obligations will be met, and the much-needed mental and 
 social culture, with contentment and happiness, will be secured. 
 The great fact, however, must be kept in mind, that — 
 
 " He that by the plough would thrive, 
 Himself must either hold or drive." 
 
 XV. The Maiinfacturers of Barre : Their enterprise has added new 
 means of employment for the surplus labor of the town, increased its pop- 
 ulation, and furnished a valuable home-market for its surplus products of 
 agriculture, while the fabrics they have produced have given an honorable 
 name and standing to the town throughout the county wherein John 
 Smith's cotton cloth, or Phineas Heywood's woollen frocking, or the 
 broadcloths of the Wadsworth Woollen Co., or the wagons of Charles Rice 
 have gone. 
 
 REMARKS OF HON. EDWARD DENNY. 
 
 Please accept my thanks, Mr. President, for the complimentary 
 manner in which you have called on me to respond to the toast 
 which has just been aimounced. After listening to so many able 
 and eloquent speakers as we have heard to-day, on subjects of 
 intense interest to all who have come here from far and near to 
 celebrate this day, and to receive and impart a mutual interchange 
 of greetings and congratulations, the like of which no one present 
 will ever have another opportunity, I fear that it will seem to 
 you too much of a fall to come down from the highly intellectual 
 entertainment which we are all enjoying so much, to listen with 
 any degree of complacency to the dull and commonplace subject 
 of manufactures ; and I regret that some one besides myself could 
 not have been selected to inflict this punishment upon yoif. But I 
 will endeavor to be as brief as possible ; and I hope you will hear 
 me for my cause, and be silent that you may hear, — not that I 
 love manufactures less, but that I respect the feelings and enjoy- 
 ment of this audience more. 
 
232 BARRE CENTENNIAL. 
 
 Barre — located as she is in the centre of one of the best agri- 
 cultural districts in the Commonwealth — can more justly claim 
 to be essentially an agricultural rather than a manufacturing 
 community; her broad fields, her fertile valleys, and her flocks 
 upon a thousand hills, are ample evidence of her superiority as 
 an agricultural centre. Here the farmer can enjoy the fruits of his 
 industry in an eminent degree ; the fluctuations of the markets 
 have no terrors for him ; he has no notes to go to protest ; and if 
 he did not read the journals of the day, he would never know 
 when a panic in financial affairs commenced or when it ended : 
 his mind is not always upon the rack, and he escapes the thou- 
 sand annoyances and perplexities to which manufacturers are 
 constantly liable. But for those who prefer the more exciting, 
 dangerous, and uncertain pursuits of manufacturing, the facilities 
 in that direction are of more than ordinary importance in Barre 
 at the present time, and she has within her limits the means of 
 increasing her facilities in the immediate future to an extent that 
 will place her wellnigh in the front rank. The water-power of 
 Barre, when fully developed and occupied, will far exceed that of 
 Ware at the present time. This power will be supplied sub- 
 stantially from Ware river and Prince river. Ware river, within 
 the limits of Barre, commences at what is called Barre Falls, 
 where an immense power will be created at no very distant period. 
 From there to Smithville there are a succession of falls, nearly 
 all of which will be occupied for extensive manufacturing pur- 
 poses. The cotton manufactory at Smithville, which is favorably 
 known to many of us, is now doing a large business ; and there is 
 no doubt that the enterprising proprietors will, when the water- 
 power to which I have alluded is developed, and our railroad 
 facilities are completed, double or treble the amount of business 
 now done. Then comes the powder-mill privilege, which will be 
 capable of doing an extensive business. This power is at present 
 lying idle, but from indications there is a prospect that it will 
 soon be occupied. 
 
 Then comes the privilege at Dennyville, which has done for 
 the last twenty-five years or more a very respectable amount of 
 business in the manufacture of woollen fabrics of almost all grades 
 and styles. This power will be capable of doing more than double 
 
REMARKS OF HON. EDWARD DENNY. 233 
 
 the amount of business it has formerly done. Then there is the 
 privilege at Barre Plains, which has been occupied from time 
 immemorial in the manufacture of satinets, cassimeres, frocking, 
 and stocking yarn. Here also is a grist and saw-mill. Many amus- 
 ing anecdotes connected with this place and its former proprietors 
 could be related, but the time allowed for speaking will not admit 
 of any digression. The other source of water-power, as I have 
 said, comes from Prince river and the reservoir in the north part 
 of the town. Before the breaking away of the dam of this reser- 
 voir, the stream was dotted along its whole length with manu- 
 factures of various kinds, which were all swept away by the flood, 
 with the exception of the mills at Rider's and Heald's villages ; 
 but these will probably all be rebuilt at some future time. 
 
 No portion of our Commonwealth, lying within a diameter of 
 twenty miles of which Barre is the centre, has been so utterly 
 destitute of railroad facilities as this ; and it is owing in a great 
 measure to this fact that she has not kept pace with other towns 
 in this county that have enjoyed railroad facilities. It is not 
 more than twenty-five years since Barre was the largest town 
 in the county, with the exception of Worcester. There are now 
 five or six towns that have outstripped it in population and 
 valuation. But, Mr. President, our turn is now coming. We 
 have one railroad completed and in operation, and another com- 
 ing, — sometime ; and when our improvements are completed, we 
 can offer inducements to men of capital and enterprise second to 
 none. Capital and enterprise are all that is wanted, and we are 
 to have them when we can offer sufficient inducements. This is 
 all that has made Winchendon, Fitchburg, Milford, and Grafton 
 what they now are ; but I hope and trust that it will not be many 
 years before we shall be head and shoulders above them all. 
 
 I find, on examination of the statistics of manufacturing in this 
 town, that the number of articles manufactured and the gross 
 value of the same has far exceeded my expectations. Time will 
 not allow me to go into the particulars, but I will mention some 
 of the more important items, viz. : manufactures of cotton goods, 
 manufacture of woollen goods, hollow-ware and castings, agri- 
 cultural implements, clothing manufactured, palm-leaf manu- 
 factured into hats, shaker hoods, &c., marble and stone-work, 
 tin-ware, boots, lumber manufactured at our numerous saw-mills, 
 
 30 
 
234 BARRE CENTENNIAL. 
 
 machinery for cotton and woollen manufactures, newspaper and 
 job printing, mattresses, harness and saddlery, cabinet-making, 
 planing-mills, sashes, doors, and blinds, boxes, flouring mills, 
 daguerrotypes and photographs, soap, &c. — which number 
 between twenty and thirty different branches, and will in the 
 aggregate amount to over one million dollars. And I will venture 
 to predict that when the statistics of Barre are taken ten years 
 from this time, it will be found that the amount of manufactures 
 will have doubled. Ladies and gentlemen, I have already occu- 
 pied more time than was allowed me, and I will trespass no longer, 
 as I know it will be far more pleasantly occupied than by listen- 
 ing to these dull and, to most of you, vminteresting details. 
 
 XVI. Past Business Men of Barre : While the farmer has cultivated the 
 soil, and so furnished the means of subsistence to the mechanic whose 
 cunning fingers have shaped the various products to be used for the com- 
 fort and convenience of man, the energy and enterprise of the business 
 men of Barre — manufacturers and merchants — have contributed largely 
 to the reputation and fair fame of the town ; <.and we ought not to overlook 
 the memory of Capt. Seth Pratt, of Benj. Clark, of Joseph and Levi 
 Caldwell, of John Smith and Phineas Heywood, of Charles Lee and 
 Harding P. Woods, and the hosts of others, living or dead, who have 
 made the hum of business to be heard in our streets. 
 
 REMARKS OF MR. JAMES W. JENKINS. 
 
 Mr. President^ — It is said of Artemas Ward that on a certain 
 occasion he sought the nomination of the citizens to some office 
 in their gift. Before making the choice of a candidate, they 
 called upon him to define his position upon the " Maine Law." 
 His reply was satisfactory to his constituents not less than to 
 himself. He said, " I am for the law, but against its enforce- 
 ment." 
 
 Now, sir, that is precisely my position upon your " five-minute 
 rule." It is a good one, as a rule, but to apply it to the individual 
 who shall attempt to do justice to the sentiment which you ask 
 me to respond to is simply to get a half-told tale, at best. 
 
 I regret, Mr. President, that there is so very little history of the 
 early business men of Barre. Prior to the commencement of 
 
REMARKS OF MR. JAMES W. JENKINS. 235 
 
 the present century there is next to none. It is evident, how- 
 ever, there were traders and mechanics here, good ones too, a 
 hundred years ago, but few, if any, now hving can recall their 
 names. Among the earliest now remembered were Cald- 
 well and Rainger, Abijah and Marshall S. Bigelow, Elijah Cald- 
 well, Oliver Brooks, Joseph Thayer, Moses Kendall, Ezra Baker, 
 and others down to about 1815 or 1817, when Mr. Benjamin 
 Clark left a long and reputable clerkship with Bowman and Pen- 
 niman in New Braintree, and settled upon the Plain in the 
 south part of our town. This location he soon left and came to 
 the centre. He was succeeded at the Plain by Harding P. 
 Woods from the same store in New Braintree, who also soon 
 followed Mr. Clark to the common, or centre, where each of 
 them established and maintained a flourishing, honorable, and 
 profitable business. Mr. Clark for a tim.e associated with him, 
 as a partner, from the same New Braintree store, Mr. Sampson 
 Wetherell, now, and ever since, of Petersham. With the exception 
 of this short copartnership, Mr. Clai^k was, I think, alone, and 
 is remembered by many of us present as a high-minded, square- 
 dealing merchant and dignified gentleman. 
 
 Mr. Woods formed, not long after he came to the common, a 
 partnership with Charles Lee, a son of the " old General," who 
 had served a clerkship with Mr. Jason Mixter at Hardwick, 
 This copartnership continued but a few years, Mr. Lee with- 
 drawing and Mr. Spencer Field succeeding, under the firm of 
 Woods & Field, to which were added, as they grew to it from 
 time to time, two or more of the sons of Mr. Woods, and the 
 firm of Woods, Field, & Co. became and long continued a strong, 
 enterprising, well conducted and highly successful concern. 
 
 Mr. Lee, after his dissolution with Mr. Woods, spent a year or 
 so as a clerk in Boston ; then returned to Barre, bought the 
 stock and business of Mr. Clark, and, with his brother Artemas, of 
 Templeton, established the firm of Charles Lee & Co. This 
 firm continued several years, until E. W. Prouty was added to 
 the firm, and it took the name of Lee, Prouty, & Co., and so con- 
 tinued until 1S34, when Artemas Lee and Mr. Prouty withdrew 
 their connection, and a new firm of Charles Lee and J. W. Jen- 
 kins, Jr., was formed, under the firm-name of Lee & Jenkins. 
 To this copartnership was afterwards added two of their clerks, 
 
236 BARRE CENTENNIAL. 
 
 viz., Clark S. Bixby and Lyman E. Sibley. After their admission, 
 the firm became Lee, Jenkins, & Co., and as such continued until 
 January, 1S40, when Mr. Lee was lost on board the steamer 
 " Lexington " in Long Island Sound, on his way from New York 
 to Boston. This firm was succeeded by Jenkins, Gorham, & Co., 
 and so continued until 1852, when it was dissolved, and the mem- 
 bers retired. 
 
 The firms of Woods, Field, & Co., and Lee, Jenkins, & Co., 
 — without enumerating the different changes in their firms, — 
 I shall be pardoned for saying were equal to the emergency of 
 the times, opened new business, perfected the system of market- 
 ing farmers' produce, entered extensively into the manufacture of 
 palm-leaf hats and hoods, and sold an unprecedented amount of 
 goods through a large circuit of towns in this section of the State. 
 Both concerns felt themselves well officered and strongly manned, 
 with sufficient means to keep heavy stocks of goods, and to main- 
 tain a long and unremitting competition to the end, both claiming 
 the mastery, which really neither of them achieved over the other. 
 
 Many before me have not forgotten the sleepless energy with 
 which these two firms sought to increase and widen the bounds 
 of their trade, or the long line of farmers' wagons loaded with 
 the produce of the farms, chiefly cheese and pork, on alternate 
 Saturday mornings ; the merriment and expedition with which 
 it was received, weighed, and reloaded upon the string of team 
 wagons for market, and the occasional good cheer of some of the 
 famous market-men of that day (a few of whom only are left), 
 familiarly known at both ends, and middle too, of the line as 
 " Uncle Jack," " Uncle Jotham," " Capt. Jim," " Capt. David," 
 "Jason," "Allen," "Mr. David," and so on to the end. Now, 
 Mr. President, the " prohibitory law " was not then known, so 
 any marked temperance observable in these men at that time 
 could not have been justly ascribed to its influence. 
 
 Mr. Lee died, as before stated, at forty-two years of age, in the 
 prime of a useful and highly successful business life. Mr. Woods 
 died in 1S67, at seventy-three years of age, leaving a large fam- 
 ily to enjoy the benefits of his good name and ample fortune. 
 Mr. Clark, of whom I have before spoken, after selling his busi- 
 ness to Mr. Lee, completed the construction of the first cotton 
 factory of any note in this section of the State, long known as 
 
REMARKS OF MR. JAMES W. JENKINS. 237 
 
 Clark's factory, now Smithville. This nearly unaided enterprise 
 was heroically carried to completion by Mr. Clark, — I am sorry 
 to add, at the cost to him of a large part of the very snug fortune 
 with which he commenced the long-cherished scheme. After 
 selling his remaining interest, about 1833 he went West, invested 
 his means with great care and wisdom, and is, I believe, now 
 living in Central Illinois, a highly respected and deservedly wealthy 
 gentleman. 
 
 These, with many others more or less known, whom your 
 memories will readily supply, comprise the men who did their 
 full share in giving a good business reputation to our town. And 
 here, Mr. President, I cannot, in justice, omit calling to mind some 
 others, natives or adopted sons of the town, of marked fame in 
 this and other places. First, Horatio Gates, to whom the Orator 
 of the day has done ample justice ; Col. Artemas Lee, late of 
 Templeton, a successful, widely-known, thorough-going, far-seeing 
 aspirant for power and fortune ; Ezra Baker, who, though less fort- 
 unate in the acquisition of worldly wealth than many of his con- 
 temporaries, was, nevertheless, highly so in securing to himself a 
 reputation for honesty and fidelity to principle unsurpassed in this 
 or any other community. From his store and training went the late 
 Charles F. Hovey, who started and carried to full success in Bos- 
 ton the largest retail dry-goods store in New England. In that 
 enterprise Mr. Hovey was largely and ably aided by two natives 
 of our town, who with others continue the same firm of C. F. 
 Hovey & Co. ; viz., Henry Woods and Samuel P. Mandell. In 
 their hands the house will continue to enjoy its well-earned repu- 
 tation. Nor are these all " of our boys" who have sought and 
 found homes and success in Boston. There are three, at least, 
 from the store of Lee, Jenkins, & Co., viz., Clark S. Bixby, 
 Lyman E. Sibley, and Col. Henry R. Sibley. The latter has told 
 you his story of the Rebellion, and told it well too. It is enough 
 here to say of all of them, that their success has not disappointed 
 the expectations of their friends here, nor have their good char- 
 acters failed of appreciation in their new holmes, where two of 
 them still reside. Mr. Bixby died a few years ago (after giving 
 four sons public education) lamented, and his memory is esteemed 
 by all who knew him. 
 
 Qiiite early in the century, Capt. Seth Pratt conceived the idea 
 
238 BARRE CENTENNIAL. 
 
 of utilizing the waters of Wai'e river by a canal, some half a mile, 
 into an artificial pond (making his levels with milk-pans), and 
 established a grain and saw mill ; also then, or soon after, erected 
 a " clothier's mill " for finishing " homespun " from the wheels 
 and looms of the busy women of that day. 
 
 This enterprise was a success achieved under great disadvan- 
 tages, and made the " Plains " a place of note, as a business point, 
 for a long time, and the town largely his debtor. All honor to 
 the memory of the De Witt Clinton of that time ! 
 
 The business so started by Capt. Pratt has been continued by 
 son and son-in-law, Phineas Heywood and grandson, Seth Pratt 
 Heywood, until within a short time, and is now a leading interest 
 to the south part of the town. But, Mr. President, I can't stop, 
 but must after simply alluding to Smithville, and the eminent 
 success of John Smith and his two sons, its owners and operators ; 
 of Dennyville, the founders and various operators from Hiram 
 Wadsworth to the present owner ; of the Rices, Earl and Charles, 
 the pioneers in building farm wagons and more finished family 
 vehicles ; Paul and Benjamin, early and long-continued scythe 
 manufacturers ; the valuable and enterprising foundry and ma- 
 chine works of Stephen Heald & Sons, to its owners a success, 
 to its founder honor, to the town a Godsend ; and I might go on, 
 but a nod is sufficient, and I will finish at our next celebration 
 of this event if allowed to be present. 
 
 XVII. Palm Leaf: In its various forms and developments it has 
 proved a staple of great value for the productive industry and extensive 
 enterprise of Barre, and been to her citizens a mine of wealth. 
 
 REMARKS OF HON. GEORGE M. BUTTRICK. 
 
 It is some less than fifty years since the first palm leaf was 
 imported into this country by Mr. Perrin, of Boston. Mr. Perrin 
 had a few hats braided as an experiment, which proved both 
 practicable and pro^table. 
 
 Soon after, Mr. Sampson Wetherell, a merchant of Petersham, 
 and an enterprising firm in Barre, Messrs. H. P. Woods and 
 Spencer Field, commenced the manufacturing of palm-leaf hats 
 on a small scale. The goods having a ready sale, they immedi- 
 
REMARKS OF REV. MR. BOND. 239 
 
 atel}' enlarged the business. Other parties engaged in it, till it 
 increased to such an extent that they were manufactured by the 
 hundred thousand dozens yearly. About forty years ago a bonnet, 
 known as the " Shaker Hood," was woven from the palm leaf, 
 which was in great demand and a financial success. 
 
 The business increased from year to year until at one time in 
 this town alone there were five firms, each employing from thirty 
 to one hundred girls and from ten to fifty men, while the families 
 engaged in braidin'g the hats and weaving the sheets for the 
 hoods in Barre and vicinity could be numbered by the thousands. 
 All the business done in palm leaf in this country has been 
 confined to Western Massachusetts, a part of New Hampshire, 
 and the eastern portions of Vermont. 
 
 Probably the whole business never exceeded much over one 
 million dollars per annum. Barre seemed to be the head-quarters 
 or great centre of trade, as there were more hoods made, hats 
 bought, pressed, finished and furnished for the market here, than 
 from any other town. It was for several years the largest busi- 
 ness done in the place. 
 
 The President. — I see on the platform a gentleman 
 who, during his residence here, made many friends, and 
 you, I know, would be glad to hear his voice once more, 
 and especially on this occasion. I introduce the Rev. Mr. 
 Bond. 
 
 remarks of rev. mr. bond. 
 
 I may truly say, my friends, that I am now called upon unex- 
 pectedly, and, though, at this late hour, I am unwilling not to be 
 heard since the opportunity is given. I have not the right as a na- 
 tive of this town to speak to you ; but as one who was adopted, 
 was received cordially and kindly treated, I will say to you that 
 the dearest recollections of my life are those connected with this 
 blessed town of Barre, for here I spent perhaps the most inter- 
 esting period of any man's life. Here were born to me two of 
 my children ; would to God they were here to-day to witness the 
 interesting services of these hours, and I can only imperfectly 
 represent them. Nothing pleases me more, my friends, than the 
 few words which were uttered to-day by your Orator, when, 
 
240 BARRE CENTENNIAL. 
 
 referring to his own dear father, he aHuded to the words which 
 I was called to speak after that dear old man was gone from us, 
 no more to be in our midst. No words uttered here to-day have 
 touched me so closely as those words the son of my friend Dr. 
 Thompson said ; and, as I have often said, nothing made me love 
 your good old town as our good old Dr. Thompson, with whom 
 I was so closely connected, he who always treated me with such 
 kind and tender consideration. How well I remember the very 
 words with which he always closed his correspondence, " In the 
 beauty and grace of the Lord " ! My friends, I can say but a few 
 words more to you. When called upon to leave you, I went to a 
 distant town, to a distant field of labor ; after a few years to a more 
 distant field in the West ; and since then I have wandered from East 
 to West, and yet, amid the most distant scenes, old Barre would 
 come to my mind with its dear associations. How delighted I 
 have always been to think of them ! and now, as I go soon to a 
 new field of labor, — for with you who were my friends, I cannot 
 help giving you a little of my personal history, — I am bound 
 for a new kind of work in a new field, that great State of Colo- 
 rado, to labor among that class of people who are socially de- 
 graded, but who have been too much despised, and hope to be, 
 under God, able to do some little to elevate and to civilize 
 and convert to Christianity the Indian. I expect to spend a few 
 years with them, and when I go there, — as in other places where 
 I have been, — the dear recollections of Barre shall go with me. 
 Oh ! if any thing has been done in my past life to prepare me for 
 such a work as that in which I shall shortly engage, it is the 
 interest which was awakened by my first living among you, when 
 I here consecrated myself, in that old church which you will 
 remember, to the service of Almighty God. I recall those days. 
 I recall all the days in my experience with these dear friends, 
 whose faces I have recognized here to-day ; and let me say that 
 it is with mingled pain and pleasure that I have looked over 
 these faces, because, seeing some, I remember others who are not 
 here, and, of many of those whose faces are distinct to me, I find 
 it is difficult to recall the names. And then, again, there may be 
 some of you who have changed their names, and therefore, if I 
 should happen to make a mistake and call you by the name 
 which you used to be known by in your childhood, why, of course, 
 
REMARKS OF HON. GINERY TWICHELL. 24I 
 
 you will not wonder at it. God bless this good old town ! I was 
 born in Boston, but Barre has dearer associations for me even 
 than Boston. I was surprised, yea, not surprised. A man may 
 remember the delights of his childhood, but when he becomes a 
 man he takes upon himself the work of a man, and desires in 
 his sphere, whatever it may be, to do his work faithfully, and 
 when he consecrates himi^elf to this work is the interesting period. 
 Friends, I thank you for thus listening to me, and only wish I 
 could more fitly, and with more satisfaction to myself, utter the 
 thoughts that come to my heart at this hour. I shall remember 
 you, and I trust that you will remember me. 
 
 REMARKS OF HON. GINERY TWICHELL. 
 
 Mr. President^ — You have no right to call upon me at this 
 late hour or on this occasion. I have spoken for Barre for forty- 
 four years, and I should be glad to speak again. I intend to 
 speak again for Barre if I live long enough. Sir, in the remarks 
 of your Orator to-day he has compared Barre with other towns 
 with regard to education, with regard to schools. It has been 
 thrown in my face hundreds of miles from Barre that the good 
 old town was selling her school-houses at auction. Let those 
 gentlemen come here and listen, or let them read that address, 
 and they will be better convinced that they were entirely mis- 
 taken than they were by what I could say in defence of it. I 
 had hoped, sir, in speaking of the press here thi« afternoon, that 
 the Barre press would have been spoken for. I remember, sir, 
 and some of my friends well remember, when Charles C. P. 
 Thompson came here and established the " Farmer's Gazette." 
 I remember that, because I aided Mr. Thompson to forward his 
 enterprise, I was discharged from the place where I was work- 
 ing for twelve dollars a month. The old " Spy," that has been 
 alluded to to-day, let me tell you, stood in the way. The propri- 
 etor of the Barre stage was bringing the "Spy" here, and the 
 " Barre Gazette," if it was established, would interfere with it. 
 It was established, and I was reinstated. 
 
 I remember the old church here. I should be glad if I had 
 time to dwell upon some of these interesting landmarks here to- 
 day. I remember the old church ; the old figures of" 1790" upon 
 
 31 
 
242 BARRE CENTENNIAL. 
 
 it ; the old square pews ; and that everybody in the town went 
 there, square men, square women, to occupy those pews. I re- 
 member that some of them wanted to get up a little higher, and 
 so went up onto the hill and built the little brick church, — the 
 Evangelical. I remember what became of it, and what use it was 
 put to afterwards. I remember when they came down to the 
 common and put their church near tlie other old one. I have 
 seen to-day, and I don't intend to detain you longer than to say 
 that those churches to-day are united by a rope with the Union 
 flag hung half way between them. You have gained something 
 by calling your people together, by opening your hearts, by bring- 
 ing your singers here from all the churches, by your ministers all 
 taking part. You are coming back to old times. I remember 
 that your minister preached to the whole people here for twenty- 
 five years. I remember exactly when you separated, and what 
 impressions were made upon me. And in some respects it did 
 some good for you to go 3'our own way. You have had your own 
 way, but, after all, you never had a better man, I know you will 
 all say it ; and there never was a better son than the Orator that 
 you have brought here ; there never was a better oration ; and 
 let every man and every woman subscribe for it, and come here 
 if you live out tlie end of this century. 
 
 In extending the courtesies of the occasion, the Com- 
 mittee voted that an invitation be extended to each of the 
 adjoining towns to be represented in their municipal capac- 
 ity, to which they all responded, and the appointment of 
 Delegates was as follows : — 
 
 From Rittla7td^ — Hon. J. Warren Bigelow. 
 
 „ Oakliam^ — Jesse Allen, Esq. 
 
 „ New Brahitree, — Benj. F. Hamilton. 
 
 „ Hardivick^ — Constant Southworth, Esq. 
 
 „ Dana, — Hon. L. M. Johnson. 
 
 „ Petersham, — Deacon Cephas Willard. 
 
 „ PhilUpston, — Mr. Henry S. Miner. 
 
 ,, Hubbardston, — Deacon Andrew Gleason. 
 
 Sentiments in recognition of each were oflered, and the 
 responses are herewith presented : — 
 
RExMARKS OF MR. HENRY S. MINER. 243 
 
 1st. Rutland : Our mother, or our elder sister ! Though she was 
 willing we should set up house-keeping four years and nine months before 
 our guardian thought we were capable, we bear her no malice on that 
 account, but welcome her representative here to-day right heartily. 
 
 Mr. BiGELOW responded from written notes, with great 
 appropriateness, and we regret that his modesty prevents 
 our making permanent his remarks. 
 
 2d. Hubbardston : Named in honor of a Speaker of the House of 
 Representatives. A younger sister, though, as frequently happens, she 
 was settled in life first. Her citizens usually speak by their deeds, 
 though many also talk well. We rejoice in her prosperity, — welcome 
 her here to-day, — and will listen to her speaker. 
 
 Deacon Gleason had returned home. 
 
 3d. Oak/iafn : Her territory smaller and her population less than her 
 sister towns of old '* Naquag." If her soil is less productive than that of 
 her sister towns, from the character of her citizens is she well entitled to 
 the right hand of fellowship and the cordial greeting we give her to-day. 
 
 Her Representative did not answer to the call upon him. 
 
 4th. A'i'w Braintree : Pioneer town in the production of superior 
 new milk cheese. The grazing lands on her hill-sides and the herds feed- 
 ing there have been a source of profit and admiration. All honor to the 
 industry, skill, and science of New Braintree farmers. May their pros- 
 perity continue to increase as the years go by. 
 
 Mr. Hamilton, too, failed to be heard from. 
 
 5th. Dana: If the products of her soil are not as large as those in 
 some of her sister towns, she raises men such as no town need be ashamed 
 of, and knows how to avail herself of them. 
 
 To this there was no response, the Delegate having left. 
 
 6th. Phillipsio7t : As " Gerry," for some years she honored a dis- 
 tinguished representative in the Congress of the United States, but, fol- 
 lowing our example, when her patron, by the famous " Gerry Mandamus " 
 Act, lost his popularity in the State, she cast his name aside, and took a 
 longer, if not a better, one. She recognizes merit, under whatever name 
 it comes, and knows a good farmer, though he be called " Miner." 
 
 REMARKS OF MR. HENRY S. MINER. 
 
 I supposed it was generally known among all present that the 
 town of Gerry had lost her good honest name and taken to herself 
 
244 BARRE CENTENNIAL. 
 
 a better one. We have been told by a gentleman here present, 
 and it has been said for the last twenty-five years, that tlie farmer 
 is to be the coming man. We have watched very closely, but, 
 somehow or other, he fails to put in an appearance. In response 
 to your last sentiment, I hardly know how to answer; but I will 
 say to all present, whether they are mining for gold, for pleasure, 
 for profit, for reputation, if they are only true miners they will 
 never be ashamed of their calling. In closing, let me give this 
 sentiment, — 
 
 "The good old farming town of Barre. May her acres always be as 
 pleasant to look upon as they are here to-day. May she never grow 
 brown with age, and may her trees and shrubs continue to put forth the 
 choicest blossoms, till the old town shall blossom like the rose." 
 
 yth. Ha7'divick : Formerly " Lamb's town," from one of its original 
 proprietors, Joshua Lamb. With a good hardy soil, a reliable, industrious 
 population, thriving manufacturing villages, and convenient railroad 
 facilities, it may look forward to a future of increased prosperity when the 
 Massachusetts Central Railroad shall have fulfilled its promises. 
 
 REMARKS OF MR. CONSTANT SOUTHWORTH. 
 
 Mr. President, — Before you stands Hardwick, a true repre- 
 sentative of her rough exterior, and as you see, by these whitened 
 locks, about thirty-six years the senior of her sister Barre. A 
 rough though matronly old lady as I am, I think I have quite a 
 respectable family of sons and daughters, besides some adopted 
 little ones, nestling in my bosom, yet to my younger sister as 
 these thousands of upturned faces demonstrate, I must award the 
 palm of having been much more prolific in her progeny. Though 
 the homestead of myself and sister may be about equal in acreage, 
 yet I freely confess that the younger has outstripped me in pro- 
 ducing milk, bread, and butter for our little ones ; and her children 
 — pesky, smart fellows — have outstripped mine in the manufacture 
 of most things that go to make up the comforts of the family, — such 
 as head-gears and foot-gears, and cottons for shirts and chemises, 
 and in things substantial and ornamental, in knick-knacks and 
 gew-gaws, in brag and in gas, I confess that I retire behind the 
 scenes. This young sister also excels me in the number of her 
 merchants, artisans, mechanics, doctors, lawyers, and, I guess, in 
 
REMARKS OF DEACON CEPHAS WILLARD. 245 
 
 ministers and church spires ; but more especially does she excel 
 my children in gentleme7t loafers. But, Mr. President, when you 
 come down to the solid things of this world, such as rocks and 
 stones and uncouth places in nature; when the children of this 
 young sister talk of petticoats and flannels, of stud-horses and 
 bull-fights ; when they talk of stormy town meetings and of sledge- 
 hammer oratory, why, sir, my children can beat the children of 
 this younger sister all hollow. 
 
 And now, sir, this old lady gives out this very promising hope 
 (wiiat a consoler this little word "hope" is!), that the Central 
 Railroad will, on or before the 17th day of June, a.d. 19741 have 
 fulfilled all its promises. Now, Mr. President, one very wise 
 prophecy in relation to this vital enterprise, and this old lady 
 retires from public view. We shall see iv/iat ive do see. 
 
 8th. Petersham : As " Nichewaus:," the honre of the Indians, — as the 
 volunteer town, " where the defenders of the colony received compensa- 
 tion for services rendered," — and as the place where the famous Shay's 
 rebellion made its last public appearance, — its record is lofty as is its situ- 
 ation ; and if its hills are too high for railroads to climb, the hardy virtues 
 of a New England town may thrive better out of the reach of the " Iron 
 Horse." 
 
 The venerable and highly esteemed citizen of Petersham, 
 Deacon Cephas Willard, had been appointed by Select- 
 men to represent the town, and his prepared speech was as 
 follows : — 
 
 REMARKS OF DEACON CEPHAS WILLARD. 
 
 Mr. Chairman., — It may be conceded as the privilege of old 
 age to be excused from any attempt at oratory on an occasion so 
 important, and attracting so large and interested an assembly, as 
 the present; and yet, appearing here by the request of my fel- 
 low-townsmen as their representative, to express now and here 
 those sentiments of friendly and neighborly esteem, sympathy, and 
 good-will which have ever so happily subsisted without inter- 
 ruption between the two towns and their inhabitants from their 
 first planting, and their sincere and heart-felt congratulations on 
 this Memorial Centennial day, which has called together from 
 near and afar the natives and friends of your honored and pros- 
 
246 BARRE CENTENNIAL. 
 
 perous town, I beg to be allowed to put in writing what I feel 
 myself unequal to express formally in an oral address, with the 
 request that it may be obligingly read from the cfiair. 
 
 In reply to the sentiment just read, I will say, that the allusion 
 in it to "Nichewaug" as "the home of the Indians" is so far 
 justified, that the township did originally contain in its southern 
 part a small settlement of the aborigines, of whom, however, we 
 have but few traditions; yet these all testify to the friendship and 
 good-will with which they looked upon the early settlers of the 
 town. The "horrors of Indian hostility" were never known 
 here; and the reason is probably found in a fact, which I believe 
 is undisputed, that the first inhabitants of Nichewaug honorably 
 paid the Indian proprietors a fidl equivalent for the lands on 
 ■which they settled. I myself well remember a slight incident in 
 point. I heard, when a boy, Captain Joseph Stevens, one of the 
 first settlers of Nichewaug, relate to my mother that he was 
 once out gunning with Edward Baker ; and finding no game, they 
 fired at a mark, setting up a hat in the knot-hole of a fallen tree. 
 The hat was riddled so effectually as to render it useless. All at 
 once two Indians, who had concealed themselves, made their 
 appearance. But instead of any unfriendly interference, they 
 good-naturedly inspected the riddled target, exclaiming, with 
 some warmth, " Good shot! Good shot!" When, afterwards, 
 the Indians were inquired of why they permitted Baker and 
 Stevens to go away without injury, they replied, that they were 
 not enemies to the people of Nichewaug, for the}' had fairly 
 bought their land and paid them for it. 
 
 The friendly allusion you have made to Nichewaug as the 
 " volunteer town " allows me to state the fact, in explanation 
 of this cognomen, that the original petitioners and proprietors of 
 the town were what have been known as " Lovel's Men," volun- 
 teers in the long-famed expedition to Lake VVinnipisseogee, which 
 has since been known as "■ Level's Fight." 
 
 As regards the " last appearauce " of the Shay's rebellion, I 
 may be permitted to say of that event, that I was present on the 
 occasion, not indeed " bearing anns," but rather " borne in arms," 
 being at the time about nine weeks old. For Shay's men had 
 forcibly occupied my father's house, and passed the night there ; 
 and were eagerly awaiting their breakfast when they descried 
 
REMARKS OF DEACON CEPHAS WILLARD. 247 
 
 the soldiers of Lincoln's army marching up the hill. So quickly 
 did they disperse, that they not only left their breakfast to be 
 eaten by the loyal Lincoln men, but one man left behind his 
 musket, which he never returned to reclaim. This was after- 
 wards sold by my brother for the sum of six dollars. I may add, 
 that I had a brother in Lincoln's army, who marched with it 
 from Hadley on that memorable night. 
 
 Your complimentary notice of Nichewaug, or Petersham, as 
 lofty in its " record " " as its situation," does us honor ; while, if 
 we are indeed " too high for railroads to climb," we are yet not 
 wholly excluded and cut off from those great channels of swift 
 communication with which modern improvement has more 
 directly benefited your own and so many more favored towns. 
 We are in these " fast times" but a single hour behind our neigh- 
 bors, and have only to rise an hour earlier than they ; while we 
 can readily hear, at five or six miles distant, the whistle of tlie 
 " iron horse," and even feel the tremulous jar of rumbling trains 
 through the solid crust of our frost-bound hills. Happily our 
 remoteness and exclusion from the immediate benefits of railway 
 travel are not without compensation, in promoting the social 
 intercourse of our people, and fostering the higher interests of 
 domestic virtue and religion, of order and good morals. Our pure 
 mountain air is as eagerly sought by the invalids of crowded cities 
 as by those in quest of healthful retirement and summer recreation 
 amidst the attractive scenes of natural beauty which surround us, 
 and to whose attractions our friendly neighboring towns so gener- 
 ously contribute. 
 
 But pardon, Mr. Chairman, this display of egotism in behalf of 
 my native town, into which your complimentary notice of it has 
 betrayed me. After all vain boasting, it must be confessed we 
 have never been as successful as you, either in "running" fac- 
 tories or newspapers, a railroad, or even a hotel. 
 
 But this h your Memorial-day, not ours. Its honors all belong 
 to you, not us. Yet we of Petersham may greet it, and share its 
 memories and hopes all the more warmly in view of the happy 
 concord and friendly harmony which have marked so uniformly 
 the relations of both towns, — never, I believe, either as corpora- 
 tions or individuals, disturbed by unhappy strife or altercation. 
 We have ever looked without envy, rather with friendly sympathy 
 
248 BARRE CENTENNIAL. 
 
 and pride, upon the enterprise, growth, prosperity, and increas- 
 ing importance of our persevering and public-spirited neighbors. 
 The success they have won is a deserved one. 
 
 And^now, on the threshold of a new century, we heartily bid 
 you God speed, hoping that by the wise forethought of man, and 
 the blessing of Almighty God, the days to you may never come 
 -when it may with justice be said, " Truly the former days were 
 better than these." 
 
 Permit me, Mr. Chairman, in conclusion, to present, in behalt 
 of my fellow-townsmen, the sentiment following: — 
 
 Barre and Petersham : One and inseparable in the happy fellowsliip of 
 the past. May the beautiful chain of hills which form the common bounds 
 of both be the enduring symbol and pledge of like unbroken friendship in 
 the future ! 
 
 REMARKS OF MR. JAMES W. BROOKS. 
 
 J[fr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen, — I had a great many 
 things I wanted to say to-day, but I am aware that this is a family 
 gathering, and that every moment belongs to you, that no outsider 
 should impose on the moments that are left; but I cannot let 
 Petersham go by without saying one word. And I want to have 
 a fling at your Orator for the comparisons he made in his address. 
 I have come down here to witness the general glorification of 
 Barre, and I shall simply tell you a story of a gathering, said to 
 have taken place on the continent of Europe, one fourth of July, 
 of Americans. They assembled, and asked one of the most dis- 
 tinguished of their number to preside. He takes his place, 
 alludes to the transactions taking place across the Atlantic, says 
 the appropriate thing that should have been said, but which I 
 have no time to repeat here, and finally closes with a toast to the 
 United States, — 
 
 " Bounded on the north by Canada, on the south by the Gulf of Mexico, 
 on the east by the Atlantic, and on the west by the Pacific Oceans." 
 
 Up gets number Two, and says: " Mr. President, I am not satis- 
 fied, sir, as I contemplate that glorious country of ours, to have 
 our limits set by the geographical proportion you have set to her 
 to-day. Let me give you the United States, — 
 
LETTER OF NATHAN ALLEN. 249 
 
 "Bounded on the north by the North Pole, on the south by the ant- 
 arctic circle, on the east by the rising and on the west by the setting sun." 
 
 Up got number Three ; I never knew his name before, but dur- 
 ing the day I have discovei'ed that it must have been a son of 
 Barre. Number Three says : " Mr. President, I have listened, 
 sir, with feelings of the profoundest patriotism, to-day to all that 
 has been said, and sir, if your successor had been content to have 
 left matters where you left them, I should have remained silent; 
 but, sir, when he disregarded the geographical limits of the United 
 States and endeavored to give you her real proportions, why did 
 he stop where he did? Sir, I see the American Eagle standing 
 on Colonel Robinson's hill, her broad tail stretching out over 
 Canada, her mighty beak reaching out over the states of Mexico 
 and Central and South America, and let me give you the United 
 States, — 
 
 " Bounded on the north by the aurora borealis, on the east by infinite 
 chaos, on the south by the precession of the equinoxes, and on the west 
 by the day of judgment." 
 
 Number Four did not get up, but after what your Orator has 
 said of Barre, it is not for me to say any thing for Petersham. I 
 share in your delight to-day. You have a right to be proud of 
 the years gone by. God bless you in those to come. 
 
 The Committee are very glad to give place to the follow- 
 ing letter, and regret that the audience were deprived of 
 the pleasure of listening to its distinguished author: — 
 
 LETTER OF NATHAN ALLEN. 
 
 To the Committee on the Centennial Celebration of Barre. 
 
 Gentlemen, — Being present at your celebration, by invita- 
 tion, with the expectation of responding to a sentiment, and being 
 prevented from so doing for want of time, I send you some items 
 which may, perhaps, be deemed worthy of publication in its pro- 
 ceedings. The Historian of the day, in giving sketches of the early 
 settlers, " stated that about 1750 there came two brothers from 
 
 32 
 
250 BARRE CENTENNIAL. 
 
 Sudbury, Jonathan and Nehemiah Allen, settling in the western 
 part of the town. Jonathan Allen brought from Sudbury on his 
 horse forty apple-trees, from which in the course of years many 
 orchards sprung." This Jonathan Allen, my grandfather, came 
 here soon after he was twenty-one, cleared a small patch of land 
 and budt a log-cabin, and, after spending two years in preparing 
 his land for cultivation and making other preparations, he returned 
 to Sudbury for a companion. In addition to the apple-trees, he 
 took back with him a young wife, and they lived on this same 
 place between sixty and seventy years, he dying at the age of 92, 
 and his wife at 87. They had six children, whose average age at 
 death was So. Nehemiah Allen had ten children, who reached 
 at death these remarkable ages : 96, 96, 95, 92, 92, 84, 82, So, So, 
 and 7S, making an average age of Sj^ ! We doubt whether in 
 the whole history of New England there can be found another 
 such instance of so large a family all living to so great an age. 
 They were remarkably healthy, scarcely ever had any kind of sick- 
 ness, and several of them never had to call in a physician during 
 their whole lives. Good health, long life, and large families were 
 characteristic of the early settlers of Barre. These are marked 
 evidences that they originated {ro\n £"00 d stocky composed of the 
 best English blood, with an intermixture of Scotch and Irish. 
 
 By reference to the census, it shows the town increased rapidly 
 in population, which came, as a whole, we are confident, more 
 by additions from births than by immigration. In 1765, it had 
 734 inhabitants; in 1775, it had 1.329; and in iSoo, it had 1,937. 
 The town steadily increased every decade of years till 1850, when 
 it reached 2,976 inhabitants, and then began to decline till, in 1S70, 
 the census reports 2,572, — a loss of 404 persons. But within these 
 twenty years, there has been a large increase in dwelling-houses 
 and in the number of families. The town, as to outward appear- 
 ances, has at the present time the look of prosperity and thrift, 
 though it has not increased in population and business as other 
 places with better railroad facilities. Admitting that the town 
 has suffered in its growth for the want of railroad advantages, 
 this does not account satisfactorily for such a loss of population. 
 Perhaps a comparison of some of the "vital statistics" of the 
 place will throw light on this point. Ten years ago, a medical 
 
LETTER OF NATHAN ALLEN. 25 1 
 
 friend of the writer, while spending some months in Barre, made a 
 careful inspection of the records of the place as to family histories, 
 number of children, &c., and these are some of the results of his 
 inquiries. He found that the first settlers had on an average to 
 each family seven to eight children ; the second generation fell a 
 little short of this number; and the decrease steadily continued 
 through each generation till the present time, when scarce any 
 large families of children could be found. As one result of his 
 inquiries, he was confident that the average number of children 
 in the present generation to each married couple would not 
 exceed three, if it would over two. 
 
 Let us now see what the census itself reports on this point. 
 In 1765 and 1775, there is evidence to believe that more than 
 one half the inhabitants were at that time under fifteen years of 
 age, — that is, were children; but in 1S70, one hundred years 
 later, the census reports in the town, between five and fifteen 
 years of age, 394 persons, and the Registration Report, for 
 the five years prior to 1S70, gives 238 births. If we make the 
 usual allowance for deaths under five years of age (two-fifths), we 
 have in iS70only about 550 persons in Barre under 15 years of age. 
 Thus there are actually a less number of children now in the 
 town than there was one hundred years ago, when the place 
 was incorporated, and contained only half as many inhabitants. 
 Several speakers at this Centennial made pertinent allusions to 
 the next Centennial oi Barre. If there should continue the same 
 relative decrease of children with the three or four coming gener- 
 ations as there has been in the past one hundred years, the inquiry 
 naturally arises, who or what class of people will celebrate that 
 Centennial? Will they consist of the pure, genuine descendants 
 of the present stock, or be composed largely of a foreign element 
 or of a mixed class? 
 
 Let us take a look from another point of view. The State 
 Registration Reports of Births and Deaths puts Barre down as 
 follows for the last twenty years: Births in 1S53, 71; and in 
 1S72 (the last published), 39; showing a steady decrease almost 
 every year from 71 to 39. But not so of the deaths. From 1S50 
 to i860, the births slightly exceed the deaths, but from iS6o to 
 1S70, the deaths exceed the births by some forty. Whenever the 
 
252 BARRE CENTENNIAL. 
 
 death-rate exceeds the birth-rate of a people, and that difference 
 steadily increases for a series of years, it does not speak well for 
 their permanent interests and prosperity. For a healthy and 
 growing state of any community, the birth-rate must exceed the 
 death-rate from 20 to 30 per cent yearly. On account of Barre 
 being situated remote from railroads, — having but little manu- 
 facturing business, and its interests consisting principally in farm- 
 ing, — it has received only a small addition to its population from 
 a foreign source. But the probabilities. are that this element is 
 to increase here more and more. The probability, too, is, that 
 the young people of Barre, from their native enterprise, love of 
 adventure, and desire for improvement, will still continue to emi- 
 grate, as they have in past years. It is morally certain that the 
 future will witness changes in the population of the place ; but 
 just what these changes in numbers or character will be, it re- 
 quires a greater prophet than the writer to foretell. With the 
 following sentiment prepared for the Centennial, I close this hasty 
 communication : — 
 
 " Tlie first settlers of the town of Barre, — and tlieir descendants, com- 
 posed of a noble race, — may their stock ever be kept good not only in 
 numbers, but long perpetuated within the ancient domain ! " 
 
 Nathan Allen. 
 Lowell, July ist, 1874. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 ALPHABETICAL LIST OF PERSONS WHO HAVE HELD 
 TOWN OFFICES, OR SERVED ON IMPORTANT COM- 
 MITTEES, DURING THE CENTURY, AND THE RE- 
 SPECTIVE DATES. 
 
 Abbreviations. — S. M., Selectman. Ass'r, Assessor. Const., Constable. Mod., 
 Moderator. Sch. Com., School Committee. Del., Delegate. Rep., Representative. 
 Com., Committee. T. C, Town Clerk. T. T., Town Treasurer. 
 
 Adams, Austin F. S. M. 1871 and 1873. 
 
 Adams, Daniel. Const. 1780. 
 
 Adams, James. Ass'r, 1807 and 1827. Const. 18 12. On Sch. Com, 
 
 1806, 1807, 181 1, 1818, 1819, 1824, 1825, and 1826. Mod. five times. 
 Adams, Joel M. Const. 1872 and 1873. 
 Adams, Luke. S. M. 1833, 1834, and 1835. AssV, 1832. 
 Ainsworth, William F. S. M. 1849, ^^3°^ ^"d 185 1. 
 Aldrich, P. Emory. Del. to Constitutional Convention, 1853. 
 Allen, George E. S. M. 1866. 
 
 Allen, Charles G. S. M. 1872. Sch. Com. 1866, 1867, and 1868. 
 Allen, Horatio. Sch. Com. 1829. 
 Allen, John A. S. M. 1854. 
 Allen, Capt. John. S. M. 1799, 1805, 1806, 1807, 1808, 1809, and 1810. 
 
 Sch. Com. 1806 and 1807. Mod. four times. 
 Allen, Otis. Ass'r, 1815, 1823, 1826, 1827, 1828, 1837, 1839, and 1847. 
 
 S. M. 1840, 1841, and 1842. Rep. 1837 and 1838. On Sch. Com. 
 
 18 14. Mod. once. 
 Allen, Zebediah. S. M. 1785 and 1788. On Grievance Com. in relation 
 
 to Shay's Rebellion, Jan. i, 1787. On Com. to execute resolves 
 
 passed at Concord Convention, July 14, 1779. On Com. to hunt up 
 
 Stolen Ammunition, Nov. 27, 1786. 
 Andrews, H. P. On Sch. Com. 1853 and 1S54. 
 Avery, Samuel. Mod. in one town meeting. 
 
254 BARRE CENTENNIAL. 
 
 Babbitt, Pliney H. Ass'r, 1872 and 1873. Const. 1857, 1858, 1862, 1864, 
 
 1865, 1866, 1870, 1871, 1872, and 1873. Mod. sixteen times. 
 Babbitt, Samuel. Del. to Money Grievance Convention at Worcester, 
 
 second Tuesday in April, 1782. 
 Bacon, Daniel. Const. 1821, 1822, 1823, 1824, 1825, and 1826. Ass'r, 
 
 1824, 1825, 1829, 1830, 1831, 1837, 1840, 1842, 1845, 1846, and 1855. 
 
 Mod. five times. 
 Bacon, David. S. M. 1829, 1842, and 1847. Mod. once. 
 Baker, Ezra. T. T. 1819. 
 Barnaby, Joseph. Ass'r, 1808. 
 Barrett, Deacon Joseph. S. M. 181 1, 1812, 1813, 1814. Ass'r, 1815. 
 
 Sch. Com. 1818, 1819, 1821, and 1822. 
 Bassett, Isaac. On Sch. Com. 181 1. 
 Bassett, Samuel M. S. M. 1848. 
 Bates, Dr. Anson. T, T. 1813, 1814, 1815, 1816, and 1817. Sch. Com. 
 
 1826. 
 Bates, Dr. Joseph N. Sch. Com. 1855. 
 
 Bemis, Charles. S. M. 1838, 1839, 1840, 1841, and 1842. Mod. once. 
 Bemis, John. S. M. 1847, 1848, 1849, ^853, and 1854. 
 Bemis, Silas. S. M. 1820, 1821, and 1822. Sch. Com. 1821. 
 Bemis, Silas, Jr. Ass'r, 1845, 1846, 1832, 1853, 1854, 1859, i860, 1861, 
 
 1862, and 1863. 
 Bent, Joel. S. M. 1781, 1795, 1796, 1797, 1798, 1801, 1802, and 1803. 
 
 T. T. 1784, 1785, 1786, 1787, 1788, 1789, 1790. 1791. 1793, 1794, 1799, 
 
 and 1808. T. C. 1796, 1797, 1798, 1799, 1800, 1801, 1802, 1803. 
 
 1809, and 1810. Rep. 1801, 1802, 1803, and 1804. Ass'r, 1796, 1797, 
 
 and 1798. Mod. nineteen times. On Com. to enlarge Common and 
 
 draw a plan of new Meeting-house, May 8, 1785. On Com. to sell 
 
 pews, 1787 and 1788. On Com. on Embargo Petition. 
 Bigelow, Abijah. On Sch. Com. 1812. Mod. six times. 
 Bigelow, Charles. On Sch. Com. 1837. 
 Bigelow, Samuel. On Com. to act on division of County, May 2, 1796. 
 
 S. M. 1795, 1796, 1797, 1798, 1799, 1804, and 1805. Ass'r, 1799. 
 
 T. C. 1804, 1805, and 181 3. Mod. sixteen times. 
 Black, Archibald. S. M. 1830, 1831, and 1832. Rep. 1813 and 1831. 
 
 On Sch. Com. 1812. Del. to Althol Convention to divide County, 
 
 Dec. 16, 1810. Thanked for his services by vote. 
 Black, John. S. M. 1776, 1787, and 1788. Ass'r, 1776 and 1787. Rep. 
 
 1787, 1788, 1789, 1790, 1791, 1792, 1793, 1794, and 1796. On Com. of 
 
 Safety, 1776. On Com. to sell pews in proposed new Meeting-house, 
 
 1785. Added to Com. to estimate cost of material, April 8, 1786. 
 
 On Grievance Com. in relation to Shay's Rebellion, Jan. i, 1787. Del. 
 
 to Convention for acting on Constitution, second Wednesday in 
 
 January, 1788. , 
 
 Bond, Rev. Henry F. Sch. Com. 1846, 1848, and 1849. 
 
APPENDIX. 255 
 
 Boyden, Moses. Const. 1779. 
 
 Braman, Rev. W. A. On Sch. Com. 1855. 
 
 Brigham, Henry. S. M. 1787 and 1788. On Com. to lay out eight 
 
 School Districts, Jan. 28, 1790. 
 Brimblecom, Charles. S. M. 1857 and 1858. Sch. Com. 1850. Rep. 
 
 1857 and 1858. 
 Brimblecom, Samuel. Sch. Com. 1841, 1842, 1843, 1844, and 1845. 
 Brimhall, Samuel. On School Districting Committee, Jan. 25, 1790. 
 Broad, Joseph. On Sch. Com. 1818. 
 
 Broad, Willard, S. M. 1863. T. T. 1845, 1846, 1859, and i860. 
 Brooks, Dr. Ephraim. On Com. to enlarge Common and draw plan of 
 
 new Church, May 9, 1785. Sold half an acre of land to enlarge 
 
 Common, June 21, 1785. 
 Brooks, H. F. T. C. 1866, 1867, 1868, 1869, 1870, 1871, 1872, and 1873. 
 Brown, Dr. George. Sch. Com. 1854. Mod. twice. 
 Bryant, Walter A. Rep. 1845 and 1847. Mod. once. 
 Buckminster, John. Const. 1787 and 1788. 
 Buckminster, William. S. M. 1775. T. C. 1775. T. T. 1777. 
 Bullard, Rev. Amos. Sch. Com. 1844, 1845. 1846, 1847, and 1849. 
 Bullard, Samuel. One of the protestants against paying for hunting up 
 
 stolen ammunition, because Moses Smith, the Moderator, had not 
 
 sworn allegiance since engaging in Shay's Rebellion. 
 Bullard, Jonathan. T. T. 1783. On Com. to hunt up Stolen Ammunition. 
 Buttrick, George M, Rep. 1854. Mod. four times. 
 
 Caldwell, Elijah. S. M. 1799, 1800, i8or, 1802, 1803, 1804, 1806, 1807, 
 and 1808. Ass'r, 1808. Rep. 1805, 1806, 1807, and 1808. Mod. six 
 times. Del. to Convention at Rutland, Jan. 6, 1801. 
 
 Caldwell, George. Petitioner for a town meeting to act on Lord Howe's 
 proposals to consult with his Majesty's well-disposed subjects, Dec. 
 30, 1776. 
 
 Caldwell, John. S. M. 1775. Rep. 1775. Mod. once. Petitioner in 
 relation to Lord Howe's proposals. Chosen Const., March 5, 1781. 
 Said he would not qualify because he belonged to another depart- 
 ment. On Com. for new County, with Petersham for Shire, May 10, 
 1784. 
 
 Caldwell, Joseph. T. T. 1808. 
 
 Caldwell, Matthew. Petitioner on Lord Howe's proposals. 
 
 Caldwell, Major Seth. Protested against paying for hunting up stolen 
 ammunition. S. M. 1793 and 1794. Const. 1785, 1803, and 1804. 
 Sch. Com. 1800. On School Districting Committee, Jan. 25, 1790. 
 
 Caldwell, Seth. Ass'r, 1823, 1826, 1827, 1834, 1841, and 1849. Sch. 
 Com. 1818, 1819, and 1820. Mod. five times. On R. R. Com. to 
 aid Engineers, Oct. 11, 1845. 
 
 Caldwell, William, 3d. S. M. 1786, 1787, and 1788. T. C. 1788. Peti- 
 tioner on Lord Howe's proposals, Dec. 30, 1776. 
 
256 BARRE CENTENNIAL. 
 
 Carruth, James H. S. M. 1867 and 186S, 
 Carruth, William. Const. 1775. 
 Cate, Rev. George W. Sch. Com. 1848 and 1849. 
 Chandler, Josiah. Const. 1783. 
 
 Cliilds, Ebenezer. On Com. to prevent Monopoly, May 5, 1799. 
 Childs, Jonathan. Const. 1791. 
 Chipman, Ebenezer. S. M. 1781. 
 Clark, William. Const. 1786 and 1787. 
 Cleveland, Fred. M. Sch. Com. 1871. 
 Cobb, Edmond. Sch. Com. 1810, 1818, and 1821. 
 Crawford, William T. S. M. 1845. 
 Crocker, Nathaniel. Const. 1813. 
 
 Cummings, Daniel. Const. 1861, 1862, 1864, 1865, 1866, 1867, 1868, 1869, 
 1870, 1871, and 1873. 
 
 Dana, Rev. Josiah. Sch. Com. 1800. First Sch. Com. chosen. 
 
 Davis, James F. S. M. 1861, 1862, 1864, and 1865. Ass'r,' i860 and 
 
 i873. 
 Dean, Stephen. Sch. Com. 1812 and 1823. « 
 
 Demond, Israel. S. M. 181 r, 1812, 1813, and 1814. 
 Denham, Rev. George. Sch. Com. 1857 and 1858. 
 Dennis, Samuel B. S. M. 1843. 
 
 Eaton, Benj. Const. 1807. 
 
 Eaton, Deacon Jonas. S. M. 1789, 1790, 1791, and 1792. Ass'r, 1793. 
 
 Sch. Com. 1800. 
 Eaton, Jonas, Jr. S. M. 1806, 1807, 1808, 1809, and 1810. T. C. 1806, 
 
 1807, and 1808. Ass'r, 1806. Mod. of one town meeting. 
 Eaton, M. D. S. M. 1843, 1844, 1845, 1855, 1856, 1866, 1867, and 1872. 
 
 Ass'r, 1849, 1850, and 18G6. Const. 1840 and 1841. Com. to aid 
 
 Engineers, Oct. 11, 1845. 
 Ellsworth, Henry. S. M. 1863. 
 Ellsworth, Samuel. S. M. 185 1, 1857, 1858, and 1859. 
 
 Farrar, Major Joseph. S. M. 1783, 1795, 1796, 1797, 1800, and 180 1. 
 Sch. Com. 1806. Ass'r, 1780, 1781, 1784, 1785, 17S6, 1787, 1790, 1791, 
 1794, 1795, 1799, 1801, and 1803. Sch. Dist. Com. Jan. 25, 1790. 
 
 Faulkner, Dwight. On Sch. Com. i860. 
 
 Fay, Rev. Saml. A. On Sch. Com. 1838 and 1839. 
 
 Felton, Benjamin. On Sch. Com. 1818, 1822, and 1834. 
 
 Felton, Moses H. S. M. 1828, 1829, and 1S36. Mod. twice. 
 
 Fessenden, Peter. S. M. 1776 and 1777. Const. 17S2. Com. of Safety, 
 1776. 
 
 Fessenden, Peter, Jr. On Sch. Com.. 1818. 
 
 Fisk, David. S. M. 1782. 
 
APPENDIX. 257 
 
 Fisk, Jason. On Sch. Com. 1807. T. T. 1797, 1798, 1800, and 1801. 
 Fisk, John. S. M. 1823, 1828. Sch. Com. 1820, 1821, 1822, and 1823. 
 Flagg, Earl. S. M. 181 1, 1812. Mod. one town meeting. 
 Freeman, Haskell. S. M. 1804, 1805, 1809, and 1810. Mod. three times. 
 Freeman, Luther. Const. 18 15. 
 
 Gates, Benjamin. Mod. of one town meeting. 
 
 Gates, Makepeace. S. M. 1782. Const. 1783. Com. to prosecute for 
 
 Monopoly, June 9, 1777. 
 Gibson, Amasa. Rep. 1864, 
 
 Goddard, J. Henry. Rep. 1861 and 1862. Mod. nine times. 
 Gorham, David. S. M. 1819. Sch. Com. 1814, 1818, and 1820. 
 Gorham, James A. S. M. 1868. 
 Gorham, J. Martin. Sch. Com. 1861, 1862, and 1867. 
 Gorham, Jason. Ass'r, 1852, 1853, and 1854. Rep. 1853. 
 Gorham, John. Sch, Com. 1S06, 1807, iSio, i8n, 1812, and 1819. 
 
 S. M. 1809, 1813, 1814, and 1815. Ass'r, 1805. 
 Green, Elijah. Sch. Com. 1814. 
 Grosvenor, Rev. Moses G. Sch. Com. 1833 and 1834. 
 
 Hamilton, Cheney. Ass'r, 1863. Const. 1867. 
 
 Hamilton, Samuel S. Ass'r, 1864, 1865, and 1866, S. M. 1S67, 1869, 
 1870, 1871, 1872, and 1873. 
 
 Hapgood, Artemas. S. M. 1820, 1821, 1822, and 1823. 
 
 Hapgood, Asa. Rep. 1777. Mod. five times. Del. to frame Constitu- 
 tion, Cambridge, Sept. i, 1779. 
 
 Harding, Abijah. S. M. 1780, 1787, 1793, 1794, 1798, 1799, 1801, and 
 1805. Ass'r, 1784, 1786, 1787, 1788, 1789, 1790, 1 791, 1792, 1793, 
 1794, 1795, 1796, 1797, 1798, 1799, 1800, 1801, 1802, 1803, 1809, 1810, 
 1813, and 1814. Rep. 1819. On Sch. Dist. Com. Jan. 25, 1790. 
 Sch. Com. 1807, 1811, and 1814. 
 
 Harding, Alpheus. S. M. 1854 and 1868. 
 
 Harding, Ohver. S. M. 1823, 1827, 1828, 1838, and 1839, Rep. 1821. 
 Sch. Com. 1823. 
 
 Harwood, Caleb. S. M. 1862. 
 
 Harwood, Daniel G. S. M. 1872 and 1873. 
 
 Harwood, George. S. M. 1850 and i860. 
 
 Harwood, Hiram S. Ass'r, 1856, 1857, and 1858. 
 
 Harwood, Peter. S. M. 181 1 and 1812. 
 
 Harwood, Peter, 2d. S. M. 1848. 
 
 Harwood, Simeon. S. M. 1833. 
 
 Harwood, Wilcut. S. M. 1828, 1829, 1834, 1835, 1840, 1843, 1844, and 
 1851. Mod. once. 
 
 Harwood, Wilcut, Jr. S. M. 1865, 1869, 1870, and 1871. 
 
 Haskell, Ebenezer. Const. 1791, 1792, 1793, and 1794. 
 
 33 
 
258 BARRE CENTENNIAL. 
 
 Hastings, Emory. Const. 1838, 1839, 1855, ^"d 1856. 
 
 Hastings, Timothy. S. M. 1780. Mod. once. Sch. Dist. Com. Jan. 25, 
 
 1790. 
 Hawes, Austin. S. M. 1864 and 1865. 
 Hawes, Dan. S. M. 1775, 1776, 1777, 1778, 1779, 1785. T. T. 1777, 
 
 1778, T779, 1780, 1781, 1782. On Sch. Dist. Com. Jan. 25, 1790. 
 
 Mod. three times. Const. 1783. On Com. to enlarge Common, June 
 
 21, 1785. On Com. to hunt up Stolen Ammunition, Nov. 27, 1786. 
 
 On Com. to remonstrate to General Court against a Loan by Bills 
 
 of Credit, Dec. 10, 1777. 
 Hawes, Estes. Ass'r, 1865. 
 Hawes, Jason. S. M. 1798 and 1805. Ass'r, 1812, 1813, and 1814. Sch. 
 
 Com. 1819. 
 Hawes, Jason W. S. M. 1854. 
 Hawes, Peletiah M. S. M. 1836. 
 Heald, Stephen. S. M. 1861 and 1862. 
 
 Hemenway, C. C. Sch. Com. i860, 1861, 1863, 1864, 1865, and 1868. 
 Henry, Adam. On Com. to prosecute for Monopoly, June 9, 1777. 
 Henry, John. On Com. to execute Concord Resolves to regulate Internal 
 
 Trade, July 14, 1779. 
 Henry, Miletus. Sch. Com. i860. S. M. 1S52 and 1853. 
 Henry, Samuel. Ass'r, 1809, 1810, iSii, and 1812. T. C. 1814. Const. 
 
 1 80 1 and 1802. 
 Henry, William. S. M. 1778, 1779, 1780, and 1785. T. C. 1778, 1779, 
 
 1780, and 1785. Ass'r, 1776, 1778, 1779, and 1783. Const. 1784. 
 
 Mod. once. Del. to Convention at Liecester for Relief of Public 
 
 Grievances, June 26, 1786. 
 Hinds, Corlis. Const. 1778. Com. of Safety, March 20, 1780. Com. on 
 
 Concord Resolves, July 14, 1779. Com. to prevent Monopolies, May 
 
 5, 1789. 
 Hinds, Cornelius. S. M. 1784. 
 Hinds, Ephraim. On Sch. Com. 1815 and 1816. 
 Hodges, Rev. Charles E. Sch. Com. 1852 and 1853. 
 Holbrook, Henry. Ass'r, 1839, 1841, 1850, and 1855. Mod. once. 
 Holden, Maj. James. Sch. Com. 1818. 
 Holden, Lieut. Josiah. Const. 1775. 
 Holden, Deacon Moses. Ass'r, 1782, 1809, 1810, and 181 1. Const. 1789, 
 
 1808, 1809, 1810, 181 1, 1812, 1814, and 1S18. 
 Holden, Rufus. S. M. 1824, 1825, and 1826. 
 
 Holden, Lieut. Thomas. Const. 1776. Com. on Concord Resolves, July 
 14, 1779. Petitioner for action on Lord Howe's proposals, Dec. 30, 
 1776. 
 Holland, Addison H. Ass'r, 1862. S. M. 1862, 1864, and 1865. Rep. 
 
 1866. 
 Holland, Hooper. S. M. 1837. 
 
APPENDIX. 259 
 
 Holland, James. S. M. 1802, 1803, and 1804. Ass'r, 1803, 1804, 1806, 
 
 1807, 1808, 1816, 1817, 1818, 1819, 1820, and 1821. Sell. Com. 1810, 
 
 1811, 1812, 1814, and 1818. 
 Holland, James, 2d. Ass'r, 1831, 1840, 1843, 1844, 1847, 1848, 1855, 1856, 
 
 1858, and 1859. S. M. 1836, 1850, and 1851. Rep. in 1842 and 1843. 
 
 Mod. of five town meetings. 
 Holland, Nath'l. E. Sch. Com. 1864, 1865, and 1866. 
 Holland, Capt. Nath. Ass. 1822, 1824, 1825, 1826, 1828, 1829, 1830, 
 
 1831, 1832, 1833, T834, 1835, 1836, 1842, 1851, 1857, 1861, 1863, 1864, 
 
 and 1865. S. M. 1837, 1838, 1839, 1840, 1845, and 1846. Sch. Com. 
 
 1818, 1819, 1820, 1821, 1822, 1823, and 1839. Rep- 1838 ^iid 1839. 
 Holmes, Rev. Lewis. Sch. Com. 185 1, 1852, and 1853. 
 Houghton, Henry S. Const. 1872 and 1873. 
 Houghton, Luke. T. T. 1833, 1834, 1835, 1836, 1837, 1839, 1843, 1844, 
 
 and 185 1. Rep. 1850. 
 Houghton, Nathaniel. S. M. 1819 and 1820. T. C. 1816 and 1817. 
 
 Rep. 1832 and 1833. Mod. seven times. T. T. 1820, 1821, 1822, 
 
 1823, 1824, 1825, and 1826. Sch. Com. 1815, 1816, 1817, 1818, 1819, 
 1820, 1824, 1825, 1826, and 1831. Del. to Boston to revise Consti- 
 tution, 1820. 
 
 Howe, David. Const. 1810 and 181 1. 
 
 Howe, Edmond. S. M. 1793, 1794, and 1797. Rep. 1797, 1798, 1799, 
 
 and 1800. Mod. nineteen times. On Com. to divide County, May 2, 
 
 1796. Del. to Templeton, May 6, 1799. 
 Howe, Nahum. Sch. Com. 1835. 
 Howland, Timothy. Sch. Com. 1818, 1820, and 1821. 
 
 James, Eleazer. T. T. 1802, 1803, 1804, 1805, 1806, 1807, 1809, 1810, 
 and i8r2. On Sch. Com. 1808, 1810, 181 1, 1816, 1817, 1818, 1822, 
 
 1824, and 1825. On Com. to petition President of U. S. about 
 Embargo previous to War of 18 12. Mod. of six town meetings. 
 
 Jenkins, Abraham. On Sch. Com. 1812. 
 
 Jenkins, Benjamin. Ass'r, 1778. Mod. twice. On Com, to execute Con- 
 cord Resolves regulating Internal Trade. 
 
 Jenkins, Capt. James W. Sch. Com. 1816, 1819, 1820, and 1823. Mod. 
 twice. 
 
 Jenkins, J. W., Jr. Rep. 1846 and 1869. S. M. 1872. Mod. twice. 
 
 Jenkins, Southworth. Del. to Convention at Petersham about new 
 County, Jan. 4, 1785. Com. to estimate cost of materials for new 
 Meeting-house, Dec. 5, 1785. One of protesters against paying for 
 hunting up stolen ammunition. 
 
 Jennison, Nathaniel. On Com. on Shay's Rebellion, Jan. i, 1787. Com. 
 to prosecute for Monopoly, June 9, 1797. Mod. twice. Del. to Con- 
 vention at Worcester on Impost Grievance, March 17, 1784. 
 
 Johnson, Hiram F. Const, i860. 
 
26o BARRE CENTENNIAL. 
 
 Jones, Ezra. T. T. 1775. Com. 1779. Mod. once. 
 
 Jones, Ezra, 2d. Const. 1830, 1831, and 1832. 
 
 Jones, Nath'l. Del. to Convention at Templeton on dividing County, 
 
 Nov. 6, 1800. Del. to Boston to revise Constitution, 1820. S. M. 
 
 1802, 1803, 1813, 1814, 1815, 1816, 1817, 1818, 1819, 1820, 1821, 1822, 
 
 1823, 1824, 1830, and 1831. Ass'r, 1804, 1805, 1812, 1820, and 1821. 
 
 Rep. 1809, 1810, 1812, 1813, 1814, 1815, 1816, and 1829. 
 
 Kelly, Joel. Sch. Com. 1812. 
 
 Kilburn, David. Sch. Com. 1846. 
 
 Kimball, Rev. M. G. Sch. Com. 1857. 
 
 King, Charles. Rep. 1849. 
 
 King, John. S. M. 1833, 1834, 1835, 1839, 1840, and 1841. 
 
 Lawrence, Abiather. T. T. 1863. 
 
 Lee, Benj. S. M. 1778. Rep. 1784 and 1785. Mod. forty-four times. 
 On Com. to sell pews in new Meeting-house, 1785. Com. to enlarge 
 Common and draw plan, May 9, 1785. Com. to estimate cost of 
 materials for above, Dec. 5, 1785. Com. to remonstrate against Loan 
 by Bills of Credit, Dec. 10, 1777. Com. on Shay's Rebellion and 
 Grievance, Jan. i, 1787. Del. to Convention to Petersham to peti- 
 tion for new County, Jan. 4, 1785. Protests against paying for hunt- 
 ing up stolen ammunition, July 4, 1787. 
 
 Lee, David. Sch. Com. 1S25, 1829, 1830, 1831, 1832, 1833, 1836, 1837, 
 1840, 1858, and 1859. Mod. thirty-three times. On Com. to aid 
 Engineers in surveying Railroad, Oct. 11, 1845. 
 
 Lee, Samuel. S. M. 1806, 1807, 1808, 1809, 1810, 181 1, and 1812. Ass'r, 
 iSoo, 1802, 1804, 1805, 1806, 1807, 1813, 1814, 1815, 1816, 1817, 1818, 
 1819, 1820. and 1821. Rep. 1812, 1816, 1834, 1835, and 1836. Mod. 
 forty-five times. Sch. Com. 1808, 1810, 181 1, 1814, 1815, 1816, 1817, 
 1818, 1824, 1825, and 1835. On Com. to petition President on 
 Embargo previous to War of 18 12. 
 
 Lee, Seth. T. C. 181 1. On Sch. Com. 1807, 1824, 1825, and 1826. 
 Mod. twice. 
 
 Loring, Abel. S. M. 1784. Ass'r, 1782. Mod. once. 
 
 Loring, Chauncey. Sch. Com. 1872 and 1873. 
 
 Loring, Nathaniel. S. M. 1829, 1830, 1831, and 1832. Rep. 1838 and 
 1839. 
 
 Loring, Nelson. S. M. 1866, 1867, 1869, 1870, 1871, and 1873. 
 
 Mandell, Mason. Sch. Com. 1821, 1822, and 1823. 
 
 Mandell, Moses. Sch. Com. 1838. Mod. twenty-two times. 
 
 Mandell, Noah. Petitioner as to Lord Howe's proposals, Dec. 30, 1776. 
 
 Mandell, Warren. S. M. 1862. 
 
 Manter, Robert. Ass'r, 1777. 
 
APPENDIX. 261 
 
 Mason, Deacon John, S. M. 1775, 1776, 1777, and 1779. Rep. 1776, 
 1777) 1780, and 1781. Ass'r, 1779. Mod. fourteen times. Del. to 
 Convention at Cambridge, Sept., 1779. 
 
 Mason, Thaddeus. S. M. 1800. 
 
 Mead, Tilly. Const. 1795, 1796, 1797, 1798, 1799, and 1800. 
 
 Meriam, J. Addison. Sch. Com. i860. 
 
 Metcalf, John. S. M. 1789, 1790, 1791, 1792, 1795, and 1796. Mod. 
 once. On Sch. Dist. Com. Jan. 25, 1790. 
 
 Metcalf, Simeon. S. M. 1800, 1815, 1816, 1817, 1818, 1819, 1820, 1821, 
 and 1822. Sch. Com. 1810, 1818, 1819, 1821, and 1822. 
 
 Miller, James. Rep. 1856. 
 
 Mills, Richard. S. M. 1781. Ass'r, 1778, 1779, 1780, 1781, 1783, 1784, 
 and 1785. On Com. to prevent Monopoly, May 5, 1799. Com. of 
 Safety, March 20, 1780. Com. to execute Concord Resolves, July 14, 
 1779. Com. to hunt up Stolen Ammunition, Nov. 27, 1786. 
 
 Miner, Henry S. Ass'r, 1857, 1861, 1862, and 1864. 
 
 Moore, Erasmus D. Sch. Com. 1841 and 1842. 
 
 Morse, James. S. M. 1783 and 1785. Const. 1781. Protester against 
 paying for hunting up stolen ammunition, July 6, 1787. 
 
 Newcomb, James. S. M. 1834 and 1835, Rep. 1835. 
 
 Nichols, Rev. C. M. Sch. Com. 1852, 1854, and 1856. 
 
 Nicols, Robert. S. M. 1782. 
 
 Nurss, Francis. S. M. 1790 and 1791. On Com. to enlarge Common 
 
 and draw plan of new Meeting-house, May 9, 1785. Sold forty-five 
 
 rods of land to town to enlarge Common, June 21, 1785. Com. to 
 
 hunt up Stolen Ammunition. 
 Nurss, Timothy. S. M. 1798. Mod. of two town meetings. On Com. 
 
 to prosecute for Monopoly, June 9, 1777. Said he would not take 
 
 his oath, nor pay a fine. 
 Nye, Benjamin. S. M. 1779, 1780, and 1782. Mod. once. 
 Nye, Elisha. S. M. 1846. 
 Nye, John R. S. M. 1815, 1816, 1817, and 1818. On Sch. Com. i8ri 
 
 and 1818. 
 Nye, Silas. Const. 1780. On Com. to hunt up Stolen Ammunition, 
 
 Nov. 27, 1786. 
 
 Oliver, David. S. M. 1784. 
 Osgood, Lemuel. Const. 1785. 
 
 Parker, Andrew. S. M. 1783, 1787. Ass'r, 1776 and 1777. T. C. 1787. 
 Mod. fifteen times. Com. of Safety, 1776. Com. to remonstrate 
 against Loan by Bills of Credit, Dec. 10, 1777. Del. to Convention to 
 frame Constitution at Cambridge, Sept. i, 1777. Com. to enlarge 
 Common and draw plan of new Meeting-house, May 9, 1785. On 
 
262 BARRE CENTENNIAL. 
 
 Shay's Rebellion Grievance Com. Jan. 6, 1787. On Sch. Dist. Com. 
 
 Jan. 25, 1790. 
 Patrick, John. S. M. 1780. Com. to enlarge Common, &c.. May 9, 1785. 
 
 Com. to sell pews in new Meeting-house, 1785. Com. to estimate 
 
 cost of materials, Dec. 5, 1785. Protester against paying for hunting 
 
 up stolen ammunition, July 4, 1787. 
 Patridge, Thaddeus. Const. 1779. Mod. of three town meetings. 
 Perry, Luther. Del. to Convention at Rutland, Jan. 6, 1801. 
 Perry, Phineas. Const. 1783. 
 Perry, Seth. Const. 1782. Protester against paying for hunting up 
 
 stolen ammunition, July 4, 1787. On Sch. Dist. Com. Jan. 15, 1790. 
 Pierce, Ezekiel L. S. M. 1857, 1858, 1859, i860, and 1863. Ass'r, 1843 
 
 and 1844. 
 Pierce, John R. S. M. 1852 and 1853. 
 
 Pond, Lemuel. On Com. to execute Concord Resolves, July 14, 1779. 
 Pratt, Elnathan. Sch. Com. 1822. 
 
 Rawson, Silas. S. M. 1859 and 1861. Ass'r, i860. 
 
 Reed, Joseph. Com. of Safety, 1776. 
 
 Reynolds, Justin. S. M. 1856. Ass'r, 1858. 
 
 Rice, Charles. S. M. 1830, 1831, and 1832. Rep. 1837. Sch. Com. 
 
 1820. 
 Rice, Daniel H. S. M. 1846, 1849, and 1855. 
 Rice, David. S. M. 1848, 1849, 1850, 1852, 1853, 1854, 1857, 1858, 1859, 
 
 i860, 1861, 1863, and 1868. Ass'r, 1832, 1833, 1834, 1835, 1836, 
 
 1838, 1839, 1840, 1841, 1842, 1845, 3-"d 1846. Rep. 1840 and 1841. 
 
 Sch. Com. 1829, 1830, 1831, 1833, and 1836. Sch. Dist. Com. 1865. 
 
 Mod. ten times. 
 Rice, Eben, Esq. Sch. Com. 1804. Ass'r, 1782. Com. to enlarge Com- 
 mon, June 21, 1785. One of protesters against paying for hunting 
 
 up stolen ammunition, July 4, 1787. Mod. twice. 
 Rice, Francis. S. M. 1824, 1825, 1826, 1827, 1828, 1833, 1834, 1835, 
 
 1837, 1843, and 1844. Ass'r, 1847. T. T. 1830, 1831, and 1832. 
 
 Rep. 1835 ^"d 1836. Sch. Com. 1821. Mod. eight times. 
 Rice, Henry E. S. M. 1864, 1865, 1869, 1870, 1871, and 1873. Ass'r, 
 
 1867, 1868, 1869, 1870, 1871, and 1873. Mod. twice. 
 Rice, James. S. M. 1795, 1796, and 1797. On Sch. Com. 1807. 
 Rice, John W. S. M. i860. T. T. 1861 and 1S62. Rep. 1873. 
 Rice, Jotham. S. M. 1815, 1817, 1819, 1821, 1822, 1823, and 1827. Sch. 
 
 Com. 1823. 
 Rice, Lemuel. Sch. Com. 1813. 
 Rice, Lemuel P. S. M. 1858. 
 Rice, Paul. S. M. 1829. 
 Rice, Ralph. S. M. 1778. 
 Rice, Thomas. S. M. 1786, 1798, and 1799. Const. 1777. Sch. Com. 
 
APPENDIX. 263 
 
 1818. Protested against paying for hunting up stolen ammunition, 
 
 July 4, 1787. 
 Richardson, Paul. Const. 1777. 
 Ripley, Noah. Const. 1778 and 1785. 
 Robinson, Benjamin. S. M. 1785. Sch. Com. 1821. 
 Robinson, Dennison A. S. M. 1847, Ass'r, 1836, 1837, 1843, 1844, 1848, 
 
 1849, 1850, and 185 1. On Sch. Com. 1836, 1840, and 1843. Mod. 
 
 twice. 
 Robinson, William. Const. 1816 and 1817. 
 Robinson, William, Jr. S. M, 1847. 
 
 Rogers, Lyman F. Ass'r, 1859, 1867, 1868, 1869, 1870, and 1871. 
 Root, Thomas P. Sch. Com. i860, 1862, 1863, 1864, 1868, 1869, 1870, 
 
 1871, 1872, and 1873. Sch. Dist. Com. 1865. Mod. four times. 
 Ruggles, Crighton. S. M. 1843. 
 Ruggles, Gardner. Ass'r, 1822. S. M. 1824. Rep. 1827, 1828, 1831, 
 
 1832, 1833, and 1834. Sch. Com. 1821, 1822, 1825, 1826, and 1828. 
 Mod. once. 
 
 Ruggles, John. S. M. 1786, 1793, and 1794. Sch. Dist. Com. Jan. 25, 
 
 1790. 
 Ruggles, Moses. Const. 1859, i860, 1861, and 1863. 
 Russell, Ephraim. Ass'r, 181 1. T. C. 1812. 
 Russell, William. Const. 1781, 1788, and 1789. Com. to prosecute for 
 
 Monopoly, June 9, 1777. Com. of Safety, March 20, 1780. Com. to 
 
 hunt up Stolen Ammunition, Nov. 27, 1786. 
 Russell, William L. Sch. Com. 1834, 1836, 1840, 1841, 1842, 1845, 1853, 
 
 and 1859. Com. to aid Engineers in surveying Railroad, Oct. 11, 
 
 1845. Sch. Dist. Com. 1865. Mod. five times. 
 
 Sanborn, Dr. J. E. Sch. Com. 1857. 
 
 Sanford, Calvin. S. M. 1852 and 1853. 
 
 Shattuck, Elam B. T. T. 1864 and 1865. Const. 1864. 
 
 Shattuck, Henry J. T. C. 1855. Ass'r, 1872. Const. 1S59, i860, 1861, 
 
 1863, 1866, 1867, 1868, 1869, 1870, 1871, 1872, and 1873. ' 
 Sherman, Jason. Sch. Com. 1806 and 1812. 
 Sherman, Otis. S. M. 1825. 
 Sibley, Charles, S. M. 1818, 1830, 1831, 1832, and 1836. Ass'r, 1816, 
 
 1817, 1818, 1819, 1822, 1823, 1824, 1825, 1828, 1829, and 1835. Sch. 
 
 Com. 1823. Rep. 1826, 1829, and 1830. Mod. twenty-six times. 
 
 Rep. 1826, 1829, and 1830. 
 Sibley, Henry B. Ass'r, 1863. Const. 1853 and 1868. 
 Sibley, Job. S. M. 1802, 1803, and 1804. 
 Sibley, Lyman. S. M. 1817 and 1847. T. T. 1818. T. C. 1819, 1820, 
 
 1821, 1822, 1823, 1824, 1825, 1827, 1828, 1829, 1830, 1831, 1832, 
 
 1833, 1834, 1835, 1836, 1837, 1838, 1839, 1840, 1841, 1842, 1843, 
 1844, 1845, 1846, 1847, 1848, 1849, 1850, 1851, 1852, 1853, 1854, 
 
264 BARRE CENTENNIAL. 
 
 1856, 1857, 1858, 1859, i860, 1861, 1862, 1863, 1864, and 1865. Vote 
 of thanks for forty-six years of service passed March, 1866. 
 
 Sibley, Samuel. S. M. 1825 and 1826. 
 
 Sibley, Sardius. Ass'r, 1833. 
 
 Smith, Eber. Sch. Com. 1810, 1814, 1818, and 1819. 
 
 Smith, Franklin. AssV, 1852 and 1853. S. M. 1861 and 1862. Const. 
 
 1857, 1858, 1859, i860, and 1861. 
 Smith, Isaac. S. M. 1869 and 1870. 
 Smith, J. Edwin. Sch. Com. i860. 
 
 Smith, John. Const. 1786. Sch. Com. 1818. 
 
 Smith, John, 2d. S. M. 1844, 1845, 1846, and 1847. Rep. 1851 and 
 
 1852. 
 Smith, Jonas. S. M. 1838. Mod. once. 
 Smith, Joseph. S. M. 1793 and 1794. One of protesters against paying 
 
 for hunting up stolen ammunition, July 4, 1787. 
 Smith, Josiah. S. M. 1841. Ass'r, 1838. Const. 1836 and 1837. 
 Smith, Larkin. Sch. Com. 1833 and 1837. 
 Smith, Moses. S. M. 1779, 1781, 1783, 1788, 1789, 1790, 1791, 1792, 
 
 1800, and 1801. Ass'r, 1777, 1780, 1781, 1783, 1785, 1786, 1788, 
 
 1789, 1790, 1791, 1792, 1793, 1794, 179s, 1796, 1797, 1798, 1800, 
 
 and i8or. T. C. 1789, 1790, and 1791. T. T. 1792. Sch. Com. 
 
 181 1 and 1812. Com. to hunt up Stolen Ammunition, Nov. 27, 1786. 
 
 Sch. Dist. Com. Jan. 25, 1790. Com. to secure division of County, 
 
 May 2, 1796. Mod. seven times. 
 Smith, Moses F. On Sch. Com. 1822. 
 Smith, Nathaniel, S. M. 1792. T. C. 1795 and 1796. 
 Smith, Rufus. Sch. Com. 181 1. 
 Smith, Samuel. S. M. 1784. 
 Smith, Samuel, 2d. S. M. 1792. 
 Smith, Samuel, 3d. T. T. 1866, 1867, 1868, 1869, 1870, 1871, 1872, and 
 
 1873- 
 Smith, Stephen. Const. 1805 and 1806. 
 Smith, Warner. S. M. 1838, 1839, 1841, 1842, 1844, 1845, 1846, 1855, 
 
 1856, 1859, and i860. Ass'r, 1848. Rep. 1855. Mod. once. 
 Smith, William. S. M. 1789, 1790, and 1791. Ass'r, 1788 and 1789. 
 
 Sch. Dist. Com. Jan. 25, 1790. 
 Snow, J. Foster. S. M. 1868 and 1872. 
 Sparhawk, Nathaniel. S. M. 1775, 1776, 1777, and 1781. T. C. 1776 
 
 and 1781. Com. of Safety, 1776. Mod. twice. 
 Spooner, Grover. T. T. 1838, 1840, 1841, 1842, 1847, 1848, 1849, 1850, 
 
 1852, 1853, and 1854. 
 Spooner, Orin. S. M. 1855. On Sch. Com. i860. 
 Stearns, John. T. C. 1794 and 1795. 
 Stevens, Abraham. S. M. 1813 and 1814. 
 Stevens, James T. S. M. 1866. 
 
APPENDIX. 265 
 
 Stevens, Nathan. Ass'r, 1S30. 
 
 Stevenson, Rev. B. V. Sch. Com. 1846, 1847, 1S48, and 1849. 
 
 Stone, Nathaniel M. Const. 1868, 1869, 1871, 1872, and 1873. 
 
 Stone, WilHam. S. M. 1856. 
 
 Storrs, Rev. John. Sch. Com. 1829. 
 
 Tenney, Gideon. Sch. Com. 1806 and 1807. 
 
 Thompson, Rev. James, D.D. Sch. Com. 1804, 1805, 1806, 1807, 1808, 
 1809, 1810, i8ri, 1812, 1813, 1814, 1815, 1816, 1817, 1818, 1819, 1820, 
 1821, 1822, 1823, 1825, 1826, 1828, 1829, 1830, 1831, 1832, 1833, 1S35, 
 1838, and 1839. 
 
 Tobey, Deacon Isaac. S. M. 1782 and 1786. T. C. 1782, 1783, and 
 1786. Rep. 1786. Mod. five times. On Com. to enlarge Common, 
 May 9, 1785. On Com. to estimate cost of materials fbr Meeting- 
 house, Dec. 5, 1785. On Com. to hunt up Stolen Ammunition, Nov. 
 27, 1786. On Shay's Rebellion Grievance Com. Jan. r, 1787. Pro- 
 tester against paying for hunting up stolen ammunition, July 4, 
 1787. 
 
 Tolman, Fisher. Sch. Com. 1812. 
 
 Tucker, Isaac. S. M. 1833. Sch. Com. 1823. 
 
 Tyler, Rev. Payson. Sch. Com. 1856. 
 
 Wadsworth, Charles. Sch. Com. 1832 and 1834. 
 
 Wadsworth, David. S. M. t8o6, 1807, 1808, and 1818. Rep. 181 1. 
 
 Mod. four times. Sch. Com. 1810, 1814, 1820, and 1823. 
 Wadsworth, David, 2d. Const. 1833, 1834, 1835, 1842, 1843, 1844, 1845, 
 
 1846, 1847, 1848, 1849, 1850, 185 1, 1852, 1853, and 1854. Mod. four 
 
 times. 
 Wadsworth, David, 3d. Const. 1856 and 1859. 
 Wadsworth, Hiram. Mod. seven times. 
 Wadsworth, John. Sch. Com. 1819. 
 Wadsworth, Paul. S. M. 1837. 
 
 Walker, Dr. Asa. Sch. Com. 1805. Rep. 1806 and 1807. Mod. once. 
 Walker, John. Sch. Com. 1807. 
 Ward, Calvin. Sch. Com. 1820. 
 Ware, Azariah. Sch. Com. 1820. 
 Washburn, Benj. W. Sch. Com. i860. 
 Weeks, Cornelius. Const. 1873. 
 Wheelock, Austin G. Sch. Com. 1861, 1862, 1863, 1865, 1866, 1867, 
 
 1869, 1870, 1871, and 1872. 
 Whipple, Jacob. S. M. 1824, 1825, 1826, and 1827. Mod. twice. 
 Whitcomb, Dr. C. W. Sch. Com. 1859, 1868, 1869, and 1S70. 
 Whiting, Elihu. Sch. Com. 1818 and 1820. 
 
 34 
 
266 BARRE CENTENNIAL. 
 
 Whiting, Josiah. On Com. to enlarge Common, June 21, 1785. On Com. 
 
 to sell pews in new Meeting-house, 1785. Protester against paying 
 
 for hunting up stolen ammunition, July 4, 1787. 
 Whiting, William R. S. M. 1849. Ass'r, 185 1. 
 Wilbur^ Dr. H. B. Sch. Com. 185 1. 
 Williams, Dr. John. T. C. 1784, 1792, and 1793. On Com. to secure 
 
 new County (Petersham Shire), May 10, 1784. On Com. on Shay's 
 
 Rebellion Grievance, Jan. i, 1787. 
 Williams, Elbridge. Ass'r, 1872. 
 Wilson, Martin. S. M. 1851, 1855, and 1856. 
 Winslow, Zenas. On Sch. Com. 1822. 
 Wood, Joshua B. Const. 1863. 
 Woodbury, Hubbard. Sch. Com. 1823. 
 Woods, Edwin. Mod. sixteen times. 
 Woods, Harding. Rep. 1871. 
 Woods, Harding P. S. M. 1826 and 1827. Rep. 1834. Sch. Com. 1818. 
 
 Mod. twice. 
 Woods, James. S. M. 1852 and 1853. 
 Woods, John F. T. T. 1855, 1856, 1857, and 1858. Const. 1857 and 
 
 1858. 
 Woods, Loring F. Ass'r, 1854, 1856, 1867, 1868, 1869, 1870, and 1871, 
 
 On Sch. Com. 1855. 
 
 ANNUAL APPROPRIATIONS FOR VARIOUS PURPOSES 
 AND VALUATION. 
 
 Preaching. 
 
 I774I > 
 1775 
 1776 
 1777 
 
 1778 I 
 
 1779 I 
 1780 
 17S1 
 
 1782 
 
 17S3J 
 
 17S4I 
 
 1786 I 
 17S7 I 
 1788 
 
 17S9! 
 1790 f 
 179I 
 1792 
 1793 
 
 1 794 J 
 
 V^ 
 
 Schools. 
 
 Roads and 
 Bridges. 
 
 
 
 
 Poor and Town 
 Charges. 
 
 Valuation 
 
 None. 
 
 
 
 
 
 £100 
 
 
 £40 
 
 £ico 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 5« 
 
 100 
 
 
 
 
 30 
 
 
 100 
 
 200 
 
 
 
 
 120 
 
 
 750 
 
 3,000 
 
 
 
 
 459 
 
 
 750 
 
 3,000 
 
 
 
 
 100 
 
 
 3,000 
 
 1,503 
 
 
 
 
 15.000 
 
 
 60 
 
 150 
 
 
 
 
 400 
 
 
 60 
 
 150 
 
 
 
 
 200 
 
 
 60 
 
 250 
 
 
 
 
 30 
 
 
 100 
 
 200 
 
 
 
 
 30 
 
 
 100 
 
 200 
 
 
 
 
 30 
 
 
 100 
 
 200 
 
 
 
 
 40 
 
 
 100 
 
 200 
 
 
 
 
 80 
 
 
 100 
 
 200 
 
 
 
 
 120 
 
 
 100 
 
 200 
 
 
 
 
 100 
 
 
 100 
 
 200 
 
 
 
 
 30 
 
 
 100 
 
 300 
 
 
 
 
 none. 
 
 
 100 
 
 300 
 
 
 
 
 30 
 
 
 
 
 Town Debts. 
 
 Poor. 
 
 
 180 
 
 55 
 
 £126 
 
 3^- 
 
 4./. 
 
 £202 75. T<i. 
 
 

 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 
 207 
 
 Preaching. 
 
 Schools. 
 
 Roads and 
 Bridges. 
 
 Town Debts. 
 
 Poor. 
 
 Valuation. 
 
 179.0 
 
 
 100 
 
 3S5 
 
 70 
 
 30 
 
 
 1796 
 
 > 
 
 200 
 
 300 
 
 100 
 
 50 
 
 
 1797 
 
 200 
 
 350 
 
 105 
 
 100 
 
 
 179S 1 
 
 
 200 
 
 300 
 
 90 
 
 100 
 
 
 1799 V 
 
 iSoo { 
 
 
 200 
 
 $1,000 
 
 $330 
 
 $500 
 
 
 fO 
 
 200 
 
 1,000 
 
 100 
 
 500 
 
 613,216 
 
 iSoi 
 
 •w 
 
 200 
 
 500 
 
 60 
 
 700 
 
 630. Soo 
 
 1S02 
 
 P 
 
 200 
 
 1.500 
 
 700 
 
 500 
 
 644,516 
 
 1S03 1 
 
 $700 
 
 1.700 
 
 700 
 
 500 
 
 598.516 
 
 1S04J 
 
 
 700 
 
 1,500 
 
 100 
 
 500 
 
 610.243 
 
 1S05I 
 
 
 700 
 
 1,000 
 
 700 
 
 400 
 
 616,700 
 
 1806 
 
 > 
 
 700 
 
 2,000 
 
 700 
 
 450 
 
 6^6 407 
 
 1S07 
 
 Soo 
 
 2,100 
 
 900 
 
 450 
 
 668.9S3 
 
 1 80S 
 
 
 Soo 
 
 1.500 
 
 700 
 
 500 
 
 64S.300 
 
 1809 
 
 
 800 
 
 1,500 
 
 1.000 
 
 SSo 
 
 652.933 
 
 1810 
 
 Soo 
 
 1,500 
 
 1.000 
 
 600 
 
 659.600 
 
 1811 
 
 
 Soo 
 
 1,500 
 
 1,000 
 
 300 
 
 657-753 
 
 1812 
 
 Q 
 
 800 
 
 1.500 
 
 900 
 
 400 
 
 654,170 
 
 1S13 
 
 y 
 
 800 
 
 2,000 
 
 900 
 
 450 
 
 664,023 
 
 i8i4j 
 
 
 800 
 
 1.500 
 
 1. 000 
 
 550 
 
 680,017 
 
 1S15I 
 
 
 800 
 
 1,500 
 
 1.400 
 
 640 
 
 709,800 
 
 1816 
 
 < 
 fD 
 
 800 
 
 2,000 
 
 1,500 
 
 Soo 
 
 687.617 
 
 1817 
 
 800 
 
 2,000 
 
 1,000 
 
 800 
 
 680.583 
 
 181S 
 
 
 1,000 
 
 1,500 
 
 500 
 
 800 
 
 687,750 
 
 1819 
 
 1,000 
 
 2.000 
 
 900 
 
 800 
 
 671.000 
 
 1820 
 
 800 
 
 2,000 
 
 700 
 
 700 
 
 661.500 
 
 1821 
 
 
 800 
 
 2,000 
 
 700 
 
 800 
 
 688,800 
 
 1822 
 
 § 
 
 800 
 
 2,000 
 
 600 
 
 800 
 
 621.870 
 
 1823 
 
 P 
 
 Soo 
 
 2,000 
 
 500 
 
 Soo 
 
 633.666 
 
 1824 J 
 
 
 800 
 
 3,000 
 
 500 
 
 8 50 
 
 661.600 
 
 182O 
 
 
 800 
 
 2.000 
 
 "3SO 
 
 800 
 
 668,233 
 
 1826 
 
 > 
 < 
 
 800 
 
 2,000 
 
 500 
 
 700 
 
 694,050 
 
 1827 
 
 800 
 
 2,000 
 
 400 
 
 700 
 
 700.483 
 
 182S 
 
 -i 
 
 1,000 
 
 2,000 
 
 400 
 
 700 
 
 709.983 
 
 1829 
 
 OQ 
 
 1,000 
 
 2,000 
 
 400 
 
 700 
 
 820,000 
 
 1830 
 
 ;. - 
 
 1,000 
 
 2.530 
 
 500 
 
 750 
 
 841,030 
 
 1S31 
 
 "^ 
 
 1,000 
 
 2,100 
 
 300 
 
 700 
 
 861,770 
 
 1832 
 
 _0N 
 
 1,000 
 
 2,5.SO 
 
 700 
 
 750 
 
 879.850 
 
 1S33 
 
 P 
 
 1,200 
 
 2-335 
 
 700 
 
 750 
 
 863.320 
 
 1834 
 
 
 1,200 
 
 4.100 
 
 500 
 
 750 
 
 930,330 
 
 1835. 
 
 
 1,200 
 
 4.600 
 
 300 
 
 750 
 
 922.820 
 
 1836^ 
 
 > 
 < 
 
 1,300 
 
 2,200 
 
 2.500 
 
 700 
 
 936,930 
 
 1837 
 
 1,300 
 
 2,200 
 
 1,500 
 
 700 
 
 1,069.260 
 
 1838 
 
 
 1.300 
 
 2,000 
 
 2.500 
 
 1,000 
 
 1,081,400 
 
 1S39 
 
 
 1,300 
 
 2,500 
 
 4.000 
 
 1,000 
 
 1,104,230 
 
 1S40 
 
 >^ 
 
 1,300 
 
 2,000 
 
 5,000 
 
 1,000 
 
 1,201.720 
 
 1S41 
 
 ^ 
 
 1,300 
 
 3,000 
 
 5.000 
 
 1,000 
 
 1,298,550 
 
 1842 
 
 OJ 
 
 1,800 
 
 2,000 
 
 3.000 
 
 1,000 
 
 1,207,550 
 
 1843 
 
 
 
 i.Soo 
 
 2,500 
 
 3,000 
 
 1,000 
 
 1,199,100 
 
 1S44. 
 
 • 
 
 1,800 
 
 2.500 
 
 3.000 
 
 1,000 
 
 1.059.910 
 
 1845^ 
 
 
 1,800 
 
 2,000 
 
 4.000 
 
 l,COO 
 
 1,065,700 
 
 1846 
 
 > 
 
 i.Soo 
 
 2.000 
 
 4.000 
 
 1,000 
 
 1,115,060 
 
 1S47 
 
 
 i,8go 
 
 2,000 
 
 4.000 
 
 Soo 
 
 1,120.770 
 
 184S 
 
 -1 
 
 S3 
 
 1,800 
 
 2,000 
 
 4.000 
 
 800 
 
 1,121,900 
 
 1849 
 
 OJ 
 
 2,000 
 
 2,000 
 
 4,000 
 
 800 
 
 1,185320 
 
 iSso 
 
 2,000 
 
 2.000 
 
 4,000 
 
 Soo 
 
 1,152,810 
 
 1S51 
 
 2,000 
 
 2,000 
 
 4,ofo 
 
 Soo 
 
 1,166,040 
 
 1852 
 
 OJ 
 OJ 
 
 2,000 
 
 2,200 
 
 4,000 
 
 800 
 
 1,177,080 
 
 1853 
 
 p 
 
 2,600 
 
 2,100 
 
 4,000 
 
 800 
 
 1,209,070 
 
 1S54, 
 
 
 2,600 
 
 2,200 
 
 4,000 
 
 800 
 
 1,387,210 
 
 Note. — No record of valuation till iSoo. 
 
BARRE CENTENNIAL. 
 
 Preach 
 
 ine. 
 
 Schools. 
 
 Roads and 
 
 Town Debts. 
 
 Poor. 
 
 Valuation. 
 
 
 
 Bridges. 
 
 
 
 
 iSqs' 
 
 
 2,600 
 
 2,200 
 
 4,000 
 
 800 
 
 1,606,730 
 
 i8s6 
 
 > 
 
 2,900 
 
 2,200 
 
 . 5-000 
 
 800 
 
 1,656,720 
 
 iS^7 
 
 2 
 
 2.900 
 
 2,200 
 
 4.500 
 
 1,200 
 
 1-655,730 
 
 iS^S 
 
 y 
 
 2,900 
 
 2.200 
 
 4.000 
 
 1,200 
 
 1,653.600 
 
 1S.-9 
 
 
 3-300 
 
 1,700 
 
 2,500 
 
 1,000 
 
 1,649,170 
 
 1S60 
 
 3,000 
 
 2,000 
 
 2,500 
 
 800 
 
 i,6'')4,430 
 
 1S61 
 
 3'0,So 
 
 2.000 
 
 4.000 
 
 800 
 
 1,680,860 
 
 1862 
 
 to 
 
 3,000 
 
 2,000 
 
 6,000 
 
 800 
 
 1,654.040 
 
 1S63 
 
 p 
 
 3.000 
 
 1,700 
 
 8.003 
 
 800 
 
 1,699.870 
 
 1S64J 
 
 
 3' 300 
 
 2,000 
 
 S.OQO 
 
 1,000 
 
 1,728.622 
 
 i860 
 
 3-300 
 
 2,500 
 
 12.000 
 
 1,000 
 
 1,646,181 
 
 1 866 
 
 > 
 
 3-300 
 
 2.500 
 
 12,000 
 
 2,000 
 
 1,807.470 
 
 1867 
 
 2 
 
 3-350 
 
 2,500 
 
 13,000 
 
 1,800 
 
 1,804,023 
 
 1 868 
 
 ^ 
 
 3-850 
 
 3.000 
 
 9.000 
 
 2,000 
 
 1,837.442 
 
 1869 
 
 
 3.S50 
 
 3.000 
 
 9.000 
 
 2,000 
 
 1.829.463 
 
 1870 
 
 4.220 
 
 3-500 
 
 9.000 
 
 2,000 
 
 1,832,888 
 
 1S71 
 
 4,500 
 
 3. SCO 
 
 10,000 
 
 2,000 
 
 1,754,468 
 
 1872 
 
 
 4,500 
 
 3-500 
 
 10.000 
 
 2,000 
 
 1,825.423 
 
 1S73 
 
 P 
 
 4,900 
 
 2,000 
 
 10,000 
 
 2,000 
 
 i-793o75 
 
 1874J 
 
 VOTES CAST FOR GOVERNOR. 
 
 17S0. 
 
 1781. 
 1782. 
 
 1783- 
 1784. 
 
 1785- 
 
 1786. 
 1787. 
 
 1788. 
 
 1789. 
 
 1790. 
 1791. 
 1792. 
 
 1793- 
 1794. 
 
 John Hancock . 
 James Bowdoin . 
 
 John Hancock . 
 
 Artemas Ward . 
 James Sullivan . 
 John Hancock . 
 John Hancock . 
 Azor Orne 
 Azor Orne . . 
 James Bowdoin 
 James Bowdoin . 
 John Hancock . 
 James Bowdoin . 
 John Hancock . 
 James Bowdoin . 
 John Hancock . 
 James Bowdoin . 
 John Hancock . 
 John Hancock . 
 John Hancock . 
 John Hancock . 
 Samuel Adams . 
 William Gushing 
 
 
 So) 
 34) 
 
 1795- 
 
 
 
 
 23 
 
 1796. 
 
 
 ■?o| 
 
 1797. 
 
 
 50 
 
 17 J 
 
 22 5 
 
 179S. 
 
 
 
 
 95 
 
 1799. 
 
 
 1800. 
 
 
 37 
 
 
 
 "l] 
 
 1801. 
 
 
 ''I 
 
 1802. 
 
 
 86) 
 105 
 
 1S03. 
 
 
 61 
 
 1804. 
 
 
 98 
 
 
 
 46 
 
 1S05. 
 
 
 17 
 
 
 
 48 > 
 365 
 
 1806. 
 
 Samuel Adams . 
 Elbridge Gerry . 
 Increase Sumner 
 Samuel Adams . 
 Increase Sumner 
 James Sullivan . 
 Increase Sumner 
 James Sullivan . 
 Increase Sumner 
 Moses Gill . . 
 Caleb Strong . 
 Elbridge Gerry 
 Caleb Strong . 
 Elbridge Gerry 
 Caleb Strong . 
 Elbrige Gerry . 
 Caleb Strong . 
 Elbridge Gerry 
 Caleb Strong . 
 James Sullivan 
 Caleb Strong . 
 James Sullivan 
 Caleb Strong . 
 James Sullivan 
 
 63^ 
 h5 
 
 68) 
 583 
 
 ''\ 
 34) 
 
 SI 
 
 105 
 
 58 
 88 
 58 
 
 121) 
 
 55 5 
 
 144 i 
 
 127 
 
 139 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 269 
 
 1807. Caleb Strong . . 
 James Sullivan 
 
 1808. James Sullivan 
 Christopher Gore 
 
 1S09. Christopher Gore 
 
 Levi Lincoln . . 
 1810. Christopher Gore 
 
 Elbridge Gerry . 
 iSii. Christopher Gore 
 
 Elbridge Gerry . 
 1S13. Caleb Strong , . 
 
 Elbridge Gerry . 
 1S13. Caleb Strong . . 
 
 Joseph B. Varnum 
 
 1814. Caleb Strong . . 
 Samuel Dexter 
 
 1815. Caleb Strong . . 
 Samuel Dexter 
 
 1816. John Brooks . . 
 Samuel Dexter 
 
 1S17. John Brooks . . 
 Henry Dearborn . 
 
 1818. John Brooks . . 
 Benj. Crowninshield 
 
 1819. John Brooks 
 Benj. Crowninshield 
 
 1820. John Brooks 
 William Eustis 
 
 1 82 1. John Brooks , . 
 William Eustis 
 
 1822. John Brooks . . 
 William Eustis 
 
 1823. Harrison Gray Otis 
 William Eustis 
 
 1824. S. Lathrop . . . 
 William Eustis 
 
 1S25. Levi Lincoln . 
 Marcus Morton 
 
 1826. Levi Lincoln . . 
 Josiuh Qiiincy . . 
 
 1827. Levi Lincoln . . 
 W. C. Jarvis . . 
 
 1825. Levi Lincoln . . 
 Marcus Morton 
 
 1829. Levi Lincoln . 
 Marcus Morton 
 
 1830. Levi Lincoln . 
 Marcus Morton 
 
 1831. Levi Lincoln . 
 Marcus Morton . 
 
 14S? 
 1365 
 130 > 
 
 145 5 
 150 
 149 
 
 142) 
 14S5 
 12S) 
 143 5 
 
 159 
 156 
 
 179 
 
 134 
 
 1S3 
 
 145 
 
 173 
 
 144 
 
 170 ) 
 
 1385 
 
 152 } 
 1425 
 
 172 I 
 
 143 5 
 169 > 
 1405 
 
 146 > 
 131 3 
 126 > 
 112 5 
 180) 
 1575 
 160) 
 1645 
 181 
 186 
 
 93 I 
 93 
 
 825 
 no ) 
 133 
 76? 
 363 
 
 19^ 
 1493 
 
 91 J 
 
 33 S 
 
 108 
 
 78 
 
 1832. Levi Lincoln . 
 Marcus Morton 
 
 1833. John Davis . . 
 Marcus Morton 
 
 1834. John Davis . . 
 Marcus Morton 
 
 1835. Edward Everett 
 Marcus Morton 
 
 1S36. Edward Everett 
 Marcus Morton 
 
 1837. Edward Everett 
 Marcus Morton 
 
 1838. Edward Evei-ett 
 Marcus Morton 
 
 1S39. Edward Everett 
 Marcus Morton 
 
 1840. John Davis . . 
 Marcus Morton 
 
 1841. John Davis . . 
 Marcus Morton 
 
 1S42. John Davis . . 
 Marcus Morton 
 
 1843. George N. Briggs 
 Marcus Morton 
 
 1844. George N. Briggs 
 George Bancroft 
 
 1845. George N. Briggs 
 Isaac Davis . , 
 
 1846. George N. Briggs 
 Isaac Davis . . 
 
 1847. George N. Briggs 
 Caleb Cushin_ 
 
 1848. George N. Briggs 
 Caleb Cushing 
 
 1849. George N. Brig 
 George S. Bout 
 
 1S50. George N 
 George S. 
 
 1851. Robert C. 
 George S. Boutwell 
 
 1852. John H. Clitlbrd , 
 Henry W. Bishop 
 
 1853. Emory Washburn 
 Henry W. Bishop 
 
 1854. Henry J. Gardner 
 Henry W. Bishop 
 
 1855. Henrj' J. Gardner 
 E.D. Beach. . 
 
 1856. Henrv J. Gai-dner . 
 E. D."^ Beach . . 
 
 Briggs 
 
 Boutwell 
 
 Winthrop 
 
 190) 
 103 j 
 178) 
 
 99) 
 209 I 
 
 86 ( 
 
 177 i 
 130 > 
 171 ) 
 160 j 
 232 
 205 
 
 23s I 
 245) 
 251 I 
 257) 
 
 3171 
 287 f 
 
 300) 
 262 f 
 
 277 i 
 2945 
 257 1 
 311 ) 
 2S5 
 300 
 
 285 1 
 248 f 
 
 221) 
 169 f 
 227) 
 199 J 
 249 1 
 231 ) 
 266) 
 257) 
 259 1 
 273) 
 2S71 
 260 j 
 
 279 
 241 
 
 271) 
 
 2295 
 
 289) 
 
 48 f 
 
 iSo) 
 152 ( 
 171 ) 
 112 ( 
 
270 
 
 BARRE CENTENNIAL. 
 
 iS57- 
 
 N. P. Banks . . . 
 
 109^ 
 
 167 
 
 116) 
 
 1866. 
 
 
 H.J Gardner . . 
 
 
 
 E. D. Beach . . . 
 
 
 1S58. 
 
 N. P. Banks . . . 
 
 119) 
 139 ) 
 
 1867. 
 
 
 E. D. Beach . . . 
 
 
 1859- 
 
 N. P. Banks . . . 
 
 • 1-9) 
 
 1868. 
 
 
 B.F.Butler. . . 
 
 170) 
 
 
 i860. 
 
 John A. Andrew . 
 
 236) 
 
 1869. 
 
 
 E. D. Beach . . . 
 
 140) 
 
 
 1S61. 
 
 John A. Andrew . 
 
 1S8I 
 iiSl 
 
 1870. 
 
 
 Isaac Davis . . . 
 
 
 1862. 
 
 John A. Andrew . 
 Charles Devens, Jr. 
 
 lfe\ 
 
 1871. 
 
 1863. 
 
 John A- Andrew . 
 
 219) 
 160 f 
 
 1872. 
 
 
 Henry W. Paine . 
 
 1S64. 
 
 John A. Andrew . 
 
 142 ) 
 131 ) 
 
 
 
 Henry W. Paine . 
 
 1873- 
 
 1S65. 
 
 A. H.' Bullock . . 
 
 . 220 ) 
 69 1 
 
 
 
 Thomas H. Plunket 
 
 
 A. H. Bullock . . . 
 Theodore H. Sweetzer 
 
 A. H. Bullock . . . 
 John Q^ Adams . . 
 
 William Claflin . . 
 John Q^ Adams . . 
 
 William Claflin . . 
 John Q^ Adams . . 
 
 William Claflin . . 
 John Q^ Adams . . 
 
 William B. Washburn 
 John Q; Adams . . 
 
 William B. Washburn 
 F. W. Bird .... 
 
 William B. Washburn 
 William Gaston . . 
 
 228) 
 61 J 
 
 214) 
 238 J 
 
 356 I 
 142 ) 
 
 195 I 
 125 I 
 
 167 I 
 108) 
 
 187) 
 89 J 
 
 189 I 
 77) 
 
 119) 
 103$ 
 
 THE CIVIL WAR OF 1S61-65. 
 
 That gun fired at Fort Sumter, rousing the nation to the defence of 
 its existence and integrity, in Barre, as everywhere throughout the North, 
 welded all discordant sentiments into one burning spirit of loyalty and 
 devotion to the Union our fathers had formed, and the government they 
 had created. With the first body of troops that went from Worcester 
 County, a Barre boy went as a private in the ranks, and was followed 
 immediately by another son of Barre as an officer in the Holden Rifle 
 Company. As the enthusiasm deepened and widened throughout the 
 whole land, the feeling of the people found expression in a public meet- 
 ing, at which the Town Hall was filled to its utmost capacity, and which 
 was presided over by Dr. George Brown, when were adopted unani- 
 mously a series of resolutions pledging the citizens to drop all minor 
 questions of political policy, and unitedly to stand by the country, its 
 government, and its flag to the last extremity, and at any cost ; and, recog- 
 nizing the necessity of additional organized force, extended sympathy, 
 encouragement, and promise of support to such as should organize into 
 a military company. 
 
 Spirited speeches in support of the resolutions were made by Mr. 
 Brimblecom, Mr. Goddard, Capt. Jenkins, Moses Mandell and 
 others, and a subscription of funds for the personal comfort of the men 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 271 
 
 who should volunteer, made on the spot, amounted to $1,907 ; and meas- 
 ures were taken to put into practical shape the spirit that seemed to 
 prevail. Subsequent meetings were held ; and, in accordance with a sug- 
 gestion at one of them, a town-meeting was called May i, when it was 
 voted to appropriate $4,000, to increase the pay of volunteers from Barre 
 in the United States service to S18 per month, and to assist such famihes 
 as may need assistance. At the same time $1,000 was appropriated to 
 pay each member of the company fifty cents for each half-day employed 
 in drilling. The 12th July appropriated $800 to procure a uniform for 
 company raised in Barre. 
 
 July 17, 1862, a bounty of $100 was voted to each man mustered in to 
 fill the quota ; and August 27 voted $100 to each nine-months man. 
 
 March 28, 1864, voted $4,000 to fill the quota of town on recent call 
 of the President ; and June 10 voted $5,000 to fill the quota of the town 
 under any call that might be made. 
 
 There were furnished in all 319 men, of whom ir were commissioned 
 officers. Appropriated and expended in aid of the war, $24,356. 
 
 The following is a list of volunteers from Barre, and the organizations 
 to which they respectively belonged, date of their enlistment and dis- 
 charge, with such particulars of their history as is known : — 
 
 Company K, 2ist Regiment. 
 
 Matthew M. Parkhurst, ist Lt 
 John B. Williams, 2d Lt. 
 George W. Davis, Serg. 
 
 Erastus B. Richardson, Seri 
 Edwin Nye . . 
 Francis P. Gethings 
 William D. Rider. 
 Eawson Parker . 
 Henry E. Conant 
 Patrick Carney . 
 James O. Fessenden 
 George H. Gleason 
 William Harrington 
 Edwin L. Howe . , 
 Henry L. Holbrook, ist 
 Patrick Martin . 
 William H. Morrow, ist 
 Timothy W. Moses . 
 Benton Phelps, 2d Lt., 
 Henry O. Stone . . 
 Joseph E. Stone . . 
 Charles A. Smith . . 
 Peter J. Tansey . . 
 Henry G. M. Twichell 
 John R. Tooley . . 
 
 Lt 
 
 Lt 
 
 6th 
 
 July, 1861. March 3, 1862, resigned. 
 
 Sept. 25, 1862, d. of wounds received at 
 
 Antietam. 
 Aug. 27, 1S64, ex. service. 
 Jan. 28, 1863, disability. 
 April, 1865, exchanged. 
 June 28, 1862, d. of consumption, BaiTe. 
 Sept. 17, 1861, deserted. 
 July 12, 1865, ex. service. 
 Dec. 1862, disability. 
 Mar. 14, 1862, k. Newbem, N. C. 
 July 12, 1865, ex. service. 
 July 30, 1864, k. Petersburg. 
 Nov. 17, 1861, d. Annapolis, Md. 
 Sept. 17, 1862, k. Antietam. 
 June 21, 1S65, E. 
 June 21, 1S65, ex. sei"vice. 
 Jan. 28, 1863, disability. 
 June 21, 1865, ex. service, Va. 
 July 19, 1S64, „ „ 
 
 Mar. 19, 1862, k. Newbern, N. C. 
 July 12, 1865, ex. service. 
 June 9, 1865, „ „ 
 July 12, 1S65, „ „ 
 Feb. 15, 1864, d. Barre, small-pox. 
 
272 
 
 BAR.RE CENTENNIAL. 
 
 Josiah Tooley . . 
 Daniel A. Hunting 
 William Jerome . 
 David E. Todd . 
 Charles N. Caswell 
 Charles E. Southlan 
 Frank L. Stowell . 
 William Sweeney . 
 George Barnes 
 William Gilwee . 
 Patrick Friar . . 
 David H. Woodward 
 Samuel Thomas . 
 Sidney Sibley . . 
 Harrison D. Bliss 
 James A. Cooper . 
 George E. Wilson 
 William A. Mullett 
 43 men 
 
 ,J 
 
 July, 1861. April 4, 1862, d. Newbern, N. C, fever. 
 
 Oct. 8, 1S62, sick, discharged. 
 Transf. 2d Cavalry. 
 July 15, 1S62, cons., Newbern, N. C. 
 Jan. 17, 1S62, disability. 
 Aug. 30, 1864, ex. service. 
 Jan. 1863, d. Alexandria, dropsy. 
 Aug. 31, 1S62, d. Washington, fever. 
 
 Deserted^ k. 
 
 Dec. 15, 1S62, k. Fredericsburg. 
 1S63. Sept. iS, 1863, d. Kentucky. 
 1862. 
 
 Aug. 14 
 Sept. 15 
 Oct. 14, 1862. May 23, 1S64, disability, 
 
 July, 1861. Nov. 10, 1862, disability. 
 
 Mar. 10, 1864. July 22, 1865, ,, 
 July, 1861. Nov. 10, 1863. 
 
 34TH Regiment. 
 
 Samuel F. Woods, ist Lt., Adjutant. 
 
 Charles G. Allen, Asst. 
 George W. Howe 
 Edson P. Kidder 
 E. Gardner Davis 
 George Moran . . 
 Charles L. White . 
 John T. White . 
 William A. White 
 Allen E. King 
 Peter Brasseau 
 Christopher Goddard 
 John Buckly . . 
 H. Baxter King . 
 Joseph H. Whittier 
 Caleb H. Babbitt . 
 Joseph H. Bacon 
 Porter W. Robinson 
 Anson S. Comee . 
 John H. Archibald 
 John R. Cobleigh 
 Joseph W. Smith 
 Thomas Connor 
 John Cambreau 
 C. W. Johnson 
 John R. Cobleigh, Jr, 
 Micah Graves . . 
 Emory G. Adams 
 George E. Rice . 
 Joseph M. VVinslow 
 WiUiam Hildreth 
 
 ■SlU"! 
 
 1864. 
 July 31, 1862. 
 
 July 17, ,, 
 
 June 27, ,, 
 Jime 28, ,, 
 June 27, ,, 
 
 July 17, 
 June 27, 
 
 July 4, 
 July 17, 
 
 July 4, 
 
 July 17, 
 
 July „ 
 
 June 27 
 
 July, 
 
 July 17, 
 
 ,, ,) 
 
 July 19, 
 July 29, 
 July 17, 
 Aug. 2, 
 
 Wounded at Stanton, d. at Worcester, 
 June, 1864. 
 
 June I, 1S64, d. New Market, wounds. 
 June 15, 1863, d. Washington. 
 
 July 31, 1864, d. Harper's F., sun-stroke, 
 
 June 15, 1865, ex. service. 
 
 Nov. 28, 1864, Winchester, w. Sept. 19. 
 
 July 15, 1863, ex. service. 
 
 Aug. 8, 1862. Appointed sergeant. 
 
 Jan. 31, 1863, d. at Barre. 
 
 June 1 8, 1S64, k. at Lynchburg, Va. 
 
 Dec. 17, 1863. 
 
 May 15, 1864, k. New Market. 
 
 Jan. 14, 1863, discharged, sick. 
 
 Nov. 1863, discharged. 
 
 July 16, 1863, dis., d. Washington, D. C. 
 
 Killed in battle. 
 
 July, 1S65, ex. ser\'ice. 
 
 April 24, 1864, d. Marfinsburg, pncum. 
 June 15, 1865, ex. service. 
 
 ,, ,, ,, >, >> 
 June 30, ,, ,, ,, 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 273 
 
 Michael Carney . . 
 Joseph R. Lamon 
 Lewis Brasseau . . 
 Charles L. Mullett . 
 34 men. 
 
 Edward A. Fales 
 Francis Mins . , 
 Joseph E. Sweetzer 
 Theodore A. Carter 
 Joseph Sheridan. . 
 Asa VV. Fay . . 
 Samuel H. Foster 
 Oliver W. Wheelock 
 Emerson B. Mullett 
 Joseph F. Sanderson 
 George W. Stetson 
 Lyman W. Adams 
 Justus J. Rising . 
 Albert B. Spooner 
 Elbridge D. Thresher 
 
 Doane 
 Charles W. Amsden 
 
 17 men 
 
 J. Martin Gorham, 2d Lieut 
 Charles L. Atwood 
 George H. Allen . 
 Benjamin F. Bacon 
 Elbridge G. Bacon 
 Warren E. Bacon 
 Charles E. Baker 
 Francis G. Bates . 
 Jotham E. Bigelow 
 Luke F. Bowker . 
 Edward Bradbury 
 Porter Carter . . 
 George Desper 
 Edward Fisher . 
 John M. Gates 
 Cynis Hartwell . 
 Austin Hawes . . 
 Andrew J. Horton 
 Adam Howe . . 
 George L. Johnson 
 James Mins . . 
 Lewis J. Matthews 
 George Lane . . 
 Dennis Mara . . 
 
 July 5, 1S62. June 28, 1S65, ex. service. 
 
 Dec. 8, 1863. 
 
 Dec. 9, „ Feb. 22, 1865, Annapolis. 
 
 lOTH Battery. 
 
 Dec. 28, 1863. June 9, 1S65, ex. service. 
 
 )) )) !> J> >) >) !) )) 
 
 Dec. 29, ,, 
 
 '» II )> )I !1 11 II II 
 
 J) II II II II II 11 II 
 
 Jan. 4, 1864. „ ,, ,, „ „ 
 11 II i> 
 
 >i II )) II II II II II 
 
 ,, ,, ,, May 10, 1863, k. near Spottsylvania, Va. 
 
 II II II 
 
 II II II II II 
 
 II II II II II 
 
 June 9, 1865. 
 
 11 II II 
 
 ,, ,, ,, Aug. 20, 1864, d. Hospital, Brattleboro'. 
 
 ,, ,, ,, April 26, 1865, d. Berksville Station, Va. 
 Mar. 31, „ 
 
 Aug. 24, ,, June 9, 1S65. 
 
 42D Regiment. 
 
 Sept. 16, 1862. May 14, 1863, resigned. 
 
 April 27, 1863, d. Brashear, La. 
 July 4, 1S63, New Orleans. 
 Aug. 20, 1863, ex. service. 
 
 II )i 
 II II 
 
 Sept. 20, 
 
 July 25, 1863, d. Algiers, La. 
 II 11 II II II II 
 
 II II II 
 
 II II II 
 II II 11 
 II II 11 
 
 Aug. 26, 1S63, ex. service. 
 Dec. 1862, deserted^ Brooklyn. 
 
 35 
 
274 
 
 BARRE CENTENNIAL. 
 
 Charles Robinson 
 James Savage . . 
 Leonard Stark 
 Julius P. Varney . 
 John B. Williams 
 Addison J. Williams 
 T. Hanson White 
 Joseph S. Bruce . 
 
 32 men 
 
 Pliny H. Babbitt, ist Lt. 
 Abijah L. Shattuck, 2d Lt 
 Joseph W. Holbrook 
 Joel M. Adams . 
 Eugene D. Clark . 
 Levi C. Hicks 
 Forister A. Hicks 
 J. Harding Allen . 
 Harding Allen, Jr. 
 Charles G. Allen . 
 John P. Allen . . 
 James L. Ainsworth 
 John Q. Adams . 
 James R. Brown . 
 William Augustus Bullard 
 Josiah Bliss, Jr. . 
 Thomas P. Blakely 
 George R. Chaffee 
 John Carville . . 
 Ezra F. Elliott . 
 Nathan Elliott . 
 Edward A. Fales 
 William H. Fields 
 William G. Fessenden 
 Willard B. Fessenden 
 W^alter A. Forbush . 
 Phineas Heywood, 2d 
 Samuel S. Hamilton 
 Daniel P. Hemenway 
 William Hinchcliff 
 Joel Hodges . . 
 Henry N. Heald . 
 Martin S. Johnson 
 Nelson W. Jameson 
 Charles G. B. King 
 John Kennedy 
 George M. Kemp ton 
 George Knights . 
 Fred Lilley . . 
 Gamaliel Luce, Jr. 
 Henry H. Lindsay 
 
 Sept. 20, 1862. Aug. 20, 1S63, ex. service. 
 
 Aug. 24, 1863, d. at Barre. 
 Aug. 20, 1S63, ex. service. 
 
 53D Regiment. 
 
 Sept. 15, 1862. Sept. 2, 1S63. 
 
 Apr. 
 June 
 Sept. 
 
 19, 
 
 28, 
 
 2, 
 
 1863, 
 1S63, 
 1S63. 
 
 k. 
 d. 
 
 Berwick Bay. 
 Baton Rouge, 
 
 La. 
 
 )) 
 
 !) 
 
 >» 
 
 
 
 
 June 
 Sept. 
 
 16, 
 2, 
 
 1863, 
 J) 
 
 d. 
 
 Brashear, La. 
 
 
 !> 
 
 Dec. 
 
 Sept. 
 
 1862, deserted. 
 2, 1863. 
 
 
 June 2, 
 
 1862, k. Port Hudson. 
 
 Sept. 2, 
 
 1S62. 
 
 11 11 
 Dec. I, 
 
 1S62, d. Groton. 
 
 May 29, 
 
 1863, k. Port Hudson. 
 
 June 14, 
 
 1S63, k. Port Hudson 
 
 Sept. 2, 
 
 1S63. 
 
 June 14, 
 
 1863, k. Port Hudson 
 
 Sept. 2, 
 
 1863, 
 
 June 
 Sept. 
 
 14, 1S63, k. Port Hudson. 
 2, 186;. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 275 
 
 George H. Mitchell . 
 George F. Newton . 
 Theodore S. Pierce . 
 David W. Robinson . 
 Elbridge L. Robinson 
 Patrick Rogers . . 
 J. Andrew Rogers . 
 Samuel E. Smith . . 
 Granville C. Smith . 
 Lucius Spooner , . 
 Henry H. Wyman . 
 Marcellus Whitman . 
 53 men. 
 
 George N. Wheelock 
 William A. Mullett . 
 Leander T. Hathaway 
 Edward E. Hatheway 
 Robert Adamson . 
 Henry W. Crawford 
 James A. Cooper . 
 Henry M. Mullett 
 Nelson C. Young 
 Thomas Hill . . 
 George B. Woods 
 Daniel D. Cole . 
 Henry W. Cole . 
 
 George W. Robinson, Jr. 
 Daniel G. King . 
 Edwin Capron 
 Fred. W. Capron 
 Albert G. Wilder . 
 WilHam H. Smith 
 Leonard M'Farland 
 Thomas M'Clarance 
 John A. Maynard 
 Samuel Thomas . 
 
 Sept. 16, 1S62. June 26, 1863, d. New Orleans. 
 Sept. 2, 1863. 
 
 May II, 1863, d. Berwick Bay. 
 June 6, 1863, k. Baton Rouge. 
 June 14, 1863, Port Hudson. 
 Sept. 2, 1863. 
 Sept. 2, 1863. 
 
 Sundry Regiments. 
 
 July, 1861. July 3, 1863. 
 
 Oct. 12, i86r. Oct. 22, 1862, disab. and w. 
 
 Oct. 15, „ Mar. 3, i862,Newbern, N.C. 
 
 deserted. 
 
 July, 1861. Nov. 10, 1863, disability. 
 
 15th Reg't. 
 
 )? )) 
 2;th ,, 
 
 Dec. 1S63. 
 
 July 22, '64, Andersonville. 
 
 3d Artil'ry. 
 
 Jan. 1S64. 
 
 
 
 
 3d Cavalry, 
 8th Batt'ry. 
 
 Sept. 17,1861. 
 
 Nov. 7, 1863. 
 
 
 
 1st Reg't. 
 
 May, 1861. 
 
 w. Winchester, 
 
 and 
 
 disch. 
 
 
 
 from service, 
 
 1862. 
 
 
 2d „ 
 
 29th „ 
 
 Jan. 15, 1862. 
 
 
 
 
 31st „ 
 
 )) M )) 
 
 Aug. 1864, deserted. 
 
 
 31st „ 
 
 )) )> >> 
 
 Sept. 9, 1865. 
 
 
 
 31st „ 
 
 Aug. 1862. 
 
 April 21, „ 
 
 
 
 31st „ 
 10th „ 
 
 25 E. 
 
 Mar. 31, 1864. 
 
 June 12, 1865. 
 
 
 
 Sig. service. 
 
 Sept. 15, 1S62. 
 
 
 
 
 37th Reg't. 
 
 The responsibility of rendering due recognition on all fit occasions to 
 these honored names, whether Hving or dead, and the importance of pre- 
 serving a distinct knowledge of what they did and suffered for the infor- 
 mation of the future, prompts to an attempt briefly to sketch the career of 
 the regiments where our men rendered service. Forty-three of the citizens 
 and sons of Barre made part of Company K of the Twenty-first Regiment. 
 They elected at home their officers, and were uniformed at the expense of 
 the town. At a public meeting these officers were presented with hand- 
 some swords, and the company left town for Worcester, carrying with 
 them the recollection of cheers, benedictions, and tears that accompanied 
 
276 BARRE CENTENNIAL. 
 
 their departure. After a brief stay in camp, the regiment started for the 
 seat of war, August 23, 1861, and first encamped at Annapolis, where for 
 nearly five months it performed the duty of protecting the road to the Cap- 
 itol and keeping the State of Maryland in the Union. In January, 1862, it 
 started for North Carolina, its colonel, who had been a brigadier-general 
 in the militia, having resigned soon after their arrival, and Lieut.-Colonel 
 Clark being commissioned colonel the next day. It made part of Gen. 
 Burnside's expedition, and was engaged in the battles at Roanoke Island, 
 at Newbern, and at Camden. Fessenden, Martin, and Stone were the 
 first of the sons of Barre to give up their lives in defence of their 
 country. The regiment remained South till the famous campaign of Gen. 
 Pope, in July of 1862, when the command of Gen. Burnside was sent in 
 as a reinforcement, and it landed at Aqua Creek so as to take part in the 
 battles at Second Bull Run, South Mountain, Chantilly, Antietam, and 
 Fredericsburg. At Falmouth it remained on picket duty through the 
 months of December and January, and broke camp without regret, Feb. 9, 
 1863, reaching Paris, Ky., April i, where the State Fair Grounds fur- 
 nished the men a resting-place of four days, when they proceeded twenty- 
 two miles to Mount Sterling, where it remained three months, vindicating 
 the character and title to respect of Massachusetts troops at the hands of 
 Western men. In July they were at Lexington, and afterwards at Camp 
 Nelson, and started for East Tennessee 12th September, marching one 
 hundred and eighty-five miles to Knoxville. Oct. 11, a spirited engage- 
 ment occurred at Blue Springs, when the Twenty-first drove the enemy 
 from his position, and pursued him twenty-six miles, having marched 
 fifty-one miles to reach that point. From this time to the end of the year 
 their service was severe and their conduct heroic. They are said to 
 have marched and countermarched through storm and cold without tents 
 and on half rations, poorly clothed and badly shod, twenty men doing 
 duty through November barefoot, and yet doing their duty cheerfully 
 and with such alacrity as to have acquired the name of the " Fighting 
 Regiment." At the siege of Knoxville they did active duty, being one 
 night on picket and the next in the rifle-pits ; and the 24th November, in 
 company with another picked regiment, they made one of the most brilliant 
 charges of the siege, driving the enemy from the houses, the fences, and 
 the rifle-pits in the neighborhood, and keeping up the work constantly 
 till the siege was raised the 5th December ; and though only able to have 
 for their subsistence two ears of corn per day, yet following hard on 
 the footsteps of the retreating enemy into the woods of East Tennessee ; 
 and then, with the memory of what they had passed through, and realizing 
 what was before them, half starved as they were, they crowned their ser- 
 vice of two and a half years by a further re-enlistment for three years. If 
 any men ever deserved well of their country, surely such as these did. 
 It is worthy of note, that all but thirty-six of the regiment who were alive 
 and present for duty became veterans. In January, 1864, they came 
 
APPENDIX. 277 
 
 home on a furlough, and were honored with an enthusiastic reception at 
 Worcester as a regiment, and a no less cordial one at Barre was tendered 
 to Company K. Returning, they were reviewed and welcomed back by 
 President Lincoln, and, marching by the battle-fields of Bull Run and 
 Bristow's Station to the Rapidan to co-operate with the army of the 
 Potomac in the final pounding out of the Rebellion, they made a part 
 of that force with which Grant said he should "fight it out on that line if 
 it took all summer." They were on the road to Richmond all that year ; 
 and in the Wilderness, at Spottsylvania, at North Anna, Coal Harbor, 
 Petersburg, Welden Railroad, Poplar Spring Creek, and at Hatches Run, 
 they met the shock of arms, and proved veterans in deed as well as in 
 name. 
 
 The casualties of the service, and the draft which had been made upon 
 the physical systems of the men, had reduced the numbers of the regi- 
 ment to that point that it became necessary to break up the organization ; 
 and so, on the i8th August, 1864, the regiment was broken up and its 
 men transferred to the Thirty-sixth Massachusetts, and the officers were 
 mustered out of service together with the men who had not re-enlisted. 
 
 Its record during its entire period of service was a most honorable 
 one, and more than once it had the credit of having, by its courage and 
 dash, saved or turned the fortunes of the day, and either achieved a suc- 
 cess or prevented a rout. Especially was this true of the first battle of 
 the Wilderness, when the Second Corps gave way, and, rushing across 
 the lines of the Ninth, threw every thing into confusion ; then the Twenty- 
 first Massachusetts and the looth Pennsylvania succeeded in restoring 
 order out of confusion, and prevented the entire destruction of the army. 
 All honor, then, to the officers and men of the Twenty-first Massa- 
 chusetts ! 
 
 In the summer of 1862, after the repulse of the Shenandoah, the Thirty- 
 fourth Massachusetts was recruited in Worcester County, and its adjutant 
 and thirty-three men of Company E were from Barre. It was ably offi- 
 cered and splendidly equipped, being commanded by Col. Wells, who left 
 the Bench at Boston to join the army, while its lieut. -colonel was a son 
 of Governor Lincoln, and its major had an experience in the field, and 
 had been a prisoner in the hands of the rebels. The drill and disci- 
 pline of the regiment was carefully attended to during its sojourn at 
 Worcester and while if remained in camp near Washington, so that 
 when it left for the more active duties of the field its reputation for 
 soldierly qualities was unsurpassed by any that were stationed there. 
 And the precision and perfection of its manoeuvres and parades were 
 only second to its exhibition of the sterner qualities of courage and 
 endurance that characterize the patriotic soldier. At Harper's Ferry and 
 Maryland Heights it had something of an experience of hfe in the field, 
 as it was assigned to picket duty and the maintenance of order and loy- 
 alty ; but its first engagement was at Charleston, where a portion of the 
 
278 BARRE CENTENNIAL. 
 
 regiment was surprised and captured. In fifteen hours it marched thirty- 
 five miles, fighting for more than ten miles with double its number, and 
 being without food or rest. 
 
 The loth December it became important to divert attention from an 
 important strategic movement of Averill's, and the Thirty-fourth was 
 assigned to that duty, which it discharged satisfactorily, though it came 
 near being surrounded by the force of Gen. Early, with six or seven 
 thousand men, while our force numbered only about fourteen hundred. On 
 the 24th it returned to camp to turn out in perfect order without a single 
 straggler, and all its equipments bright and shining, though it had been 
 fifteen days in a campaign without tents. 
 
 February i, 1864, it went to Cumberland, returning to Harper's Ferry 
 the 7th to repel an attack. Martinsburg was the place of its encampment 
 March 7th, and April 2d back again to Harper's Ferry ; 17th to Martins- 
 burg ; May 2d to Winchester; May 9th to Cedar Creek; May nth to 
 Woodstock ; and on the 14th to New Market, a march of twenty-one miles, 
 with only a halt of ten minutes. Here occurred a gallant fight and a 
 severe loss ; and though the fortune of war was against them, so that out 
 of five hundred men, two hundred and twenty-one were killed or wounded 
 in half an hour, yet such was the ardor of the men to advance, that Col. 
 Wells could only stop the regiment by seizing the color-bearer by the 
 shoulder and holding him by main strength ; and as they retired by order, 
 the men were heard to say to each other, " For God's sake, don't run, 
 Thirty-fourth ! Don't let them drive you ! " All that night they marched 
 to Woodstock, to get the first sleep or rest for two days. Hunter's 
 expedition to the Shenandoah was poorly supplied with food, and when 
 the army was ordered to live on the country, the bark of birch-trees was 
 peeled off to eat and flour from deserted mills swept up to be cooked. 
 All through that terrible summer of 1864 they were engaged in the 
 fiercest of the fight, having been engaged in nine battles and lost six 
 hundred and sixty-one men, while every commissioned officer in the 
 regiment was either killed or wounded. 
 
 At the opening of the campaign in the spring it was assigned to the 
 Army of the James ; and on the 2d of April it made a desperate charge 
 on Battery Gregg, hanging upon the works for the space of twenty-seven 
 minutes, with grape and shell pouring in upon it, when, with a rush, 
 and a short hand-to-hand struggle, the parapet was gained, the fort and 
 its entire garrison captured. And in numerous engagements, till the 
 surrender of Lee on the 9th, the Thirty-fourth promptly and heroically 
 met the requirements of the situation ; and on the i6th June, at Richmond, 
 it was mustered out of service with the flattering tribute that it had been 
 always first to advance and last to retreat, maintaining its organization 
 unbroken under all circumstances. 
 
 The Twenty-first and Thirty-fourth were the only regiments of three 
 years' men that had companies from Barre. A reference to the list will 
 
APPENDIX. 279 
 
 show that in various other three years' regiments were a few men ; and 
 it would be a pleasure as well as a duty, did space permit, to trace these 
 regiments, as each wrote out under fire and in camp its military history, 
 honorable to its members and honorable to the State. 
 
 Of the Forty-second and Fifty-third Regiments of nine months' men, who 
 each had a company from Barre, and were in Banks' command in the 
 expedition to New Orleans, there is much that might be said, but the 
 story must be briefly told. Thirty-two enlisted men were with the Forty- 
 second, which left Readville, Nov. 21, 1862, for New Orleans by way of 
 New York, where, finding no provision had been made for its reception, 
 it bivouacked in the streets and sheds near for its first night out of Mas- 
 sachusetts. It sailed for Ship Island the 2d December, in four leaky 
 transports, arriving the i6th, from whence three companies sailed the 19th 
 for Galveston, Texas, where they landed without opposition the 25th, but 
 were attacked and captured by a superior force the ist January, having, 
 however, made so gallant a resistance that out of respect to it they were 
 allowed to retain all of their private property. By this capture, having 
 lost their colonel, the regiment seems to have lost its distinctive organi- 
 zation, the companies being detailed to special and independent duty, 
 Capt. Davis, the commander of Company K, was assigned to provost 
 duty, and Company K was detached as pontoniers (Feb. 16), building 
 bridges with such energy and skill as to receive high praise, and perhaps 
 rendering as important, if not as conspicuous, services as any arm of the 
 service. On i8th February, a pontoon-bridge at New Orleans; on loth 
 March, a bridge 100 feet long, at Bayou Montesino; on 15th took it up, 
 and retired to Baton Rouge ; on 9th April, a bridge 300 feet long on 
 Bayou Boeuf ; on 12th, across Bayou Teche ; on 26th May, Sandy Creek, 
 280 feet long ; then, at storming of Fort Hudson, took bridge to pieces, 
 and bridged ditch for storming parties. 
 
 In the Fifty-third Regiment were fifty-three Barre men. This left Mas- 
 sachusetts the 29th November, 1861, and embarked for New Orleans, 
 Jan. 17th, occupying twelve days. In the campaign it had a prominent and 
 active part, being in several very important engagements, and especially 
 in the several charges upon Fort Hudson, and at Brashear City and through 
 the Teche Country, capturing Fort Bisland, and showing under fire all 
 the steadiness and nerve of veteran soldiers. The regiment lost in its 
 campaign, from all causes, two hundred and forty men ; the Forty-second, 
 one hundred and fifty-seven men, of whom seventy-two were deserters. 
 Both regiments arrived home in August, 1863, and the two companies 
 from Barre were tendered a public reception by the citizens of Barre, 
 and a collation was spread, to which every single family in town was 
 invited to contribute, and was in all respects an enthusiastic and satis- 
 factory affair. 
 
No. 
 
 I. 
 
 »> 
 
 2. 
 
 » 
 
 3- 
 
 >> 
 
 4- 
 
 280 BARRE CENTENNIAL. 
 
 ORIGINAL ASSIGNMENT OF "GREAT AND LITTLE 
 FARMS" IN THE NORTH-WEST QUARTER OF RUT- 
 LAND BY THE PROPRIETORS, April 29, 1735; Nov. 23, 
 1736; Nov. 24, 1737; AND June 14, 1738. 
 
 Samuel Waldo. 560 acres. 
 Thomas Hutchinson. 560 acres. 
 Rev. Joseph Parsons. 560 acres. 
 With little Farm H. annexed. 
 
 ^ to Henry FrankHn's heirs. 
 
 ■| to Joshua Heywood, or his assign, William Nightingale, Jr. 
 
 ■Jj to Daniel Willard. 
 
 •g^3 to Anna Bos worth. 
 
 g^3 to Susanna Cowdrey. 
 j^g to Sarah Hope. 
 
 5. With little Farms D., E., and F. 782 acres. 
 ■^ to John White's heirs. 
 •^ to Joshua Heywood. 
 
 6. With little Farms B. and C. 794 acres, 126 rods. 
 ■^ to Anthony Stoddard. 
 ■| to John Charnock's heirs. 
 
 7. Rev. Thomas Prince. 560 acres. 
 
 8. ^ to Ebenezer Allen, heir of James Allen. 560 acres. 
 ^ to Samuel Howard, Benjamin and Jonathan Parker. 
 
 9. -I to John Oulton. 560 acres. 
 \ to John Buttolph. 
 \ to Barral Dyer. 
 
 10. Thomas Prince. 560 acres. 
 
 11. ^ to Benjamin Prescot. 560 acres, 
 f to John Buckley. 
 
 12. -I to Richard Bill. 560 acres. 
 ■^ to William Salter. 
 
 13. Samuel Waldo. 560 acres. 
 
 14. I to Samuel Willard. 560 acres. 
 ^ to Charles Apthorp. 
 
 15. Cornelius Waldo. 593 acres. 
 
 16. Francis Brinley. 645 acres. 
 
 17. Jonas Clark. 560 acres. 
 
 18. Thomas Brintnall's heirs. 560 acres. 
 
 19. Col. Adam Winthrop. 560 acres. 
 
 20. With little Farm G. annexed. 651 acres. 
 Robert Blood's heirs. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 No. 21. With little Farm A. 670 acres. 
 
 ^ to John Jeffries. 
 
 ^ to Maj. Samuel Sewell. 
 „ 22. Col. Isaac Winslow. 664 acres. 
 „ 23. ^ to John Jones. 560 acres. 
 
 \ to Thomas Sparhawk. 
 
 \ to Noah Sparhawk. 
 „ 24. 3^ to John Dolbeare. 660 acres. 
 ■^■^ to Mary Leland. 
 
 \ to James Pemberton. 
 
 ■^ to Bartholomew Cheever. 
 „ 25. Rev. Thomas Prince. 560 acres. 
 „ 26. I to Samuel Waldo. 560 acres. 
 
 ^ to Cornelius Waldo. 
 
 ^ to John Oulton. 
 ,, 27. Col. Estes Hatch. 644 acres. 
 „ 28. Thomas Fitch's heirs. 575 acres. 
 „ 29. ^ Col. Estes Hatch. 630 acres. 
 
 ^ to Nicholas Davis. 
 
 \ to Peter Lucy. 
 „ 30. William Allen. 652 acres. 
 ,, 31. ^Q to Thomas Child. 680 acres. 
 
 ^^jj to Dr. William Douglass. 
 
 |- to Dr. William Douglass. 
 
 ■^^ to Elizabeth Rice. 
 
 ^ly to Mary Ellis. 
 ^^ to Mehitabel Baxter. 
 j^j to Sarah Hope. 
 ,, 32. \ to Nathan Prince. 617 acres. 
 
 \ to Samuel Denney. 
 
 •^ to Mrs. Hannah Fayerweather. 
 » 33- With httle Farm K. and L. 768 acres. 
 
 ^ to Benjamin Brown's heirs, 
 -j^g- to Richard Estabrook. 
 y'j to John Willard. 
 
 ■f^ to Samuel Waldo. 
 
 ■^Q to John Checkly. 
 
 36 
 
 281