/^-^c^ccci ^c -yuiX^^ PROCEEDINGS AT THE OF THE INCORPORATION OF THE TOWN OF DEDHAM. -'^^mjis^.^ ' - i>js- i ... ! .,t**^jt^ /:^3 (JV /^. y \^'(/o ■■'"' ^i^ fV»tr^ I)i7.ttrji y/«^' ^tt/yt xZ,^ ffu^yC m r^U ^(W/: ' l^tiA^^ . ^ ^ (i^i^ntf Aitiuiu>,-t_ C^S-W fiktu) J:/ ^^'Wm -iHf/ew .yr.c• .^ J 7=^ I ^ fes VOICES. Allegro Jnoderato. ^3E P^ Unisons, f p^^L/ I For the ful - ness of From sins of the earth, few. Unisons. ^i? ^s m m ^ ^ -^ N For the From ORGAN. Allegro moderato. light crimes ^ ^^^ of of the the sky, man v-N- For their From ^i -"'=^- death, pro for our phets un I I I r -trr^ — ^H — ^— i— ^ — H— i -f-y^, Jjilzj!.— -r-S^"-!^- 0^. r ■r Born of the word of light, Crime that ig-n'rance frees; / ^: Won Lust, by the deed that is born N ^ ^ J « V- v_^. of of -V-- -gi-l- ~ " l ~ — «-«-• — »-m-«- it d d — d — d — d-^r» — » — *- -»- 4 li i S S S -*-*-#- ^^* • * • •^H^ #=P= e r r- fc*: S 3 might, ease: ^^^ ^ I ^ ^ N N fs ix P r /'/?/ mosso. :m m Saved by the sow-ing of sight — Hate that is born of these — 3 PI/ ^ For the From the J I — 1- 1 '7""''| |_j|_^_^ — ^ — ^ — ^ — J,: ^^ -K-^^ - r ^ii light in the eyes and the love in the hearts of men That curse of false lights and wor - ship of earth, and then --i^- te s -^ m- =t: =■£= t^^ a :^-: — I 1 — 1-1 — m ^ 1- -^ a F=* « *- z=;iz d brings men to be Doubt and for - brave in war, And true get •- - ting of God, 9 11 the love of and death of L_* — -F all the gr A tempo things — Glo soul in men; Wealth S t »-= — »- 3 — I— ^.=^b^ ry of deed that is that is ea - sy past, won, -» — "3 — 5 — 5—3 — 5 — 5— h»! — al — «h' — • — « — •— • — • — « — — « — »- ^ — *— zzi* i ^ s ^-kk^ If— i: Safe - - - ty of State that is fast, Free - - dom, too soon un - done, Hope that is now and shall Mai - - ice that masks the tr Maestoso. —5 J 3 ^- ^^ N-^- ^g last — sun ; For the flow'r From con and the fruit, flict of class, For the From -i- p S^t^H^ s=;^ i Maestoso. -^— r ~fr —^ ^-« s -«-«-« — «-«-« ^-^-* —^ ■3=3:3: -• •-• — 0-0-0 -0-0-0 0-0-0 -u.^ >&=iE ^ li^ j:tg^^=^= 3= cr '=5 eye rage fe^^i -J- ::i= f :^?=>^- and the word, false - ly stirred, V V For the tree From greed m i^SpE -tr^- -ir-b-^-tf-tf— •-* * ^ J — l-r- ~r9— 0-0-0— 0-0-0— ^-^-0- - -N— and its of who S 0-0-0 — ^—d — ^-1 1 1 1 1 1 1 '-r-0-0-0— 0-0-0 — Bf** — *■ — •— r SEr-' r Perdendosi. ^ =|: -•-= — #- root, has, ^^ For the From — V sleep death of of the thy sword, word,- fct Iz; h I m^ r^ rr^A -^TIJTj rn n-j rr-, rr-. ff Maestoso. -P P- :^: We 45raise thee, our Lord ! De - li - - ver us, Lord ! :t :£ It ±:: Maestoso. srfEE^I ^^ -.;: » 4 J i J ^*S: ;^ ^ ■*■ f -i~^ 'r r^l 25OTH ANNIVERSARY. 20$ II. ANNIVERSARY POEM. Among other contributions which the unexpected length of the programme prevented utilizing on the occasion, was the following poem, written, at the request of the Committee of Arrangements, by Charles A. Mackin- tosh, a member and Secretary of the Committee until a few weeks before the celebration, when sickness enforced his resignation and absence from the proceedings. Mother of towns ! Thy children bow In filial reverence here to-day. The years lie lightly on thy brow, Thy locks but show the trace of gray ; And never sweeter were than now The smiles that o'er thy features play. To us of later, busier days A thought old-fashioned seems thy dress ; Thy mien sedate, thy cautious ways, Thy standard of fastidiousness, Thy calm content if matters each Glide softly in the accustomed groove, Little accord with those who preach : " No matter where you move — but move ! " And yet, as when we turn our eyes From chromo-lithographic art To where, in fading lines, there lies Some work where truth alone had part ; Or when upon the wearied ear, Tortured with songs made to be sold, Deafened by cacophonic seer, Falls some grand harmony of old, — 206 THE TOWN OF DEDHAM. We learn the lesson, needed sore In this our feverish modern time, — Leave not the foothold gained before Till surely, higher, may we climb ! So, Mother Town, thine honored age The more endears thee to each heart ; We would not blot a single page. We love thee better as thou art. I love not the historian's trade, In antiquarian dry-as-dust. Each spade need not be proved a spade, Some things we safely take on trust. The distant star, the sunset skies. The turbulent sea's sublime unrest. Have charms one may not analyze By any microscopic test. What triumph for historic truth To make the ennobling facts appear, — This sage was flighty in his youth ; That hero partial to his beer; This orator took snuff, and that Wofully shabby was in dress ; While yon, the great divine, waxed fat And fancied onions to excess ? We gaze upon the far-off height, Robed in its own ethereal blue ; How vastly more sublime the sight, If at the time we only knew The northeast half was owned by Shaw, The other moiety was Bense's, And Shaw was threatening Bense with law Because he would n't mend his fences ! 25OTH ANNIVERSARY. 207 A larger brush, a hand more bold, Should paint the picture of the past, That when the story once is told, Each tale, unperishing, may last. Perchance my sympathies may err. Yet must I rank as one of those Who study Cromwell's character, And not the wart upon his nose. Therefore, although some other hand Might many a blemish find, and flaw. From when thou craved'st the Indian's land And choused him under form of law, I see alone the purpose high. The courage stern, the steadfast aim, Which strengthening as the years rolled by Gave us a country and a name. I see the spirit that awoke A George's petty tyranny, Till time was ripe, then snapped the yoke And made the infant nation free ; That moved resistless as the flood. To keep that sacred flame alive, Unsparing of its dearest blood From Sixty-one to Sixty-five. Mother of Towns and Men ! We bow In filial reverence here to-day. May years lie lightly on thy brow, May health and peace be thine alway Be honored centuries hence as now, We proudly hope, we humbly pray. 208 THE TOWN OF DEDHAM. III. — Page 12. CHAPTER XXX. COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS. In the Year One Thousand Eight Hundred and Eighty-six. An Act to authorize the Town of DedJiam to raise money for the Celebra- tion of the Two Hundred and Fiftieth Anniversary of its Incorporation. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows : — Section i. The Town of Dedham is authorized to raise by taxation a sum of money not exceeding one tenth of one per centum of the assessed valuation of said town in the year one thousand eight hundred and eighty-five, for the purpose of cele- brating the two hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the incor- poration of said town, and for publishing the proceedings of such celebration, erecting tablets or monuments to mark places and objects of historic interest, and restoring and preserving any such existing monuments therein. Section 2. This Act shall take effect upon its passage. House of Representatives, Feb. 25, 1S86. Passed to be enacted. J. Q. A. Brackett, Speaker. In Senate, Feb. 25, 1SS6. A. E. PiLLSBURY, President. Passed to be enacted. February 26, 18S6. Approved. Geo. D. Robinson. 25OTH ANNIVERSARY. 2O9 IV. — Page z6. Dedham has been well styled a mother town. From her ample territory at various times have been formed the following named towns : — Medfield, incorporated- May 23, 165 1 ; Wrentham, incorporated October 15, 1673; Needham, incorporated November 5, 1711 ; Medway, incorporated October 24, 1713; Bellingham, incorpo- rated November 27,1719; Walpole, incorporated December 10, 1724; Franklin, incorporated March 2, 1778; Dover, incorpo- rated July 7, 1784; Norfolk, incorporated February 23, 1870; Norwood, incorporated February 23, 1872 ; Wellesley, incorpo- rated April 6, 1881 ; Millis, incorporated February 24, 1885. Foxborough, incorporated June 10, 1778, and Hyde Park, in- corporated April 22, 1868, contain a portion of the original territory of Dedham. Portions of Dedham were annexed to Dorchester and West Roxbury, and subsequently included within the limits of Boston. A considerable portion of the present towns of Natick and Sherborn was included in the original grant to Dedham. A subsequent grant of land to Dedham in the Pocumtuck valley was the beginning of the present town of Deerfield. V. — Page 66. In the "Dedham Gazette" of March 26, 1864, appeared the following article written by INIr. Charles C. Greenwood, of Need- ham, then, as now, a reliable authority in matters of local history : — Mr. Editor, — The following interesting scrap of personal history is copied from a small slip of paper, yellow with age, which has been preserved in the family of a descendant of Mrs. Chickering for a cen- tury and a quarter. Although tlie author's name does not appear, there is no mistaking the peculiarly minute and elegant hand of Rev. Jonathan Townsend, the first minister of this town. It reads thus : — Needh.xm, July 17, 1737. This day died here Mrs. Lydia Chickering, in the Eighty-sixth year of her age. She was born at Dedham, in New England, on July 14, 1652, and about the year 167 1 went up from thence to Hadley, where for the space of 2IO THE TOWN OF DEDHAM. about a year she waited upon Colonel Whalley and Colonel Goffe (two of King Charles ists Judges) who had fled thither from the men who had sought their life. She was the daughter of Capt. Daniel Fisher of Dedham, one of the Magistrates of this Colony under the Old Charter. Having lived a virtuous life, she died universally respected, and came to her grave in a full age, as a shock of corn cometh in in his season. VI. — Page 78. The following item is copied from page 10 of Dr. Ames's Ledger A : — Israel Everett to Dr. Natli'l Ames, Dr. 1775, April 19th. To extracting a Bullet from the Cubitus of Israel Everett, Jr., which he received at the Battle of Lexington, the first of the War with Great Britain. 3s To sundry visits and dressings of the wound. I25 VII. — Page 182. The movement for the preservation of the Powder House in 1859 originated with the members of The Club, — an association then existing in Dedham, and organized for social and literary purposes. At that time The Club was composed of the following members : Dr. Ebenezer P. Burgess, Alfred Hewins, Henry O. Hildreth, John Lathrop, Dr. Joseph P. Paine, Henry W. Richards, John D. Runkle, Frank H. Shorey, John C. Shorey, Carlos Slafter, Josephus G. Taft, Erastus Worthington. A committee consisting of Henry O. Hildreth, Henry W. Richards, and John C. Shorey was appointed to make the neces- sary repairs, which were promptly done at an expense to The Club of about thirty dollars. VIII. Of the men who were prominent in the celebration of the Two Hundredth Anniversary of tlie town's incorporation, almost all have passed away. Samuel F. Haven, the orator of the occasion, was bom in Dedham, May 7, 1806. He was admitted to Harvard College 25OTH ANNIVERSARY. 211 in the class of 1826, and subsequently took his first degree at Amherst in that year. He was admitted to the bar in Middlesex County, and began the practice of the law in Lowell. He was appointed Librarian of the Antiquarian Society at Worcester, Sept. 23, 1S37, and at once removed to that city, where he ever afterward resided. He received from Amherst College the degree of LL.D., and that of A.M. from Harvard College. He was a valued member of many learned societies. He died at Worcester on the 5th of September, 1881, at the age of seventy- five years, four months. Mr. Haven had long been regarded as one of the most eminent antiquarian and archaeological scholars in the country. Hon. Edward Everett, at that time Governor of the State, and the most eminent of the guests, was of Dedham ancestry, he being of the sixth generation in direct descent from Richard Evered, one of the original settlers, who died in 1682. Governor Everett's father, the Hon. Oliver Everett, was born in Dedham, but his dis- tinguished son was a native of Dorchester. Edward Everett was Governor from 1836 to 1840, member of both Houses of Congress, Minister to England, and President of Harvard College. He died in Boston, Jan. 15, 1865, at the age of seventy years. Hon. James Richardson, President of the day, prominent for many years in legal and political circles, died in Dedham, June 7, 1858, aged eighty-seven. Hon. Theron Metcalf, one of the Vice-presidents, after a long and distinguished career as a lawyer and judge, died in Boston, Nov. 13, 1875, aged ninety-one years and twenty- eight days. Hon. William Ellis, Chairman of the Committee of Arrange- ments, was born in Dedham in 1780, and was for many years the leading land-surveyor in the county of Norfolk. He was much occupied in public affairs, having been a Selectman, Representa- tive eight years, and a member of the Senate for Norfolk County for three years. He was two years Assistant Justice of the Court of Sessions, and from 1828 to 1835 a member of the first Board of County Commissioners for Norfolk County. He died in Dedham, November 28, 1852, aged seventy-two years. General Nathaniel Guild, the Chief Marshal, was a native 212 THE TOWN OF DEDHAM. of Dedham, and for many years prominent in town and mili- tary affairs. He died in Dedham, August 26, 1845, aged seventy years. Of the prominent actors in the events of that day, only five survive, namely : Ira Cleveland, Esq., one of the Committee of Arrangements, and for many years a leading and respected citizen, now in his eighty-sixth year ; and four of the Aids to the Chief Marshal, — Ira Russell, in his eighty-second year ; Benjamin BoYDEN, in his eighty-first year; John D. Colburn of West Roxbury, in his eighty-fourth year ; and Theodore Metcalf of Boston, now in his seventy-sixth year. All these gentlemen par- ticipated in the celebration as the invited guests of the town. IX. As frequent allusions have been made in preceding pages of this volume to Worthington's " History of Dedham," the following sketch of the life of the author is herewith given : — Erastus Worthington, the first of the name in Dedham, was born in Belchertown, Mass., Oct. 8, 1779. ^^ was gradu- ated at Williams College in the class of 1804. Among his classmates were Luther Bradish and Henry Dwight Sedgwick of New York, Judge Samuel Howe of Northampton, and Nathan Hale of Boston. After his graduation Mr. Worthington was employed for a time in teaching, and then began the study of law, which he completed in the office of John Heard, Esq., of Boston. He was first admitted as an attorney in Boston, but came to Dedham to reside in 1809. Here he began the practice of his profession, and was admitted as a Counsellor of the Supreme Judicial Court in 1813. He devoted himself exclu- sively to legal practice until 1825, when the Norfolk Mutual Fire Insurance Company was organized mainly by his efforts, and he became its first Secretary. From this time he gradually withdrew from practice, although as Justice of the Peace he was the magistrate of the town afterward during his life. In the 25OTH ANNIVERSARY. 213 spring of 1840, by reason of ill health, he was compelled to resign his oflfice as Secretary, and in the ' autumn of the same year he removed with his family to Dayton, Ohio. In the following spring, however, he returned to Dedham, where he continued to reside until his death, which occurred from chronic bronchitis, June 27, 1842. He left a widow and three sons, of whom Erastus VVorthington, now of Dedham, is the youngest. Mr. Worthington was actively interested in politics as a Republican during the War of 1812, and as a Democrat during the administrations of Jackson and Van Buren. He delivered an oration in Dedham, July 4, 1809, on "The Recent Measures of the American Government," which was printed. He was a member of the General Court from Dedham in 1814 and 1815, He was also interested in the temperance reform, and was iden- tified with the anti-slavery movement in its beginning. In 18 10, Mr. Worthington wrote and published anonymously an elaborate pamphlet, entitled " An Essay on the Establish- ment of a Chancery Jurisdiction in Massachusetts." This was a brief legal treatise, comprehending a general view of the whole subject ; and upon the excellent authority of the late Judge Metcalf, who was contemporary in Dedham with Mr. Worthington, it was the first essay published in the Common- wealth in favor of the establishment of an equity jurisdiction, which for a long time was viewed with disfavor by the legal pro- fession, and which was not fully adopted until i860. In 1827, Mr. Worthington wrote and published "The History of Dedham from the Beginning of its Settlement in 1635 ^^ May, 1827." This History was written at a period when but few town histories had been published, and besides some brief notes to historical sermons which related to church matters, nothing had been published concerning the history of Dedham. Mr. Worthington was the first carefully and intelligently to study the records of the town and of the churches and parishes in search of materials for history, and he gathered and preserved such tra- ditions as were well authenticated sixty years ago. Moreover, he endeavored to exhibit a faithful view of society in Dedham in a retrospect of one hundred and ninety years. His History is not merely a chronicle of events, but these are connected 214 THE TOWN OF DEDHAM. and treated in the spirit and method of a true historian. The narrative is concise, comprehensive, and accurate, though not so exhaustive and minute as in town histories written in more re- cent times. Mr. Haven, in a note to his centennial address of 1836, accords to Mr. Worthington the credit of first undertaking to develop the history of the town. University Press: John Wilson & Son, Cambridge. LIBRARY OF CONGRESS mimmm 000113lOH3fc