THE REPORT OF THE COUNCIL OK THE AMERICAN ANTIQUARIAN SOCIETY, MADE OCTOBER 21, 1875, AT WORCESTER, BY SAMUEL A. GREEN. M.D. WORCESTER: CHARLES HAMILTON, PRINTER, PALLADIUM OFFICE. 1876. the REPORT OF THE COUNCIL AMERICAN ANTIQUARIAN SOCIETY, OCTOBER 21, 1875, AT WORCESTER, SAMUEL A. GREEN, M.D. WORCESTER : CHARLES HAMILTON, PRINTER, PALLADIUM OFFICE. 1876. ■^•3£5 ~4 REPOltT OF THE COUNCIL. In accordance with a long custom, as authoritative as the By-Law which requires it, the Council of the American Antiquarian Society respectfully submit their semi-annual report, on its condition. They find it an agreeable duty to note the continued prosperity of the library. Its growth during the six months has been steady and satisfactory, and its use has been very generally extended to scholars and others, who have come hither — some from a long distance — to consult its books. The accession of pamphlets has been large, and while many of them are of no special rarity, some of them are of a good deal of value. It is impossible to say with truth that an ordinary pamphlet is worthless, for the time may come when its humble pages will fur- nish an obscure date that is wanted to fill a great gap. Or it may furnish a single fact that will fit in between two other facts, and the three will come together, like pieces of a puzzle, and be broad enough to establish a principle. Mr. Savage has said that he would give a hundred dollars a line for five lines about John Harvard. The time was when every incident in Harvard's life could have been given in detail, but it was not known then that he was to found a col- lege which was to spread out into a great university. Just such information as Mr. Savage Wanted is furnished every day in pamphlets, about some modest benefactor whose name may stand at some future period as John Harvard's does, but whom nobody cares for now. How valuable would be even a half-dozen lines about Shakspeare, such as might have been written by the most insignificant pam- phleteer of his age, — such as perhaps was written, but which, for the want of an Antiquarian Society, was lost to posterity. We have the authority of Milton that a wise man will make better use of an idle pamphlet than a fool will do of sacred Scripture. A hint in even an old almanac may put an author on the right track in following a subject. We find the trace where we little expect to find it. Nothing, according to a French proverb, is more probable than the improbable. The sure and safe way then is for an antiquarian library to collect anything and everything in the shape of a book, pamphlet, broadside or ballad, on the supposition that the time may come when it will pay to winnow the chaff to find the grain. This holds good particularly in a new country, where society is not wholly formed, — is somewhat transitory in its character, — -and its best reflection is found in the local literature. The habits of thought of a people are best shown in what comes from the printing-press. Everywhere, the demand regulates the supply ; and this is true of literary matters as of grosser materials. The train of public thought at the present time is sufficiently indicated by present publi- cations. Never before was printing used so much as now to scatter abroad individual opinions and new ideas in religion, morals, philosophy, political economy, and other questions that strike deep into the human mind. And in no other country is this means employed so much as in our own, because printing is cheap, the press free and reading general. To preserve this reflection of our age for future generations, these pamphlets are of great value and should be saved. The Council are glad to know that particular pains have been taken by Mr. Haven and Mr. Barton to collect local histories and historical addresses. Special efforts have been made now for several years to obtain such publications. These are usually printed in small editions and soon become scarce. The books of this class are added by the generosity of Judge Thomas, who provided means to buy for the library many volumes that were wanted for its shelves. It is difficult to overestimate the importance of an accurate town history. It deals with the first principles and the sim- plest form of political organization, which are the character- istic features of a town government. It goes back to the beginning;, and furnishes an abundance of the raw material to the general historian who comes afterwards and who views the subject from a broader stand-point. A town is fortunate, indeed, that has a local antiquary to write its history. The earlier such an undertaking is begun, the better, as the sources of information are, in part, the old inhabitants whose tenure of life is slender ; in part, private collections of letters and papers which are liable to be scattered and lost after the death of the owners. The Council take pleasure in calling the attention of the Society to the Indian relics displayed in the cabinets. Since the endowment ot the Feabody Museum, at Cambridge, the subject of American Archaeology has been studied with increased zeal, and a new impetus has been given to this branch of science. Anything connected with the North American Indians is deemed worthy of the study of the antiquary. The stone tools and weapons of the Aborigines 2 G — with the fragments of their pottery and the remains of their-shell heaps — furnish much that is known about the habits and customs of that unfortunate race. It is a singular fact that certain forms of domestic implements among them are nearly identical with those found among primitive peo- ple in other and distant parts of the world. The true explanation of this doubtless is that they are the simplest expression of human needs. Give to savage races a want, and they will find a common remedy if within their reach. Limited as is the language of these relics, they speak with unmistakable sound. Some of them tell of the skill re- quired to form them and of the cunning craftsmen that lived in those days. Others reveal that the material was brought in the rough from a distance, and then fashioned by the native artisans. The shell-heaps make known the character of their food, in part, with all the certainty of a bill of fare at the Parker House, and wild game was considered then as much of a luxury as now. The ornamentation on their pottery shows an artistical taste, an impulse towards the beautiful, which they themselves could neither explain nor understand. The report of the Librarian, which forms a part of the report of the Council, gives the accessions in detail, and makes such statements and suggestions as may seem proper. They show that the Library was never more useful than now, and that its friends keep it constantly in mind. The report of the Treasurer, also making a part of this report, shows a healthy condition of the funds. They are invested rather with a view to safety and security than to large dividends. It is the sad duty of the Council to note the deaths in the Society, of which five have occurred since the last meeting. Jean Frederic do Waldeck, who was chosen a member ot this Society October 23, 1S39, died in Paris, on the second of Mav last. He was distinguished not only as a traveller and an artist, hut also as having passed, by nearly a decade. the disputed boundary of the hundredth year of life. He was born March 1(5, 17GG, and at the time of his death had reached the remarkable age of 109 years, one month and 14 days. There seems to be no reasonable doubt about the date of his birth. He came from an ancient family of Prague, and from an early period of his life was engaged in labors that kept him in the world's eye. His case in this respect is unlike the instances of extreme old age so fre- quently reported in this country among the lower classes — notably among the blacks — where the absence of registra- tion of the time of birth gives the opportunity for extrava- gant reports which cannot be refuted. When only nineteen years of age he went with Levaillant to the Cape of Good Hope, in South Africa. On his return to Paris, in 1788, he began the study of art and worked under the direction of David and Prud'hon. This experience was afterwards of much service to him in his travels. In the year 1793 de Waldeck was present at the siege of Toulon, and in 1794 joined the army in Italy as a volunteer. In 1798 he followed the expedition into Egypt, not as a soldier, however, but as an observer. After the failure of Napoleon's designs in that region, de Waldeck determined to travel in Africa, and accordingly, he set out with four other adventurers on an expedition which was to traverse the con- tinent from north to south. Sickness, however, attacked the little party, and his four companions died, leaving him alone. He was able only to reach the Portuguese settlements on the coast after four months of danger and privation. In the year 1819 he visited Chili, and later made an archaeological expedition in Guatemala, and on his return established him- self in London. Here he was engaged in preparing the lithographic drawings which were to illustrate a work upon the ruins of Palenque and Chiapas. Thinking that the designs he had been employed to put on stone were incor- rect, he determined to visit the ruins for himself, which he did, and passed three years studying them in detail, and making maps of the region. On his return to Europe, after an absence of twelve years in the New World, he sold to the French government his drawings made in Palencpie, and their publication was begun in 1863. After his one hundredth year he himself made the lithographs for the work. Ten years ago two of his pictures attracted considerable attention, because he had put on the frame these words : " Recreations of a Centenarian" — an inscription that is beyond the reach of most artists. Mr. George Brinley, of Hartford, died on the sixteenth of last May, at Hamilton, Bermuda, whither he had gone in the hope to regain tailing health. He was born May 15, 1817, and at the time of his death was just 58 years of age. His father was George Brinley, of Boston, at one time a promi- nent merchant of that city, and his mother, Catharine Put- nam, was a granddaughter of General Israel Putnam. During a sojourn in Florida, more than a year ago, he con- tracted a malarial fever from which he never recovered. Mr. Brinley was a man of elegant tastes and a learned bibliographer, always ready to impart his knowledge to those who desired information. He devoted himself chiefly 9 to literary pursuits and had collected a remarkable library, particularly rich in books relating to early American histo- ry, and in those of early American imprint. It contains six fine copies of Eliot's Indian Bible. There are Imt few libraries in the country of equal value or of greater extent. Mr. Brinley was elected a member of this Society Octo- ber 23, 1846, and has at various periods made valuable gifts to the library. At the last annual meeting the Librarian's report contained an account of his generosity in having, at his expense, the Society's copy of the second edition of Eliot's Indian Bible pass through elaborate processes of reparation, completion and binding, in the establishment of Francis Bedford, of London. The honorary degree of A.M. was conferred upon him by Yale College, in 1868. He was president of the Trustees of the Wadsworth Library, and vice president of the Wadsworth Athenaeum, at the time of his death. For many years he was an active director in the Phoenix Bank, as well as one of the trustees in the State Savings Bank. The Honorable Edward Mellen, one of the oldest mem- bers of the Worcester bar, died at Wayland, May 24th. He was born in Westboro', September 26, 1802, graduated at Brown University in 1823, and was admitted to the bar in Middlesex County, in 1828. He opened an office in East Cambridge, where he continued to practise until the autumn of 1830, when he removed to Wayland. Here he remained, practising chiefly in the Courts of Middlesex County until 1817, when he was appointed, by Governor Briggs, a justice of the Court of Common Pleas. Seven years later he was made, by Governor Washburn, Chief Justice of the same Court, which position he held until 1859, when the Court 10 was abolished and the Superior Court established in its stead. On retiring from the bench, Judge Mellen opened an office in Worcester and continued to practise until the infirmities of age rendered it impossible for him to attend to professional labor. For several years after this he remained at his home in Wayland, gradually failing in health and strength, until at last paralysis ended his life. He was an industrious lawyer and an upright judge. His reading and information, beyond the limits of his profession, were exten- sive and accurate. He became a member of this Society October 22, 1860, and from 1861 to 1865, was its Recording Secretary. For several years he was one of the trustees of Brown University. The Doctorate of Laws was conferred upon him by his Alma Mater in 1854. The Reverend Charles Wentworth Upham died June 15, at Salem. He was the son of Joshua Upham, of Brookfield, Massachusetts, and was born in the city of St. John, New Brunswick, May 4, 1802. His father was a descendant of an old colonial family and a graduate of Harvard in the • •lass of 1763, — a class-mate, room-mate and life-long friend of the Honorable Timothy Pickering, — whose life was after- wards completed by the subject of this notice. During the Revolutionary War the father incurred the displeasure of the Whigs, and on that account was compelled to leave his home. He went to New Brunswick, where he was made a judge of the Supreme Court and a member of the council. His son Charles entered college at Cambridge, in 1817, and graduated in due course, taking high rank among his class- mates, of whom many became distinguished men in different parts of the country. Passing through the usual course of theological study at the Divinity School, he was invited soon 11 after to become the associate pastor of the First Church m Salem, with the Reverend John Prince. At that period, the old fires of sectarian strife were still raging, and Mr. Upham was thoroughly imbued with the controversial spirit of the day. Here he remained until December 8, 1811, when he was obliged to resign, on account of an affection of the throat. He afterwards devoted himself to literary labors, and ultimately became prominent in political affairs. At one time he edited the Christian Review, and at another the Christian Register, besides contributing to the North American Review and other publications of high character. He delivered orations, eulogies and addresses, on public occasions, many of which have been printed. Air. Upham took an active part in the political canvass of 1848, advocating the claims of General Taylor; he was Mayor of Salem in 1852 ; a State Representative and Senator for several years, and for two years was the presiding officer of the Senate ; a member of the 33d Congress of the Na- tional .House of Representatives, a member of the State Constitutional Convention, in 1853, besides holding other public positions, all which he filled with dignity and honor. lie was chosen a member of this Society October 21, 1855. Among his writings are these: "Letters on the Logos," published in 182S; "Lectures on Witchcraft," 1831; "Life of Sir Henry Yane," for Sparks's American Biography, 1835; "Life of John C. Fremont," 1856; and "Salem Witchcraft," in two volumes, 1867. He wrote a memoir of the Reverend John Prince, which is in the Collections of the Massachusetts Historical Societ} 7 , and other memoirs for "The National Portrait Gallery." The "Life of Timothy Pickering " was his latest work of magnitude. 12 He also wrote a Life of George Washington, in the form of an autobiography, which was printed in 1840. The pub- lication of this work gave rise to litigation, as it was consid- ered an infringement of the copyright held by Mr. Sparks, and the author and publishers were restrained by injunction from making it public. The stereot} 7 pe plates, however, had been cast and a few impressions struck off, without the knowledge of Mr. Upham. The writer of this report remembers showing him, six years ago, a copy of this edition, bearing the imprint of Boston, which was the first time he had ever seen one, and he so wrote on the fly-leaf of one of the volumes. The plates were afterwards taken to England, where an edition of the work was published. Professor Increase Allen Lapham, of Milwaukee, died suddenly September 14. He was born at Palmyra, New York, March 7, 1811, and was chosen a member of this Society April 27, 1853. At one time he was a civil en- gineer, employed on the Welland canal, and afterwards on the canal around the falls of the Ohio, at Louisville, Ken- tucky. He was, from 1833 to 1835, secretary of the Ohio Board of Canal Commissioners, and in 1838 he removed to Milwaukee, where lie lived until the time of his death. In 1862 he was chosen president of the Wisconsin Historical Society, and in 1873 was appointed State Geologist and began making a thorough geological and topographical sur- vey of the State. At one time he was president of the Old Settlers' Club, of Milwaukee county. He was a prolific writer, having been a frequent contribu- tor to scientific journals and other publications. Among his productions are, "Wisconsin, its Geography, Topography, History, Geology and Mineralogy," which passed through two editions; "Geological Map of Wisconsin, 1 ' and "An- tiquities of Wisconsin." He was a hard worker and a dili- gent scholar. In 1860 Amherst College conferred upon him the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws. It was a common custom of his to get into a boat and pull off for a few hours' fishing in Oconomowoc lake. Usually there was some one with him, but on the afternoon of Tues- day, September 14, he went alone, and in the early evening he was found in the bottom of the boat, lying lifeless upon his face, his hand tightly clutching one of the oars. He had suffered for some years from an affection of the heart, and this was the probable cause of his death. The appearance of a fourth volume of the History of New England, by a member of this Society, is an event of suf- ficient importance in the literary history of the country to be mentioned in this report. The volume treats of an im- portant period, extending from the expulsion of Sir Edmund Andros to the removal of Governor Belcher by the British Government, in 1711. This includes the witchcraft tragedy and the administration of Joseph Dudley. The work shows in every page the thoroughness of research, the accuracy of statement and the elegance of style that are found only in the writings of the most accomplished historians. The scholars of the country will await with eager anticipation the fifth and last volume, which will complete the provincial history of New England. There is a tendency in the human mind to divide time into round periods, and with the average man there is a fasci- nation about a century which does not belong to other divisions of time. It is a sentiment not wholly destitute of reason. In our decimal notation the number ten plays an important 3 14 part and is a kind of unit. Etymologically it is connected with the fingers of the hand, and a hundred, etymologically as well as numerically ten tens, is a large unit, a natural division of duration. Some thousands of years ago, and yet a million of years removed from the period of the man- monkey, to our rude Sanskrit or Aryan speaking ancestor, ten of his companions ranged in a line, each with all the fingers outstretched, may have vividly represented the primi- tive meaning of dakan-dakanta — ten tens, — tihun-tihund, lmnd, hundred, hundare, centuria, century. This is a space of time so long that it is very rarely covered by a human life — so long that the recollection of not one human being in a million goes back to its beginning. It is so far back in the past that the events are sufficiently shrouded in obscurity to be favorable for the use of the imagination. And yet this great unit of time is so short that we all have talked with those — our grandsires perhaps — who lived one hundred years ago — so short that we are still interested in the deeds, and sympathize with the actors, of that time. Recoo-nizino; then this sentiment, we come to the fact that it is now a century since the war of the Revolution began. It is true that the causes which led to it were smouldering for many years before 1775, but it was not until then that they burst forth into flames and fired the public mind. It was then that the first general resistance was made to the power with which successful rebellion had never grappled. It was then that the first battles were fought in the war that created the United States of America. It is impossible to have now a clear understanding of the feelings of hope and doubt and despair that agitated the hearts of the men and women of that time. It is enough to know that the men contended with the enemy in the field and that the women struggled with hardships at home. And it is highly fit now that these deeds should he commemorated anew by ceremony and speech. In this way public attention is called to the merits and virtues of the men of that period, and while this will not affect them, it may he of service to us. It, was eminently proper, therefore, that the one hundredth anni- versary of the battle of Bunker Hill, which has occurred since the last meeting of the Society, should he noted in a marked manner. The orator of the day was distinguished by his services in peace and in war, and was himself a descendant of one of the heroes of the Battle. His felicitous effort was not the least part of the success that attended the celeb ra- tion. From the wide-spread enthusiasm excited by the affair throughout the country we foresee that the national cen- tennial celebration of next year will prove all that its most ardent friends desire. We shall have the material interests of the country shown to the world on a vaster scale than has ever before been exhibited. Such periodical displays mark from time to time, the progress in the different departments of labor. The development of the agricultural and me- chanical industries, during the last few years even, would astonish those not familiar with the tacts. New trades have sprung up and others have been developed, in what was lately the wilderness, furnishing employment to thousands of workmen who have made the forests give way to towns and cities. Railways radiating from hives of human indus- try and intersecting with other centres of business, have been built to exchange the products of labor. The loco- motive traverses, daily, vast plains hardly yet relinquished by herds of buffaloes. Mountains have been scaled and pierced. 16 which until now have stood as impassable barriers. It is not necessary to go back a hundred years to note the contrast, for we ourselves see it, — magna pars fuimus. Much as preceding generations have bequeathed to us, the present age has done its share for the material interests of posterity. The electric telegraph, an invention of our times, practi- cally annihilating space in the sending of messages, has worked wonders in science and in the more practical affairs of life. By means of it the words of Puck become a reality when he says : I'll put a girdle round about the Earth Iu forty minutes. If the ocean telegraph had been in operation at that time, the battle of New Orleans, in 1815, would not have been fought. It occurred a fortnight after the treaty of peace had been signed at Ghent, though the tidings of this treaty were not received until a month after the battle. The chances are that Andrew Jackson would not have been president of the United States if lie had not gained that battle, nor would Martin Van Buren have succeeded to the same high position if he had not been associated with him. This will serve as an illustration of the influence the tele- graph may have on human affairs. The many inventions for saving labor originate in this modern spirit of advance and improvement. Mills are run by intricate and ingenious machinery that can do almost anything but think and talk. And there is a class of in- ventions so domestic in their character that they seem almost like members of the family. The sewing-machine, of which there are so many varieties, is in daily use throughout the 17 country. In a single hour it will do the work which a pair of hands cannot do in a whole day. The effect of these labor-saving machines is to give somebody more leisure or more time for other work. Whatever increases the power of labor cheapens the product, and adds to human comfort and enjoyment. The genius of invention and discovery will not rest here, but will continue through the second century of our national existence. There will be new principles established and new applications of old principles, and those who witness the bi-centennial celebration of our country will look back on us very much as we look back on those who founded our government. It fell to them to contend with a foreign enemy, but it falls to us to deal with one that is domestic and not confined to any section. The great danger now is the lack of honesty in private and official life. This comes from the haste to get rich on the part of avaricious men, the large fortunes made by contracts with the government during the Rebellion serving as evil examples. Other causes favor this condition of things, but these are the main ones. There have been of late some startling instances of dis- honesty all over the land, and the country appears to be passing through an epidemic of crime. In its character it may be a condition incident to the peculiar and exceptional circumstances of the last fifteen years. If so, one may regard it as an infantile disease like measles or chicken-pox, which the nation is having in its youth. It should be remembered that centuries are to a people what a few years are to an individual. During the reign of William III. there seems to have been a similar state of affairs in England. Macaulay says that " the peculation and venality by which 18 the official men of that age were in the habit of enriching themselves had excited in the public mind a feeling such as could not but vent itself, sooner or later, in some formidable explosion." And lie tells how the City of London and the East India Company, the two wealthiest corporations in the Kingdom, had been largely employed for the purpose of corrupting great men, and how public money, issued from the Exchequer for a special purpose, had been diverted into the pockets of peculators. And how money had been re- turned to the giver when detection was near, how large sums had mysteriously disappeared and could not be traced. The student of the history of England in the years 1694-95 will recognize the exact counterpart of these transactions in this country and in this very day. The newspapers tell us of Credit Mobilier, of Pacific Mail subsidies, of embezzle- ments in building and repairing court houses, state houses and post offices, of canal jobs, and frauds in the Indian sup- plies. The story of infamy sounds like a twice-told tale. From this disgraceful disease we also shall recover ; it is not a symptom of incurable national decay and corruption. At the centennial exhibition the progress in the different brandies of our industry will be clearly set forth. The strides that have been taken onward are both rapid and long. The manufactories of the East, the plantations of the South, the large farms of the West and the mines of the still farther West will all be represented. The people of these sections will come together and profit by the associa- tion. But the lesson of the hour will not be learned unless it tends to heal old troubles and past differences. It will be found out that there is good in all and that none are all good. A better acquaintance with one another will promote 19 better opinions of one another. Every one will see some- thing in his neighbor to commend, and perhaps something in himself to correct. For the Council, SAMUEL A. GREEN. 011 411 611 7