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THE    CELEBRATION 

OF   THE 

OF   THE   SETTLEMENT 

OF 

THE   TOWN    OF    H INGHAM, 

MASSACHUSETTS, 
September  15,  1885. 


3L£t  us  rtofo  praiSE  famous  men,  anti  our  fatfjers  tj^at 
hzQat  us. 

^11  tf)cs£  Incre  j^onorcti  tn  tl^cir  s^nn-ations,  antj  toere  tfje 
glorg  of  tfjeir  times. 

Wl)zxz  hz  of  tljem,  tl^at  ijabe  left  a  name  fcel^intj  tl^em, 
t^at  tf)etr  praises  migljt  be  reportetj. 

ECCLESIASTICUS  xliv.  I,  7,  8. 


THE 

CELEBRATION 

OF  THE 

OF   THE   SETTLEMENT 

OF  THE 

TOWN    OF   HINGHAM, 

MASSACHUSETTS, 

'     September  15,  1885. 


HINGHAM: 

PUBLISHED   BY   THE   COMMITTEE  OF  ARRANGEMENTS. 
1885. 


^Prcparelj  for  ^3u6Iicatton 
By    FRANCIS    H.   LINCOLN. 


CONTENTS. 


Preliminary  prccefebingjJ. 

PAGE 

Meeting  of  Citizens lo 

Committee  of  Arrangements ii 

Invitation  to  the  Orator 12 

Programme 14 

Committees «  16 

Invitations 18 

'^\)t  CUclcbratioit. 

Marshals 27 

The  Procession 28 

AT   THE   MEETING-HOUSE. 

Ushers 32 

Order  of  Exercises 33 

Prayer  of  Rev.  Joseph  Osgood 36 

Oration  of  Mr.  Solomon  Lincoln 40 

Benediction  of  Rev.  Henry  M.  Dean 72 

THE    DINNER. 

Invocation  of  Rev.  Henry  A.  Miles,  D.D 75 

Address  of  Hon,  John  D.  Long,  President 76 

Address  of  Governor  Robinson 83 


VI  CONTENTS. 


PAGE 


Telegrams  to  and  from  Concord,  Mass 92 

Lines  by  Mr.  George  B.  Bartlett ^     .  92 

Letter  from  Mr.  Isaac  Hinckley 93 

Letter  from  Senator  Hoar.    . 93 

Letter  from  Richard  Henry  Stoddard 94 

Letter  from  Sidney  Howard  Gay 95 

Address  of  Hon.  Thomas  Russell 97 

Address  of  Mr.  Solomon  Lincoln 104 

Address  of  Rev.  H,  Price  Collier 108 

Address  of  Dr.  William  Everett 113 

Address  of  Mr.  Luther  Stephenson 121 

Votes  of  the  Committee  of  Arrangements 129 

Names  of  Voters 131 


PRELIMINARY   PROCEEDINGS. 


PRELIMINARY  PROCEEDINGS. 


I 


N  the  Records  of  the  Colony  of  the  Massachu- 
setts Bay  in  New  England  is  the  following :  — 


"Att  the  Gei/all  Court,  holden  att  Newe  Towne,  Sept^ 
2,   1635, 

"The  name  of  Barecove  is  changed,  &  hereafter  to  be 
called  Hingham." 

On  the  eighteenth  of  September,  1635,  Rev. 
Peter  Hobart,  the  first  Pastor,  and  twenty-nine 
others  drew  their  house-lots. 

There  were  expectations,  in  the  minds  of  many 
of  the  people  of  Hingham,  that  some  action  would 
be  taken  at  the  annual  town-meeting,  in  March, 
1885,  in  relation  to  celebrating  the  two  hundred 
and  fiftieth  anniversary  of  the  settlement  of  the 
town  in  September  following;  but  the  statutes  of 
the  Commonwealth  did  not  enumerate  the  celebrat- 
ing of  half-century  anniversaries  among  the  purposes 
for  which  towns  might  appropriate  money,  to  be 
raised  by  taxation.  The  hope  was  frequently  ex- 
pressed, during  the  spring  and  early  summer,  that 
the  occasion  would  not  be  allowed  to  pass  unnoticed; 


lO  THE    TOWN    OF    HINGHAM. 

and  in  the  latter  part  of  July  it  became  evident  that 
the  celebration  was  to  be  a  reality,  when  the  follow- 
ino^  notice  was  issued  :  — 

ALL  CITIZENS   OF  HINGHAM 

WHO   DESIRE   TO   HAVE 

THE  TWO  HUNDRED  AND  FIFTIETH  ANNIVERSARY 

OF 

THE  SETTLEMENT  OF  THEIR   TOWN 

Celebrated  by  suitable  ceremonies,  are  requested  to  meet  at 

LOHING-    HALL, 

ON    WEDNESDAY,    JULY    29, 
AT  8  o'clock,  p.m. 


Charles  Siders.  J.  O.  Burdeit. 

Charles  W.  S.  Seymour.  M.  F.  Whiton. 

Charles  B.  Barnes.  William  J.  Nelson. 

E.  Waters  Burr.  E.  L.  Howard 

Henry  C.  Harding.  George  Lincoln. 

Starkes  Whiton.  Jos.  Jacobs,  Jr. 

E.  L.  Ripley.  E.  Hersey,  2d. 
Fearing  Burr. 

Accordingly,  on  July  29,  a  meeting  was  held  at 
Loring  Hall.  Henry  C.  Harding  called  the  meet- 
ing to  order  and  was  chosen  Chairman,  and  George 
Lincoln  was  chosen  Secretary.     It  was 

Voted,  To  celebrate  the  two  hundred  and  fiftieth 
anniversary  of  the  settlement  of  the  town  by  appro- 
priate observances,  and  that  a  committee  of  thirty 
be  chosen  to  prepare  a  suitable  programme  and 
make  all  necessary  arrangements. 


25OTH    ANNIVERSARY. 


II 


The  number  of  the  committee  was  subsequently 
increased  to  thirty-nine. 

The  Committee  of  Arrangements,  as  finally  or- 
ganized, consisted  of  the  following  persons,  and 
upon  them  devolved  the  duty  of  making  all  the 
preparations  for  a  suitable  observance  of  the  anni- 
versary :  — 

Cammittee  of  ^rrangemmts. 

Starkes  Whiton Chairman. 

George  Lincoln Secretary. 

Francis  H.  Lincoln    ....     Treasurer. 


Henry  C,  Harding. 
John  D.  Long. 
Joseph  B.  Thaxter. 
Alonzo  Gushing. 
Gharles  E.  Stevens. 
Morris  F.  Whiton. 
Edward  T.  Bouv^. 
Francis  W.  Brewer. 
Ebed  L.  Ripley. 
Edmund  Hersey,  2d. 
Henry  E.  Spalding. 
Charles  W.  S.  Seymour. 
James  L.  Gardner. 
John  G.  Gardner. 
Frederic  M.  Hersey. 
Henry  W.  Gushing. 
William  Gushing. 
Osgood  Eaton. 


Edward  F.  Wilder. 
Thomas  Howe. 
Thomas  L.  Grehan. 
Hawkes  Fearing. 
Henry  Stephens dn. 
John  Todd. 
Fearing  Burr. 
TiLSON  A.  Mead. 
Gharles  H.  Marble. 
John  H.  Stoddar. 
Edwin  Wilder. 
E.  Waters  Burr. 
Josiah  M.  Lane. 
George  Gushing. 
Joseph  O.  Burdett. 
Gharles  Siders. 
Gharles  G.  Melcher. 
Bela  F.  Lincoln. 


Charles  N.  Marsh,  the  efficient  Town  Clerk  for 
the  preceding  thirty  years,  was  originally  chosen 


12  THE    TOWN   OF    HINGHAM. 

a  member  of  the  Committee,  but  resigned  because 
other  duties  prevented  his  serving. 

The  members  of  the  Committee  were  thoroughly 
interested.  They  worked  systematically  and  per- 
sistently. Frequent  meetings  were  held,  and  a  his- 
tory of  the  preparations  made  for  the  celebration 
can  best  be  narrated  by  extracts  from  the  records. 

August  I.  Voted,  That  the  sum  of  one  thousand 
dollars  be  procured  by  subscription,  to  meet  the 
probable  expenses  of  the  celebration. 

[A  much  larger  sum  was  ultimately  procured.] 

Voted,  That  a  committee  of  five,  in  addition  to 
the  chairman,  be  chosen  to  suggest  a  suitable  pro- 
gramme for  the  celebration. 

Starkes  Whiton,  Henry  C.  Harding,  John  D. 
Long,  E.  Waters  Burr,  Edward  F.  Wilder,  and  Ed- 
mund Hersey,  2d,  were  chosen  that  Committee. 

Upon  motion  of  Mr.  Long  it  was 

Voted,  That  Mr.  Solomon  Lincoln,  of  Boston, 
a  native  of  Hingham,  and  the  eldest  son  of  the  late 
Hon.  Solomon  Lincoln,  who  was  the  orator  at  the 
celebration  of  the  two  hundredth  anniversary,  in 
1835,  be  invited  to  deliver  the  oration.  John  D. 
Long,  Joseph  O.  Burdett,  and  Joseph  B.  Thaxter 
were  appointed  a  committee  to  communicate  this 
invitation    to    Mr.     Lincoln,    which    they   did    as 

follows :  — 

Hingham,  Mass.,  Aug.  i,  1885. 

Dear  Sir, — A  Committee  appointed  by  the  citizens 
of  this  town  to  make  arrangements  for  celebrating,  next 


25OTH    ANNIVERSARY.  I  3 

September,  the  two  hundred  and  fiftieth  anniversary  of  its 
incorporation,  have  unanimously  chosen  you  to  make  the 
oration,  and  authorized  us  to  invite  you  to  do  so.  We 
hasten  to  extend  to  you  the  invitation,  and  also,  with  cor- 
dial personal  regard,  to  express  the  hope  that,  as  a  native 
of  Hingham,  esteemed  by  all  its  citizens,  you  will  take 
pleasure  in  rendering  it  a  service  similar  to  that  which 
your  father  rendered  it  fifty  years  ago. 

Very  truly  yours, 

John  D.  Long. 

Jos.    O.   BURDETT. 

Jos.  B.  Thaxter. 
Mr.  Solomon  Lincoln,  Boston,  Mass. 

Ausfust  6.  The  followinQ:  letter  from  Mr.  Lincoln 
was  read :  — 

Rye  Beach,  N.  H.,  Aug.  4,  1885. 

Messrs.  John  D.  Long,  J.  O.  Burdett,  Jos.  B.  Thaxter, 

Co7nmittee : 

Dear  Sirs,  —  I  have  received  here  this  evening  your 
note  of  August  1,  communicating  the  invitation  with 
which  a  Committee  representing  the  citizens  of  Hingham 
have  honored  me,  to  deliver  an  address  before  them  on 
the  two  hundred  and  fiftieth  anniversary  of  the  settlement 
of  the  town. 

It  gives  me  much  pleasure  to  accept  the  invitation  of 
the  Committee. 

Thanking  you  for  the  kind  expression  of  personal  regard 
with  which  you  have  accompanied  the  invitation,  I  am, 
with  much  respect. 

Very  truly  yours, 

Solomon  Lincoln. 

Voted,  That  the  celebration  be  observed  on  Sat- 
urday, Sept.  12,  that  being  the  week-day  correspond- 


14  THE    TOWN    OF    HINGHAM. 

ing  nearest  to  September  2,  old  style,  —  the  day  on 
which  the  name  of  Hingham  was  given  to  the 
town. 

The  Committee  appointed  to  suggest  a  pro- 
gramme for  the  celebration  made  a  Report,  which 
is  here  given  as  amended  at  this  and  subsequent 
meetings. 

REPORT. 

The  Committee  appointed  to  suggest  a  pro- 
gramme for  the  day  of  the  celebration  of  the  two 
hundred-  and  fiftieth  anniversary  of  the  incorpora- 
tion of  the  town  of  Hingham  report  the  following 
recommendations :  — 

I.  That  the  church  bells  be  rung  an  hour  at  sunrise, 
sunset,  and  at  the  close  of  the  forenoon  exercises  in  the 
church. 

II.  That  a  salute  be  fired  at  noon. 

III.  That  there  be  morning  band-concerts  at  nine  o'clock 
A.M.,  for  one  hour  at  South  Hingham  and  at  Fountain 
Square,  and  one  of  two  hours  on  Agricultural  Fair  grounds, 
at  seven  o'clock  P.M. 

IV.  That  a  procession  be  formed  at  Fountain  Square, 
which,  at  eleven  o'clock  A.M.,  sharp,  shall  start  and  march 
up  North  Street,  thence  by  Goold's  Bridge,  South,  and 
Main  Streets,   to  the  Old  Meeting-house. 

V.  That  the  school-children  of  the  town  shall  assemble 
at  ten  o'clock  a.m.,  at  Fountain  Square,  provided  with 
badges,  and  under  the  lead  of  their  music-teacher,  they 
sing  all  together  a  few  of  their  songs  in  the  open  air. 
That  at  eleven  o'clock  A.M.,  under  their  officers,  in  such 


25OTH    ANNIVERSARY.  I  5 

companies  as  the  Superintendent  of  Schools  and  their 
teachers  shall  have  aided  them  in  forming,  they  shall  fall 
into  the  procession  with  a  band. 

VL  That  the  procession  shall  also  contain  invited  guests, 
the  State  officials,  with  the  Cadets  and  their  band,  citizens, 
and  such  organizations  as  shall  previously  notify  the  Chief 
Marshal  of  their  desire  to  join  the  march, —  all  to  be  under 
the  escort  of  Edwin  Humphrey  Post  104,  G.  A,  R.,  of 
Hingham. 

VII.  That  on  arrival  at  the  Old  Meeting-house,  the 
school-children  go  to  Loring  Hall  and  there  have  a  colla- 
tion. One  band  will  return  to  Fountain  Square,  and  there 
give  a  concert  during  the  first  hour  of  the  literary  exercises 
in  the  church. 

VIII.  That  the  exercises  in  the  church  be  as  fol- 
lows :  — 

1.  Organ  Prelude. 

2.  Prayer. 

3.  Hymn,  sung  by  the  congregation.  (It  is  recommended  that 
Richard  Henry  Stoddard,  a  native  of  Hingham,  be  asked  to 
write  it.) 

4.  Oration. 

5.  Hymn,  "America,"  sung  by  the  congregation. 

6.  Benediction. 

IX.  That  thereupon  the  procession  march  by  Main  and 
Leavitt  Streets  directly  to  Agricultural  Hall,  where  a  din- 
ner be  served,  and  short  speeches  made,  interspersed  with 
music.  Dinner  tickets  to  be  provided  for  invited  guests 
and  sold  to  others. 

X.  That  at  eight  o'clock  P.M.,  a  string  band  play  in 
upper  Agricultural  Hall  for  dancing;  the  lower  hall  to  be 
open  for  a  social  gathering  and  promenade. 

XL  That  day  and  evening  an  exhibition  of  interesting 
relics  be  open  in  said  lower  hall.  [It  was  subsequently 
voted  that  this  feature  of  the  celebration  be  omitted.] 


1 6  THE    TOWN   OF    HINGHAM. 

XII.  That  at  7.30  p.m.,  bonfires  be  lighted  upon  Liberty 
Pole,  Baker's,  Otis,  Planter's,  Turkey,  and  Prospect  Hills. 

XIII.  That  there  be  a  President  of  the  Day. 

XIV.  That  there  be  a  Chief  Marshal. 

A  list  of  committees,  necessary  to  carry  out  the 
programme,  concluded  the  Report. 

In  accordance  with  a  very  general  desire,  Hon. 
John  D.  Long  was  unanimously  invited  to  be  the 
President  of  the  day. 

Colonel  Hawkes  Fearing  was  chosen  Chief 
Marshal. 

August  12.  The  Chairman  stated  that  the  town 
of  Concord,  incorporated  Sept.  2,  1835,  ^'^^^  ^^~ 
ranged  for  a  celebration  on  September  12,  the  day 
selected  for  Hingham,  and  that  the  Governor  of 
the  Commonwealth  had  accepted  the  invitation  to 
visit  Concord  before  receiving  the  invitation  from 
Hingham.  In  order  that  no  inconvenience  might 
arise  from  holding  our  celebration  on  the  same  day, 
it  was 

Voted,  That  the  celebration  be  on  Tuesday, 
Sept.  15. 

The  following  Committees  were  appointed :  — 

Executive  Committee.  —  Starkes  Whiten,  Chaimian,  George  Lin- 
coln, Francis  H.  Lincoln,  Henry  C.  Harding,  John  D.  Long, 
E.  Waters  Burr,  Edward  F.  Wilder,  Edmund  Hersey,  2d. 

Finance.  —  Ebed  L.  Ripley,  Chairman,  E.  Waters  Burr,  Frederic 
M.  Hersey,  George  Gushing,  Henry  W.  Gushing. 


25OTH    ANNIVERSARY.  I  7 

Bell- Ringing.  — John  D.  Long,  Chairman,  for  bell  on  New  North 
Church ;  Bela  F.  Lincoln,  for  Universalist  Church ;  E.  Waters 
Burr,  for  Old  Church ;  Tilson  A.  Mead,  for  Baptist  Church ; 
Starkes  Whiton,  for  Orthodox  Church ;  John  H.  Stoddar,  for 
Church  at  South  Hingham. 

Salutes.  —  Edward  T.  Bouv6,  Chairman,  Thomas  L.  Crehan, 
John  H.  Stoddar. 

Bands,  Band-Concerts,  Music  for  Dinner  and  Dancing.  — 
Morris  F.  Whiton,  Chairmafi,  Henry  W.  Cushing,  Francis  H. 
Lincoln. 

Evening  Entertainment  at  Agricultural  Hall.  —  Edward  F. 
Wilder,  Chairman,  Henry  Stephenson,  Tilson  A.  Mead. 

School-Children  and  their  Badges.  —  Joseph  O.  Burdett,  Chair- 
man, Frederic  M.  Hersey,  Josiah  M.  Lane. 

Exercises  in  Church.  —  Edmund  Hersey,  2d,  Chairman,  Fear- 
ing Burr,  Charles  Siders. 

Church  Ushering,  &c.  —  E.  Waters  Burr,  Chairman,  Ebed  L. 
Ripley,  Charles  H.  Marble. 

Escort  and  Military.  —  Charles  E.  Stevens,  Chainnan,  Charles 
C.  Melcher,  Edward  T.  Bouv6. 

Collation  at  Loring  Hall.  —  Frederic  M.  Hersey,  Chainnan, 
William  Cushing,  Henry  Stephenson. 

Dinner  and  Dinner-Tickets.  —  Ebed  L.  Ripley,  Chairman,  Ed- 
mund Hersey,  2d,  Alonzo  Cushing. 

Dinner  Speeches.  —  John  D.  Long,  Chairman,  Joseph  O.  Burdett, 
Joseph  B.  Thaxter. 

Printing.  —  George  Lincoln,  Chairman,  John  C.  Gardner,  Henry 
C.  Harding. 

Exhibition  of  Ancient  Relics.  —  Fearing  Burr,  C/z^zm^/z,  Edwin 
Wilder,  Henry  E.  Spalding. 

Bonfires.  —  George  Cushing,  Chairman,  for  Otis  Hill;  Thomas 
Howe,  for  Baker's  Hill ;  Francis  W.  Brewer,  for  Planter's  Hill ; 
Charles  H.  Marble,  for  Turkey  Hill ;  James  L.  Gardner,  for 
Prospect  Hill ;  Josiah  M.  Lane,  for  Liberty  Pole  Hill. 

Invitations  and  Reception.  —  Starkes  Whiton,  Chairman,  Joseph 
B.  Thaxter,  Chades  Siders,  Henry  C.  Harding,  Francis  H. 
Lincoln. 

Decoration  of  Streets.  —  Edwin  Wilder,  Chairman,  Chades  W. 
S.  Seymour,  Osgood  Eaton. 


16  THE    TOWN    OF    HINGHAM. 

Decoration  of  Church.  —  John  Todd,   Chairfnan,   Francis  W. 

Brewer,  Henry  E.  Spalding. 
Decoration  of  Halls. — Charles  C.  Melcher,  Chairman,  Henry 

W.  Cushing,  Charles  W.  S.  Seymour. 
Police   Arrangements.  —  Thomas    Howe,     Chairman,    George 

Cushing,  Edward  F.  Wilder. 

Voted,  That  the  Committee  on  Invitations  be 
authorized  to  invite  all  the  survivors  of  those  who 
performed  military  duty  or  acted  as  marshals  at  the 
Centennial  Celebration  in  this  town  in  1835. 

The  programme  for  the  celebration  was  now 
adopted  and  the  organization  complete.  The  sub- 
sequent meetings  of  the  Committee  of  Arrange- 
ments were  principally  occupied  with  the  arrange- 
ment of  details,  and  the  various  sub-committees 
labored  zealously  in  their  respective  departments. 
Liberal  subscriptions  of  money  were  reported.  All 
things  promised  well  for  a  successful  and  memorable 
day  in  the  annals  of  the  town. 

Invitations  were  sent  to  distinguished  persons  to 
attend  the  celebration.  The  list  of  invited  guests 
included  the  State  officials,  natives  of  the  town  who 
had  acquired  eminence  in  other  places,  the  principal 
town-officers  of  Hingham  and  Cohasset  (originally 
a  part  of  Hingham),  ministers  of  the  religious 
societies  of  Hingham  and  Cohasset,  and  others. 


25OTH    ANNIVERSARY.  19 

INVITATION. 

1635.  1885. 


To. 


You  are  respectfully  invited  to  be  present  at  the  celebration  of  the 
250TH    ANNIVERSARY 

OF   THE    SETTLEMENT    OF    THE 

TOWN    OF    HINGHAM, 

On  Tuesday,  September  15,  1885. 


HiNGHAM,    August    22,    1885. 


Starkes  Whiton, 
Joseph  B.  Thaxter, 
Charles  Siders, 
Henry  C.  Harding, 
Francis  H.  Lincoln, 


Committee  on 
hiviiations. 


Please  send  a  reply  before  September  5,  and  on  your  accept- 
ance a  ticket  will  be  sent. 


At  the  Centennial  Celebration,  in  1835,  the  mili- 
tary escort  consisted  of  two  local  organizations, 
the  Hingham  Rifle  Company  and  the  Washington 


20  THE    TOWN    OF    HINGHAM. 

Guards.  To  the  survivors  of  these  companies  and 
to  the  survivors  of  those  who  acted  as  marshals  on 
that  occasion,  the  following  invitation  was  sent :  — 

To 

One  of  the  survivors  of  those  who 

At  the  Centennial  Celebration  in  1835. 

Dear  Sir, 

You  are  respectfully  invited  to  join  the  procession  on  the 
occasion  of  the 

250TH    ANNIVERSARY 

OF   THE    SETTLEMENT   OF   THE 

TOWN    OF    HINGHAM, 

On  Tuesday,  September  15,  1885. 


You  will  assist  the  committee  in  making  their  arrangements  if 
you  will  inform  one  of  the  undersigned,  before  September  10, 
whether  you  can  be  present  or  not. 

Very  respectfully  yours, 

STARKES   WHITON,  Chairman, 
FRANCIS   H.  LINCOLN,  Secretary, 

Of  the  Co!?imiitee  on  Invitations. 
HiNGHAM,  September  3,  1885. 


25OTH    ANNIVERSARY.  21 

Invitations  were  also  sent  to  the  survivors  of  the 
ladies,  who  served  on  the  committee  for  the  colla- 
tion, at  the  Celebration  of  1835,  or  who  contributed 
hymns  or  poems  on  that  occasion,  to  attend  the 
exercises  in  the  Meeting-house. 

Interest  in  the  celebration  increased  as  the  day 
approached.  With  thoughtful  attention  to  every 
detail  on  the  part  of  the  several  sub-committees, 
a  treasury  liberally  supplied  with  ample  funds, 
many  offers  of  gratuitous  services,  and  a  hearty 
co-operation  of  the  citizens,  nothing  seemed  want- 
ing but  favorable  weather  to  make  the  celebration 
a  most  interesting  and  successful  event. 


THE    CELEBRATION. 


THE    CELEBRATION. 


'  I  ^HE  weather  reports  on  the  day  preceding  the 
celebration  were  not  assuring.  There  was  anx- 
iety in  the  minds  of  those  who  had  looked  forward 
with  a  deep  interest  to  an  occasion  the  success  of 
which  depended  so  much  upon  atmospheric  condi- 
tions favorable  to  out-of-door  exercises.  All  through 
the  day  and  evening  of  Monday,  the  14th  of  Sep- 
tember, there  were  many  indications  in  the  town  of 
a  orreat  comino:  event.  The  afternoon  trains  and 
boats  brought  to  their  former  homes  the  returning 
sons  of  Hingham.  The  buildings,  with  their  gayly 
decorated  fronts,  seemed  to  be  clothed  in  a  new  dress 
for  the  occasion.  Flags  and  streamers,  red  autumn 
leaves  and  yellow  golden-rod,  sentimental  and  his- 
toric mottoes,  gave  many  a  sedate  old  residence  a 
fluttering,  picturesque,  holiday  appearance  to  wel- 
come the  returninsf  wanderers. 

o 

On  the  morning  of  the  15th  all  doubts  about  the 
weather  were  dispelled.  As  the  sun  rose  on  the 
fairest  of  autumn  days,  the  church  bells  rang  merrily 
out  the  announcement  that  "  the  great,  the  impor- 
tant day  "  had  at  last  arrived.     The  frosts  had  kindly 


26  THE    TOWN    OF    HINGHAM. 

spared  the  flowers,  while  occasional  hints  of  autumn 
srave  here  and  there  a  touch  of  color  to  tree  and 
shrub.  Nature  seemed  to  rival  art  in  the  decora- 
tions. The  old  town  never  was  more  beautiful. 
From  all  her  hills  and  valleys  she  seemed  to  say  to 
young  and  old, — 

"The  thought  of  our  past  years  in  me  doth  breed 
Perpetual  benediction." 

For  an  hour  after  sunrise  the  bells  of  all  the 
churches  were  rung,  while  at  several  points  dis- 
charges of  cannon  disclosed  the  enthusiasm  of 
those  who  voluntarily  contributed  this  feature  to 
the  programme  arranged  for  the  day.  The  people 
were  abroad  early,  and  soon  the  streets  were  alive 
with  happy  groups.  Here  an  old  man  welcomes  his 
former  schoolmates  with  a  warm  grasp  of  the  hand, 
and  recalls  some  youthful  frolic ;  there  some  school- 
children of  to-day,  with  bright  faces  and  white 
dresses,  hurry  to  the  school-house  to  be  ready  for 
their  part  in  the  exercises.  From  far  and  near,  by 
train  and  boat,  in  carriages  and  on  foot,  the  con- 
stantly increasing  number  swells,  until  the  whole 
neighborhood  of  Broad  Bridge  presents  an  unwonted 
scene.  The  day  is  warm,  the  sky  is  clear,  and  every- 
body is  happy. 

The  first  train  from  Boston  brought  Reeves's 
American  Band,  of  Providence,  R.  I.  It  was  im- 
mediately sent  to  South  Hingham,  where  from  nine 
to  ten  o'clock,  in  front  of  the  meeting-house,  an 
open-air  concert  was  given. 


25OTH    ANNIVERSARY.  27 

At  the  same  time  the  Hingham  Brass  Band  gave 
a  concert  in  Fountain  Square  to  an  appreciative 
audience. 

At  ten  o'clock  all  the  school-children  of  the  town 
with  their  teachers,  under  the  general  charge  of 
Allen  P.  Soule,  Superintendent  of  Schools,  assem- 
bled in  Fountain  Square.  Led  by  Alfred  H.  Bis- 
SELL,  teacher  of  music  in  the  public  schools,  the 
children  sang  several  songs. 

At  10.30  o'clock  the  formation  of  the  procession 
began;  and  at  10.40  a  special  train  arrived,  bringing 
the  Governor,  who  was  accompanied  by  members  of 
his  staff  and  other  State  officials,  and  escorted  by 
the  First  Corps  of  Cadets. 

Promptly  at  eleven  o'clock  the  procession  moved 
from  Broad  Bridge  under  the  direction  of  Col. 
Hawkes  Fearing,  Chief  Marshal,  assisted  by  the 
following :  — 

MARSHALL   H.    GUSHING. 

Francis  M.  Ripley.  Charles  A.  Lane. 

George  E.  Whitney.  Charles  Sumner  Cushing. 

William  O.  Fletcher.  Samuel  T.  Hersey. 

Allen  P.  Soule.  Stetson  Foster. 

Jacob  O.  Sanborn.  Ellery  C.  Crocker. 

WiLLARD  E.  Jones.  John  Stephenson 

Louis  P.  Nash.  Hiram  T.  Howard. 

Hugh  J.  Molloy.  William  H.  Leavitt. 

William  H.  Furber.  Thomas  L.  Crehan. 

Henry  M.  Wright.  Herbert  O.  Hardy. 

Charles  L.  Davis.  William  B.  Cross. 

33ugler. 

William  B.  Fearing. 


28  THE    TOWN    OF    HINGHAM. 

The  route  of  the  procession  was  through  North 
Street,  by  Goold's  Bridge,  South,  and  Main  streets, 
to  the  Old  Meeting-house. 


THE     PROCESSION. 


Detachment  of  Police  under  command  of  Chief  of  Police 
Erastus  Whiton. 

ESCORT. 

REEVES'S    AMERICAN    BAND. 

Edwin  Humphrey  Post  104,  G.  A.  R.,  Comrade  Charles  H.  Wake- 
field commanding  ;  accompanied  by  Simpson's  Drum  Corps 
and  the  Post  Drum  Corps,  and  detachments  from 
Posts  31  and  58,  —  90  men. 


FIRST    DIVISION. 

Aid.  Chief  Marshal.  Aid. 

Committee  of  Arrangements. 
Marshal.  Marshal. 

Hon.  John  D.  Long,  President  of  the  day,  Mr.  Solomon  Lincoln, 
Orator,  and  Rev.  Joseph  Osgood,  Chaplain  of  the  day. 

Town  Officers  of  Hinghai?t. 

DeWitt  C.  Bates,  Seth  Sprague,  Walter  W.  Hersey, 

Selectmen. 

William  Fearing,  2d,  Town  Treasurer. 

Town  Officers  of  Cohasset. 

J.  O.  A.  LoTHROP,   Caleb  F.  Nichols,   Philander  Bates, 

Selectmen. 

Newcomb  B.  Tower,  Town  Clerk 


25OTH    ANNIVERSARY.  29 

BALDWIN'S   CADET   BAND. 

First  Corps  of  Cadets,  M.  V.  M.,  Lieut.-Col.  Thomas  F.  Edmands 

commanding,  escorting  His  Excellency, 

George  D.  Robinson,  Governor  of  the  Commonwealth, 

His  Honor,  Oliver  Ames,  Lieutenant-Governor, 
Hon.  Henry  B.  Peirce,  Secretary  of  the  Commonwealth; 

Members  of  the  Governor's  Staff: 
Brig. -Gen.  Samuel  Dalton,  Col.  Ephraim  Stearns, 
Col.  Edward  H.  Gilbert  ; 
accompanied  by  Hon.  Starkes  Whiton,  Chairman  of  the  Commit- 
tee of  Arrangements,  and  Joseph  B.  Thaxter,  of  the 
Reception  Committee. 


INVITED     GUESTS, 

Accompanied  by  Charles  Siders  and  Henry  C.  Harding,  of  the 
Reception  Committee. 

Hon.  Jonathan  Bourne,  Councillor,  District  No.  i. 
Mr.  Joseph  O.  Burdett,  Representative,  First  Plymouth  District, 
Hon.  Thomas  Russell.  Hon.  John  F.  Andrew. 

Hon.  Thomas  Talbot.  Hon.  Moses  Humphrey. 

Mr.  Alfred  C.  Hersey.  Capt.  John  K.  Corbett. 

Mr.  Luther  Stephenson.  Dr.  William  Everett. 

Mr.  Hosea  H.  Lincoln. 

Clergymen  of  Hingham. 
Rev.  Henry  A.  Miles,  D.D.        Rev.  H.  Price  Collier. 
Rev.  Henry  M.  Dean.  Rev.  Edward  A.  Robinson. 

Rev.  Alfred  Cross.  Rev.  Arthur  Thompson. 

Clergymen  of  Cohasset. 
Rev.  Harlan  Page.  Rev.  John  H.  Allen. 

Surviving  Marshals  of  the  Procession  of  fifty  years  ago. 

John  Waters,  David  A.  Hersey,  Leavitt  Lane,  Roswell  Trowbridge, 
David  Cushine:. 


30  THE    TOWN    OF    HINGHAM.    , 

Surviving  Mejnbers  of  the  Washington  Griards  who  were 

on  duty  in  1835. 

Moses    Humphrey,   Joseph    Sprague,    Rufus    Lane,    Martin    Wilder, 

EHhu    Thayer,    John    Todd,    Nahum    Robinson,    Charles 

Humphrey,  John  D.  Remington,  Lewis  Eddy,  John 

Binney,  David  Cobb,  Henry  Siders,  Daniel 

Cain,  Benjamin  S.  Lincoln. 

Survivors  of  the  Hinghani  Rifle  Company  who  were  on  duty 
in  1835. 

Capt.  John  K.  Corbett,  Capt.  John  Stephenson,  Joseph  Ripley,  Justin 
Ripley,  Isaac  N.  Damon,  Isaac  Sprague,  John  W.  Peirce,  Jo- 
seph C.  Sprague,  Sidney  Sprague,  Zenas  Loring,  Jairus 
Sprague,  Kinsman  Chamberlain,  Moses  L.  Whiton, 
John  E.  Corthell,  Moses  Sprague. 

Survivors  of  Mr.  Dimcan  McBean  Thaxier''s  School,  —  1813-1817. 

Duncan  McBean  Thaxter,  teacher. 
Robert  W.  Lincoln,  E.   Jones  Andrews,  Alexander  Anderson,  John 
P.  Dawes,  Lincoln  Goold,  Samuel  W.  Marsh,  Benjamin  S.  Lin- 
coln, Seth  L.  Hobart,  Samuel   Andrews,   Mrs.    Gridley 
Stodder,  Mrs.  Martin  Battles,  Moses  Humphrey, 
Daniel  Cain. 

Marshal.  Marshal. 

President,   Trustees,  and  Treasurer  of  the  Hingham  Institution  for 

Savings. 

President,    Directors,    Secretary,    and    Treasurer    of    the    Hingham 

Mutual  Fire  Insurance  Company. 

President,  Directors,  and  Cashier  of  the  Hingham  National  Bank. 

Officers  and  Members  of  the  Hingham  Agricultural  and  Horticultural 

Society. 

Company  of  Minute  Men. 
Captain,  Henry  L.  Merritt ;  Lieutenant,  Charles  W.  Hutchins ;  Ser- 
geant, Harry  F.  Cross;  Privates,  J.  Frank  Crehan,  Charles  Damon, 
Fred  L.  Sprague,  John  W.  Pyne,  Webster  Loring,  Porter  Souther, 
William  W.  Gushing,  H.  Everett  Loring,  E.  Ellsworth  Manning, 
Robert  Downey,  George  Downey,  Parker  Souther,  Edmund  H. 
Gushing,  Frederick  Souther,  Edward  W.  Thayer,  Henry  F.  Gush- 
ing, George  Griffin,  Peter  J.  Clement. 

Trustees  of  Derby  Academy. 

Trustees  of  the  Hingham  Public  Library. 

Marshal.  Marshal. 

Citizens  and  former  residents  of  Hingham, 


25OTH    ANNIVERSARY.  3 1 

SECOND    DIVISION. 

Marshal,  Allen  P.  Soule,  Chief. 

HINGHAM   BRASS   BAND. 

Marshal.  Marshal. 

Pupils  of  the  Public   Schools  and  of  Derby  Academy,  in  charge  of 

their  respective  Teachers. 

High  School,  Jacob  O.  Sanborn,  teacher,  104  pupils. 

Thaxter  Street  Grammar,  Willard  E.  Jones,  teacher,  31  pupils. 

Elm  Street  Grammar,  Hugh  J.  Molloy,  teacher,  32  pupils. 

South  Grammar,  William  H.  Furber,  teacher,  26  pupils. 

Canterbury  Street,  Miss  Martha  B.  Beale,  teacher,  20  pupils. 

South  Mixed,  Miss  Elizabeth  L.  Stodder,  teacher,  25  pupils. 

Derby  Academy,  Henry  M.  Wright,  teacher,  35  pupils. 

Elm  Street  Intermediate,  Miss  Emma  I.  Brown,  teacher,  38  pupils. 

Centre  Intermediate,  Miss  Mary  W.  Bates,  teacher,  38  pupils. 

West  Intermediate,  Miss  Adair  F.  Bonney,  teacher,  52  pupils. 

Derby  Primary,  Miss  Carohne  R.  Leverett,  teacher,  26  pupils. 

Fort  Hill  Primary,  Miss  Emma  L.  Thayer,  teacher,  29  pupils. 

Elm  Street  Primary,  Miss  Mary  A.  Crowe,  teacher,  32  pupils. 

Centre  Primary,  Miss  Irene  I.  Lincoln,  teacher,  51  pupils. 

Private  School,  Miss  Priscilla  Whiton,  teacher,  5  pupils. 

South  Intermediate,  Mrs.  Mary  F.  Andrews,  teacher,  34  pupils. 

South  Primary,  Miss  Fannie  O.  Gushing,  teacher,  29  pupils. 

Thaxter  Street  Primary,  Miss  Mary  E.  Riddle,  teacher,  48  pupils. 

Centre  Grammar,  Mr.  Louis  P.  Nash,  teacher,  42  pupils. 


THIRD    DIVISION. 

Marshal,  Hiram  T.  Howard,  Chief. 

Fire  Department  of  Hingham. 

Chief  Engineer  and  Assistant  Engineers. 

Isaac   Little   Hose    Company   No.  r,  Hiram  T.   Howard,    Foreman, 

13  men. 
Torrent  Engine  Company  No.  2,  Thomas  Margetts,  Acting  Foreman, 

17  men. 
Niagara  Hose  Company  No.  3,  J.  Edwards  Ripley,  Foreman,  12  men. 

Constitution  Engine  Company  No.  4,  Andrew  Gunn,  Acting  Foreman, 

20  men. 
Hook  and  Ladder  Company  No.  i,  Roswell  L.  Litchfield,  Foreman, 

16  men. 


AT  THE   MEETING-HOUSE. 


nPHE  scene  in  the  Meeting-house  was  very  im- 
pressive. The  decorations  were  confined  to 
flowers  and  green,  tastefully  arranged  but  not  elab- 
orate. The  house  was  completely  filled,  the  large 
audience  being  seated  under  the  direction  of  a 
committee  consisting  of 

E.   WATERS   BURR,    Chairman. 
Ebed  L.  Ripley.  Charles  H.  Marble. 

Assisted  by  the  following  — 

USHERS. 

Arthur  Lincoln.  William  O.  Lincoln. 

Ellery  C.  Crocker.  Frederick  Humphrey. 

Stetson  Foster.  Alonzo  F.  Cushing. 

John  C.  Hollis.  Charles  F.  Whiton. 

Joseph  B.  Thaxter,  Jr.  Arthur  R.  Whitcomb. 

George  S.  Marsh.  William  R.  Burr. 
Ernest  W.  Lincoln. 

Upon  the  platform,  in  front  of  the  pulpit,  sat 
Hon.  John  D.  Long,  President  of  the  Day.  At  his 
right  sat  Mr.  Solomon  Lincoln,  the  Orator,  and  at 
his  left,  Rev.  Joseph  Osgood,  the  Chaplain.  There 
were  also  seated  upon  the  platform  His  Excellency, 


25OTH    ANNIVERSARY.  33 

George  D.  Robinson,  Governor  of  Massacliusetts, 
His  Honor,  Oliver  Ames,  Lieutenant-Governor, 
and  many  others  of  the  invited  guests. 

In  one  of  the  front  pews  were  two  of  the  invited 
lady  survivors  of  the  celebration  of  1835,  —  Mrs. 
Increase  S.  Smith  and  Mrs.  Eunice  W.  Campbell. 

In  the  pews  in  the  centre  of  the  house  were 
many  who  were  present  in  the  same  meeting-house 
fifty  years  ago,  to  listen  to  similar  exercises,  and 
who  recalled  the  scenes  of  that  day.  There  were 
veterans  of  our  late  war,  as  on  that  day  there 
were  veterans  of  the  Revolution,  All,  by  their 
close  attention,  showed  their  deep  interest  in  the 
occasion. 

1635.  1885. 

ORDER    OF    EXERCISES 

IN 

THE     OLD     MEETING-HOUSE, 

Tuesday,  September  15,  1885, 

on  occasion  of  the  celebration  of  the  two  hundred 

and  fiftieth  anniversary  of  the  settlement 

of  the  town  of  hingham. 


dLammittte  on  GTfjurcfj  lEicrctses. 

EDMUND  HERSEY,  2D.  CHARLES   SIDERS. 

FEARING  BURR. 


34  THE    TOWN    OF    HINGHAM. 

ORDER    OF    EXERCISES, 

Hon:  JOHN  D.  LONG,  Presiding. 


ORGAN   VOLUNTARY. 

ALFRED    H.   BISSELL. 

PRAYER. 

REV.    JOSEPH   OSGOOD,    OF   COHASSET. 


HYMN. 

WRITTEN   BY   REV.    HENRY   WARE,    JR.,   D.  D. 

For  the  Celebration  of  the  200th  Anniversary  of  the  Settlement  of  Hingham,  and  sung 
on  that  occasion,  September  28,  1835. 

Tune,  "  Dundee."  —  To  be  smig  by  the  congregation. 

We  praise  the  Lord,  who  o'er  the  sea 

Our  exiled  fathers  led, 
And  on  them  in  the  wilderness 

His  light  and  glory  shed. 
In  want  and  fear  for  many  a  year 

They  spread  their  scanty  board  ; 
Yet  loud  and  strong  their  grateful  song 

The  Giver's  hand  adored. 

Two  hundred  years  have  passed  away ; 

The  desert  frowns  no  more  ; 
And  glory,  such  as  Judah  knew, 

Crowns  hillside,  vale,  and  shore. 
Then  louder  still,  o'er  plain  and  hill, 

Send  forth  the  shout  of  praise, 
And  bid  it  run  from  sire  to  son. 

Through  all  succeeding  days. 


25OTH    ANNIVERSARY.  35 


ORATION.- 

MR.    SOLOMON   LINCOLN. 


HYMN. 
"America." —  To  he  sung  by  the  congregation. 

My  country,  't  is  of  thee,  — 
Sweet  land  of  liberty,  — 

Of  thee  I  sing  : 
Land  where  my  fathers  died, 
Land  of  the  pilgrim's  pride. 
From  every  mountain  side 

Let  freedom  ring. 

My  native  country,  thee,  — 
Land  of  the  noble  free,  — 

Thy  name  I  love  : 
I  love  thy  rocks  and  rills, 
Thy  woods  and  templed  hills  ; 
My  heart  with  rapture  thrills 

Like  that  above. 

Let  music  swell  the  breeze. 
And  ring  from  all  the  trees 

Sweet  freedom's  song  ! 
Let  mortal  tongues  awake  ; 
Let  all  that  breathe  partake  ; 
Let  rocks  their  silence  break ; — 

The  song  prolong. 

Our  fathers'  God,  to  thee. 
Author  of  liberty,  — 

To  thee  we  sing  : 
Long  may  our  land  be  bright 
With  freedom's  holy  light ; 
Protect  us  by  thy  might. 

Great  God,  our  Kins. 


BENEDICTION. 

REV.    HENRY   M.    DEAN. 


36  THE    TOWN    OF    HINGHAM. 

The  exercises  began   at    11.45   o'clock,  with   an 
Organ  Voluntary  by  Alfred  H.  Bissell. 

Prayer  was  then  offered  by  Rev.  Joseph  Osgood, 
minister  of  the  First  Parish  in  Cohasset. 


PRAYER    OF    REV.    JOSEPH    OSGOOD. 

Almighty  God,  —  God  of  our  fathers  and  our 
God,  on  whom  we  ever  depend,  —  we  ask  thy 
blessing  on  this  day.  We  pray  thee  to  sanctify 
our  hearts  by  the  memories  associated  with  this 
anniversary;  and,  as  we  think  of  the  past,  —  of  the 
way  in  which  thou  hast  led  us  and  in  which  thou 
didst  lead  our  fathers,  —  may  we  recognize  our  con- 
stant dependence  on  thee,  and  may  our  hearts  be 
filled  with  gratitude  and  praise. 

We  thank  thee  that  in  the  terrible  conflict  be- 
tween freedom  and  absolutism  which  divided  the 
men  of  the  Old  World,  thou  didst  put  it  into  the 
hearts  of  some  of  thy  children  to  forsake  the  land 
of  their  birth,  and  to  seek  new  homes  and  to  estab- 
lish new  forms  of  government  on  these  shores.  We 
thank  thee  for  their  loyalty  to  conscience  and  for 
their  appreciation  of  the  rights  of  man.  We  thank 
thee  that  thou  didst  protect  them  from  savage 
foes,  preserve  them  from  famine  and  death,  and 
give  them  patience  to  perform  faithfully  the  duties 
of  their  position ;  and  that  by  their  self-sacrifice, 
their  industry,  and  their  loyalty  to  all  that  was  great, 


25OTH    ANNIVERSARY.  37 

good,  and  noble,  they  were  enabled  to  found  this 
ancient  town,  to  plant  here  institutions  of  religion 
and  learning,  and  to  train  up  a  people  conscious  of 
their  rights,  loyal  to  thee,  loyal  to  the  church,  and 
loyal  to  the  highest  interests  of  humanity.  We 
thank  thee  that  from  generation  to  generation 
thou  hast  watched  over  and  guided  them,  —  in 
their  day  of  small  things,  amid  hardship,  privation, 
and  trial,  and  in  their  days  of  prosperity,  comfort, 
and  happiness. 

We  thank  thee  for  those  who  have  been  born  in 
this  town  who  have  honored  the  place  of  their  birth ; 
who  have  carried  forward  the  institutions  of  religion, 
of  learning,  and  of  civil  order  and  freedom  ;  who 
have  filled  worthily  the  professions  which  they  chose, 
—  those  who  have  been  ministers  of  thy  word  and 
have  preached  the  gospel  of  truth,  of  freedom,  of 
holiness,  and  of  love ;  those  who  have  sought  to 
interpret  the  laws,  and  to  teach  men  their  legal  and 
social  duties  and  rights ;  and  those  who  have  been 
beloved  physicians,  combating  disease  and  giving 
relief  in  pain  and  suffering. 

We  thank  thee  for  the  sons  of  this  town  who 
have  occupied  high  places  in  the  nation  and  in  the 
State ;  for  him  w4io  was  the  bosom  friend,  the  wise 
adviser,  and  the  able  assistant  of  the  Father  of  our 
country  in  the  perilous  days  of  the  war  of  the 
Revolution. 

We  thank  thee  for  the  adopted  children  of  this 
town  who  have  so  worthily  held  the  office  of  Chief 


38  THE    TOWN   OF    HINGHAM. 

Magistrate ;  and  we  would  especially  remember  at 
this  time  him  who  was  so  devoted  and  loyal  to  his 
country,  the  War  Governor  of  the  nation,  who,  by 
his  sympathy,  counsel,  and  hearty  co-operation, 
sustained  and  helped  the  President  of  the  United 
States  in  all  that  fearful  conflict  through  which  our 
nation  passed.  And  we  thank  thee  for  all  the 
young  men  who,  in  the  spirit  of  patriotism,  perilled 
or  laid  down  their  lives  at  their  country's  call ;  and 
we  thank  thee  for  all  the  men  and  women  who,  by 
their  industry,  honesty,  enterprise,  and  virtue,  have 
helped  to  make  the  town  what  it  is  and  our  country 
what  it  is. 

Wilt  thou.  Heavenly  Father,  continue  the  bless- 
ings which  thou  hast  bestowed  on  the  fathers  to 
their  children ;  and  grant  that  the  seeds  which  were 
sown  in  labor,  hardship,  trial,  and  patience  may 
spring  up  and  bear  fruit  an  hundred-fold  to  thy 
glory,  and  that  the  prayers,  labors,  and  endeavors  of 
the  past  may  result  in  securing  for  this  town,  and 
for  all  who  have  gone  forth  from  this  town,  a  more 
beautiful  and  prosperous  future. 

Bless,  we  pray  thee,  all  the  institutions  of  this 
town,  —  its  churches,  its  schools,  all  its  forms  of 
honest  industry  and  enterprise,  all  the  endeavors 
made  for  the  upbuilding  of  thy  kingdom  amongst 
its  children,  and  for  the  training  up  of  a  noble, 
honorable,  and  loyal  people,  having  in  their  hearts 
the  spirit  of  patriotism  that  lived  in  the  breasts  of 
their  fathers,  so  that,  like  them,  they  may  be  ready 


25OTH    ANNIVERSARY.  39 

to  respond  to  every  call  of  duty,  and  to  face  peril 
and  hardship  in  the  service  of  their  country. 

Wilt  thou,  Heavenly  Father,  bless  all  the  exer- 
cises of  this  day.  May  they,  while  they  remind  us 
of  the  past,  lead  us  to  serious  meditation.  Bless 
the  Chief  Magistrate  of  this  Commonwealth.  Bless 
all  who  sympathize  in  the  spirit  of  this  anniversary; 
and  grant  that  while  we  are  reminded  of  the  labors, 
of  the  sacrifices,  and  the  perils  of  the  sons  of  this 
town  in  the  past,  their  memory  may  be  precious  to 
us,  and  may  ever  be  kept  green  in  our  hearts. 

Wilt  thou  hear  us,  accept  us,  send  down  upon  us 
thy  blessing,  for  thine  is  the  kingdom,  power,  and 
glory  forever.     Amen. 

Then  followed  the  singing  of  the  Hymn  by  Rev. 
Henry  Ware,  Jr.,  D.  D.,  to  the  tune  of  "  Dundee  " 
by  the  congregation. 

The  Oration  was  then  delivered  by  Mr.  Solomon 
Lincoln. 


ORATION  OF  MR.  SOLOMON  LINCOLN. 


Mr.  President,  Your  Excellency,  Men  and  Wonten  of  Hingham  :  — 

nnHE  spirit  of  our  institutions  discourages  pride 
of  birth.  The  Declaration  of  Independence  — 
and  he  who  first  attached  his  bold  signature  to  that 
immortal  proclamation  was  partly  of  Hingham  de- 
scent— declares  that  all  men  are  created  equal.  And 
yet  this  is  but  a  narrow  truth.  Men  are  created  heirs 
to  a  most  unequal  inheritance.  The  qualities  and 
opportunities  which  they  inherit  are  the  chief  in- 
fluences which  determine  their  character  and  their 
success.  Fortunate,  then,  is  he  who  springs  from 
an  honest,  a  wise,  and  a  prosperous  ancestry.  And 
as  of  the  individual,  so  of  a  people.  Fortunate  is 
that  community  which  inherits  a  just  pride  in  the 
achievements  of  its  ancestors ;  which  wisely  sees 
that  a  large  measure  of  present  prosperity  rests  on 
foundations  laid  in  the  past,  and  which,  by  a  fre- 
quent and  reverent  study  of  the  virtues  of  those 
ancestors,  learns  to  maintain  and  to  transmit  them. 
More  fortunate  still  are  the  sons,  if  their  lot  has 
fallen  in  the  homes  of  the  fathers ;    if  their  paths 


25OTH    ANNIVERSARY.  4 1 

lie  among  scenes  stored  with  traditions,  and  which 
memory  repeoples  with  familiar  forms  ;  whose  chil- 
dren, reared  among  cherished  memorials  of  the  past, 
imbibe  a  reverence  for  it ;  and  who  themselves  look 
forward  to  a  rest  beside  their  fathers  in  soil  long 
consecrated  by  pious  care,  and  made  precious  by 
their  dust.  The  lives  of  such  a  people  are  enriched 
by  a  wealth  of  tender  and  refining  influences,  and 
are  strengthened  by  noble  examples ;  and  the  loss 
of  these  no  success  among  strangers,  however  bril- 
liant, can  replace. 

We  may  justly  claim  that  our  town  and  people 
are  thus  fortunate.  On  the  spot  where  the  fathers 
first  gathered  the  sons  have  remained,  proud  in  the 
full  enjoyment  of  the  inheritance  of  their  good 
names.  The  families  most  numerous  among  the 
citizens  to-day  bear  names  which  the  first  settlers 
bore.  We  claim  for  the  town  no  peculiar  promi- 
nence among  many  settlements  like  it,  early  planted 
on  these  rough  coasts  of  Massachusetts.  Their  cen- 
tennials, now  frequently  recurring,  recall  histories 
equally  noble.  But  the  results  of  those  simple  be- 
ginnings never  cease  to  arouse  wonder.  They  at 
once  began  their  steady  expansion.  Puritan  and 
Pilgrim  soon  joined  hands,  and  their  united  children 
form  a  community  in  which  wealth,  education,  the 
comforts,  and  even  luxuries  of  life  have  reached  a 
higher  average  and  more  general  distribution  than 
in  any  of  similar  extent  which  has  ever  existed. 
The  Puritans  —  those  men  of    narrow  means,  but 


42  THE    TOWN    OF    HINGHAM. 

little  given  to  the  pleasures  of  the  world,  cultivating 
but  few  of  the  graces  which  brighten  life,  chiefly 
conspicuous  by  a  severe  devotion  to  what  they  es- 
teemed man's  highest  duty,  least  of  all  men  given 
to  the  indulgence  of  the  imagination  —  have  proved 
the  unconscious  founders  of  a  nation  of  which  the 
wealth  and  power  would  have  seemed  to  them  the 
idlest  vision  of  a  dream.  Nor  is  their  influence 
spent.  Their  sons,  pouring  across  a  continent  to 
them  unknown,  even  to  the  Pacific  shore,  bear  it 
undiminished  into  new  communities ;  and  it  early 
lifted  New  England  to  a  leadership  which  it  still 
maintains. 

These  are  familiar  thoughts,  but  I  recall  them  to 
remind  ourselves  that  it  never  ceases  to  be  our  filial 
obligation  to  cherish  the  memory  of  such  fathers. 
It  is  to  the  credit  of  this  town  that  it  has  always 
been  mindful  of  this  duty.  Not  many  memorials  of 
the  past  have  been  bequeathed  to  our  care.  We 
look  for  no  stately  monuments,  no  marvels  of  the 
painter's  pencil  or  the  sculptor's  chisel.  These  de- 
mand more  centuries  than  those  we  celebrate  to-day. 
Even  had  the  Puritan  not  regarded  the  hours  given 
to  such  creations  as  hours  stolen  from  the  service  of 
God,  yet  the  simplest  needs  of  existence  left  him 
no  season  for  such  toil.  This  venerable  Meeting- 
house stands  almost  our  sole  visible  inheritance  from 
the  past ;  but  in  it  the  character  and  faith  of  the 
builders  find  perfect  expression.  They  believed  the 
worship  of  God  to  be  their  supreme  duty.     Their 


25OTH    ANNIVERSARY.  43 

first  care,  therefore,  was  to  build  His  house,  and  a 
portion  of  that  earliest  building  is  incorporated  in 
this  venerable  structure,  which  soon  replaced  it. 
But  the  Being  whom  they  had  forsaken  home  and 
crossed  the  sea  to  worship,  looked  with  no  favor 
upon  costly  churches,  so  adorned  by  art  as  to  dis- 
tract the  mind  from  true  worship,  or  elaborate  cere- 
monials in  which  empty  forms  were  substituted  for 
devotion.  Such  services  in  such  temples  were  to 
them  idolatry.  Human  art  was  trivial  in  the  pres- 
ence of  the  Divine  Majesty.  Poor  in  the  riches  of 
this  world,  yet  for  the  house  they  built  for  His  ser- 
vice they  gave  with  a  liberal  hand.  Simple  and 
homely  in  its  design,  they  dishonored  it  by  no  un- 
faithful work.  They  chose  the  soundest  oaks ;  they 
fitted  its  strong  frame  with  elaborate  care.  Perhaps 
some  lingering  memory  of  the  gothic  arches  of  the 
cathedrals  in  the  homes  they  had  left,  or  fresher 
memories  of  the  shades  of  the  forest,  unconsciously 
guided  the  axes  which  hewed  the  curved  beams  of 
its  roof,  now  hidden  by  the  ceiling  above;  and  here 
and  there  slight  traces  of  ornament  show  that  the 
hand  even  of  the  Puritan  artificer  would  wander, 
when  tempted  astray  by  some  graceful  fancy ;  but 
otherwise  all  is  as  strong  and  severe  as  the  faith  it 
typifies.  And  now  its  simple  and  homely  lines  are 
softened  by  the  tender  associations  of  more  than 
two  centuries ;  by  the  joy  and  the  sadness  of  all  the 
solemn  ceremonies  of  life  and  death.  The  builder's 
art  has  not  failed ;  the  elements  have  spared  it ;  it 


44  THE    TOWN    OF    HINGHAM. 

will  stand  till  the  oak  decays,  a  monument  of  tVie 
fathers'  piety  and  the  sons'  veneration. 

And  not  merely  have  the  town  and  its  people  pre- 
served with  faithful  care  these  visible  memorials  of 
their  ancestors ;  they  have  not  failed  on  suitable 
anniversaries  publicly  to  honor  their  memory.  Fifty 
years  ago  to-day  they  celebrated  the  two  hundredth 
anniversary  of  the  settlement  with  a  zealous  energy 
we  cannot  hope  to  surpass.  All  the  resources  of 
the  town  were  appropriately  employed,  and  all  citi- 
zens united  to  give  interest  and  dignity  to  the 
occasion.  The  bells  of  the  various  meeting-houses 
were  rung.  Young  and  old,  escorted  by  two  mili- 
tary companies  of  the  town,  —  the  Hingham  Rifle 
Company  and  the  Washington  Guards,  —  marched 
in  procession  to  this  Meeting-house  and  joined  in 
impressive  services.  Then,  as  to-day,  the  Chief 
Magistrate  of  the  Commonwealth  honored  the  town 
by  his  presence.  Distinguished  strangers  joined 
returning  sons  to  pay  their  tribute  of  respect.  Of 
these  guests  John  Quincy  Adams  was  the  most 
conspicuous.  Mr.  Winthrop  alone  remains  to  enjoy 
in  the  evening  of  life  his  well-earned  honors.  The 
centennial  oration,  delivered  upon  this  very  spot, 
reviewed  the  history  of  the  town,  recalled  the  ser- 
vices of  its  prominent  citizens,  and  gave  fit  expres- 
sion to  the  reflections  and  hopes  which  such  an 
anniversary  inspires.  In  the  hearts  of  many  of  us 
emotions  of  sadness  arise  as  we  read  the  names  of 
those  who  lent  that  day  its  spirit.     Most  are  gone, 


25OTH    ANNIVERSARY.  45 

even  of  those  then  young.  But  it  adds  to  the 
pleasure  of  this  occasion  that  we  can  welcome  here 
a  few  who  remain  to  teach  us  the  enthusiasm  which 
was  then  aroused. 

The  various  anniversaries  of  important  events  in 
the  history  of  this  parish  and  of  its  Meeting-house, 
have,  in  like  manner,  been  publicly  commemorated ; 
and  the  eloquent  discourses  then  delivered,  especially 
the  admirable  address  of  Professor  Norton  upon  the 
two  hundredth  anniversary  of  the  building  of  this 
house,  have  kept  fresh  the  history  of  the  town ;  for, 
in  the  early  days,  town  and  parish  were  one.  One 
history  of  the  town  has  long  been  published,  —  the 
early  fruit  of  the  industrious  research  of  one  whose 
other  contributions  to  its  published  history  were 
unceasing,  and  whose  interest  in  the  town  ended 
only  with  his  life.  An  ample  volume,  prepared  at 
public  expense  and  with  most  painstaking  care,  pre- 
serves the  story  of  the  part  taken  by  Hingham  in 
the  Civil  War ;  and,  by  like  authority,  there  is  now 
preparing  another  history,  which  shall  be  a  complete 
account  of  Hingham.  I  am  thus  warned  that  its 
history  is  familiar  to  you;  and  that  the  lessons  which 
it  teaches  have  been  taught  you  by  lips  far  more 
competent  than  mine.  Nothing  but  a  deep  interest 
and  a  strong  sense  of  filial  duty  prompt  me  to  be 
even  a  gleaner  in  such  well-harvested  fields.  And 
yet,  upon  such  an  anniversary,  our  first  thoughts 
must  turn  backward.  However  familiar  the  path, 
our  steps,  for  a  while  at  least,  must  follow  the  an- 


46  THE    TOWN    OF    HINGHAM. 

cient  ways.  It  is  the  day  for  old  memories ;  and  I 
should  do  it  no  justice  should  I  refuse  to  revive 
them.  We  recall  them  with  the  same  unfailing 
pleasure  with  which  we  revisit  the  homes  of  our 
youth.  They  have  a  mysterious  charm,  the  deeper 
because  it  is  peculiarly  our  own.  The  associations 
of  such  a  day  acquire  not  merely  their  tender  in- 
terest, but  indeed,  if  I  may  use  a  paradox,  their 
freshness  and  strength  from  their  very  age  and 
familiarity. 

Two  hundred  and  fifty  years!  Hardly  to  be 
counted  in  the  unrecorded  ages  since  the  earth  took 
form.  Scarcely  a  moment,  even  upon  the  dial  of 
recorded  time.  Short,  indeed,  in  such  comparisons, 
and  yet,  if  measured  by  the  scale  of  human  progress, 
centuries  longer  than  all  preceding  time.  For  in 
them  has  arisen  the  new  modern  world,  with  its  new 
states,  and  its  new  principles  of  government,  its  new 
science,  literature,  and  art.  The  lapse  of  a  period 
so  rounded  lifts  us  in  imagination  to  a  height  from 
which  we  have  a  clearer  vision  of  the  early  days. 
Years  are  brief ;  and  the  beginning  very  near.  We 
cannot,  indeed,  now  learn  all  our  history  from  living 
lips ;  but  words  from  lips  of  those  who  told  it  to 
their  sons,  and  they  again  to  theirs,  might,  thus 
transmitted,  almost  reach  our  ears.  One  hundred 
and  fifty  years  ago  one  of  the  original  settlers  was 
still  alive.  Three  such  generations  would  span  the 
interval  from  the  first  settlement.  With  long  lives 
have   Hingham  men  been  honored.      To  this   the 


25OTH    ANNIVERSARY.  47 

remarkable  record  of  yonder  tablet  bears  witness. 
One  of  the  ministers  whose  names  are  there  en- 
rolled, the  Rev.  Dr.  Gay,  preached  here  within  a  few 
months  of  seventy  years ;  another,  Mr.  Richardson, 
was  pastor  of  this  parish  more  than  sixty-five ;  and 
both,  in  discourses  preached  from  this  pulpit,  bor- 
rowing their  text  from  the  words  of  the  prophet 
and  repeating  his  experience,  were  able  with  him  to 
declare,  "  And  now,  lo,  I  am  this  day  four  score  and 
five  years  old." 

The  lives  and  character  of  the  Puritans  have 
been  the  frequent  theme  of  the  orator,  the  historian, 
and  the  essayist.  Their  achievements  and  the  con- 
sequences which  followed  have  been  so  grand,  and 
their  character  so  strong,  as  to  justify  high  eulogy. 
But  praise  has  been  indiscriminate,  and  a  dispropor- 
tioned  estimate  has  resulted.  The  prevailing  im- 
pressions concerning  them  are  in  a  considerable 
degree  inaccurate  and  unjust.  Their  peculiarities 
have  been  exaggerated  and  their  asceticism  over- 
stated; and  on  the  other  hand,  they  have  been 
credited  with  a  broader  conception  of  religious  lib- 
erty than  they  really  possessed.  We  insist  on  the 
nobility  of  their  sacrifices  and  of  their  supreme 
devotion  to  the  dictates  of  their  consciences ;  but, 
on  the  other  hand,  we  cannot  claim  that  their  con- 
sciences were  fully  illuminated. 

"  Not  unto  them  was  lent 
All  light  for  all  the  coming  days." 


48  THE    TOWN    OF    HINGHAM. 

Their  conception  of  religious  liberty  was  not  com- 
plete. They  did  not  contend  for  entire  liberty  of 
conscience,  nor  for  full  religious  toleration.  They 
had  themselves  been  oppressed ;  odious  and,  as  they 
thought,  unscriptural  ceremonies  had  been  imposed 
on  them  against  their  will,  and  they  were  ready  to 
sacrifice  everything  to  found  a  state  in  which  they, 
not  all  men,  could  so  order  their  lives  and  their 
worship  as  they  were  sure  the  Scriptures  prescribed. 
They  had  not  disputed  the  right  of  the  temporal 
power  to  regulate  religious  belief.  They  recognized 
this  power,  so  long  as  it  was  exercised  in  support  of 
truth.  But  they  bore  it  no  allegiance  when  it  op- 
pressed truth  and  upheld  error.  They  did  not, 
therefore,  profess  to  be  tolerant.  Where,  indeed, 
were  they  to  learn  toleration  ?  Under  what  influ- 
ences had  their  faith  been  formed  ?  In  every  State 
in  Europe,  except  perhaps  in  Holland,  martyrs  were 
burning  at  the  stake.  Hingham  in  England  was 
not  so  far  from  Oxford  but  that  the  fathers  of  the 
founders  of  Hingham  in  New  England  may  have 
seen  the  fires  blazing  around  Latimer  and  Ridley. 
Toleration  was  nowhere  recognized.  They  did  not 
then  complain  of  the  exercise  of  an  unjust  power, 
but  of  an  unjust  exercise  of  power;  and  their  resist- 
ance to  it  was  leading  them,  as  they  believed,  to  a 
purer  faith,  but  not  to  liberty  of  conscience.  The 
arguments  by  which  they  maintained  their  position 
were  often,  indeed,  broad  enough  to  support  the 
much    more    liberal    one    of    complete    toleration. 


25OTH    ANNIVERSARY.  49 

But  they  claimed  for  them  no  such  force.  To 
secure  this  was  not  their  purpose.  So  far  were 
they  from  conceding  it  that  many  protested  directly 
against  it.  Mr.  Ward,  in  his  "  Simple  Cobler  of 
Agawam,"  writes :  "  He  that  is  willing  to  tolerate 
any  religion  besides  his  own,  either  doubts  of  his 
own,  or  is  not  sincere  in  it ; "  and  again  he  says : 
"  It  is  said  that  men  ought  to  have  Liberty  of  their 
Conscience,  and  that  it  is  Persecution  to  debarre 
them  of  it.  I  can  rather  stand  amazed  than  reply 
to  this.  It  is  an  astonishment  to  think  that  the 
brains  of  men  should  be  parboyld  in  such  impious 
ignorance.  Let  all  the  wits  under  the  Heavens  lay 
their  heads  together  and  find  an  assertion  worse 
than  this  (one  excepted),  I  will  petition  to  be  chosen 
the  universal  Ideot  of  the  world." 

Such  were  the  principles  which  the  Puritans  im- 
bibed in  England  and  brought  with  them  here.  But 
men  so  intelligent  and  imbued  with  the  spirit  of 
civil  equality,  could  not  long  maintain  religious  doc- 
trines so  narrow.  The  light  soon  broke.  The  great 
principle  of  complete  religious  freedom  in  its  broad- 
est latitude  was  soon  proclaimed  among  them,  and 
advocated  by  minds  which  had  outstripped  their 
contemporaries  and  been  gifted  with  a  keener  vision. 
Roger  Williams  was  the  greatest  of  those  upon 
whom  this  truth  had  dawned,  though  his  warnings 
were  not  the  first  that  had  been  given.  On  the 
deck  of  the  Speedwell,  as  the  Pilgrims  parted  from 
their  friends  at  Delft  Haven,  John  Robinson  admon- 


50  THE    TOWN    OF    HINGHAM. 

ished  them  of  human  imperfection,  and  besought 
them  to  receive  the  truth  from  whomsoever  it  should 
come.  The  seed  thus  sown  did  not  bear  immediate 
fruit.  By  great  sacrifices  the  Puritans  had  at  last 
secured  the  peaceful  exercise  of  their  own  religious 
convictions ;  and  it  was  natural  that  they  should  be 
impatient  of  any  interruption  of  that  peace.  They 
were  not  disposed  to  consider  how  far  their  own 
claims,  made  when  they  were  the  weaker  party,  im- 
posed a  corresponding  toleration  for  others  when 
they  themselves  held  control.  They  had  not  sought 
a  new  home  to  raise  or  discuss  a  question  like  this. 
They  did  not  claim  to  be  consistent  or  tolerant. 
They  made  no  claims,  —  they  knew  they  were  right ; 
and  if  they  were  right,  others  were  wrong.  To  tol- 
erate evil  was  to  participate  in  it.  Hence  they  be- 
lieved themselves  justified  in  excluding  from  church 
and  state  those  whose  opinions  did  not  conform  to 
their  own.  Such  men  were  sowing  tares  in  the 
garden  of  the  Lord. 

This  view  of  the  Puritan  character  does  not  fairly 
detract  from  their  moral  grandeur.  Never  Vv^ere 
men  more  nobly  faithful  to  the  light  that  was  in 
them.  We,  with  an  experience  which  they  did  not 
possess,  may  hesitate  to  assign  them  so  high  a  posi- 
tion, as  founders  of  states,  as  that  to  which  they 
would  have  been  entitled,  had  they  been  given  the 
wise  foresio^ht  to  see  that  from  a  wider  toleration 
would  have  earlier  resulted  a  larger  measure  of  the 
truth  which  makes  all  free ;  but  yet,  even  with  our 


25OTH    ANNIVERSARY.  5  I 

light,  we  may  not  merely  excuse  but  justify  their 
position  as  a  political  necessity.  There  may  be 
too  much  of  toleration.  Unanimity  and  peace  are 
essential  to  the  existence  of  small  communities ; 
much  more  to  their  prosperous  growth.  Such  can- 
not, like  large  states,  absorb  men  of  all  conditions 
and  all  beliefs  without  appreciable  danger.  When 
such  danger  appears,  the  right  to  exclude  arises ; 
and  of  the  exercise  of  this  right  the  communities 
themselves  must  judge.  I  do  not  forget  that  in 
some  parts  of  New  England  the  Puritans  descended 
to  persecution,  for  which  I  have  no  defence.  But 
this  I  need  not  here  discuss.  I  find  no  stain  like 
this  upon  the  lives  of  our  Hingham  fathers. 

And,  on  the  other  hand,  in  another  particular, 
those  who  have  described  the  Puritan  character 
have  given  it  too  dark  a  coloring,  and  have  done 
them  an  injustice  which  we  are  entitled  to  correct. 

From  the  gloomy  severity  of  their  religious  doc- 
trines have  been  inferred  a  corresponding  severity 
and  gloom  of  life.  But  no  creed  ever  found  full 
expression  in  practice ;  and  no  severity  of  creed  or 
practice  can  change  our  humanity.  It  cannot  de- 
stroy affection  for  kindred.  It  cannot  extinguish 
the  love  of  home  and  of  country.  These  finer 
emotions,  even  if  hidden,  the  Puritan  never  lost. 
Doubtless,  under  the  repression  of  a  severe  exterior, 
they  burned  with  fiercer  warmth.  These  men  were 
our  fathers,  not  very  far  removed  from  us.  Their 
children  know  that  those  so  near  to  them  were  men 


52  THE    TOWN    OF    HINGHAM. 

of  like  affections  with  themselves.  They  who  set- 
tled these  shores  were  no  mere  discontented  adven- 
turers seeking  to  repair  their  broken  fortunes  in 
new  fields ;  nor  were  they  driven  forth  by  superior 
power.  They  were  voluntary  exiles  in  obedience 
to  the  highest  sense  of  duty,  and  in  devotion  to  their 
highest  ideals.  They  held  no  mean  place  in  Eng- 
land. Though  their  lives  even  there  were  austere, 
yet  they  were  spent  in  a  land  naturally  beautiful ; 
where  ample  harvests  rewarded  moderate  toil ;  where 
were  the  homes  of  their  race  and  the  monuments  of 
its  fame ;  where,  if  anywhere,  it  was  open  to  them 
to  enjoy  so  much  of  worldly  pleasure  as  they  thought 
the  just  privilege  of  the  servants  of  the  Lord.  Can 
we  believe  that  all  this  was  not  dear  to  them,  —  that 
they  did  not  reluctantly  part  from  it.?  The  Pil- 
grims lingered  in  Holland  before  they  finally  turned 
their  faces  to  the  west.  Can  we  suppose  that  Pil- 
grim and  Puritan  never  looked  backward  to  their 
early  home  with  an  affectionate  longing  ?  And  yet 
no  thought  of  these  things  could  turn  them  from 
their  high  purpose.  They  were  men  of  the  noblest 
type ;  but  we  belittle  their  sacrifice  if  we  picture 
them  insensible  to  those  ties  which  bind  all  men 
most  strongly. 

No  dramatic  incident  marks  the  coming  of  the 
first  settlers  of  Hingham,  nor  their  early  history. 
They  made  no  picturesque  landing  upon  a  desert 
rock  under  a  stormy  sky.  Peter  Hobart,  the  first 
pastor,  as  he  stepped  ashore  at  Bare   Cove,  a  few 


25OTH    ANNIVERSARY.  53 

rods  from  where  we  now  stand,  behind  the  ceme- 
tery hill,  found  that  a  few  scattered  settlers  had 
preceded  him,  and  there  soon  gathered  his  little 
flock,  —  if  so  pastoral  a  comparison  fitly  describes 
the  gathering  of  men  who  with  arms  in  their  hands, 
from  rough  homes,  by  forest  paths,  sought  the  sanc- 
tuary, then  at  once  a  fortress  and  a  house  of  God. 
Life  was  no  doubt  laborious  in  that  first  summer  at 
Hingham.  Without,  the  mere  struggle  for  existence 
left  but  little  space  for  the  simplest  amusements,  even 
had  such  found  favor;  within  doors,  the  pleasures 
of  literature  were  practically  unknown.  But  there 
are  some  bright  colors  in  the  picture.  The  colonists 
had  found  freedom  and  peace,  at  least  as  against  all 
those  enemies  with  whom  they  had  hitherto  con- 
tended; and  the  lands  in  which  their  lines  had  fallen, 
although  not  pleasant  places,  were  not  altogether 
unlovely.  The  waters  of  the  bay  were  as  blue  then 
as  now;  the  wild  beauty,  even  of  the  unsubdued 
forest,  in  the  luxuriance  of  its  summer  foliage,  must 
have  charmed  even  eyes  accustomed  to  the  mel- 
low loveliness  of  an  English  landscape ;  and  the 
brilliant  tints  of  autumn  lit  the  air  with  a  novel 
splendor. 

It  was  in  July,  1635,  that  a  plantation  was  erected 
here,  —  that  is  to  say,  a  municipal  government  was 
then  established;  and  on  September  2,  1635,  this 
plantation,  hitherto  known  by  the  name  of  Bare 
Cove,  was  incorporated  as  the  town  of  Hingham, — 
borrowinsf  this  name  from   Hino;ham  in  Enorland, 


54  THE    TOWN    OF    HINGHAM. 

from  which  its  settlers  chiefly  came.  It  is  the  two 
hundred  and  fiftieth  anniversary  of  that  incorpora- 
tion which  we  celebrate  to-day.  The  little  settle- 
ment grew  with  moderate  growth,  expanding  along 
the  town  brook,  and  also  toward  Broad  Cove,  and 
upon  Bachelor  Street,  now  Main  Street,  by  the 
first  meeting-house,  which  stood  opposite  where 
the  Derby  Academy  now  stands.  It  extended  by 
the  hill  around  the  meeting-house,  on  the  slopes  of 
which  the  first  settlers  were  buried,  whose  remains 
now  sleep  peacefully  in  yonder  burial-ground  within 
the  walls  of  the  fort  which  they  guarded  in  life. 
Hither  came  to  join  the  settlement  many  men  of 
some  property,  of  good  standing,  and  of  more  than 
ordinary  education.  At  this  time  Peter  Hobart,  the 
first  minister,  is  the  conspicuous  figure,  and  so  con- 
tinues during  his  life.  Church  and  State  were  now 
one.  Church-membership  alone  gave  the  right  to 
vote.  The  meeting-house  was  the  town-house.  The 
minister  of  religion,  by  virtue  of  his  high  position 
and  of  the  education  which  fitted  him  for  it,  then 
shared  by  few,  was  naturally  a  leader  also  in  secular 
affairs.  For  such  a  part  Peter  Hobart  was  well 
fitted,  not  merely  by  his  position  but  by  tempera- 
ment. The  quaint  language  used  by  the  magistrates 
of  the  Massachusetts  Colony,  when  they  sent  to  him 
to  forbear  delivering  a  discourse  in  Boston,  on  the 
occasion  of  the  marriage  of  one  of  his  church,  well 
described  him.  They  gave  their  reason  for  the 
prohibition  in  words  very  familiar  to  Hingham  ears. 


25OTH    ANNIVERSARY.  55 

"  He  was  a  bold  man,"  they  said,  "  and  would  speak 
his  mind." 

No  events,  which  at  this  distance  of  time  seem 
important,  mark  the  early  years  of  the  settlement ; 
and  yet  there  is  not  wanting  evidence  that  the  first 
settlers  and  the  new  comers  retained  the  same 
jealous  determination  to  maintain  their  rights,  as 
revealed  by  the  light  within,  which  had  led  them 
across  the  sea,  and  the  same  boldness  in  asserting 
them  before  the  constituted  authorities.  Indeed,  the 
pertinacity  of  our  fathers  seems  early  to  have  vexed 
the  General  Court.  So  early  as  1643,  with  a  pru- 
dent thrift  which  looked  well  forward  to  the  values 
of  the  present,  they  laid  claim  to  a  portion  of  Nan- 
tasket,  and  supported  this  claim  before  the  courts  of 
law  with  the  best  evidence  they  could  command. 
The  General  Court,  however,  entertained  a  different 
opinion  of  its  merits  from  that  held  by  the  town, 
and  adjudged  it  frivolous.  The  records  of  the  court 
set  forth  the  following  judgment,  with  which,  having 
an  appreciative  view  of  the  Hingham  spirit,  it  was 
thought  prudent  to  incorporate  a  warning.  The 
language  is :  "  The  former  grant  to  Nantascot  was 
againe  voted  &  confirmed,  &  Hingham  men  willed 
to  forbear  troubleing  the  Co't  any  more  about  Nan- 
taskot."  Lans^uas^e  thus  distinct  our  fathers  had  the 
wisdom  to  understand,  and  with  this  claim  they 
troubled  the  court  no  more.  But  a  controversy 
shortly  arose  which,  although  of  insignificant  origin, 
grew  to  large  proportions,  stirred  the   town   to  its 


56  THE    TOWN    OF    HINGHAM. 

centre,  and  soon  engaged  the  attention  of  the  high- 
est authorities  of  the  colony.  This  was  the  "  sad 
unbrotherly  contention,"  as  it  is  termed  by  Johnson 
in  the  "  Wonder  Working  Providence,"  relating  to 
the  choice  of  the  captain  of  the  military  company. 
The  details  of  the  controversy  are  easily  accessible, 
and  I  will  not  pause  to  recount  them.  The  original 
subject  of  difference  was  unimportant,  and  the  re- 
spective merits  of  the  parties  to  it  are  not  so  easily 
determined.  These  considerations  were  early  over- 
shadowed by  the  discussions  of  more  serious  ques- 
tions which  arose  in  the  General  Court  and  before 
the  legal  tribunals,  and  which  involved  the  right  of 
petition,  respect  for  and  resistance  to  civil  authority, 
and,  in  fine,  some  of  the  highest  problems  of  gov- 
ernment. The  "  bold  man,"  Peter  Hobart,  and  his 
followers  did  not  hesitate  to  charge  Deputy  Gov- 
ernor Winthrop  with  an  abuse  of  power.  What 
is  chiefly  interesting  to  us  is  to  observe  the  brave 
and  intelligent  independence  of  our  townsmen,  as 
represented  by  Hobart  and  the  majority,  and  their 
impatience  of  authority  which,  as  they  thought, 
infringed  their  rights,  —  even  though  that  authority 
was  in  part  of  their  own  creation.  The  final  judg- 
ment of  the  magistrates  upon  the  merits  of  the 
original  controversy  was  against  Peter  Hobart  and 
his  party ;  but  upon  the  more  serious  questions  at 
issue,  it  is  not  clear  that  they  were  held  to  be  in  the 
wrong. 

The  Deputy  Governor  was  acquitted.     The  town 


25OTH    ANNIVERSARY.  57 

suffered  from  the  dispute,  but  the  colony  profited. 
It  gave  to  Governor  Winthrop  the  opportunity  to 
render  a  great  pubHc  service,  in  the  address  which 
he  deHvered  before  the  magistrates  and  deputies. 
This  was  a  most  admirable  exposition  of  the  posi- 
tion of  magistrates  in  a  democracy,  and  of  true 
liberty  under  law.  It  is  to-day  a  lucid  definition  of 
the  true  principles  of  government,  and  illustrates 
how  early  they  were  correctly  apprehended  by  our 
ancestors.  Whatever  criticism  we  may  make  upon 
their  conception  of  religious  liberty,  we  have  none 
for  their  civil  government.  Grant  that  they  were 
strict  in  excluding  from  a  share  in  that  government 
those  whose  opinions  did  not  conform  to  their  own, 
yet  perfect  equality  of  political  rights  obtained 
among  themselves.  They  established,  at  the  first, 
a  pure  democracy.  The  experience  of  two  centuries 
and  a  half  has  resulted  in  no  improvement  of  the 
principles  on  which  it  rests.  Our  national  growth 
does  not  illustrate  the  growth  of  liberal  principles, 
but  rather  the  development  of  material  advantages 
under  liberal  principles.  The  state  which  these 
men  founded  was  mature  at  its  creation.  The  world 
is  still  indebted  to  it  for  the  most  perfect  type  of  free 
government. 

Matters  of  so  grave  moment  occupy,  of  course, 
but  a  small  space  in  the  history  of  the  town.  The 
early  years  could  not  be  largely  occupied  in  the  dis- 
cussion of  principles  of  government.  The  Indians 
were  at  first  a  source  of  constant  anxiety,  although 


58  THE    TOWN   OF    HINGHAM. 

the  town  never  suffered  severely  from  their  depre- 
dations. It  contributed  men  and  money  for  the 
defence  of  the  colony  against  them.  It  gave  full 
assistance  in  resisting  the  great  and  unsuccessful 
effort  of  King  Philip  to  exterminate  the  white  men, 
and  with  his  failure  danger  from  the  Indians  disap- 
peared. The  vigorous  Hobart,  venerable  in  years 
and  honors,  passed  away,  living  just  long  enough  to 
give  his  benediction  to  his  gentler  successor,  the 
scholarly  Norton.  The  early  ministry  of  the  latter 
was  signalized  by  the  building  of  this  meeting-house, 
long  known  as  the  "  New  Meeting-house."  The  lapse 
of  years  has  reversed  its  designation,  and  now  it  has 
become  doubtless  the  oldest  building  in  the  land  still 
occupied  for  Protestant  worship.  Before  the  first 
century  of  the  town  closed  Norton  had  been  suc- 
ceeded by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Gay,  and  little  else  occurred 
during  that  period  which  need  be  noted. 

So  ended  the  first  hundred  years.  The  town  had 
grown  slowly,  but  with  a  stable  growth.  Here,  as 
elsewhere,  the  complexion  of  civil  society  was 
changing.  The  first  settlers  left  the  mother  coun- 
try, chiefly,  although  not  wholly,  to  secure  religious 
freedom.  The  interests  of  religion,  therefore,  were 
at  first  predominant.  The  clergy  were  leaders  of 
the  community.  But  the  lapse  of  one  hundred 
years  wrought  a  change.  Religious  freedom  was 
assured,  and  now  civil  rights  began  to  demand  pro- 
tection against  the  aggressions  of  the  mother-coun- 
try.    For  this    reason,  and   because   of    the   wider 


25OTH    ANNIVERSARY.  59 

diffusion  of  education,  which  was  no  longer  so 
largely  confined  to  the  ministers  of  religion,  their 
influence  began  to  fade.  Then,  too,  the  growth 
of  material  prosperity  and  the  general  advance  of 
knowledge  had  affected  the  severe  theology  of  the 
early  settlers.  The  stringent  doctrines  which  Peter 
Hobart  proclaimed  were  held  in  less  rigid  grasp  by 
the  milder  nature  of  his  successor,  and  were  ulti- 
mately broadened  to  the  liberalism  of  Dr.  Gay.  But 
nothing  essential  had  been  lost,  we  may  well  believe, 
of  the  sturdy  virtues  which  had  been  tempered  and 
strengthened  by  the  trials  of  a  hundred  years,  and 
all  their  strength  was  soon  to  be  tested  by  the  long 
strain  of  the  War  of  the  Revolution.  Although  our 
fathers  sought  seclusion  here,  they  had  not  yet  re- 
nounced their  allegiance  to  England,  and  as  her  sub- 
jects, they  could  not  escape  the  duties  and  burdens 
which  resulted  from  that  relation.  They  became 
necessarily  involved  in  the  long  struggle  between 
England  and  France  for  the  possession  of  North 
America,  and  contributed  their  share  of  men  and 
money  to  the  various  expeditions  sent  from  New 
England.  Soldiers  from  Hingham  sailed  for  Que- 
bec under  Sir  William  Phips ;  joined  the  expedition 
to  Nova  Scotia  in  the  French  war  of  1744;  and  were 
present  at  the  massacre  of  Fort  William  Henry. 

The  sacrifices  of  our  fathers  to  secure  relisfious 
freedom  in  the  first  century  of  our  history  are 
paralleled  by  the  anxieties  and  sufferings  of  their 
sons  to  secure  civil  rights  in  the  War  of  the  Revo- 


6o  THE    TOWN    OF    HINGHAM. 

lution.  In  the  council  and  in  the  field,  on  sea  and 
land,  the  sons  of  Hingham  bore  their  full  part. 
Benjamin  Lincoln,  the  Hingham  farmer,  rose  to  be 
General  Lincoln  of  the  Continental  Army  and  the 
trusted  friend  of  Washington.  To  him  was  assigned 
the  hicrh  honor  of  receivinsj  the  sword  of  Cornwallis 
at  Yorktown,  and  this  closing  act  of  the  war  not 
merely  fitly  crowns  his  own  conspicuous  services, 
but  honorably  associates  the  name  of  his  native 
town  with  the  imperishable  records  of  the  great 
struggle.  I  touch  lightly  upon  the  history  of  these 
immortal  years,  lest  praise,  by  frequent  repetition, 
should  lose  its  significance.  The  fruits  of  those 
years  of  trial  we  enjoy ;  the  sufferings  we  can  hardly 
make  our  own.  And  yet  we  of  this  generation,  by 
the  experiences  of  the  great  Civil  War,  have  learned 
in  some  degree  the  depth  of  such  anxieties  and 
sufferings.  We  have  learned  that  the  same  courage 
which  supported  our  fathers  through  the  weary  years 
of  the  Revolution  remains  undiminished  in  their 
sons.  What  Massachusetts  man  who  lived  in  April, 
1 86 1,  will  ever  forget  those  thrilling  days?  The 
flame  lit  by  the  attack  upon  Sumter  flashed  through 
the  North,  firing  the  slumbering  patriotism  of  every 
heart.  The  weary  months  of  anxious  debate  and  of 
suggestions  of  humiliating  compromise  were  over. 
Minutes  now  were  crowded  with  emotions  as  novel 
as  they  were  intense.  Men  lived  new  lives.  Love 
of  country  grew  from  a  sentiment  to  a  glowing  pas- 
sion, purifying  character  and   lifting  men  to   high 


25OTH    ANNIVERSARY.  6 1 

resolves.  The  State,  the  nation,  everything  that  we 
held  dear  and  of  which  we  were  proud,  all  that  we 
had  inherited  from  our  ancestors,  all  that  we  had 
ourselves  secured,  was  assailed  and  endangered ;  and 
the  whole  community,  moved  by  an  inflexible  will, 
and  inspired  by  a  mighty  zeal  which  never  flagged 
in  years  of  trial,  determined  that  the  great  inheri- 
tance should  not  be  lost.  No  one  who  witnessed 
that  magnificent  uprising  and  that  patient  and  in- 
vincible devotion  of  an  entire  people  need  ever  fear 
for  popular  government,  or  doubt  that  it  is  the 
strono-est  and  noblest  that  man  can  devise. 

And  of  what  Hingham  did  in  those  days  it  may 
well  be  proud.  The  call  to  arms  came  with  the 
sudden  speed  of  the  lightning's  flash,  and  to  this 
town  among  the  very  first.  There  was  neither  hesi- 
tation nor  delay.  In  less  than  a  day  the  Lincoln 
Light  Infantry,  true  to  an  honored  name,  men  ac- 
customed to  the  peaceful  occupations  of  a  quiet 
town,  had  left  their  homes  and  families  and  were 
on  their  way  to  confront  the  perils  of  actual  war. 
While  some  sons  of  Massachusetts,  in  their  rapid 
advance  to  defend  the  national  capital  and  govern- 
ment, were  marching  through  the  streets  of  Balti- 
more, Hingham  men,  with  equal  promptness,  were 
moving  to  secure  Fortress  Monroe.  The  regiment 
to  which  they  were  attached  was  the  very  first  to 
start  from  Boston  for  the  South.  From  the  time  of 
that  early  summons  brave  sons  of  Hingham  served 
in  the  army  and  navy  till  success  was  assured.     The 


62  THE    TOWN    OF    HINGHAM. 

town  holds  them  in  grateful  memory,  which  shall 
endure  longer  than  yonder  granite  shaft  on  which 
the  names  of  the  fallen  are  inscribed.  Fifty  years 
ago  it  was  the  privilege  of  the  centennial  orator  to 
greet  surviving  soldiers  of  the  Revolution,  and  to 
renew  to  them  expressions  of  a  well-earned  gratitude. 
The  last  of  those  veterans  has  passed  away;  but 
we  to-day  are  equally  honored  by  the  presence  of 
those  who  with  equal  courage  protected  what  they 
bequeathed. 

Chief  among  those  sons  of  Hingham  whose  lives 
were  given  to  their  country  must  always  be  named 
her  son  by  adoption.  Governor  Andrew.  This  sim- 
ple citizen,  of  genial  and  affectionate  nature,  untried 
in  public  life,  the  people  by  an  unerring  instinct 
selected  and  upheld  as  their  leader  through  years 
which  demanded  unyielding  firmness  and  the  highest 
skill  of  statesmanship.  In  these  he  did  not  fail. 
How  well  he  served  the  State  I  need  not  here  repeat, 
nor  recall  those  days  of  laborious  toil  which  sapped 
his  life.  His  energy,  his  courage,  his  persevering 
devotion  to  every  duty,  his  generous  sympathy  for 
all  men  of  every  condition,  his  high  elevation  above 
the  low  machinations  of  the  politician,  his  generous 
forgiveness  of  the  conquered,  combine  to  form  a 
character  which  is  an  example  for  the  present  and 
one  in  which  we  miss  no  virtue  of  the  past.  And 
shall  I  not  claim  as  a  descendant  from  a  Hingham 
ancestry  the  greatest  American  of  our  time.  Presi- 
dent Lincoln  ?     Though  the  line  of  his  descent  has 


25OTH    ANNIVERSARY.  6^ 

not  been  fully  traced,  yet  the  names  of  his  immediate 
ancestors  and  the  traditions  of  his  family  confirm 
a  conclusion  already  well  supported  upon  other  evi- 
dence, that  when  the  missing  records  are  discovered 
he  will  be  found  to  have  originated  here.  Meanwhile 
it  gratifies  a  pardonable  pride  to  believe  that  from 
the  stock  that  settled  Hingham  sprang  that  honest, 
sagacious,  kindly  leader,  under  whose  guidance  his 
trustful  country  safely  passed  through  the  gravest 
dangers  and  secured  a  firmer  union,  universal  free- 
dom, and  lasting  peace. 

This  rapid  survey  of  a  few  events  in  the  town's 
history  omits  much  which  is  essential  to  a  complete 
account.  This  venerable  meeting-house  and  its  min- 
isters naturally  first  attract  attention;  but  the  parish 
has  been  the  parent  of  others,  whose  houses  of  wor- 
ship are  themselves  venerable  in  years,  and  whose 
pastors  have  won  even  more  than  -a  local  fame.  So 
early  as  1721  the  Second  Church  was  organized,  at 
what  was  then  called  Conohasset.  When  the  mother 
church  became  aware  that  the  people  of  Cohasset 
desired  a  church  of  their  own,  her  anxiety  was  at 
once  aroused  for  their  welfare.  She  hesitated  to 
trust  them  so  far  from  her  safe  protection.  They 
might  go,  she  said,  if  they  would  provide  themselves 
with  an  Orthodox  minister  and  would  accept  him 
cheerfully.  She  was  not  willing  that  they  should 
enter  the  path  toward  a  more  liberal  faith  on  which 
she  had  herself  already  far  advanced  until  it  was 
clear  whither  it  led.     But  the  people  of   Cohasset 


64  THE    TOWN    OF    HINGHAM. 

would  accept  no  such  conditions.  This  goes  with- 
out saying,  for  they  were  Hingham  men.  They 
had  their  way ;  they  founded  their  parish  and  built 
their  meeting-house ;  and  not  long  after  took  enough 
of  Hingham  to  make  a  town  of  their  own.  The 
prosperous  daughter  is  already  old  enough  to  have 
celebrated  her  own  centennial  fifteen  years  ago. 
Another  parish  was  organized  at  South  Hingham, 
in  1742;  a  fourth  —  the  present  Third  Congrega- 
tional Society  —  in  1807.  These  were  all  the  so- 
cieties existing  in  Hingham  for  nearly  two  hundred 
years ;  and  it  is  remarkable  that  during  this  period 
there  appears  to  have  been  complete  harmony  of 
religious  belief.  Other  societies  of  different  faiths 
have  since  been  established. 

And  though  I  have  paused  to  name  but  few  promi- 
nent citizens,  I  do  not  forget  the  long  list  of  men  — 
some  resident  here,  and  others  of  Hingham  origin — 
who  have  risen  to  conspicuous  positions  and  secured 
success  in  all  walks  of  life.  It  includes  the  names 
of  men  selected  to  hold  high  offices  in  the  state  and 
nation,  of  men  distinguished  in  all  professions,  and 
in  science,  in  literature,  and  in  art.  The  town  shares 
in  their  honors,  and  they  have  cherished  toward  it 
an  affectionate  loyalty. 

The  account  would  still  be  incomplete.  Much 
that  is  spread  upon  public  records  gives  results,  but 
acquaints  us  little  with  causes.  It  would  interest 
us  to  examine  the  domestic  life  of  our  fathers,  to 
study  their  homely  thrift,  to  note  the  serious  ear- 


25OTH    ANNIVERSARY.  65 

nestness  with  which  they  so  managed  the  affairs  of 
daily  Hfe  in  the  fear  of  the  Lord  that  all  acts  seemed 
to  become  a  part  of  his  service.  We  might  trace  in 
the  debates  of  the  town-meeting  the  strengthening 
of  those  principles  of  freedom  and  of  those  political 
rights  which  later  found  expression  in  words  in  the 
Declaration  of  Independence,  and  in  deeds  in  the 
battles  of  the  Revolution  and  the  Civil  War.  We 
should  observe  that  in  the  teachings  of  the  pulpit, 
under  the  softening  influence  of  the  centuries,  threats 
of  the  terrors  of  a  divine  wrath  had  yielded  to  the 
gentler  yet  more  potent  persuasions  of  an  infinite 
love.  And  our  study  would  not  end  even  here. 
Indeed,  two  centuries  and  a  half  of  human  prog- 
ress have  so  wrought  modern  communities  into  an 
interdependent  whole  that  no  one  can  be  isolated; 
and  it  would  be  necessary  to  pass  beyond  the  town's 
limits  adequately  to  exhibit  the  causes  which  have 
developed  the  Hingham  of  to-day. 

However  close  its  relations  with  its  neighbors  or 
with  the  State,  Hingham  has  always  preserved  an 
individuality  of  its  own.  It  has  maintained  a  char- 
acter for  stability,  for  a  well-distributed  prosperity, 
for  education  above  the  average,  for  sound  princi- 
ples, for  harmony,  and  for  a  wise  and  liberal  pub- 
lic spirit.  The  history  upon  which  I  have  briefly 
touched  suggests  the  causes  of  these  results.  The 
first  settlers  were  men  of  similar  rank  in  life.  They 
were  not  possessed  of  considerable  property  or  great 
education  ;  nor,  on  the  other  hand,  were  they  of  mean 


66  THE    TOWN    OF    HINGHAM. 

origin  or  position.  Many  of  them  were  farmers 
and  mechanics,  fair  t3q3es  of  the  EngHsh  yeomanry. 
These  men  clung  to  their  new  home,  and  their  chil- 
dren to  their  birthplace.  The  people  of  Hingham, 
therefore,  springing  to  a  great  extent  directly  from 
the  first  settlers,  have  preserved  the  Puritan  blood, 
and  with  it  the  Puritan  characteristics.  And  these 
characteristics  have  descended  to  the  present,  modi- 
fied in  all  alike  by  the  same  general  influences.  The 
Puritan  frugality,  thrift,  and  sobriety  have  not  been 
mere  traditions,  but  son  has  learned  them  of  father 
and  taught  them  to  his  children. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  body  of  Puritan  religious 
doctrine  has  by  no  means  been  preserved,  but  has 
given  place  to  a  more  liberal  faith.  This  result  is 
of  course  largely  due  to  causes  of  broader  origin 
and  effect  than  are  contained  within  the  limits  of 
the  town,  and  too  extensive  for  present  consideration. 
Their  local  influence  was  no  doubt  guided  and  ac- 
celerated by  Dr.  Gay,  who  through  the  length  of  his 
pastorate  and  by  his  great  ability  wielded  a  power 
sufficient  to  lead  his  people.  While,  therefore,  relig- 
ious doctrines  underwent  much  modification,  the 
change  was  embraced  by  all  alike,  so  that  for  nearly 
two  hundred  years  there  was  substantial  harmony  of 
religious  faith.  Nor  can  this  be  justly  charged  to 
mental  inactivity  or  to  intolerance.  The  men  of 
Hinsfham  learned  from  Peter  Hobart  to  be  bold 
men,  and  they  have  spoken  their  minds.  But  they 
have  not  been  too  obstinate  in  the  pride  of  their 


25OTH    ANNIVERSARY.  67 

convictions,  nor  lost  that  respectful  deference  for  the 
opinions  of  others  which  is  essential  to  the  smooth 
workins^  of  free  institutions. 

Something  of  the  general  average  of  prosperity 
which  has  attended  the  growth  of  the  town  is  to  be 
attributed  to  natural  causes.  Neither  its  situation 
nor  its  resources  have  been  such  as  to  develop 
a  single  industry  to  the  exclusion  of  others.  No 
broad  river  turns  the  wheels  of  great  factories ; 
its  soil  favors  no  special  crop,  nor  can  it  compete 
with  the  rich  prairies  of  the  West;  but  all  its 
modest  advantages  have  been  turned  to  good  ac- 
count. Its  citizens  have  been  to  a  large  extent 
landholders,  and  the  town  has  enjoyed  the  stability 
which  attends  such  an  ownership.  Farms  of  liberal 
extent  have  returned  a  competence  to  the  farmer. 
Agriculture  and  horticulture  have  especially  pros- 
pered, and  both,  under  the  vigorous  impulse  given 
by  the  Hingham  Society,  have  of  late  secured  for 
the  town  more  than  a  local  name.  A  wide  variety 
of  manufactures  has  from  time  to  time  occupied  its 
citizens.  The  sea,  as  well  as  the  land,  has  yielded 
its  large  returns.  Thus  has  resulted  a  compara- 
tively equal  distribution  of  property,  and  permanent 
security  from  commercial  disaster.  Such  influences 
confirm  likewise  the  homogeneous  character  of  its 
people.  No  wide  differences  of  social  position  have 
impaired  its  harmony  or  its  unanimity.  By  reason 
of  its  geographical  position,  it  has  suffered  little 
of   the  loss  which   remote   towns   experience,  from 


68  THE    TOWN    OF    HINGHAM. 

which  their  numbers  and  best  life  are  drained  by 
the  superior  attractions  of  cities.  No  doubt  this 
town  has  not  altogether  escaped  this  influence  nor 
its  certain  effect ;  but  whatever  it  has  thus  lost  has 
been  compensated  by  ready  access  to  the  larger 
markets  and  broader  opportunities  of  a  large  city, 
and  its  citizens  who  have  been  drawn  thither  have 
not  escaped  the  influence  of  early  attachments,  nor 
have  proved  unwilling  to  share  with  their  native 
town  some  portion  of  the  fruits  of  their  success. 

Although  the  first  settlers  were  not  especially 
well  educated,  yet  there  were  among  them  men 
of  more  than  ordinary  acquirements.  The  value 
of  education  was  at  once  recognized,  and  a  standard 
above  the  average  has  always  been  upheld.  To 
this  both  public  and  private  liberality  and  effort 
early  contributed,  and  have  continued  their  sup- 
port. Not  merely  were  common  schools  at  once 
established,  but  Greek  and  Latin  have  been  taught 
in  Hingham  from  a  date  earlier  than  that  of  King 
Philip's  war.  Whatever  may  be  the  modern  question 
of  the  utility  of  these  studies,  at  least  they  appear  to 
have  done  the  town  no  harm.  And  it  is  now  more 
than  one  hundred  years  since  Madam  Derby  estab- 
lished Derby  School,  now  Derby  Academy,  as  practi- 
cally a  free  academy,  where  the  higher  branches  of 
learning  could  be  taught.  The  result  of  all  these 
provisions  was  early  to  develop  and  maintain  a 
society  not  merely  recognized  as  well  educated,  but 
one  of  considerable  refinement. 


25OTH    ANNIVERSARY.  69 

The  school-houses  of  the  present  day,  with  the 
means  of  education  which  they  supply,  mark  an 
incalculable  advance  upon  the  opportunities  of  our 
fathers.  It  is  not  certain  that  sound  education  has 
made  equal  strides.  New  England  knows  well  the 
value  of  common  schools,  and  there  is  no  danger 
that  they  will  lack  support.  The  danger  lies  in 
placing  too  high  a  value  upon  imposing  buildings 
and  multiplied  studies.  The  highest  object  of  these 
schools  is  education,  —  that  is  to  say,  mental  train- 
ing,—  not  the  acquisition  of  information  alone.  Of 
mere  information,  no  doubt  our  schools  supply  more 
than  our  fathers  could  command.  They  were  our 
inferiors  in  accurate  learning.  That  they  were  such 
in  mental  vigor  —  the  test  of  a  sound  education  — 
I  should  not  dare  affirm. 

One  other  secret  of  permanent  influence  and 
strength,  and  of  a  sound  public  spirit,  has  always 
been  recognized.  The  town  has  listened  to  the 
counsels  of  its  best  citizens,  has  employed  them  in 
its  service,  and  has  conferred  its  honors  upon  them. 
They,  on  the  other  hand,  have  devoted  their  best 
efforts  to  her  interests.  This  was  conspicuously  true 
of  its  early  history.  In  those  days  no  doubt  educa- 
tion was  the  possession  of  fewer  men,  and  made 
them  inevitably  leaders.  Nevertheless,  it  was  no 
more  true  in  the  days  of  Peter  Hobart  than  it  is  to- 
day, that  those  names  which  the  memory  most  readily 
preserves  as  leaders  in  the  town  were  those  fittest  to 
lead,  and  those  who  have  made  its   name  familiar 


JO  THE    TOWN    OF    HINGHAM. 

abroad  have  first  become  conspicuous  at  home.  We 
hear  much  in  these  days  about  the  failure  of  the 
best  citizens  to  take  part  in  pubHc  affairs.  Com- 
plaint is  made  that  they  are  critics  of,  not  actors  in 
public  life.  The  greater  fault  is  with  the  people 
themselves  who  refuse  to  call  such  to  their  service. 
Men  of  worth  are  men  of  self-respect.  The  people 
must  itself  select  its  leaders.  Those  are  not  fit  to 
lead  who  select  themselves.  The  public  service  is 
the  highest  service.  The  government  of  men  is  the 
most  difficult  work  set  for  men  to  do.  No  ability 
is  too  great  for  it ;  no  experience  too  wide.  This 
ability  and  experience  are  not  acquired  in  the  suc- 
cessful machinations  of  a  caucus.  Public  office  is  not 
best  filled  by  men  who  resort  to  it  for  a  livelihood 
which  they  cannot  earn  in  competition  with  their 
fellows. 

Besides  these  characteristics,  there  attaches  to 
the  old  town  an  indescribable  quaintness,  result- 
ing in  part  directly  from  its  antiquity,  but  coming 
also  from  the  peculiar  individuality  of  its  people. 
It  is  not,  after  all,  in  fresh  and  new  communities 
that  human  nature  finds  its  freest  scope  and  results 
in  its  greatest  diversity.  It  is  in  the  old  towns 
that  you  find  most  individuality,  —  perhaps  most 
strength  of  character.  Native  soil  supplies  most 
vigor. 

This  is  indeed  a  day  to  celebrate  the  past,  to 
magnify  the  deeds  and  sacrifices  of  the  fathers  by 
exhibiting  the  fruits  they  have  borne.     But  no  day 


25OTH    ANNIVERSARY.  7  I 

is  a  day  for  self-complacency.  We  justify  our  satis- 
faction with  the  present  only  by  reason  of  the  credit 
it  reflects  on  them.  Such  an  inheritance  brings 
proportionate  responsibilities.  Nothing  valuable 
was  ever  won  without  effort  or  retained  without 
vigilance.  The  past  has  been  great,  but  the  present 
does  not  sink  below  it.  The  standard  of  private 
morality  has  not  been  lowered.  If  religious  duties 
appeared  then  to  absorb  more  of  life,  yet  what  we 
are  taught  is  true  religion  finds  better  expression  in 
the  widespread  charity  of  to-day.  No  more  learned 
divines  nor  those  of  saintlier  life  walked  before  the 
people  in  those  earlier  years  than  have  led  this  gen- 
eration by  their  high  example.  This  town  has 
furnished  no  more  influential  magistrates,  no  more 
faithful  public  servants,  no  more  public-spirited 
citizens  than  in  the  recent  years.  Fresh  from  the 
memories  of  the  Civil  War,  shall  we  say  patriotism 
fails  }  Do  not  the  countless  thousands  who  followed 
the  great  general  of  that  struggle  to  his  grave  testify 
that  popular  gratitude  is  still  warm  ?  It  is  a  day  of 
great  deeds  and  great  opportunities.  The  political 
progress  of  the  w^orld  is  developing  states,  of  which 
the  extent  and  power  surpass  their  predecessors,  and 
are  only  paralleled  by  the  empire  acquired  by  men 
over  the  natural  forces  of  the  world,  —  these  again 
to  be  left  far  behind  in  the  growth  of  the  century  to 
come.  We  pass  our  hour  in  looking  backward,  in 
celebrating  the  virtues  of  our  fathers  and  proposing 
them  for  our  examples.    Let  us  not  miss  the  highest 


72  THE    TOWN    OF    HINGHAM. 

lesson  they  teach.  Their  glance  was  always  for- 
ward. They  were  not  occupied  with  the  glories  of 
their  past,  but  with  the  duties  of  the  present,  and 
the  hopes  of  the  future.  They  cast  aside  their  por- 
tion of  material  prosperity  upon  which  we  congratu- 
late ourselves  to-day,  and  trusted  the  promise  of  the 
centuries  to  come.  Richer  than  they  by  the  wealth 
of  their  example,  let  us  remember  that  the  only  con- 
ditions of  life  are  change  and  progress.  Let  this 
old  town,  then,  not  content  with  what  the  fathers 
have  done,  but  instructed  by  them,  not  merely  pre- 
serve what  is  valuable  in  its  inheritance,  but  welcome 
and  encourage  whatever  promises  to  improve  it.  So 
shall  it  maintain  its  honorable  fame,  and  future  cen- 
tennials present  to  its  children  a  continued  record 
of  prosperity. 


The  Oration  was  followed  by  the  singing  of 
"  America "  by  the  congregation,  with  inspiring 
effect.  The  exercises  closed  with  a  Benediction  by 
Rev.  Henry  M.  Dean,  minister  of  the  First  Baptist 
Society. 

BENEDICTION    OF    REV.    HENRY    M.    DEAN. 

Thou  God  of  the  spirits  of  all  flesh,  thou  Crea- 
tor and  Preserver  of  all  generations  of  men,  as  on 
the  fathers,  so  upon  the  sons,  and  in  yet  richer 
measure,  may  mercy,  grace,  and  peace  from  thee 
abide,  through  Christ.     Amen. 


25OTH    ANNIVERSARY.  73 

On  the  arrival  of  the  procession  at  the  meeting- 
house and  during  the  time  of  the  exercises  there, 
the  school-children,  about  seven  hundred  in  number, 
were  provided  with  a  collation  at  Loring  Hall,  after 
which  they  were  dismissed. 

The  presence  of  the  children  was  one  of  the  most 
interesting  and  beautiful  features  of  the  celebration. 
From  the  beginning  it  had  been  repeatedly  urged 
upon  the  Committee  of  Arrangements  that  the  day 
should  be  made  memorable  to  the  young,  and  every 
effort  was  made  to  accomplish  this  result.  Convey- 
ances were  provided  for  the  more  distant  schools. 
The  children  turned  out  with  full  ranks.  Each 
scholar  was  provided  with  a  badge  of  red  ribbon 
with  a  gilt  heading  and  pin,  upon  which  was  in- 
scribed, "  250th  Anniversary  of  the  Settlement  of 
Hingham:  School."  The  teachers  and  scholars  had 
provided  themselves  with  tasteful  banners  indicating 
their  respective  schools.  No  person  who  observed 
the  bright  eyes  and  smiling  faces  of  the  children, 
portraying  their  lively  interest  in  the  occasion,  will 
ever  forget  the  picture. 

While  the  exercises  in  the  meeting-house  and  the 
children's  collation  were  in  progress,  Reeves's  Amer- 
ican Band  gave  a  concert  in  Fountain  Square,  which 
was  listened  to  by  a  large  concourse  of  people. 

Upon  the  close  of  the  exercises  in  the  meeting- 
house, the  bells  on  all  the  churches  were  rung  for  an 
hour,  and  a  national  salute  of  thirty-eight  guns  was 
fired  from  "  Powder-house  "  hill. 


74  THE    TOWN    OF    HINGHAM. 

The  procession  was  reformed  and  moved  through 
Main  and  Leavitt  Streets  to  Agricultural  Hall, 
the  place  appointed  for  the  dinner.  Here  the  pro- 
cession was  dismissed. 

After  the  guests  and  those  holding  dinner-tickets 
had  entered  the  hall,  the  Cadets  marched  to  their 
headquarters,  which  had  been  established  for  the 
day  at  the  corner  of  Main  and  Water  Streets,  in  the 
rear  of  the  house  occupied  b}^  Charles  C.  Melcher, 
quartermaster  of  the  corps.  They  dined  in  a  tent 
pitched  for  the  purpose.  Later  in  the  day  they 
returned  to  Agricultural  Hall,  and  escorted  the 
Governor  to  the  special  train  which  conveyed  them 
to  Boston. 

The  presence  of  the  Cadets  added  very  much  to 
the  brilliancy  of  the  occasion,  and  enabled  the  Com- 
mittee of  Arrangements  to  furnish  suitable  escort 
to  their  chief  guest,  the  Governor  of  the  Common- 
wealth. It  gave  general  satisfaction  that  the  military 
organization  which  has  become  ours  by  adoption, 
because  of  their  annual  encampment  in  Hingham, 
took  part  in  this  celebration. 

The  Grand  Army  Post  which  escorted  the  proces- 
sion dined  in  a  tent  near  the  residence  of  Col. 
Hawkes  Fearing,  at  Hingham  Centre ;  and  the  Fire 
Department  dined  at  Niagara  Hall. 


THE  DINNER. 


^OUR  hundred  and  eighty-seven  persons  were 
seated  at  dinner.  At  the  table  upon  the  plat- 
form sat  Hon.  John  D.  Long,  the  President  of  the 
Day.  On  his  right  were  Governor  Robinson,  Brig. 
Gen.  Samuel  Dalton,  Col.  Ephraim  Stearns,  Col. 
Edward  H.  Gilbert,  Hon.  Henry  B.  Peirce,  Hon. 
Jonathan  Bourne,  Mr.  Luther  Stephenson,  and  Mr. 
DeWitt  C.  Bates,  Chairman  of  the  Selectmen  of 
Hingham.  On  his  left  were  Lieut.  Governor  Ames, 
Mr.  Solomon  Lincoln,  Hon.  Thomas  Russell,  Hon. 
John  F.  Andrew,  Dr.  William  Everett,  Rev.  Edward 
A.  Horton,  Rev.  H.  Price  Collier,  Rev.  Henry  A. 
Miles,  D.  D.,  and  Mr.  J.  Q.  A.  Lothrop,  Chairman 
of  the  Selectmen  of  Cohasset. 

Divine  blessing  was  invoked  by  Rev.  Dr.  Miles, 
as  follows :  — 

GoD  of  our  fathers  and  God  of  their  children 
from  one  generation  to  another,  humbly  and  rever- 
ently we  invoke  thy  blessing  on  the  feast  before  us. 
May  it  be  a  feast  of  gratitude  for  the  past,  of  inspir- 
ing hope  for  the  future,  and  of  a  thoughtful  and 
firm  purpose  to  make  the  future  better  than  the 
past,  to  the  glory  of  thy  holy  name.     Amen. 


76  THE    TOWN    OF    HINGHAM. 

After  dinner  Reeves's  Band  played  the  overture 
to  "  Zampa."  Addresses  by  the  President  and 
others  followed.  The  speakers  roused  the  audience 
to  a  high  pitch  of  enthusiasm ;  the  President  es- 
pecially, by  his  many  humorous  allusions,  excited 
frequent  laughter  and  applause,  his  hearers  being 
quick  to  appreciate  his  points. 

ADDRESS    OF   HON.    JOHN    D.   LONG,   PRESIDENT. 

The  only  word  which  a  presiding  officer  should 
utter  on  an  occasion  like  this  is  the  word  of  welcome. 
Having  made  which  profound  and  original  sugges- 
tion, the  presiding  ofHcer  on  this  occasion  will  proceed 
.to  occupy  the  rest  of  the  afternoon. 

The  old  town  of  Hingham,  rich  in  historic  interest 
as  well  as  with  distinguished  names,  —  of  which  fact 
you  are  pretty  well  aware  by  this  time,  —  now  cele- 
brates her  two  hundred  and  fiftieth  birthday,  and 
extends  a  hearty  greeting  to  all  her  children.  She 
has  summoned  those  who  dwell  at  home  and  those 
who  dwell  abroad.  She  has  invited  her  nearest  and 
her  remotest  kin.  She  has  entreated  the  stranger 
within  her  gates.  Side  by  side  with  her  veterans 
she  has  arrayed  her  school-children,  whose  songs 
rang  on  the  morning  air,  and  whose  faces  certainly 
were  the  fairer  sunshine  of  the  morning  scene. 
She  has  recalled  also  the  spirits  of  all  those  who 
have  gone  before ;  and  Hobart  the  preacher,  and 
Thaxter  the    soldier  have   led    their   invisible   but 


25OTH    ANNIVERSARY.  77 

sympathetic  followers  in  the  procession  which  has 
this  day  animated  your  streets.  You  marched  past 
the  house  where  Major-General  Ben.  Lincoln  of 
Revolutionary  fame  was  born  and  in  which  he  lived 
and  died,  and  the  old  warrior,  clad  in  Continental 
costume,  waved  you  an  inaudible  cheer  with  the 
sword  of  Cornwallis.  You  passed  the  site  of  the 
tavern  where  Lafayette  tarried,  and  the  gallant 
Frenchman  politely  saluted  you.  You  passed  the 
humble  stoop  on  which  Andrew  stood  on  the  night 
of  his  first  nomination  for  Governor,  and  responded 
to  the  congratulations  of  his  townsmen  who  never 
forget  him.  You  passed  the  old  Derby  Academy, 
founded  in  the  preceding  century,  and  typical  of 
the  New  England  consecration  to  education.  You 
passed  the  ancient  Meeting-house,  still  as  loyal  to 
the  Puritan  essentials  as  its  frame,  for  more  than 
two  centuries,  to  the  Puritan  architecture.  You 
passed  the  old  burying-ground  where  the  forefathers 
—  not  "the  rude  forefathers"  —  of  the  hamlet  sleep, 
and  where  for  two  hundred  and  fifty  years  the  gen- 
erations of  the  town  have  lain  down  to  honored  rest. 
I  regret  to  say  that  with  sacrilegious,  step  invading 
their  quiet  slumber,  somebody  has  recently  and  con- 
temptuously suggested  in  the  columns  of  our  village 
paper  that  the  early  settlers  of  Hingham  either  were 
in  the  exercises  of  this  day,  or  had  arranged  and 
inspired  them.  It  was  a  wicked  and  perverse  citizen, 
angry  because  not  he  but  a  modest  and  meritorious 
townsman  was  made  President  of  the  Day.     But  the 


78  THE    TOWN    OF    HINGHAM. 

sneer  was  an  unconscious  praise;  and  blessed  be  the 
old  town  of  Hingham  that  so  much  of  what  was 
sterling  in  her  past  is  preserved  in  the  character 
and  make-up  of  to-day,  and  that,  if  there  was  ever 
anything  narrow  or  stinted,  in  the  place  of  it  have 
come  the  broad  citizenship,  the  equal  rights,  the  ex- 
panded personal  freedom,  the  better  living,  and  the 
larger  circumstance  of  the  present  time. 

The  things,  of  course,  which  conspicuously  mark 
the  history  of  a  town  are  the  characteristics  and  acts 
of  certain  individuals.  Round  these  cluster  the 
romance  and  the  interest.  They  are  the  blazed 
monarchs  of  the  forest  by  which  the  traveller  finds 
his  way.  And  yet  I  think,  and  I  think  the  histo- 
rian of  the  morning  will  agree  with  me,  that  the  true 
history  of  a  town  for  two  hundred  and  fifty  years  is 
in  its  unindividualized  growth,  as  steady  and  irre- 
sistible as  the  movement  of  a  glacier,  —  the  whole 
abundant  forest,  not  a  few  trees  in  it,  but  the  whole 
abundant  forest  with  its  mighty  growing  shelter  and 
its  common  glory,  —  in  other  words,  the  entity  of 
civilization,  with  its  bettering  of  human  conditions 
for  all  alike.  If  you  would  trace  the  real  history  of 
Hingham,  you  will  not,  proud  as  you  may  be  of  them, 
limit  your  view  to  the  names  of  Lincoln  and  An- 
drew, which  quickest  catch  the  eye  and  elicit  the 
praise  of  the  outsider  who,  in  kindly  courtesy,  pays 
us  the  graceful  compliment  of  an  after-dinner  speech. 
You  will  find  it,  as  you  citizens  of  Hingham  know, 
in  the  benefactions  of  Sarah  Langley,  who  founded 


25OTH    ANNIVERSARY.  79 

the  Academy ;  of  Martin  Wilder  and  Ben.  Loring, 
who  dedicated  halls  to  the  people's  use ;  of  Albert 
Fearing,  whose  picture  is  above  me,  and  to  whom 
we  owe  this  Agricultural  Hall,  these  Agricultural 
Grounds,  and  the  Public  Library,  itself  a  very  foun- 
tain of  beneficence ;  of  Dr.  Fiske,  who,  robbing  the 
grim  king  of  his  terrors,  woke  the  dreary  desert  of 
the  dead  into  a  garden  of  beauty  and  of  grateful 
rest;  of  George  P.  Hay  ward,  to  whom  we  are  in- 
debted for  the  start  of  the  best  material  gift  this 
town  ever  had,  —  an  abundant  and  universal  supply 
of  pure  water;  of  men  of  the  type  of  David  Whiton, 
to  whom,  now  in  his  broken  health,  we  send  the 
message  of  our  sympathy,  and  who,  out  of  his  large 
heart,  gave  from  his  store  while  he  had  it  to  the 
enterprise  and  to  the  welfare  of  his  native  town ; 
of  the  young  man  who  plants  your  waysides  with 
the  foliage  that  shall  lift  its  grateful  shade  over  the 
heads  of  3rour  children's  children ;  of  that  other  who 
for  half  a  generation  has  impressed  the  coming  man 
and  woman  with  the  instruction  of  your  highest 
public  education ;  of  those,  many  and  many  among 
us,  who  by  their  industrious  toil  and  faithful  citizen- 
ship have  kept  sweet  the  heart  of  New  England 
civilization,  and  who,  though  no  Emerson  dwelt 
among  them,  have  lived  his  philosophy  in  the  se- 
renity of  their  hearthsides,  and  written  it  in  the 
aesthetic  adornment  of  their  homes ;  of  the  devoted 
clergymen  and  teachers,  the  good  women,  the  hum- 
ble apostles  of  social  reform  and  charity,   the  pro- 


8o  THE    TOWN    OF    HINGHAM. 

gressive  citizens  of  foreign  birth,  the  men  of  wealth, 
who,  with  a  public  spirit  worthy  of  all  praise,  have 
year  after  year  contributed  to  enlarge  and  to  freshen 
every  stream  of  good  influence.  Such  be  the  bene- 
factors of  your  town,  the  fibre  of  your  history,  whom 
no  orator  engraves,  whom  no  poet  sings. 

So  it  is,  ladies  and  gentlemen,  that  we  point  you 
—  to-day  better  than  the  past,  to-morrow  better  than 
to-day  —  to  better  schools,  to  certainly  a  more  en- 
franchised church,  to  a  larger  enjoyment  of  life,  to  a 
more  widely  diffused  sharing  of  the  good  things  of 
the  world,  than  our  fathers  had ;  yet  we  do  not  for- 
get that  they  are  ours  in  this  larger  degree  because 
of  their  evolution  out  of  the  fathers'  prayers  and 
tears  and  faith  and  toil  and  sacrifice.  So  it  is  that 
if  this  is  a  day  of  gratitude,  as  it  is,  it  is  still  more 
a  day  of  hope ;  if  it  is  a  day  of  reverence,  as  it  is,  it 
is  still  more  a  day  of  pride ;  if  it  is  a  day  of  laurels, 
as  it  is,  it  is  still  more  a  day  of  the  spur ;  and,  above 
all,  it  is  a  glad,  joyous  day  of  welcome.  It  is  a  day 
merry  with  the  ringing  of  bells  and  loud  with  the 
roar  of  cannon,  although  we  are  a  little  disappointed 
in  that  respect,  the  pieces  not  making  the  thunder 
we  hoped  for  when  we  secured  them.  It  is  a  day 
melodious^  with  strains  of  music,  and  with  the 
sweeter  strain  of  the  orator's  voice ;  a  day  happy 
with  the  songs  and  merriment  of  children  and  the 
memories  of  age,  through  whose  very  tears  the 
rainbow  arches.  Over  all  its  sweep,  over  the  hills 
and  the  woods  and  on  the  bay,  along  every  street 


25OTH    ANNIVERSARY.  8 1 

and  over  every  home,  Hingham  writes  her  bounteous 
welcome. 

Let  us  therefore,  in  the  spirit  of  such  a  day,  speak 
the  things  that  come  crowding  to  our  hps.  In  the 
old  Scripture  phrase,  let  us  open  our  hearts  and  sing 
praises.  For  this  purpose — for  I  do  not  forget, 
now  that  I  have  had  the  opportunity  to  lift  my  own 
voice,  that  I  am  only  a  chorister  whose  duty  it  is 
not  to  sing  but  to  keep  time  —  I  have  engaged  a 
very  select  choir.  Each  member  of  it  is  a  soloist, 
and  you  are  expected  to  furnish  the  accompaniment 
in  your  responsive  faces  and  hands.  Their  songs 
are  of  a  remarkable  range,  and  yet  not  one  of  them 
will  strike  a  base  note,  or  a  flat,  or,  on  this  occasion 
I  trust,  a  sharp  one.  They  will  afflict  your  ears 
with  no  Italian  airs,  but  give  you  plain  New  Eng- 
land psalmody.  Yet,  as  you .  listen,  it  will  wake  in 
your  hearts  the  tenderest  melodies  that  ever  touched 
them  to  tears,  —  answering  chords  of  home  and 
patriotism,  of  the  field  and  the  farm,  of  the  blue  sea 
and  the  school-days,  of  the  village  church  and  the 
dear  old  Hingham  life,  inwrought  into  which  is  the 
pride  of  our  citizenship,  indeed,  but  a  thousand  times 
deeper  and  tenderer,  the  unspeakable  riches  of  the 
love,  the  longing,  the  sorrows,  and  the  memories  of 
our  hearts  and  homes. 

A  lady  from  foreign  parts  visiting  us  now,  or 
some  century  ago,  expressed  her  surprise  that  a 
New  England  dinner  could  be  had,  and  toasts 
given  and  responded    to,    without   wine.     We    will 


82  THE    TOWN    OF    HINGHAM. 

show  her  to-day  how  the  thing  is  done.  A  gentle- 
man, distinguished  in  this  community  for  his  interest 
in  antiquities,  has  sent  me  this  Httle  mite  of  a  bottle. 
It  contains  an  acorn ;  and  the  interesting  thing  about 
it  is  that  that  acorn  was  on  the  table  fifty  years  ago 
this  day,  at  the  bi-centennial  celebration  at  that  time. 
It  illustrates  two  things :  first,  how  great  oaks  do  not 
always  from  little  acorns  grow  ;  and  second,  how 
the  great  bottles  of  fifty  years  ago  have  diminished, 
until  they  are  now  hardly  visible  to  the  naked  eye. 

The  first  toast  is.  The  Commonwealth  of  Mas- 
sachusetts,—  a  litde  larger  edition  of  the  town  of 
Hingham. 

As  a  general  thing,  we  do  not  care  much  about 
having  Governors  on  our  festival  days.  I  suppose 
there  are  towns  in  the  Commonwealth  where  they 
are  a  novelty;  but  with  us  in  our  home  market  they 
have  got  to  be  somewhat  a  drug.  Of  late  years 
I  doubt  if  you  could  have  induced  any  of  our  very 
best  citizens  to  accept  the  honor  of  the  office.  But 
just  now  we  have  such  a  good  Governor,  one  who 
so  thoroughly  commands  the  respect  and  the  con- 
fidence of  the  whole  Commonwealth,  that  [applause] 
—  you  cannot  wait  until  I  finish  my  sentence  before 
you  overwhelm  him  with  applause — that  we  wel- 
come him  here  with  all  our  hearts.  Governor 
Robinson,  won't  you  strike  the  keynote  for  us  ? 

Governor  Robinson  was  received  with  cheers 
and  music  by  the  band,  after  which  he  spoke  as 
follows :  — 


25OTH    ANNIVERSARY.  $7) 


ADDRESS    OF    GOVERNOR    ROBINSON. 

Mr.  President,  Ladies,  and  Gentlemen,  —  The 
keynote  has  been  so  well  set  by  your  honored  fellow- 
citizen  that  I  mistrust  you  really  want  him  to  con- 
tinue through  the  whole  performance.  Indeed,  this 
volume  that  is  to  be  presented  this  afternoon,  so 
far  as  I  may  have  any  part  in  it,  will  be  chiefly 
index  and  preface.  You  have  it  all  now  before 
you.  It  has  been  well  done,  ladies  and  gentlemen. 
And  the  gauge  of  Massachusetts  has  been  set,  in  the 
judgment  of  the  President,  at  least,  —  a  smaller  edi- 
tion of  the  town  of  Hingham.  He  said  larger,  but 
he  really  did  n't  mean  it.  Why,  it  has  really  become 
the  sure  impression  of  the  people  all  over  the  Com- 
monwealth, if  I  may  be  allowed  to  state  it,  that 
somehow  or  other,  if  we  should  make  the  search, 
we  should  find  Massachusetts  tucked  away  in  some 
little  corner  of  this  town.  Why  should  n't  we  ? 
Looking  down  over  the  roll  of  the  many  years, 
and  finding  here  and  there  a  name  of  a  man  that 
has  stood  out  before  the  nation  and  the  world  in 
great  power  and  loyalty  and  courage  and  strength, 
we  stop  and  take  breath  and  say,  "  Is  not  that  of 
Massachusetts  ?  '*  Is  it  of  Gen.  Benjamin  Lincoln 
of  Revolutionary  fame,  of  wisdom  enough  to  sit  in 
the  councils  of  the  great  Washington,  successful  and 
popular  enough  to  be  collector  of  the  port  of  Bos- 
ton, able  to  cut  any  knot  that  may  have  existed  then 


84  THE    TOWN    OF    HINGHAM. 

in  the  executive  mind,  and  relieve  a  great  many- 
other  people  of  uncertainty  whether  they  would  not 
be  called  to  that  place  ?  The  other  Lincolns,  away 
down  to  the  present  hour?  All  the  Hobarts  and 
the  Cushings  and  all  the  other  families  ?  It  would 
take  me  all  the  afternoon  to  mention  them  here. 

In  the  time  that  some  of  us  younger  people  can 
recollect,  the  great  man  who  sat  in  the  Executive 
Chair,  commanded  the  attention  of  the  country,  the 
confidence  of  the  people,  put  the  State  into  the 
front,  carried  the  soldier  forward  with  his  enthusiasm 
and  welcomed  him  home  with  his  sweetest  blessing ; 
he  whose  bones  slumber  now  in  your  soil,  —  remem- 
bering him,  should  we  not  stop  to  think  that  Mas- 
sachusetts is  in  Hinsfham  ?  And  if  the  President 
were  not  here  now,  it  would  be  proper  to  say  that 
even  later  than  1865  the  confidence  and  the  heart 
of  Massachusetts  have  resided  here  in  her  Execu- 
tive. It  is  true  indeed  that  the  Commonwealth  is 
but  another  edition  of  her  towns. 

This  town  is  older  than  the  Commonwealth.  You 
sit  here  in  your  age  of  two  hundred  and  fiftyyears. 
The  Commonwealth  came  a  long  time  afterward  ; 
and  only  out  of  Hingham  and  Cohasset  and  Charles- 
town  and  Dorchester  and  Roxbury  and  Boston  and 
Concord  and  Lexington  and  hundreds  of  others  do 
we  have  any  Commonwealth  at  all.  There  can  be 
no  power  of  the  State  except  that  found  in  the 
municipalities,  and  none  in  them  but  that  which 
comes   into  the  homes   of   the   people, — aye,   into 


25OTH    ANNIVERSARY.  85 

the  hearts  of  the  men  and  women  themselves. 
Therefore  it  is  true,  as  the  President  said,  that 
Massachusetts  is  but  the  larger  edition  of  Hing- 
ham ;  and  God  will  bless  her  surely  in  the  future 
if  she  shall  continue  to  be  loyal  to  the  under- 
lying principles  of  good  order  and  decency  and 
manhood  that  have  made  this  town  so  strong  and 
distinguished  as  she  is.  You  celebrate  the  anni- 
versary,  as  I  understood  the  orator  this  morning  to 
say,  of  the  incorporation  of  the  town.  The  Secre- 
tary of  the  Commonwealth  is  here,  and  he  will  tell 
you  that  he  has  searched  day  and  night  to  find  the 
original  charter  of  the  town  of  Hingham,  and  so 
far  as  his  eye  could  discover,  —  I  make  this  statement 
here  now  so  that  it  may  be  subject  to  correction  by 
some  after  speaker,  —  all  that  he  could  trace  was 
this:  that  on  the  second  day  of  September,  1635,  it 
was  resolved,  "  The  settlement  at  Bear  Cove  shall 
have  hereafter  the  name  of  Hingham."  You  had 
your  name  changed,  that  is  all ;  took  it  from  the 
old  town  across  the  water.  And  on  that  day  Con- 
cord was  really  set  out,  her  six  miles  square ;  but 
Weymouth,  your  near  neighbor,  likewise  was  given 
a  new  name.  The  settlement  had  commenced,  as 
the  orator  truly  told  you  this  morning,  a  year  or 
two  before,  and  continued  along  down  for  several 
years  thereafter. 

Now  we  stand  at  the  end  of  the  two  hundred  and 
fifty  years,  —  a  long  time  compared  with  man's  three- 
score and  ten,  many  generations  rolled  up  in  that 


86  THE    TOWN    OF    HINGHAM, 

time,  and  yet  nothing,  a  mere  span,  placed  alongside 
the  ages  of  the  world,  the  records  of  great  cities  and 
countries  in  other  lands.  Why,  you  are  older  than 
Harvard  College.  You  are  older  even  than  the 
Ancient  and  Honorable  Artillery  Company.  You 
are  more  than  a  hundred  years  in  antiquity  beyond 
the  Cadets,  that  so  handsomely,  nobly,  and  efficiently 
performed  escort  and  protection  for  the  Governor 
this  morning.  And  you  go  back  into  a  time  when 
there  were  but  eleven  other  towns  recognized  in  the 
State.  Only  eleven !  And  singularly  enough,  it  is 
the  fact  that  the  Colonists  then  began  to  complain 
that  there  was  not  room  in  Massachusetts  for  all 
the  people,  and  they  crowded  them  over  into 
Connecticut,  and  the  settlement  of  that  ancient 
State  followed.  What  think  you  if  in  all  these 
years,  by  some  power  divine  or  human,  the  sun  in 
the  heavens  could  have  painted  upon  delicate  plate 
the  transactions  of  each  year,  and  before  you  to-day 
could  have  been  placed  the  succession  of  marvel- 
lous representations }  In  your  own  minds,  so  far 
as  you  have  watched  the  current  of  events,  you 
picture  it,  and  what  a  thrilling  presentation  of  life 
you  have !  Right  in  this  cove  here,  upon  these 
rocky  hills,  along  this  edge,  you  find  the  few  settlers 
coming,  then  more  and  more,  until  you  have,  by 
rapid  processes,  the  town  developed  and  a  settle- 
ment established  for  all  time. 

Nor  is  the  influence  of  such  a  town  found  alone 
within  its  own  borders.     It  is  undoubtedly  true  that 


250Tn    ANNIVERSARY.  ^y 

a  great  many  persons  here  present  have  come  home 
to-day.  They  dwell  elsewhere.  Sons  and  daughters 
of  Hingham  are  found  all  over  the  country,  aye,  in 
various  parts  of  the  world,  and  carry  her  influence 
everywhere.  More  than  that,  too,  it  is  always  to  the 
credit  of  a  town  that  she  keeps  good  cordiality  at 
her  doors.  It  testifies  of  her  good  quality  when 
others  like  to  visit  her,  and,  better  still,  when  they 
come  here  to  spend  their  lives.  Adopted  citizenship 
is  sometimes  the  best  proof  of  the  quality  of  origi- 
nal citizenship.  Men  go  to  countries  where  they 
can  better  their  condition.  Wanderers  come  from 
Maine  to  settle  in  Hingham,  because  they  can  do 
better;  and  they  indeed  not  only  bless  themselves 
but  richly  benefit  the  communities  of  which  they 
afterwards  form  a  part. 

Following  the  orator  this  morning,  you  noticed 
that  he  spoke  of  one  characteristic  of  the  early 
people  of  this  town,  and  that  was,  boldness  in 
speech,  fearlessness  to  express  sentiments.  That  is 
not  peculiar  to  this  town.  Any  one  who  has  had  an 
opportunity  to  see  the  people  of  this  Commonwealth 
from  the  Governor's  position  knows  that  there  are 
in  several  communities,  and  have  been  from  time 
immemorial,  people  who  express  their  minds  when- 
ever they  want  to.  But  it  is  certainly  characteristic 
to  this  extent,  that  search  the  records  of  the  old 
towns  in  this  State  and  you  will  find  towering  up 
now  in  history  the  men  who  stood  out  at  that  time 
ready  to  declare  their  opinions,  whether  the  people 


88  THE    TOWN    OF    HINGHAM. 

liked  them  or  not,  and  you  will  discover  there  the 
names  of  men  who  were  put  to  fine  and  imprison- 
ment, to  general  condemnation,  because  they  uttered 
unwelcome  sentiments.  They  stood  up  nevertheless, 
and  history  now  sees  those  men,  but  forgets  to  know 
or  represent  that  there  were  others  who  conformed 
to  everything  and  everybody  at  will.  You  recollect 
that  John  Haynes  was  Governor  of  Massachusetts 
in  1635.  He  was  rigid  in  discipline  while  exercising 
the  chief  office  of  this  Commonwealth.  He  partici- 
pated in  the  banishment  of  Roger  Williams.  But 
after  his  settlement  in  Connecticut  his  ideas  became 
somewhat  modified.  He  had  felt  that  a  person 
should  only  have  the  views  that  were  to  correspond 
with  those  in  power  and  authority ;  but  afterwards 
he  said  to  Roger  Williams  in  Connecticut,  "  I  think 
I  must  now  confess  to  you  that  God  hath  provided 
and  cut  out  this  part  of  the  world  for  a  refuge  recep- 
tacle of  all  sorts  of  consciences."  That  is  what 
New  England  is  made  up  of,  —  all  sorts  of  con- 
sciences in  all  sorts  of  people,  with  tongue  and  voice 
and  thought  to  express  what  one  will.  That  is  the 
true  freedom,  and  that  our  fathers  really  lived  for 
and  settled  here  for  and  builded  for ;  and  the  result 
has  far  exceeded  the  anticipations  that  they  dared  to 
indulge  in  1635.  It  is  a  good  deal  of  comfort  for  a 
man  now  in  these  modern  days  to  have  this  all  re- 
hearsed before  him,  especially  if  he  is  one  that  the 
press,  in  its  gentle  administrations,  touches  with  an 
unkind  hand  now  and  then.     So,  my  friends,  if  you 


25OTH    ANNIVERSARY.  89 

find  in  the  morning  journal  that  somebody  is  brought 
under  severe  censure  and  criticism,  it  may  be  that 
by  and  by,  when  that  newspaper  is  forgotten  as  the 
very  dust  in  the  street,  his  name  will  be  enrolled  on 
high  for  the  admiration  of  the  millions.  Possibly 
he,  out  of  his  courage,  will  have  made  his  mark  upon 
his  time.  Very  likely  he  may  be  in  the  right  all  the 
while,  and  know  within  his  conscience  and  his  heart 
that  he  is  speaking  the  truth  that  God  even  would 
own,  and  out  of  his  own  convictions  cannot  keep 
silent. 

Now,  ladies  and  gentlemen,  the  President  told  me 
at  the  outset,  very  quietly,  that  not  more  than  ten 
minutes  was  expected  of  Governors  in  these  days. 
I  know  this  much,  however,  that  just  now  he  has  no 
more  power  in  the  Commonwealth  than  anybody 
else.  He  cannot  even  command  a  single  man  in 
the  Cadets,  not  one  of  them,  nor  issue  an  order 
that  they  would  treat  with  respect ;  and  so  I 
break  over  his  injunction  and  go  beyond  my  ten 
minutes. 

This  is  the  day  really  for  the  sons  and  daughters 
of  Hingham,  and,  considering  that,  I  must  give  way 
to  them.  What  right  have  I,  except  as  I  speak  for 
the  whole  people  of  the  State,  for  the  time  being  ? 
What  privilege  have  I  here,  that  I  should  take  your 
time  and  your  attention  ?  You  want  to  have  those 
speak  from  this  platform  who  have  been  in  and  of 
you ;  who  have  sat  within  your  homes,  part  of  your 
home  circles ;  who  come  back  here  to  renew  the 


go  THE    TOWN    OF    HINGHAM. 

kindly  associations  of  hand  and  voice  and  eye ;  who 
are  indebted  and  endeared  to  you  in  every  form 
—  men  perhaps  who  were  here  fifty  years  ago,  and 
took  part  in  the  great  exercises  of  that  celebration. 
You  want  to  hear  what  have  been  the  accomplish- 
ments of  all  these  people  in  the  times  past,  and  I 
certainly  should  not  prevent  your  enjoyment  of  the 
opportunity. 

Now,  ladies  and  gentlemen,  we  stand  here  with 
the  two  hundred  and  fifty  years  accomplished.  We 
speak  of  the  pride  of  the  past,  —  we  ought  to ;  but 
we  are  not  fit  to  appreciate  it  unless  we  have  resolu- 
tion and  purpose  for  the  future.  The  President  has 
well  selected  the  great  and  distinguished  of  the  town 
and  pointed  to  them  as  leading  the  way,  as  blazing 
the  path  through  the  forest,  and  he  has  gone  farther 
and  taken  in  those  who  by  some  act  attracting  at- 
tention make  themselves  strong  among  the  people 
where  they  live.  But  I  take  you  all  in.  You  may 
select  your  one,  two,  or  even  a  score  of  persons  in  a 
town  and  put  them  aside,  and  they  constitute  but 
a  very  small  portion  of  that  whole  people.  Looking 
up  and  down  the  seats  that  are  before  me,  seeing  the 
faces,  knowing  the  intellect  and  the  power  and  the 
culture  and  the  good  heart  that  is  in  this  audience, 
I  know  that  the  future  resides  with  you ;  and  whether 
one  man  or  another  is  Governor,  one  man  or  another 
lives  here  or  lives  there,  it  is  of  small  consequence 
compared  with  what  you  each  do  in  your  homes  and 
in  your  daily  life. 


25OTH    ANNIVERSARY.  9 1 

Now,  ladies  and  gentlemen,  the  Commonwealth 
is  here  to-day,  and  she  will  be  here  fifty  years  hence, 
though  every  one  of  us  has  disappeared  forever. 
She  stands  every  day  with  her  towns  and  her  cities. 
New  people  come  up  to  call  her  their  own  from  time 
to  time,  and  she  has  her  perpetuity  in  their  strength 
and  in  their  success.  She  gives  you  welcome  to- 
day. She  asks  God's  blessing  for  your  future,  and 
trusts  it  will  be  as  honorable  as  we  know  the  past 
has  been. 

The  President.  —  Ladies  and  gentlemen,  I  never 
for  a  moment  undertook  to  command  the  Governor 
of  this  Commonwealth  that  he  should  limit  his 
speech  to  ten  minutes.  I  simply,  and  with  as  much 
delicacy  as  I  could,  advised  him  not  to  exceed  ten 
minutes.  He  ran  great  risk  in  not  taking  my 
advice. 

The  Lieutenant-Governor  of  the  Commonwealth, 
on  whom  I  am  not  going  to  call,  informs  me  that 
his  Constitutional  duty  is  to  go  about  with  the 
Governor  and  to  supply  his  deficiencies.  But  the 
Governor  is  never  guilty  of  any  deficiency,  therefore 
the  Lieutenant-Governor  always  remains  silent.  I 
am  sure,  however,  although  I  respect  his  wish  not 
to  speak  on  this  occasion,  we  all  unite  in  paying  him 
the  tribute  of  our  respect,  due  not  only  to  his  office 
but  to  him  as  a  citizen  and  as  the  son  of  the  father 
who  so  many  years  represented  this  District  in 
Congress,  and  in  whom  the  people  of  the  District 


92  THE    TOWN    OF    HINGHAM. 

never  lost  confidence.  I  should  be  happy  to  call 
also  upon  my  friend,  the  Secretary  of  State,  whose 
fund  of  humor  never  runs  dry ;  but  the  Common- 
wealth, of  course,  must  not  monopolize  all  the 
time  on  this  occasion,  and  if  he  once  began  you 
would  never  let  him  sit  down. 

I  have  a  telegram  here  from  Prof.  James  Hall,  a 
native  of  the  town,  distinguished  for  his  scientific 
attainments,  who  regrets  that  he  cannot  be  with  us. 

On  Saturday  last  I  telegraphed  to  the  President 
of  the  Day  at  Concord,  — 

Hingham  congratulates  Concord  on  the  celebration  of 
their  common  birthday.  Hope  you  will  have  a  good 
time,  sister. 

Concord  replies  with  this  telegram  :  — 

Concord,  Mass.,  Sept.  15,  18S5. 
To  the  President  of  the  Day,  Hingham  : 

The  Low  Hills  to  the  Seashore  send  greeting  and  con- 
gratulations.    Concord  replies  to  her  twin,  "  many  happy 

returns." 

The  Concord  Celebration, 

fiy  the  President  of  the  Day. 

George  B.  Bartlett,  of  Concord,  sends  these 
rhymes :  — 

From  Concord  Bridge  the  moss-grown  manse  this  loving  greeting 

sends,  — 
Hingham  and  Concord  ought  to  be  the  very  best  of  friends ; 
For  glorious  as  we  think  ourselves,  it  still  is  very  true 
One  of  our  best  and  hoUest  men  we  doubtless  owe  to  you. 


25OTH    ANNIVERSARY.  93 

Good  Dr.  Ripley,  full  of  grace,  of  credit  and  renown, 
Was  born  of  reverend  ancestry  within  your  ancient  town. 
Three  quarters  of  a  century  he  held  us  in  his  care, 
With  exhortation  and  reproof,  with  solemn  word  and  prayer, 
To  make  us  worthy  of  the  men  who  bravely  fought  and  died, 
And  of  the  ones  who  lived  and  wrote,  and  thus  were  glorified. 
On  Tuesday  and  on  Saturday  we  count  our  deeds  and  sing  'em, 
And  join  in  loving  harmony  old  Concord  and  old  Hingham. 

George  B.  Bartlett. 

Isaac  Hinckley  sends  a  letter:  — 

CoDMAN  Hill,  Dorchester,  Mass.,  Sept.  4,  1885. 

Starkes  Whiton,  Esq.,  Chairman  of  Committee  on  Invitations^ 
Hingham,  Mass. : 

Dear  Sir,  —  I  was  much  gratified  by  the  receipt  of  the 
invitation  to  visit  the  good  old  town,  my  birthplace,  on 
the  15th  inst.  I  have  delayed  my  reply,  having  hopes  that 
I  might  be  able  to  accept  the  invitation,  but  my  physicians 
have  nearly  decided  that  I  must  start  for  Colorado  before 
the  1 5  th  inst.  I  must,  therefore,  with  more  regret  than  I  can 
express,  forego  the  pleasure  of  visiting  Hingham  on  the 
day  of  the  Celebration,  Thanking  the  Committee  for 
recollecting  their  townsman  on  this  occasion, 

I  am  very  truly  yours, 

Isaac  Hinckley. 

Senator  Hoar  sends  a  letter :  — 

Worcester,  Sept.  8,  1885. 

My  Dear  Governor  Long,  —  It  seems  now  quite 
certain  that  I  shall  not  be  able  to  be  at  your  interesting 
celebration  on  Tuesday.  I  have  a  professional  engagement, 
of  the  first  importance,  which  will  take  me  all  day  and  far 
into  the  evening  on  that  day.     I  should  like  of  all  things 


94  THE    TOWN    OF    HINGHAM. 

to  hear  Mr.  Lincoln's  address  and  the  other  speeches,  which 
I  shall  eagerly  read.  The  town  of  Hingham  is,  I  believe, 
of  just  the  same  age  as  my  own  native  town,  Concord. 
They  have  many  resemblances.  If  the  British  did  not 
march  your  way  in  1775,  I  am  sure  you  would  have  made 
it  quite  as  hot  for  them,  if  they  had.  I  am  sure,  too,  that 
the  old  faith  of  the  Puritan  and  of  the  Revolution,  the  old 
constancy,  the  old  love  of  liberty,  the  old  purpose  to  fight 
an  age-long  battle,  if  need  be,  for  constitutional  govern- 
ment, the  old  purpose  to  endure  to  the  end,  abides  in  both, 
unquenched  and  unabated.     I  am 

Yours  very  truly, 

George  F.  Hoar. 


Richard  Henry  Stoddard,  a  native  of  Hingham, 
sends  a  letter.  It  is  an  excellent  letter,  but  the  hand- 
writing shows  that  he  graduated  from  Hingham 
before  penmanship  was  made  a  fine  art: — 

New  York,  Sept.  4,  1885. 

My  Dear  Sir,  —  My  absence  from  the  city  for  some 
weeks  past  prevented  me  from  getting  your  kind  invitation 
to  be  present  at  the  Hingham  anniversary  until  many  days 
after  it  was  written.  I  have  tried  very  hard  to  do  my  share 
towards  celebrating  it,  but  without  success,  for  I  have  not 
been,  and  shall  not  be,  able  to  furnish  my  townsmen  with 
a  hymn,  or  any  other  verse,  for  that  occasion.  I  am  sen- 
sible of  the  honor  they  have  done  me  ;  but  if  I  cannot  write 
what  I  should  like  to,  why,  I  cannot,  and  there  it  ends.  If 
I  had  not  tried  to  do  this  very  seriously  this  note  would 
have  been  written  days  ago.  Will  you  kindly  tell  the  gen- 
tlemen of  your  Committee  how  sorry  I  am  to  have  to  write 
this  note?  The  earliest  recollections  of  my  life  cluster 
about  Hingham,  which  I  see  plainly,  as  I  write  this,  as  it  was 


25OTH    ANNIVERSARY.  95 

over  fifty  years  ago.  I  am  proud  of  having  been  born 
there,  and  should  be  glad  to  have  my  dust  (when  I  am  done 
with  it)  committed  to  the  earth  in  its  old  burying-ground 
on  the  hill.  But  it  is  no  longer  an  old  burying-ground,  for 
when  I  saw  it  last  it  was  spick-and-span  new,  laid  out  in 
gravel  walks,  grass  plats,  and  peopled  with  monuments. 
Regretting  my  inability  to  join  my  townsmen  as  I  hoped 

at  one  time,  I  am 

Yours  truly, 
Mr.  Starkes  Whiton.  R-   H.  StODDARD. 


Sidney  Howard  Gay  writes  : — 

West  New  Brighton, 
Staten  Island,  N.  Y.,  Aug.  28,  1885. 

Messrs.  Whiton,  Thaxter,  and  of  hers,  Committee: 

Gentlemen,  —  I  regret  very  much  that  I  am  compelled 
to  deny  myself  the  pleasure  of  joining  with  you  in  the 
celebration  of  the  15th  proximo.  But  permit  me  to  add 
that,  though  I  cannot  be  with  you,  I  agree  most  heartily 
and  piously  in  the  duty  of  commemorating  the  birthday 
of  that  good  old  mother,  who  has  given  to  the  country, 
directly  and  indirectly,  more  citizens  eminent  in  their  day 
and  generation  for  civic  virtue,  ability,  and  usefulness  than 
have  come  from  any  other  one  spot,  probably,  in  the 
Commonwealth  of  Massachusetts  —  God  save  her.  With 
many  thanks  for  your  kind  remembrance  of  me,  I  remain 
your  friend  and  townsman, 

Sidney  Howard  Gay. 


If  Mr.  Reeves  will  now  play  "  Sweet  Home,"  we 
shall  be  very  much  obliged  to  him. 

"  Home,  Sweet  Home  "  was  played  by  the  band. 


96  THE    TOWN    OF    HINGHAM. 

The  President.  —  Our  next  toast  is,  —  Plymouth 
County. 

It  was  the  courting  of  Hingham  by  the  two 
counties  of  Suffolk  and  Plymouth  that  led  the 
poet  to  say, — 

"  How  happy  could  I  be  with  either, 
Were  t'  other  dear  charmer  away." 

After  flirting  with  both,  an  example  that  not  one 
of  her  daughters  has  ever  followed,  Hingham  kissed 
her  hand  to  the  Puritan  but  gave  it  to  the  Pilgrim. 
To  respond  for  the  fortunate  suitor,  —  and  that  is 
the  only  suitor  for  a  lady's  preference  that  is  ever  of 
any  consequence,  —  I  shall  call  upon  an  humble  rail- 
road hand  whose  daily  business  it  is  to  put  on  the 
brakes.  He  may  possibly  have  responded  before  for 
the  Old  Colony.  I  am  sure  that  his  heart  is  so  full  of 
love  for  her  —  he  told  me  "an  affection  of  the  heart" 
would  compel  him  to  accept  our  invitation  here  — 
that  neither  his  inexperience  in  public  speaking  nor 
the  terrors  of  my  awful  command  will  prevent  him 
from  paying  her  a  tribute  as  fresh  —  and  now  I 
speak  most  sincerely  —  as  though,  returning  from 
college,  he  were  laying  his  first  sheaf  at  her  feet 
instead  of  the  hundredth,  each  last  more  beautiful 
than  the  rest.  I  present  you  Judge  Thomas  Russell, 
of  the  Railroad  Commission. 


25OTH    ANNIVERSARY.  97 


ADDRESS    OF    HON.    THOMAS    RUSSELL. 

Mr.  President,  —  Plymouth  county  rejoices  in 
the  good  taste  which  Hingham  finally  showed  in  her 
choice  of  a  legal  residence.  In  return  she  has  made 
every  son  of  Hingham  an  heir  of  the  Pilgrims  by 
adoption  and  a  son  of  the  Old  Colony  by  brevet. 
We  think  it  fortunate  that  the  same  county  holds 
the  grave  of  Governor  Bradford  and  of  Governor 
Andrew,  —  one  foremost  in  founding  a  free  govern- 
ment, the  other  among  the  foremost  in  maintaining 
it,  —  each  combining  a  firm  faith  in  everything  that 
is  good,  with  a  liberal  capacity  for  accepting  any- 
thing that  is  better.  We  err  sometimes  in  speaking 
of  Plymouth,  town  and  county,  as  if  their  history 
ended  in  1620.  We  owe  it  to  the  fathers  to  show 
that  their  sons  have  not  been  wholly  unworthy  of 
them.  It  is  good  to  recall  the  fact  that  Myles 
Standish  was  followed  by  Colonel  Church,  a  native 
of  the  soil,  whose  exploits  rank  him  with  the  heroes 
of  romance,  and  whose  humanity  is  one  proof  more 
that  the  bravest  are  the  most  merciful.  The  great- 
ness of  Bradford  and  of  Winslow  did  not  perish 
with  them.  They  lived  again  in  generations  of 
soldiers  and  statesmen.  We  have  neglected  our 
colonial  memories.  Everybody  has  heard  of  Bloody 
Brook,  where  "  the  Flower  of  Essex  "  fell  among  the 
meadows  of  Deerfield.  The  spot  is  marked  by  a 
monument,  and  better  marked  by  the  eloquence  of 


98  THE    TOWN    OF    HINGHAM. 

Everett.  But  no  monument  marks  the  spot  on  the 
banks  of  the  Pavvtucket  where  fifty  young  men  of 
Plymouth  county,  led  by  the  gallant  Michael  Peirce, 
were  cut  off,  but  not  until  they  had  slain  thrice  their 
number.  So  all  the  world  has  heard  of  the  Charter 
Oak.  But  only  local  tradition  tells  of  the  scene 
when  Andros  tried  in  vain  to  seize  our  charter. 
And  again,  when  he  laid  his  hand  upon  Clarke's 
Island,  Duxbury  and  Plymouth  sent  their  minister 
and  ruling  elder  to  resist  his  tyranny.  It  may  be 
said  that  the  result  was  disastrous.  But  the  defiance 
was  given.  And  our  fathers  knew  the  truth,  though 
they  had  not  heard  the  words,  — 

"  For  Freedom's  battle  once  begun, 
Bequeathed  from  bleeding  sire  to  son, 
Though  baffled  oft  is  ever  won." 

In  the  grand  contest  between  France  and  Eng- 
land for  the  possession  of  a  continent,  Plymouth 
county  bore  a  full  share.  There  are  no  brighter 
names  upon  the  English  standards  than  Quebec 
and  Louisburg.  In  one  our  New  England  fathers 
stood  side  by  side  with  the  troops  of  old  England. 
In  the  other  they  stood  almost  alone.  In  the  first 
crusade  against  Louisburg  the  fishermen  of  Ply- 
mouth were  the  earliest  to  arrive.  In  its  second 
capture  the  name  of  a  Plymouth  captain  is  linked 
forever  with  that  of  the  heroic  Wolfe.  As  I  read 
at  Halifax,  a  short  time  since,  the  military  records 
of  early  times,  it  was  pleasant  to  find  such  orders  as 


25OTH    ANNIVERSARY.  99 

these :  "  Parole  for  the  day,  '  Pembroke,'  '  Marsh- 
field,'  and  '  Plympton.'  "  Passing  since  through  our 
own  little  Halifax,  I  heard  a  fellow-passenger  won- 
dering that  any  one  could  have  found  his  way  from 
that  place  to  a  battle-field.  The  reader  of  history 
knows  that  when  loyalty  and  duty  have  called, 
whether  in  1745,  or  '55,  or  '75,  or  in  181 2,  or  in 
1 86 1,  there  is  no  hamlet  in  the  Old  Colony  so  small 
or  so  remote  that  its  sons  could  not  find  their  way 
to  a  battle-field. 

In  revolutionary  days  our  little  towns  followed 
closely  the  lead  of  Boston.  When  strangers  have 
looked  at  the  Rock,  and  stood  upon  Cole's  Hill,  I 
love  to  point  out  the  gambrel-roofed  house  which 
was  the  home  of  James  Warren,  President  of  the 
first  Provincial  Congress,  and  to  tell  of  the  day 
which  Sam.  Adams  spent  there,  the  last  of  the  Puri- 
tans, holding  high  council  with  this  true  son  of  the 
Pilgrims.  There  Warren  gave  to  Adams  the  plan 
of  committees  of  correspondence,  —  that  most  effec- 
tual aid  to  independence.  When  this  message  was 
sent  from  Plymouth  Rock  to  Faneuil  Hall,  then 
Richard  Warren,  sleeping  in  his  Pilgrim  grave, 
struck  a  blow  for  freedom  with  which  the  continent 
was  to  ring.  This  device  was  part  of  the  authentic 
furniture  of  the  Mayflower. 

A  host  of  worthies  stood  by  Warren  in  his  own 
town.  Nor  was  any  town  wanting.  Kingston  tells 
of  Sever,  of  Drew,  —  best  among  all,  of  Captain 
Sampson,  first  naval  officer  commissioned  by  Con- 


lOO  THE    TOWN    OF    HINGHAM. 

gress.  What  an  unbounded  smile  must  have  spread 
over  the  bay  as  his  brig  of  two  hundred  tons  sailed 
down  Jones's  River  to  meet  the  "  Empress  of  the 
Seas."  Duxbury  tells  of  her  Wadsworth,  her  Brad- 
ford, her  Aldens,  —  of  a  town  so  stripped  of  men 
that  women  gathered  the  harvest.  Marshfield  can 
boast  of  General  Thomas,  the  trusted  friend  of 
Washington,  who  gained  for  him  the  bloodless  vic- 
tory of  Dorchester  Heights,  driving  Howe  out  of 
Boston  by  the  spades  and  shovels  of  Plymouth 
county  farmers.  It  was  not  their  fault  that  they  had 
no  chance  to  use  their  muskets.  The  men  of  the 
northern  towns  were  led  to  Trenton,  and  Princeton, 
and  Saratoga  by  their  Baileys,  and  Cushings,  and 
Turners.  I  need  not  speak  of  Hingham.  One  of 
her  sons  has  shown  to-day  that,  pass  what  laws  you 
please  as  to  distribution  of  estates,  talent  and  worth 
will  descend  from  father  to  son,  although  not  all  to 
the  eldest  son.  Middleboro  sent  Colonel  Sproat 
to  serve  on  many  a  battle-field,  and  then  to  float 
down  the  river  in  the  flat-boat  "  Mayflower"  to  aid  in 
founding  the  State  of  Ohio,  and  to  baptize  it  in  the 
name  of  Freedom.  Rochester  is  proud  of  her  gal- 
lant Haskell,  and  Wareham  tells  of  Major  Fearing, 
as  distinguished  in  war  as  your  own  Fearing  was  in 
all  civic  virtues.  Of  Pembroke  I  have  spoken  here 
before,  as  making  the  first  public  threat  of  independ- 
ence, but  not  until  she  had  demanded  the  abolition 
of  slavery  in  Massachusetts.  Now  let  me  pass  over 
a  long  period  and  say  a  word  that  could  not  have 


25OTH    ANNIVERSARY.  lOI 

been  said  thirty  years  ago.  Thank  Heaven,  the  time 
has  passed  when  universal  freedom  was  a  forbidden 
subject  at  such  a  festival.  In  those  dark  days  liberty 
had  in  no  part  of  the  country  more  devoted  friends 
than  in  Plymouth  county.  Her  representative  in 
Congress  was  John  Quincy  Adams,  living  beyond 
her  borders,  but  receiving  her  votes,  and  animated 
always  by  the  spirit  of  his  Pilgrim  ancestors.  She 
furnished  one  illustrious  victim  to  slavery.  Among 
the  noblest  of  Lowell's  poems  is  a  tribute  to  Charles 
T.  Torrey,  once  of  Scituate,  now  enrolled  among 
the  noble  army  of  martyrs  whose  fame  is  confined 
to  no  place  or  time. 

In  the  worst  days,  when  the  fugitives  from  oppres- 
sion were  obliged  to  fly  once  more,  when  they  were 
seized  in  Boston  and  were  not  safe  even  in  Worcester, 
then  they  came  to  Plymouth,  as  if  some  instinct  told 
them  that  no  slave-hunter  would  dare  to  trample  on 
the  graves  of  the  Pilgrims ;  and  so  the  dear  old  town 
received  a  second  colony  of  exiles  for  freedom. 

One  word  of  material  matters :  Our  whole  county, 
like  our  state,  barren  of  soil  and  fruitful  of  men,  is 
a  noble  product  of  free  labor.  Two  of  her  children 
—  one  born  on  her  soil,  the  other  just  missing  a 
Plymouth  birthplace  —  carried  out  the  greatest  en- 
terprise and  won  the  greatest  industrial  triumph 
that  the  world  ever  saw.  The  first  Pacific  railroad 
"  came  over,"  not  in  the  "  Mayflower,"  but  in  a  very 
early  ship,  with  the  ancestors  of  Oakes  and  Oliver 
Ames. 


I02  THE    TOWN    OF    HINGHAM. 

A  considerable  part  of  the  county  was  once  bought 
by  Standish  and  his  associates  for  a  few  tools  and  a 
few  yards  of  cloth.  Considering  the  character  of 
most  of  it,  the  bargain  was  not  very  sharp.  To-day 
that  tract  of  land  sustains  in  comfort  more  than  forty 
thousand  inhabitants.  Thrift  and  industry  dwell 
among  them.  Intelligent  labor  has  done  it  all,  and 
the  fruits  of  labor  are  gladly  given  to  promote  in- 
telligence. This  shall  be  my  last  boast  for  Plymouth 
county.  She  believes  in  education.  When  Horace 
Mann  was  wearied  with  opposition  or  indifference 
elsewhere,  his  hands  were  held  up  by  friends  in 
Hingham,  Hanover,  and  Scituate,  in  Plymouth,  and 
in  the  Bridgewaters. 

Of  the  product  of  our  schools,  take  one  profession 
as  a  sample,  and  only  a  few  names  there.  In  law 
our  county  claims  as  her  own  the  brilliant  abilities 
of  Trlstam  Burgess,  and  the  solid  merits  of  Chief 
Justice  Swift,  one  of  the  most  learned  jurists  of  his 
day.  Washington  and  Adams  found  in  Scituate  one 
worthy  to  be  a  Chief  Justice  of  the  United  States 
Supreme  Court;  and  the  Suffolk  Bar,  looking  to  its 
acknowledged  head,  venerable  but  ever  young,  recog- 
nizes a  son  of  Plymouth  who  is  fit  to  preside  over 
any  legal  tribunal  in  the  world. 

Yet  our  boast  is  not  so  much  the  eminence  of  the 
few  as  the  intelligence  of  the  many.  And  whatever 
else  is  taught  in  Plymouth  county,  her  schools  and 
her  history  teach  lessons  of  loyalty  to  country,  to 
humanity,  and  to  right.    While  her  people  are  mind- 


25OTH    ANNIVERSARY.  103 

ful   of  these,  the  God  of    the  fathers  will  be  with 
their  children. 

The  President. —  Our  next  toast  is,  —  The  Ora- 
tor of  the  Day,  a  chip  of  the  old  block. 

Now  that  we  have  done  our  duty  to  the  State  and 
to  the  county,  I  think  we  owe  something  to  the 
Orator  who  has  spoken  for  the  town  which  once 
embraced  both  Hingham  and  Cohasset.  It  is  with 
special  pleasure  that  I  present  him  to  you.  You 
have  passed  your  verdict  upon  his  oration,  and  found 
him  guilty  of  making  a  very  good  one.  In  impos- 
ing sentence  upon  him,  I  shall  command  him  to 
throw  off  his  oratorical  armor  and  the  weight  of  the 
honors  which,  to  the  pride  of  his  townsmen,  he  has 
earned  in  the  profession  of  the  law,  and  to  tell  us  in 
a  free  and  easy  way  how  he  likes  coming  back  to 
Hingham  and  meeting  his  old  friends.  Among 
them  I  reckon  myself,  who,  during  his  three  years 
at  Harvard  College,  sat  next  him  at  the  recitations 
of  the  class  of  '57,  of  which  he  was  easily  the  first 
scholar.  If  I  may  be  allowed  a  reminiscence,  I 
remember  the  very  concluding  words  of  the  oration 
which  he  delivered  at  one  of  the  junior  or  senior 
exhibitions,  when,  speaking  of  the  Puritan,  he  closed 
by  saying,  "  The  Puritan  was  intolerant,  but  he  was 
not  inconsistent."  And  there  was  an  excellent  story 
he  used  to  tell,  —  but  I  will  not  tell  it,  it  may  be  the 
only  one  he  has.  I  present  you  the  Orator  of  the 
Day,  Mr.  Solomon  Lincoln. 


I04  THE    TOWN    OF    HINGHAM. 


ADDRESS    OF    MR.    SOLOMON    LINCOLN. 

Mr.  President,  Ladies,  and  Gentlemen  : 

I  should  be  unwilling  that  you  should  hear  much 
more  from  me  to-day,  but  I  desire  to  take  the  oppor- 
tunity'that  is  now  given  me  first  to  thank  you  for 
the  compliment  which  you  paid  me  in  asking  me  to 
take  the  part  that  I  did  in  the  exercises  of  this  morn- 
ing. I  assure  you  I  felt  it  a  great  honor,  and  it  was 
also  a  great  pleasure  to  me.  The  truth  is,  that  those 
who  go  away  from  Hingham  gain  one  advantage 
over  those  who  remain  here,  and  that  is,  the  pleasure 
that  we  have  in  coming  back  to  you.  I  have  not 
gone  away  so  far  as  to  lose  this  pleasure  entirely, 
but  I  assure  you  it  is  always  a  real  one,  —  always  a 
satisfaction  to  walk  about  these  well-known  streets, 
not  so  much  to  observe  the  evidences  of  improve- 
ment as  to  revive  familiar  memories  and  to  see  the 
old  rocks  and  trees,  and  the  fields  that  I  used  to  run 
about  in  when  a  boy,  —  which  will  never  be  like 
other  fields  to  me. 

There  is  much  entertainment,  also,  to  be  derived 
in  visiting  these  old  places.  It  has  occurred  to  me 
many  times  that,  if  we  could  only  take  one  of  these 
old  gentlemen  whom  we  have  been  talking  about — 
Peter  Hobart,  for  instance  —  by  the  hand,  and  walk 
about  the  streets  of  Hingham  with  him  to-day,  even 
the  marvels  of  that  Revelation  about  which  he  no 
doubt  preached  with  much  effect,  would  have  seemed 


25OTH    ANNIVERSARY.  IO5 

less  wonderful  to  him  than  the  realities  he  would 
find  on  every  side.  As  I  sat  here  I  saw  through  the 
window,  a  moment  ago,  a  train  passing  by  that  Bare 
Cove  where  he  first  landed,  which  carried  more  peo- 
ple than  there  were  in  Hingham  while  he  lived ; 
and  through  another  window  I  saw  a  flag  flying,  of 
proud  significance  to  us,  yet  quite  meaningless  to 
him.  After  all,  he  might  derive  but  little  satisfac- 
tion from  his  visit.  I  fear  we  should  seem  given 
over  to  the  vanities  of  this  world.  He  would  hardly 
be  able  to  breathe  anywhere  in  Hingham  that  brac- 
ing spiritual  atmosphere  to  which  he  was  accustomed 
and  which  we  have  long  since  ceased  to  breathe. 

I  could  not  hope,  in  the  short  hour  that  I  had  this 
morning,  to  do  full  justice  to  Hingham.  It  would 
have  taken  more  than  the  hour  allotted  me  for  that; 
and  I  was  therefore  interested  to  find  by  a  scrap 
which  fell  into  my  hands  a  day  or  two  ago,  that  I 
had  not  altogether  mistaken  the  character  of  Hing- 
ham, at  least  in  the  judgment  of  its  contemporaries 
in  former  years.  I  have  in  my  hand  an  extract  from 
the  Salem  Mercury  of  July  7,  1789,  which  I  will 
presently  read  to  you.  It  is  written  in  a  somewhat 
patronizing  spirit,  and  I  am  not  aware  that  Salem 
was  entitled  to  assume  an  air  of  patronage  toward 
Hingham  in  those  days.  Nevertheless,  there  is  much 
in  it  which  I  commend  to  your  attention,  and  I  will 
read  it  to  you.  It  is  quite  brief,  and  published,  let 
me  remind  you  again,  on  the  7th  of  July,  1 789.  It 
says : — 


I06  THE    TOWN    OF    HINGHAM. 

"  It  is  a  pleasing  fact  that  for  six  years  past  there  has 
been  but  one  suit  commenced  in  the  town  of  HiNGHAM, 
—  and  that  was  on  a  simple  note  of  hand,  by  one  of  the 
inhabitants  in  a  moment  of  passion.  And,  what  is  more 
extraordinary,  there  has  been  but  07ie  single  jtiry  action 
between  parties  in  that  town  tried  in  Boston  since  the  year 
1740.  The  town  of  Hingham  contains  upwards  of  two 
thousand  inhabitants,  and  it  is  a  place  of  considerable 
business  in  agriculture,  fishing,  and  manufactures.  A  cer- 
tain venerable  patriot  —  but  much  neglected,  except  in 
times  of  danger —  had  some  cause  for  boasting  that  he 
received  his  birth  in  this  peaceable  and  industrious  little 
town." 

I  don't  know  who  that  neglected  and  venerable 
patriot  was,  but  I  entirely  justify  his  boasting;  I 
share  in  it  myself.  I  have  found  Hingham —  I  will 
not  say  an  excellent  place  to  go  away  from,  but  cer- 
tainly an  excellent  place  to  return  to,  and  a  very 
good  place  to  be  transplanted  into,  as  I  have  no 
doubt  my  friend  upon  my  right,  the  President, 
agrees. 

I  cannot,  indeed,  as  a  lawyer,  quite  commend  the 
condition  of  things  exhibited  in  Hingham  during 
the  forty-nine  years  referred  to  in  the  newspaper. 
Matters,  however,  have  improved  in  that  respect 
since  that  time.  I  have  had  occasion  recently  to 
investigate  the  title  to  certain  lands  in  Nantasket, 
and  I  had  occasion  to  see,  in  the  course  of  my  re- 
searches in  that  lawsuit,  that  quite  recently  Hingham 
men  had  not  ceased  "  troubleing  themselves  about 
Nantascot." 


25OTH    ANNIVERSARY.  I07 

I  thank  you  for  the  indulgence  with  which  you 
listened  to  me  this  morning ;  and  now  I  wish  you 
all  peace  and  prosperity  and  that  you  may  all  attend 
the  next  centennial  anniversary  fifty  years  hence. 

The  President.  —  The  next  toast  was  to  be  a 
tribute  to  the  great  War  Governor,  John  A.  Andrew, 
and  I  hoped  that  his  son,  who  has  been  at  table 
with  us,  would  remain  and  speak  in  response  to  it. 
The  necessity  of  returning  to  his  home  in  Beverly 
compelled  him  to  go  away. 

The  next  toast  is,  —  Ecclesiastical  Hingham.  As 
Shakespeare  says,  "  Such  harmony  is  in  immortal 
souls." 

The  most  boastful  son  of  Hingham  must  admit 
that  the  town  has  fallen  off  in  some  respects.  Our 
fisheries  are  not  what  they  used  to  be,  with  the 
exception  of  the  smelts.  Our  buckets  are  no  longer 
our  jewels.  We  never  call  on  our  doctors  except 
with  great  reluctance.  Nobody  brags  of  our  lawyers 
unless  it  be  we  lawyers  ourselves.  But  our  clergy- 
men have  always  been  our  glory,  especially  inside 
their  own  respective  parishes.  Generally  they  have 
been,  it  must  be  said,  of  the  order  of  "  fighting  par- 
sons," —  Christians  possibly,  but  of  the  muscular 
sort.  The  list,  however,  was  never  greater  or  more 
eminent  than  it  is  to-day,  and  every  one  of  them 
a  lion.  Mr.  Collier,  will  you  strike  out  from  the 
shoulder } 


I08  THE    TOWN    OF    HINGHAM. 


ADDRESS    OF    REV.    H.    PRICE    COLLIER. 

Mr.  President,  Ladies,  and  Gentlemen  : 

One  hears  of  Hingham  in  these  days  as  a  place 
which  is  prominent  because  it  is  politically  prolific. 
No  doubt  you  will  remember  that  Hingham  is  some- 
thing more  than  the  home  of  two  governors  and  a 
swarm  of  candidates  for  the  legislature.  But  is  it 
true  of  that  barren  country  which  lies  around  Hing- 
ham ?  Does  the  outside  world  know  that  Hingham 
is  something  more  than  this  ?  It  may  have  no  eccle- 
siastical prominence  now,  unless  it  be  that  of  an 
ecclesiastical  nursery,  but  just  now  we  are  living  in 
the  past.  Shakespeare  is  not  long  dead,  George 
Herbert  has  just  published  his  poems,  Milton  is  just 
twenty-seven  years  old,  and  Wentworth,  the  Earl  of 
Strafford,  and  Archbishop  Laud,  and  Charles  are 
devoting  all  their  energies  to  the  rehabilitation  of 
a  pale  caricature  of  the  Catholic  church.  With  his 
own  hands  Laud  helps  to  put  in  place  again  the 
stained-glass  windows  in  his  chapel.  The  dull, 
fierce  eyes  of  the  Earl  of  Strafford  are  watching  for 
an  opportunity  to  crush  out  Presbyterianism  in  Scot- 
land. And  the  vacillating  Charles,  whose  royal  word 
was  a  regal  lie,  was  tottering  between  these  two 
statesmen-crutches  to  his  grave.  We  are  living,  if 
you  please,  in  these  times,  —  a  paradise  of  perfidy. 
Sunday-school  superintendents  in  village  churches 
did  not  always  become  governors,  and  Puritan  min- 


25OTH    ANNIVERSARY.  IO9 

isters  met  the  political  magnates  of  the  land  in  the 
star-chamber,  rather  than  at  the  dinner-table.  Those 
were  days  when  religious  liberty  had  no  house  in 
England,  and  was  obliged  to  build  itself  a  hut  on 
the  western  coast  of  the  Atlantic.  As  Winthrop 
said,  "  I  shall  call  that  my  country  where  I  may 
most  glorify  God." 

It  would  take  too  long — and  were  it  a  short  story 
it  needs  no  repetition  in  Hingham  —  to  tell  how 
these  men,  forced  by  the  fierce  duplicity  of  their 
rulers,  came  to  this  country.  They  were  strong 
men,  —  men  untouched  by  simpering  etiquette  and 
careless  of  social  tyranny.  Of  course  they  were,  or 
they  would  have  built  the  "  Mayflower "  ten  miles 
long  and  six  miles  wide,  in  recognition  of  the  ances- 
tral longings  of  the  Boston  of  two  hundred  and 
fifty  years  later.  But  they  were  men  who  were  in- 
tensely in  earnest,  God-intoxicated  men,  and  they 
have  left  a  mark  upon  this  civilization  which  can 
never  be  effaced,  and  New  England  can  claim  the 
greater  share  of  them.  Of  the  ministers  whose 
work  has  come  down  to  us,  there  is  scarcely  one 
who  was  not  a  native  of  New  England,  and  not 
least  among  them  are  some  of  Hingham's  ministers. 
There  is  one  parish  in  this  town  whose  ministers 
seem  to  have  inherited  the  boldness  of  the  man  who 
would  speak  his  mind.  It  is  a  commentary  very  sat- 
isfying to  us  Hingham  people  that  our  first  pastor, 
Peter  Hobart,  was  not  allowed  to  preach  in  Boston, 
"because  he  was  a  bold  man  and  would  speak  his 


no  THE    TOWN    OF    HINGHAM. 

mind."  Hobart,  Norton,  Gay,  Ware,  Shute,  Cole- 
man, Brooks,  Brown!  —  what  a  pity  it  seems  to  me 
that  I  gave  Mr.  Long  a  solemn  promise  that  I  would 
not  speak  ten  minutes,  before  he  gave  me  permis- 
sion to  speak  at  all.  Dr.  Shute,  the  statesman  min- 
ister ;  Dr.  Gay,  the  witty  scholar,  brilliant,  pungent, 
and  yet  kindly;  Coleman,  who  in  his  agricultural 
investigations  in  England  became  the  friend  alike  of 
people  and  nobility,  and  in  whose  memory  Lady 
Byron  erected  a  monument;  Brooks,  whose  direct 
intellectual  descendant  was  Horace  Mann,  and  who 
is  appropriately  called  the  Father  of  Normal  Schools, 
—  why,  Hingham,  in  the  past  at  least,  without  its 
ministers  is  like  a  coin  without  its  superscription ; 
like  a  picture  with  nothing  but  the  frame.  And  for- 
tunate it  is  for  some  of  you,  my  friends,  that  you 
did  not  live  in  those  days.  One  of  the  earliest  acts 
of  legislation  was  an  agreement  to  fine  every  man 
who  did  not  attend  town-meeting,  or  who  did  not 
stay  through  all  the  proceedings  of  the  meeting,  a 
peck  of  corn.  For  not  attending  church  service  on 
Sunday  a  man  was  probably  fined  two  pecks.  It 
would  need  no  stringent  application  of  that  law  to- 
day to  provide  the  Cadets  with  provisions  for  the 
whole  summer.  And  mark  you,  it  was  considered 
a  delectable  privilege  to  sit  patiently  on  the  rough 
deal  boards  while  the  preacher  turned  the  hour-glass 
for  the  third  time.  Nor  were  the  ministers  of  those 
days  merely  apostles  of  religious  truth ;  they  were 
the  newspapers,  with   the  society  gossip  left   out ; 


25OTH    ANNIVERSARY.  Ill 

they  were  very  often  the  affable  hosts  of  travelling 
strangers ;  they  were  the  defenders  of  liberty,  and 
the  spokesmen  of  the  people  on  all  occasions.  They 
stood  for  Tennyson's  line,  "  'T  is  only  noble  to  be 
good,"  and  well  did  they  exemplify  it. 

Nor  were  these  days  when  many  different  tastes 
in  religious  matters  were  thought  of.  Curiously 
enough,  it  was  on  the  same  day,  the  14th  of  Novem- 
ber, 1784,  that  the  first  Protestant  Episcopal  Bishop 
for  America  was  ordained  at  Aberdeen,  and  the  first 
Methodist  Bishop  preached  his  first  sermon  in  this 
country.  The  parishes  were  under  the  jurisdiction 
of  the  people,  as  they  are  very  much  to-day.  Congre- 
gationalism was  and  is  ecclesiastical  republicanism, 
and  no  one  wished  nor  dreamed  of  anything  else. 

Indeed,  I  am  inclined  to  think  that  a  later  philoso- 
phy of  history  will  claim  for  Puritanism  that  it  is 
the  ancestor  of  American  Democracy.  But  let  me 
comfort  you  before  I  close  by  telling  you  that  these 
men  had  at  least  one  weak  point,  which  I  have  been 
able  to  discover.  Most  of  the  bread  of  that  day  was 
made  of  rye  or  Indian  meal.  The  ministers  alone 
had  white  bread,  because  they  said  the  other  gave 
them  the  heart-burn,  and  they  could  not  preach  on  it. 
But  that  is  a  small  crevice  in  the  armor  of  their 
sturdy  unselfishness. 

Hingham  owes  much  that  is  strong  and  good  and 
great  in  the  two  hundred  and  fifty  years  of  its  cor- 
porate existence  to  its  ministers.  They  comforted 
in  the  wilderness,  they  incited  to  patriotism  when 


112  THE    TOWN    OF    HINGHAM. 

patriotism  was  a  crime,  and  they  did  much  of  the 
scholarly  literary  work  which  enables  us  to  look  for- 
ward into  the  dim  future  to  the  time  when  we  shall 
have,  instead  of  affable  reports,  a  town  History.  I 
know  of  none  of  these  men  who  need  my  defending, 
and  I  fancy  most  of  them  have  a  fame  that  cannot 
profit  by  my  praise.  But,  my  friends,  Hingham  is 
not  Hingham  without  their  memory;  Hingham  loses 
some  of  its  boldness  when  it  forgets  Hobart,  some 
of  its  brilliancy  when  it  forgets  Gay,  some  of  its 
astuteness  when  it  forgets  Shute,  and  much  of  its 
recognized  ability  abroad  when  it  forgets  Coleman 
and  Brooks.  And  were  one  to  wish  Hingham 
ecclesiastical  prosperity  in  the  future,  he  could  do  no 
better  than  to  wish  a  repetition  of  its  bold,  brilliant, 
devout,  and  scholarly  past. 

The  President.  —  The  next  toast,  ladies  and 
gentlemen,  is  so  comprehensive  that  I  have  not 
embraced  it  in  any  form  of  words.  A  well-known 
neighbor  of  ours  in  the  adjoining  town  of  Quincy 
once  told  me,  I  am  very  sure,  that  of  all  titles  he 
preferred  that  of  the  "  School-master."  I  shall  chal- 
lenge his  ability  as  a  teacher  in  one  respect,  for  I  do 
not  believe  it  possible  that  he  could  teach  any  pupil 
the  eloquence  of  which  he  is  himself  the  master. 
There  is  one  title  on  which  he  and  I,  however, 
shall  agree,  and  I  will  introduce  him  by  that:  A 
descendant  of  Hingham  stock,  —  Dr.  Everett. 


250TH    ANNIVERSARY.  I  13 


ADDRESS    OF    DR.    WILLIAM    EVERETT. 

I  THINK,  Mr.  Chairman,  that  I  am  more  pleased 
to  be  introduced  to-day  as  a  descendant  of  Hingham 
stock  than  by  any  other  title,  and  for  the  reason  that, 
although  I  am  also  a  descendant  of  Concord  stock, 
they  did  not  see  fit  to  invite  me  to  Concord  last  Sat- 
urday. Why,  when  the  orator  of  the  day  began  the 
list  of  the  original  freemen  of  Concord  in  1635,  he 
began  with  the  name  of  an  ancestor  of  mine,  and 
I  was  not  there  to  respond.  But  on  this  occasion 
it  is  not  merely  your  neighbor  from  Quincy ;  it  is 
also  the  descendant  of  Nicholas  Jacob  and" of  John 
Otis  that  has  the  pleasure  of  speaking  to  you.  I 
have  felt  here,  sir,  to-day  as  if  I  must  be  asked  as 
a  representative  of  the  past  and  not  of  the  present 
at  all.  I  had  the  pleasure  of  driving  up  to  this  din- 
ner, not  as  a  governor  or  an  ex-governor,  not  as  a 
member  of  any  staff  or  any  body,  legislative  or 
otherwise,  but  as  a  survivor  of  the  celebration  of 
fifty  years  ago,  and,  as  you  remarked,  scarcely  to  be 
distinguished  from  those  I  was  with.  The  next 
thing  was  that  my  friend  Dr.  Miles  remembered 
me  two  years  before  I  was  born.  And  that  made 
me  feel  still  older.  And  when  Governor  Robinson 
began  to  enumerate  the  things  which  were  younger 
than  Hingham,  he  spoke  of  the  Commonwealth  as 
younger  than  Hingham,  and  he  spoke  of  Harvard 
College  as  younger  than  Hingham ;  but  I  felt  that 


114  THE    TOWN    OF    HINGHAM. 

I  belonged  and  still  belong  to  a  body  that  is  not 
younger  than  Hingham,  but  is  of  exactly  the  same 
age.  In  the  same  year  in  which  Concord  was  founded 
and  the  older  Hingham  took  its  name,  the  Boston 
Latin  School  was  founded,  —  in  1635,  —  the  oldest 
educational  institution  in  this  State,  the  institution 
wherein  our  fathers  showed  what  were  the  things 
which  boys  ought  to  be  taught  then,  and  what  are 
the  things  which  they  ought  to  be  taught  now. 

I  am  glad  to  come  here  as  a  descendant  of  Hing- 
ham, and  to  assure  you  that  in  looking  up  this 
question  of  genealogy,  in  finding  out  that  I  am 
descended  from  the  early  settlers  of  Hingham,  I 
have  been  led  into  a  study  of  things  that  I  never 
knew  before.  And  speaking  to-day  as  a  school- 
master, I  would  say  a  few  words  on  this  question  of 
what  we  ought  to  study.  The  schoolmaster  is  on 
his  trial  now  before  the  people  of  this  country. 
The  schoolmaster  is  expected  to  say  in  any  public 
audience  what  are  the  things  that  our  boys  and  girls 
ought  to  study.  Well,  now,  I  have  been  making 
a  study,  during  this  last  vacation,  of  a  thing  that  I 
never  studied  before,  and  that  I  never  knew  the 
interest  of,  and,  of  all  things  in  the  world,  it  is  Amer- 
ican history.  I  thought  I  knew  it.  I  thought  I  had 
studied  American  history ;  but  I  had  studied  it  as  I 
might  study  the  history  of  another  nation.  I  had 
studied  American  history  as  I  might  study  English, 
or  Grecian,  or  Roman  history,  —  as  the  story  of 
other  men  and  other  women  who  used  to  live  here. 


250TH    ANNIVERSARY.  II5 

It  is  only  in  this  vacation  that  I  have  begun  to  study 
American  history  as  the  history  of  my  own  ances- 
tors. It  is  only  this  vacation  that  I  have  begun  to 
read  of  the  men  and  the  women  that  founded  Hing- 
ham,  and  founded  Concord,  and  founded  Plymouth, 
and  from  whom  I  knew  I  was  descended;  and  let 
me  assure  you,  if  there  are  any  of  you  here  who 
never  studied  American  history  that  way,  —  if  there 
are  any  who  have  only  studied  it  in  the  general 
treatises  which  we  read  in  our  schools  and  colleges 
and  libraries,  —  you  know  nothing  of  it.  Find  out 
what  some  of  your  ancestors  were.  Find  out  who 
were  the  men  and  women  from  whom  you  came, 
seven  generations  or  six  generations  or  five  genera- 
tions ago,  and  then  go  back  to  the  history  as  written 
by  their  contemporaries.  Go  back  and  read  the  old 
books  that  were  written  by  the  very  men  who  saw 
Hingham  and  Concord  and  Plymouth  founded. 
Read  Bradford's  wonderfully  recovered  History  of 
Plymouth  Plantation ;  read  Winthrop's  Journal  of 
the  Foundation  of  Massachusetts ;  read  Sewall's 
Diary  at  the  end  of  that  century ;  read  all  those  old 
books  themselves,  and  read  them  to  find  the  births 
and  marriages  and  deaths  of  your  own  ancestors. 
Read  them  with  a  lot  of  familiar  household  names 
from  which  you  were  descended  tingling  in  your 
ears,  and  I  tell  you  that  old  history  will  come  to  be 
a  thing  that  you  never  dreamed  it  was  before.  I 
tell  you  there  is  an  interest  in  the  household  life  of 
Plymouth  and  Massachusetts  Colonies,  of  towns  like 


Il6  THE    TOWN    OF    HINGHAM. 

this  and  Concord  and  Ipswich  and  Dorchester  and 
Quincy  that  you  never  dreamed  of  when  you  merely 
read  the  treatises  written  by  men  of  later  days. 

And  you  will  find  your  respect  for  those  men  and 
women  raised.  There  is  a  fancy  now  of  running 
down  our  ancestors.  There  is  a  fancy  now  of  criti- 
cising the  founders  of  Massachusetts  and  Plymouth, 
and  making  out  that  because  we  are  perched  upon 
our  fathers'  and  mothers'  shoulders,  we  are  much 
greater  people  than  our  fathers  and  mothers  were. 
You  agree  to  that  fashion,  perhaps ;  you  are  given 
to  submitting  when  your  ancestors  are  depreciated. 
That  is  because  you  have  read  history  in  the  later 
epitomes  and  condensations  and  selections  of  mod- 
ern writers  that  did  not  understand  the  Pilgrims  and 
the  Puritans.  Go  back  and  read  the  history  and  the 
diaries  and  the  town  records,  as  the  founders  of 
Massachusetts  and  Plymouth  wrote  them  with  their 
own  hands  and  sealed  them  with  their  own  blood ; 
and  you  will  come  back  feeling  that  the  founders  of 
this  town  two  hundred  and  fifty  years  ago  do  not 
need  to  be  apologized  for  or  excused  now.  They 
wrote  out  their  own  opinions,  they  stood  up  before 
the  whole  world  to  defend  them  ;  they  concealed  and 
evaded  nothing.  In  those  memoirs  of  their  own 
they  will  appear  to  you  doubtless  as  earnest  and 
serious.  But  they  are  not  morose  or  gloomy ;  their 
hearts  are  as  warm  as  their  heads  are  keen  or  their 
hands  strong ;  the  men  who  laid  low  the  forest  here 
and  the  tyrant  in   Europe  will  hold  out  their  very 


25OTH    ANNIVERSARY.  II7 

hands  to  you  to  clasp,  and  you  will  find  that  the 
pulses  of  those  hands,  eight  generations  ago,  beat 
the  very  octaves  of  your  own.  You  will  be  prouder 
than  ever  of  being  descended  from  them,  and  you 
will  feel  that  the  Puritan  was  the  best  man  then,  just 
as  the  "  Puritan"  is  the  best  boat  now. 

If  you  will  read  that  history  as  they  wrote  it  them- 
selves, you  will  find  some  little  facts  that  you  do  not 
meet  in  the  general  histories.  You  know  that  the 
general  histories  speak  of  a  very  bold  Governor. 
They  tell  about  Governor  Endicott  who  ripped  the 
cross  out  of  the  flag,  and  how  the  Governor  stood 
up  alone  defying  the  world.  Now  you  read  that 
history  as  it  actually  appears  on  the  records  of  the 
General  Court,  and  you  will  find  that  the  General 
Court  told  Governor  Endicott  he  had  no  business  to 
rip  that  cross  out  of  the  flag,  that  it  was  a  very  rash 
and  indiscreet  action ;  and  he  had  to  apologize  for 
it.  So  you  see  that  there  are  greater  men  than 
governors,  and  there  were  men  who  could  control 
governors  in  those  times,  and  that  the  representa- 
tives of  the  people  can  tell  governors  what  they 
ought  to  do,  when  they  get  too  bold. 

Now,  a  word  suggested  by  that  boat.  When  I 
first  came  to  Hingham  I  was  warned  against  one 
thing.  My  friend,  Mr.  Jenks  —  I  am  sorry  to  see 
he  is  gone  —  said  :  "  Whatever  you  do  when  you  go 
to  Hingham  to  preach,  you  must  n't  say  the  '  old 
church,'  you  must  talk  to  them  about  the  '  old  meet- 
ing-house ; '    they  don't  want  to  have  it  called  the 


Il8  THE    TOWN    OF    HINGHAM. 

'  old  church ; '  and,  above  all,"  said  he,  "  whatever 
you  do,  don't  call  it  the  '  Old  Ship  ; '  they  don't  like 
to  hear  it."  Now,  fellow-citizens,  my  dear  seventh 
cousins  once  removed,  I  think  you  make  a  mistake 
in  not  sticking  to  that  name  of  the  "  Old  Ship." 
I  think  if  I  were  you  I  would  use  that  and  keep  to 
it.  You  know  that  nicknames  are  very  disgraceful 
at  the  beginning,  but  they  get  to  be  very  honorable 
in  the  end.  The  liberators  of  Holland  were  called 
"  beggars,"  and  that  was  meant  as  a  disgrace ;  but  it 
came  to  be  very  honorable.  The  name  "  Puritan  " 
began  by  being  a  nickname,  and  the  name  "  Metho- 
dist" began  by  being  a  nickname;  they  are  both 
perfectly  honorable.  The  word  "mugwump"  began 
by  being  a  nickname;  it  is  perfectly  honorable  now. 
But  if  I  were  you  I  would  cling  to  that  name  of 
the  "  Old  Ship."  It  seems  to  me  that  we  can  use 
no  more  touching  name  for  a  place  of  worship 
than  if  we  compare  it  to  the  ship,  —  to  the  ark  that 
floats  the  waves  of  this  world,  and  within  whose  safe 
walls  the  chosen  people  of  God  may  ride  the  seas 
when  the  storms  beat  upon  them.  And,  too,  in 
calling  that  venerable  building  the  "  Old  Ship,"  you 
will  be  reminded  through  all  time  of  those  old  ships 
that  brought  over  the  chosen,  whom  God  had  se- 
lected to  plant  the  wilderness.  Remember  how 
much  liberty,  how  much  conscience,  how  much  de- 
votion, how  much  manhood  and  womanhood  was 
held  within  those  barks  that  rode  the  seas  from  1620 
to   1640.     Think  of   all  the  sainted   names  of    the 


25OTH    ANNIVERSARY.  II9 

ships  in  which  the  first  settlers  came,  —  the  "  May- 
flower "  and  the  "  Fortune  "  and  the  "  Ann  "  and  the 
little  "  James  "  and  the  "  Arbella  "  and  the  "  Griffin  " 
and  the  "  Mary  and  John  "  and  the  "  Defiance  "  and 
the  "  Lion  "  and  all  those  noble  barks.  They  crossed 
the  sea  again  and  again.  Did  you  know  it?  Did 
you  know  that  there  was  a  regular  line  of  emigrant 
packets  at  the  time  Hingham  was  founded,  as  regu- 
lar as  Enoch  Train's  packets  when  you  and  I,  Mr. 
President,  were  boys  ?  Why,  those  Plymouth  people 
talk  as  if  the  "  Mayflower "  made  but  one  voyage ! 
The  "  Mayflower "  was  a  regular  emigrant  packet 
that  plied  back  and  forth  between  England  and 
America  for  twenty  years,  bringing  cargo  after  cargo 
of  planters  to  settle  the  wilderness.  Every  one  of 
those  ships  was  just  as  well  known  as  the  Cunarders 
or  the  White  Stars  are  now;  and  they  crossed  the 
ocean  like  shuttles  from  side  to  side,  each  charged 
on  the  outward  passage  with  its  precious  freight, 
the  seed  corn  that  was  to  plant  the  wilderness  ;  each 
charged  as  it  went  back  with  the  gallant  messages 
of  the  planters,  who  choked  down  their  pains  and 
their  sufferings  and  their  toils,  and  always  sent  back 
the  same  word  of  cheer  to  the  brethren  they  had 
left  behind  in  dear  old  England.  Think  of  that 
ship  that  came  in  with  the  precious  cargo  at  the  time 
when  Governor  Winthrop  had  his  last  loaf  in  the 
oven  and  every  other  soul  in  Massachusetts  was 
starving!  Think  of  that  first  ship  built  by  him, 
"  The  Blessing  of  the  Bay,"  which  carried  out  from 


I20  THE    TOWN    OF    HINGHAM. 

Boston  Harbor  the  fruits  that  he  had  just  raised 
in  this  colony  to  plant  Connecticut,  and  to  tell  Eng- 
land that  we  were  a  race  of  ship-builders  here ! 
Think  what  a  host  of  sailors  and  navigators  and 
captains  and  privateersmen  we  all  were  then ;  and, 
as  the  lamented  Lawrence  said,  "  Don't  give  up 
the  'Ship.'" 

And  before  I  sit  down, —  I  have  spoken  a  great 
deal  over  the  ten  minutes,  Mr.  President, —  I  must 
tell  you  one  authentic  story  of  a  neighbor  of  yours, 
to  show  what  the  spirit  of  old  Hingham  is.  I  think 
there  must  be  some  here  who  knew  in  their  youth 
the  Weymouth  boy,  Joshua  Bates,  who  afterwards 
became  the  great  banker  in  London,  the  American 
partner  in  the  house  of  Baring  Brothers  and  Com- 
pany. He  went  over  to  England,  he  spoiled  the 
Philistines  to  the  extent  of  making  a  great  fortune, 
and  he  bestowed  part  of  it  in  a  most  generous  spirit 
to  increase  the  Boston  Public  Library.  Well,  Mr. 
President,  Joshua  Bates,  in  order  to  hold  real  estate, 
became  a  naturalized  subject  of  Queen  Victoria; 
and  although  he  retained  an  American  heart,  he  was 
nominally  a  Briton,  and  a  very  loyal  servant  of  that 
good  lady.  I  said  to  him  once,  "  Mr.  Bates,  suppos- 
ing a  war  should  break  out  between  England  and 
the  United  States,  what  should  you  do,  as  you  are 
now  a  British  subject .?  "  "  Do  ?  "  said  he,  "  I  should 
go  back  to  Hingham  and  fit  out  a  privateer  directly." 
So  that  shows  that  you  cannot  cure  one  of  our  coast 
boys  of   his   Americanism,  even  if   he   has  joined 


25OTH    ANNIVERSARY.  121 

another  nation ;  and  you  cannot  cure  him  of  pri- 
vateering, even  if  he  has  settled  down  and  made  a 
fortune  as  a  banker. 

Dr.  Everett  renewed  his  thanks  on  resuming  his 
seat  for  the  attention  and  sympathy  of  the  audience. 

The  President.  —  Our  last  toast  is,  —  The  Old 
Boys  of  Hingham. 

You  will  notice  that  I  do  not  say  the  "  Old  Boy." 
He  never  resided  in  Hingham.  I  refer,  of  course, 
to  the  old  boys  of  fifty  years  ago;  and  I  am  sure 
you  will  be  very  glad  to  hear  from  a  venerable 
townsman,  who  has  lately  been  tarrying  with  his 
son,  the  Superintendent  of  the  Soldiers'  National 
Home  at  Togus,  —  Mr.  Luther  Stephenson. 


ADDRESS    OF    MR.    LUTHER    STEPHENSON. 

Mr.  President,  —  Located  and  associated  as  I 
have  been  for  a  time  with  the  old  boys  in  blue,  your 
sentiment  induces  the  giving  of  my  first  brief 
thought  to  them.  For  they  are  old  boys  in  fact, 
having  left  their  health,  their  youth,  and  active  man- 
hood on  the  battle-field  and  on  the  march,  and  now 
linger  in  their  beautiful  homes,  furnished  by  a  grate- 
ful people,  until,  one  by  one,  in  rapid  succession, 
they,  with  solemn  escort,  are  borne  to  their  last 
resting-place,  where,  with  funeral  dirge  and  volley 


122  THE    TOWN    OF    HINGHAM. 

over  their  graves,  they  are  joined  to  the  grand  army 
of  the  dead. 

But  it  is  not  of  the  boys  in  blue  that  we  would 
speak,  nor  would  we  direct  our  thoughts  to  them  on 
this  occasion ;  but  to  those  old  boys  of  this  town 
who  had  crossed  the  wide  sea  to  avoid  oppression, 
who,  with  their  sons,  subdued  the  forest  and,  with 
its  almost  everlasting  timber,  built  that  old  meeting- 
house where  we  have  worshipped  to-day,  and  where 
we  hope  the  ordinance  of  religious  worship  will  be 
everlastingly  administered  beneath  its  massive  roof ; 
to  their  sons  also,  of  every  grade,  from  major-general 
to  private,  who  fought  in  the  Revolution  for  the  in- 
dependence of  our  country ;  to  those  of  the  War  of 
1812,  waged  for  a  nation's  rights  and  the  protection 
of  every  man  who  sailed  beneath  its  flag  from  foreign 
seizure ;  to  the  old  boys  of  within  seventy  years  of 
my  remembrance,  who  worked  hard  and  fared  hard, 
little  dreaming  of  the  vast  improvements  of  the 
coming  years,  when  the  hard  labor  of  men's  hands 
would  be  transferred  to  the  elements  and  the  brute, 
with  its  immense  increase  of  product,  through  the 
medium  of  apparently  living  machinery;  yes,  and 
to  the  old  boys  of  my  own  time,  nearly  all  of  whom 
have  passed  away,  but  have  left  a  pleasant  remem- 
brance, the  best  legacy  that  men  can  leave  to  those 
who  survive  them ;  to  that  whole  range  of  old  boys, 
both  citizen  and  soldier,  who  helped  build  up  and 
sustain  our  institutions  we  dedicate  this  day,  and 
every  thought  of  them  is  sandwiched  with  humor  or 


25OTH    ANNIVERSARY.  I  23 

with  pathos;  for  as  history  and  tradition  give  us 
knowledge  of  their  Hves  and  character,  we  sympa- 
thize with  their  trials  and  hardships,  we  smile  at 
their  eccentricities,  we  condemn  their  austerity,  but 
we  venerate  them  for  the  unselfish,  conscientious 
and  devotional  spirit  with  which  they  performed 
their  esteemed  duties. 

This  day  we  dedicate  to  the  remembrance  of  the 
first  settlers  of  the  town  and  to  their  sons,  who  have 
since  lain  down  on  the  pathway  of  time ;  and  we 
have  assembled  in  this  place,  dear  to  many  of  us 
from  associations  with  those  that  were  prominent  at 
the  celebration  fifty  years  ago,  including  him  who 
was  the  esteemed  orator  on  that  occasion,  —  all  of 
whom  loved  this  place,  —  to  give  thought  and  word 
in  remembrance  of  the  old  boys  of  Hingham. 

It  was  said  by  an  old  writer,  "  Show  me  a  man 
who  has  no  love  of  place,  and  you  have  shown  one 
whose  heart  has  no  tap-root," — a  sentiment  which  I 
believe  to  be  true  ;  and  the  place  where  the  heart 
of  the  sound  man  taps  deepest  is  that  of  his  birth. 
Carry  it  forth  with  him  as  he  may  in  after  life  and 
plant  deep  in  places  of  adoption,  still  his  tenderest, 
purest,  unspoken  thoughts  will  rebound  back  to  his 
birthplace ;  for  there  was  the  first  dawning  of  his 
intellect,  there  his  first  youthful  aspirations,  there 
dwelt  his  mother.  Little  sympathy  have  we  with 
the  cosmopolite  whose  heart  fleets  gossamer-like 
over  the  wide  world,  seemingly  having  neither  be- 
ginning nor  ending ;  but  to  him  who  plants  it  deep 


124  THE    TOWN    OF    HINGHAM. 

in  some  locality,  it  will  grow  stronger,  more  expan- 
sive, more  active  on  earth,  and  purer  in  its  upward 
growth. 

The  President.  —  Ladies  and  gentlemen,  I  have 
a  great  many  more  toasts,  and  I  am  sure  that  every 
Hingham  man  and  woman  at  this  table  can  make  a 
good  after-dinner  speech.  But  the  play  is  over,  and 
down  comes  the  curtain.  We  shake  hands  and  part, 
lighter  hearted  and  better  friends,  I  trust,  for  this 
day's  festival.  We  now  stand  adjourned  for  fifty 
years,  and  I  hope  you  will  all  be  joromptly  on  hand 
at  the  end  of  that  time.  Until  then,  God  bless  you 
all.     Amen. 

The  band  then  played  "  Auld  Lang  Syne,"  and 
the  company  dispersed. 


From  three  to  four  o'clock,  while  the  dinner  was 
in  progress,  the  Hingham  Brass  Band  gave  a  con- 
cert on  the  Common. 

For  an  hour  preceding  sunset  the  bells  on  all  the 
churches  were  rung. 

In  the  evening,  from  seven  to  nine  o'clock, 
Reeves's  American  Band  gave  a  concert  on  the 
Agricultural  Grounds. 

The  night  was  very  mild  and  free  from  dampness. 
No  summer's  evening  could  have  been  selected 
which  would   have  been  better  adapted   to  out-of- 


25OTH    ANNIVERSARY.  1 25 

door  amusement.  It  seemed  as  if  fortune  smiled 
upon  the  town.  The  concert  was  attended  by  a 
large  number  of  persons,  who,  by  generous  applause, 
indicated  their  enjoyment  of  the  music. 

At  seven  o'clock  the  entire  Agricultural  Hall  was 
thrown  open  to  the  public  for  social  intercourse ; 
and  from  eight  o'clock  until  midnight,  there  was 
dancing  in  the  upper  hall,  the  music  being  furnished 
by  Reeves's  orchestra.  Admission  to  the  hall  and 
grounds  was  free  to  all. 

At  half  past  seven  o'clock  bonfires  of  tar-barrels 
were  lighted  upon  Baker's,  Otis,  Planter's,  Turkey, 
and  Prospect  Hills. 

DECORATIONS. 

It  would  be  impossible  to  give  in  detail  an  account 
of  the  numerous  decorations  throughout  the  town. 
Upon  almost  every  building  upon  the  line  of  the 
procession  were  displayed  evidences  of  the  great 
public  interest  in  the  celebration.  Ingenious  and 
beautiful  devices  were  adopted  by  many.  Nor  were 
the  decorations  confined  to  the  houses  upon  the  line 
of  march.  Every  house  seemed  to  be  open  to  ex- 
tend a  cordial  welcome.  In  the  evening  there  were 
many  brilliant  illuminations,  and  Chinese  lanterns 
seemed  literally  to  grow  upon  many  of  the  trees. 
Colored  fires  and  bonfires  in  many  enclosures  lent 
their  brilliancy,  while  the  heavens  were  "studded 
with  stars  unutterably  bright." 


126  THE    TOWN    OF    HINGHAM. 

"  And  so,"  said  the  "  Hingham  Journal,"  "  ended 
the  day  that  had  been  so  successfully  inaugurated  at 
sunrise.  Not  a  break.  The  procession  at  every 
point  moved  on  time  and  with  precision.  The  faces 
of  the  spectators  who  lined  the  sidewalks  looked  as 
happy  and  as  satisfied  as  did  those  of  the  children 
who,  in  light  dresses  and  with  sprightly  step,  marched 
in  the  procession." 


FINAL    PROCEEDINGS. 


FINAL  PROCEEDINGS. 


Sept.  25,  1885.  The  Committee  of  Arrange- 
ments held  a  final  meeting,  at  which  it  was 

Voted,  That  Starkes  Whiton,  George  Lincoln,  E. 
Waters  Burr,  and  Francis  H.  Lincoln  be  a  com- 
mittee to  convey  the  thanks  of  the  Committee  of 
Arrangements  to  the  Orator,  the  First  Corps  of 
Cadets,  Edwin  Humphrey  Post  104,  G.  A.  R.,  the 
Organist,  the  Superintendent  of  Schools,  school- 
teachers, and  parents  for  their  efforts  to  secure  a 
large  attendance  of  school-children,  and  all  those 
who  contributed  either  money,  services,  or  flowers, 
or  in  any  other  way  aided  in  making  the  late  cele- 
bration a  success. 

Voted,  That  the  Treasurer  prepare  for  publication, 
in  book  form,  a  history  of  the  celebration. 

Voted,  That  the  Secretary  place  in  the  Hingham 
Public  Library  a  copy  of  the  records  of  the  Com- 
mittee of  Arrangements. 

After  the  necessary  business  had  been  completed, 
the  Chairman  made  a  closing  address,  and  the  Com- 
mittee was  dissolved. 


NOTE. 


nr^HE  Address  delivered  before  the  citizens  of  Hingham, 
-*•  on  the  two  hundredth  anniversary  of  the  settlement 
of  the  town,  Sept.  28,  1835,  by  the  late  Hon.  SOLOMON 
Lincoln,  was  printed,  together  with  valuable  historical 
notes  and  an  account  of  the  celebration.  One  of  the  notes 
refers  to  the  list  of  voters  in  Hingham,  in  1835,  ^^^  says, 
"In  March,  1835,  the  number  of  legal  voters  in  Hingham 
was  673.  It  may  gratify  the  curiosity  of  posterity  to  know 
what  names  were  most  prevalent  at  that  time,"  and  the 
numbers  of  voters  of  each  name  on  the  list  are  given. 
For  the  gratification  of  the  same  curiosity  in  the  future, 
a  similar  list  is  here  given. 

In  the  printed  volume  of  town  reports,  for  the  year  1884, 
may  be  found  the  "  Names  of  the  Legal  Voters  of  the 
Town  of  Hingham,  as  contained  on  the  Voting  List  for 
the  Election  in  November,  1884."  This  list  contains  943 
names.     There  are  of  the  name  of 


Gushing 35  Hobart 11 

Hersey 33  Barnes 10 

Sprague 29  Bates 10 

Gardner 24  Humphrey 10 

Lincoln 23  Ripley 10 

Fearing 16  Cobb 8 

Beal  (inc.  Beale)    ...  14  Corthell 8 

Burr 14  Lane 8 

Whiton 13  Litchfield 8 

Wilder 13  Souther 8 

Casey 11  Cain 7 


132 


THE    TOWN    OF    HINGHAM. 


Jacobs  (inc.  Jacob)     .     .  7 

Loring 7 

Clark 6 

Daley 6 

Fee  .     ,    „ 6 

Jones 6 

Leavitt 6 

Lewis    .......  6 

Mead  (inc.  Meade)     .     .  6 


Remington 6 

Siders   .     .     .     .     ■,  .     .  6 

Stoddard C- 

Thompson 6 

Tower 6 

French .......  5 

Howard 5 

Marsh 5 

Thomas     ......  5 


Foiir  each 

'Of: 

Bicknell. 

Dunbar. 

Pratt. 

Stodder. 

Breene. 

Kelsey. 

Sherman. 

Tuttle. 

Crehan. 

Murphy. 

Smith. 

Whiting. 

Three  each  of: 

Andrews. 

Hickey. 

Newhall. 

Spring. 

Bassett. 

Hudson. 

Noonan. 

Stephenson. 

Batchelder. 

Landers. 

O'Keeffe. 

Thayer. 

Bouve. 

Mahoney. 

Quinn. 

Wallace. 

Brewer. 

McKee. 

Rich. 

Welch. 

Burrill. 

McNeil. 

Richardson. 

Whitcomb. 

Cook. 

Morse. 

Robinson. 

White. 

Davis. 

Morton. 

Sears. 

Wolfe. 

Fotler. 

Nelson. 

Shute. 

Young. 

Two  each 

of: 

Allen. 

Dawes. 

HoUis. 

O'Hara. 

Anderson. 

Dean. 

Hough. 

Perry. 

Atwood. 

Dyer. 

Howe. 

Poole. 

Baker. 

Fletcher. 

Howes. 

Powers. 

Bayley. 

Ford. 

Hunt. 

Pyne. 

Barrett. 

Foster. 

King. 

Robbins. 

Barry. 

Goold. 

Leary. 

Simpson. 

Barton. 

Gould. 

Leigh. 

Staples. 

Brett. 

Gunn. 

Linnehan. 

Taylor. 

Buker. 

Harden. 

Lord. 

Tilden. 

Burdett. 

Hardy. 

Magner. 

Thaxter. 

Burns. 

Hart. 

Marble. 

Tirrell. 

Callahan. 

Haskell. 

Margetts. 

Todd. 

Chamberlain. 

Hatch. 

McCarty. 

Totman. 

Chubbuck. 

Hawes. 

McDermott. 

Trowbridge, 

Cooper. 

Hawkes. 

Nichols. 

Wade. 

Coughlan. 

Hayward. 

Noyes. 

Wall. 

Cross. 

Hennessey. 

Nye. 

Waters. 

25OTH    ANNIVERSARY. 


133 


One  each 

of: 

Abbott. 

Corbett. 

Hann. 

Miles. 

Adams. 

Corcoran. 

Harding. 

Miller. 

Ames. 

Cowing. 

Harvey. 

Mitchell. 

Annis. 

Cox. 

Henderson. 

Moore. 

Bacon. 

Crocker. 

Higgins. 

Morey. 

Barstow. 

Crosby. 

Hill. 

Morissey. 

Bartlett. 

Crowe. 

Hilliard. 

Mulligan. 

Battles. 

Crowell. 

Hodgkins. 

Murch. 

Bertsch. 

Cuming. 

Horton. 

Nash. 

Bibby. 

Daggett. 

Hutchins. 

Neff. 

Binney. 

Damon. 

James. 

Newcomb. 

Bissell. 

Danforth. 

Jerald. 

O'Brien. 

Black. 

Dayton. 

Jermyn. 

O'Connell. 

Blair. 

Defries. 

Jernegan. 

Olson. 

Blake. 

Dorr. 

Keating. 

Our. 

Blossom. 

Doughty. 

Keane. 

Overton. 

Bodge. 

Douglass. 

Keeshan. 

Page. 

Botting. 

Downes. 

Keliher. 

Palmer, 

Bowditch, 

Dunn. 

Kenerson. 

Parker. 

Bowser. 

Eaton. 

Kent. 

Parkman. 

Branch. 

Ellis. 

Kilburn. 

Peare. 

Brandenburg. 

Emerson. 

Kimball. 

Perkins. 

Breemer. 

Fanning. 

Kittredge. 

Phinney. 

Bronsdon. 

Farmer. 

Lathrop. 

Picanco. 

Brown. 

Flamand. 

Laurie. 

Pierce. 

Buckley. 

Foley. 

LeBaron. 

Price. 

Bullard. 

Fuller. 

Lemner. 

Puffer. 

Bullen. 

Gates. 

Leonard. 

Ray. 

Burditt. 

Gault. 

Linscott. 

Reed. 

Burke. 

Gibson. 

Littleton. 

Rider. 

Burt. 

Gildersleeve. 

Long. 

Roach. 

Buttimer. 

Gill. 

Lovell. 

Rogers. 

Buttrick. 

Glasur. 

Lovett. 

Sanborn. 

Caldwell. 

Good. 

Lowe. 

Sargent. 

Carnes. 

Goodwin. 

Lowry. 

Schmidt. 

Carver. 

Gorman. 

Lunt. 

Scudder. 

Caryl. 

Gough. 

Manning. 

Searles. 

Chessman. 

Graham. 

Marrah. 

Seymour. 

Chittenden. 

Gray. 

McCuin. 

Shea. 

Churchill. 

Greeley. 

McGuire 

Shedd. 

Clary. 

Groce. 

McKenna. 

Simmons. 

Clement. 

Grosvener. 

Means. 

Sinclair. 

Colby. 

Grover. 

Melcher. 

Skinner. 

Collier. 

Hall. 

Mellen. 

Sloan. 

Cooney. 

Halley. 

Merritt. 

Snell. 

134 


THE    TOWN    OF    HINGHAM. 


Southworth. 

Studley. 

Torrey. 

Weston. 

Spalding. 

Sullivan. 

Tully. 

Whelan. 

Spooner. 

Swift. 

Turner. 

Whitney. 

Steele. 

Sylvester. 

Vining. 

Whittemore. 

Stetson. 

Tancred. 

Wakefield. 

Wilber. 

Stevens. 

Thing. 

Ware. 

Willard. 

Stewart. 

Thorne. 

Wellens. 

Wing. 

Stockbridge. 

Tinsley. 

West. 

Wright. 

Stowell. 

Topliffe. 

University  Press :   John  Wilson  and  Son,  Cambridge, 


No.   lad   Sect.    -T        Shelf _A. 
CONTENTS 


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