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General Salem Towne 
 

 ADDRESSES 
 
 AT THE 
 
 UNVEILING OF THE PORTRAIT OF 
 
 General Salem Towne 
 
 PRESENTED 
 TO THE TOWN OF CHARLTON 
 
 BY 
 
 Judge Stephen P. Twiss 
 
 OF KANSAS CITY 
 
 IN 
 
 DEXTER MEMORIAL HALL 
 
 CHARLTON, MASS. 
 September 6, 1909 
 

 Charlton Old Home Day. 
 
 The exercises of the day began at two p. m. 
 at Dexter Memorial hall. Geo. R. Wakefield, 
 of Spencer, president of the Charlton reunion 
 and old home day association presided and wel- 
 comed the large gathering. He said four years 
 ago when this hall was given to the town by its 
 generous donor, W. H. Dexter, it was named 
 the Dexter Memorial hall, and at that time the 
 idea was conceived of making it in a broader 
 sense a memorial hall by adorning its walls with 
 portraits of men prominent in the history of the 
 town. The first year the picture of Mr. Dexter 
 was placed in the building and last year we were 
 presented with a panel cabinet of photographs 
 of the five Towne brothers, appropriately framed, 
 the gift of Horace A. Towne, of Minneapolis, 
 Minn. This year another memorial is to be pre- 
 sented to the town and it is hoped that there 
 may be other similar gifts to follow. 
 
 Prayer was offered by Rev. Frederick D. 
 Thayer of Dudley. 
 
 President Wakefield then introduced as the 
 chairman of the day Hon. Rufus B. Dodge of 
 Worcester, who after a few preliminary remarks 
 voicing the sentiment of all present at being able 
 to have again with us this year the town's bene- 
 factor, W. H. Dexter, of Worcester, the donor 
 of the beautiful building in which the exercises 
 were being held, called upon Mr. Dexter, who 
 spoke briefly. 
 
GEORGE R. WAKEFIELD 
 
William H. Dexter 
 
Address of W. H. Dexter. 
 
 1 am very thankful that I am able to be pres- 
 ent at another home gathering this Labor Day. 
 It is very pleasant as T have said before for those 
 of us that live away to come back to our native 
 town at least once a year, where we were born 
 and spent our childhood days, among the happi- 
 est days of our lives. Judge Twiss presenting 
 to the town a portrait of Gen. Salem Towne re- 
 minds me of some of the leading men of the town 
 wdien 1 was a boy. There was Dr. Lamb, Dr. 
 Fay, Gen. Towne, Major Spurr and others in the 
 center. Harvey Dresser at Dresser Hill and John 
 P. Marble at the north side who lived to be nine- 
 ty-seven or ninety-eight years old, kept the hotel 
 and store there and Captain Aaron Willard. Capt. 
 Sim, Lamb, Franklin Farnum, the Carpenters, 
 Dodges and many others in the City, all good 
 reliable citizens. Some that have followed on 
 after them have done as much if not more to 
 make Worcester what it now is as any other 
 town in the country. We are pleased to have 
 Judge Twiss with us here today. He has come a 
 good ways to see his native town once more and 
 be with us at this gathering. 1 remember when 
 he commenced practicing law in Worcester and 
 I heard one of his first arguments before a jury. 
 It was a strong argument. 
 
Address of Rev. Lewis W. Hicks. 
 
 Major General Salem Towne, whose por- 
 trait, through the thoughtfulness and liberality 
 of Judge Stephen P. Twiss, is henceforth to adorn 
 the walls of this beautiful building, came of good 
 old New England stock; stock which, by the way, 
 produced three other men, natives of Charlton, 
 whose success in the business world has added 
 no little to the reputation of this goodly town- 
 ship, viz: Daniel Phillips, Moses Phillips and 
 Alban N. Towne, all four having descended from 
 William Towne, who, with his wife and six chil- 
 dren, came over from Yarmouth, England, 
 about the year 1640 and settled in Salem, Massa- 
 chusetts; from which place, in 1652, he removed 
 to Topsfield in the same state. General Towne, 
 who was the seventh in descent from William, 
 was of the fourth generation from John Towne, 
 the so-called "Nestor of the new settlement in 
 Oxford," who was chosen town clerk and select- 
 man at the first town meeting that was held in 
 that settlement and continued to occupy promi- 
 nent positions and to have the confidence of the 
 com m unit}' during the remainder of his days. 
 ( reneral Towne's great grandfather, Jonathan, 
 was a deacon of the Oxford Church, and his 
 father, after whom he was named, was a very 
 noted man in his day. It is related of him that 
 when the news came of the battle of Lexington 
 he was quick to respond to the call to arms. On 
 the morning of the twentieth of April, 1775, he 
 was <m his way at the head of his company to- 
 wards the scene of the previous day's conflict. He 
 became the quartermaster of his regiment and 
 
Rev. Lewis W. hicks 
 
fulfilled the exacting" duties of the office with 
 credit to himself and to the satisfaction of his 
 companions in arms. He rose to the position of 
 major-general of militia, was a member of the 
 Constitutional Convention of 1780, represented 
 his town in the Massachusetts Legislature, and 
 was otherwise useful as a leading citizen of Ox- 
 ford. 
 
 The mother of our General Towne was 
 Ruth Moore, whose grandfather was an influen- 
 tial citizen of Oxford and whose father was a 
 deputy sheriff. 
 
 Of others of General Towme's ancestors 
 much might he said, but only one fact more need 
 be noted, that on the day of his birth bis grand- 
 mother walked on snow shoes from Oxford to 
 Charlton, presumably to welcome the expected 
 little stranger to the town which he was destined 
 to honor by a noble life. 
 
 Born in Charlton on the 26th day of 
 March, 1780, of the goodly stock referred to, 
 Salem Towne naturally inherited traits of charac- 
 ter that were likely to serve him well in the bat- 
 tle of life. To this rich inheritance he added such 
 habits of industry and profited so well by the 
 lessons of patriotism which were instilled in his 
 mind by his forbears, that he became one of the 
 most useful and distinguished of all the good and 
 great men who first saw the light in this clean 
 hill town of old Massachusetts. Of what stuff 
 he was made appears in the authentic account 
 of what he did when a young man in the adjoin- 
 ing town of Southbridge, William L. Marcv, a 
 wild youth of that town, who was considered by 
 the neighbors to be the very worst boy in the 
 community, succeeded, in conjunction with boon 
 
companions, in ousting the teacher from the dis- 
 trict school. Under stress of the emergency 
 young Salem Towne, of Charlton, was hired to 
 fill out the unexpired school term. It was pre- 
 dicted by the knowing ones that the young 
 teacher would certainly have trouble with Bill 
 Marcy. Not a day had passed, however, before 
 this intrepid teacher had found some good in the 
 wild boy and he told the surprised youth of his 
 discovery. From that hour a change came over 
 the young fellow. Some one had seen good in 
 him. As a consequence he determined to make 
 good; which he forthwith began to do. Such 
 indeed was his conduct thereafter, and so great 
 was his progress in his studies, that he was ad- 
 vised by his teacher to prepare for college. His 
 parents were surprised by the suggestion, but on 
 the earnest solicitation of Mr. Towne they finally 
 gave their consent and the young man went on 
 towards the goal of his new ambition, attending 
 preparatory schools and finally entering Brown 
 University, from which institution he was gradu- 
 ated in 1808. Many years after, the Honorable 
 William L. Marcy, who, as you are aware, be- 
 came Secretary of War under President Polk 
 and Secretary of State under President Pierce, 
 visited Boston as the guest of the governor of 
 Massachusetts. 
 
 Salem Towne was among those who were 
 invited to meet the distinguished guest. When 
 the governor saw Mr. Marcy and General Towne 
 greet one another as old friends he expressed his 
 surprise that they knew each other so well. 
 "Why," said Air. Marcy, "that is the man that 
 made me. When 1 was a boy, everybody was 
 against me; none, no, not even my own father 
 
 6 
 
and mother saw any good in me. He was the 
 first one who believed in me, told me what I 
 might become and helped me on in life at that 
 critical period. Whatever of merit or distinction 
 I have attained to I owe to him more than to 
 any living person." In this story of his treat- 
 ment of young Marcy there is not only revealed 
 the kindliness and tactfulness which were dis- 
 tinguishing" characteristics of General Towne's 
 makeup, but there are also exhibited two thing's 
 which served to make his life of especial service 
 to his fellow men. 1 refer to his interest in 
 young people and to his efforts in the cause of 
 education. We boys always felt that General 
 Towne was interested in us. He recognized us, 
 treated us with consideration, showed a disposi- 
 tion to help us in any way that he could; and 
 thus encouraged us, as he had encouraged Bill 
 Marcy, to do the best we could for ourselves. 
 It was no fault of his that some of the rest of us 
 did not go to the United States Senate or be- 
 come secretaries of state under some of our late 
 presidents. A corollary of his interest in the 
 young was his interest in the cause of educa- 
 tion; which not only showed itself in what he did 
 to make the schools of Charlton what they ought 
 to be, but also in a larger way by his co-operating 
 with others in the founding of Amherst College, 
 of which he was for years a trustee, and whose 
 commencements he was in the habit of attend- 
 ing, going to the beautiful college town in his 
 own conveyance during the years of his material 
 prosperity, as became a man of his station. 
 
 It was quite natural that having had a father 
 who had attained the rank of major-general and 
 having been born so near the stirring times of 
 
his young" nation's history he should take a deep 
 interest in military affairs. Connecting himself 
 with the Massachusetts militia he rose by succes- 
 sive steps to the highest honor, that of major- 
 general, which could be conferred upon one of 
 its members. That he was prepared to face dan- 
 ger in behalf of his country and that he was re- 
 garded as equal to grave responsibilities appears 
 from the fact that during the War of 1812 he 
 was stationed as colonel of his regiment in South 
 Boston, on the very spot where Washington 
 planted his batteries when he drove the enemy 
 from Boston during the Revolution, it being con- 
 jectured that the British might attack the city. 
 We have good authority for the statement that 
 while there he was temporarily in command of 
 a brigade. That he would have accredited him- 
 self with honor had he been called upon to meet 
 the enemy in battle we have no reason to doubt. 
 That he won the admiration and love of those 
 under his command we may well rest assured, 
 for who "knew him but to love him," who 
 "named him but to praise?" 
 
 Of what he was to this, his native place, it 
 would be difficult to tell, so deeply was he in- 
 terested in whatever appertained to its well being 
 and so wide was the influence which he personally 
 exerted upon the life of the community. Besides 
 taking, as I have said, an active interest in the 
 conduct of Charlton's schools, he represented the 
 town in the State Legislature and threw the 
 weight of his influence on the side of every move- 
 ment that appealed to him as looking to the ma- 
 terial, moral and spiritual welfare of his fellow 
 citizens. He is said to have brought into Charl- 
 ton the Holderness breed of cattle, which was a 
 
decided improvement over the then native stock. 
 That his Porter apples tasted about the best of 
 any that have ever entered my mouth, even 
 though the_\- did come into my possession as 
 gift rather than as an unauthorized loan, I grate- 
 fully hear witness, as I do to the good taste of 
 others of his fruits which brightened the home 
 of my invalid mother. In him indeed was ex 
 hibited the very best type of American citizen- 
 ship — a type that has made these hill towns of 
 the old Bay State luminous with influence and 
 unique in their ability to raise men competent 
 to fill positions of trust and responsibility in city, 
 state and nation, a type that has made the state 
 of Massachusetts the power that it has ever been 
 since the organization of our federal government. 
 But I believe that we have not yet reached 
 that part of General Towne's life which made its 
 chief impress upon those who, in the various 
 walks of life, were so fortunate as to he in any 
 way associated with him. It was not so much by 
 what he directly accomplished either as a military 
 man or as a man of affairs, that he exerted his 
 widest and most lasting influence in the com- 
 munity that held him in honor to the da}- of 
 his death and mourned for him as for a per- 
 sonal friend when he had passed away. That 
 deep and abiding influence came through what 
 he was as a man of the finest type, who lived 
 a life in his family and before the community 
 that was expressive of true dignity, of a high 
 sense of honor, of attractive virtue and ol 
 gracious kindness. To see him in his home 
 in the company of his estimable wife, nee Sarah, 
 daughter of General John Spurr, whom he mar- 
 ried in 1804, or in later years with his attrac- 
 
 9 
 
live and devoted daughter; or to share for any 
 length of time his hospitality, which was al- 
 ways so generous and so winsome, was to 
 treasure up in the memory a recollection that 
 time could never efface. The rare blending of 
 dignity and kindness in his personality was 
 something to win for him both the respect and 
 love of all who were so fortunate as to be brought 
 close to him. And what he was in his hospitable 
 home that he also was in a large measure as he 
 moved out among his associates in the common 
 walks of life. He was a man to be looked at as 
 he passed you by; yes, a man to be felt. There 
 was a benediction in his presence. An influence 
 for good emanated from him. I will go as far as 
 to say that there is scarcely a person of all the 
 natives of Charlton who, having been born be- 
 tween the years 1800 and 1862, or later, and hav- 
 ing acquired any prominence in the w r orld, would 
 not testify that his young life had, to some ap- 
 preciable degree, been influenced for good by the 
 life and example of General Towne. He was one 
 to stimulate a boy to live a good life, if ever 
 there was such a man. Indeed he was a person 
 to incite all with whom he came in contact to live 
 lives worthy of their better selves. And he was a 
 man to win respect for the possibilities of his 
 species. Xot inappropriately might the language 
 of the great English dramatist be applied to him: 
 
 "His life was gentle; and the elements 
 
 So mixed in him, that Nature might stand up, 
 
 And say to all the world, This was a man." 
 
 Tt is therefore eminently fitting that a man 
 who did so much to bring honor to Charlton in 
 his life time and who was so highly respected 
 
 10 
 
and deep]}- loved by the people of his native 
 place and beyond, should be made known to 
 succeeding generations; that his life may con- 
 tinue to be influential for good, and of especial 
 service to the young people of this goodly town- 
 ship. 
 
 I doubt not that it was to realize this de- 
 sirable end, as well as to honor the memory of 
 ' reneral Salem Towne and to express his own in- 
 debtedness to and affection for Charlton's grand 
 old man. that Judge Stephen P. Twiss, himself 
 an eminent son of Charlton, has had painted, by 
 a distinguished artist, this striking likeness, for 
 presentation to his native place, to be hung on 
 the walls of this building which so eloquently 
 speaks of the loyalty of another of the sons of 
 Charlton for the place of his birth. It is a 
 worth) gift. It does honor both to the subject 
 of the painting and to the donor. In turning it 
 over to you, who are to receive it in the town's 
 behalf, may I not voice the wish that this splen- 
 did portrait may indeed serve to do for the com- 
 ing youth of Charlton something similar to that 
 which good and great General Towne did 
 through his splendid personality while he was 
 living. May it incite to earnest endeavor, to 
 worth}- living, to successful and honorable 
 achievement. If it shall thus do, it will. I am 
 sure, have best realized the purpose which the 
 generous giver conceived in his heart when he 
 determined to present this appropriate gift to 
 the place of his nativity. 
 
 11 
 
Address by Hon. R. B. Dodge. 
 
 The citizens of Charlton gratefully accept 
 from the generous hands of Judge Twiss a por- 
 trait of Gen. Salem Towne. Of Charlton's well 
 known sons he was one of the most highly re- 
 spected, whose memory succeeding generations 
 have not overlooked, but like the everlasting 
 monument it is known of all and in all points the 
 way to a useful life full of kindly acts, clothed 
 with a charming dignity, and crowned by the in- 
 tegrity which from his fellows commanded im- 
 perial respect. He belonged to the old school of 
 country gentlemen, whose natural courtesy was 
 as much a part of himself as were the benignant 
 features of his countenance. 
 
 Here upon the walls of this building, dedi- 
 cated to the use of all, shall this likeness of a be- 
 loved man remain, here to remind all of the sterl- 
 ing qualities which make a man honored in his 
 own home. 
 
 For this gift, a work of art, we give Judge 
 Twiss our hearty thanks. His course has been 
 an honor to Charlton and now, in his declining 
 years as he turns to the place of his birth with 
 kindly thought, may the peace and happiness of 
 a fruitful life be his to the end. 
 
 Rev. Lewis W. Hicks, of Wellesley, was 
 called upon to make the formal presentation of 
 the picture to the town. The portrait done in 
 oils was the work of a Kansas City artist and 
 beautifully framed. It occupied a conspicuous 
 position on an easel at the left of the stage. 
 
 12 
 
HON. RUFUS B. DODGE 
 
REV. FRANK S. BREWER 
 
The Influence of a Great Man in a 
 Community. 
 
 Address by Rev. Frank Sherman Brewer. 
 
 We do not claim for Salem Towne rank 
 among the nation's heroes, lie is not honored 
 for conspicuous service to either the state or the 
 nation, like Washington, Grant or Lincoln. And 
 yet we do claim that he was a truly great man. 
 
 There is much misunderstanding as to the 
 conditions of membership in this Hall of Fame, 
 of which we are speaking, that is, the great men 
 in a small community. Obviously, certain con- 
 ditions act as a barrier to membership. No man 
 is ever considered great by his immediate neigh- 
 bors, for the sole reason that he has obtained 
 riches, or that he has the faculty of making 
 money. High political honor at the hands of the 
 state or nation does not suffice to enroll a man 
 in this Hall of Fame. Social prestige does not 
 give him the right of entrance thereto. There 
 are many false standards that obtain recognition 
 for a while but the}' will not stand the test of 
 time. Bradford Torrey has given in a recent 
 periodical this definition of fame: "Fame is a 
 plant that blossoms on graves, as a manual of 
 such botany might say, 'A late flowering peren 
 nial, nowhere common, to be looked for in old 
 cemeteries.' " 
 
 But Salem Towne has other qualities that 
 entitled him to recognition anion-- Charlton's 
 heroes, than those of the simple inscription on 
 the monument in yonder cemetery. We are con- 
 
 13 
 
fining our thought today to the local community, 
 and we are asking ourselves the question, Who 
 is the truly great man there? The man to whom 
 the small boy looks up, as his ideal of manhood, 
 the beau-ideal of the young woman, the one man 
 to whom the entire community turns to make a 
 speech and to welcome the stranger when a dis- 
 tinguished visitor comes, the man par excellence, 
 of the whole community. Who is that man and 
 why is be so distinguished? 
 
 No man can rise to that position today and 
 could even less seventy-five years ago, unless he 
 be first of all a man of integrity. "Never heard 
 a word said against his integrity." That is a 
 great thing to say about an}- man and that was 
 said of Salem Towne in this community during 
 his entire life-time of ninety-two years. We are 
 giving a man high praise when we say that he is 
 a man of sterling integrity, a man whom his 
 neighbors trusted, to whose care came large 
 business interests and there is not a single in- 
 tance, so far as we know, where even a breath of 
 scandal rested upon his name in business rela- 
 tions. 
 
 This is very different from the career of the 
 son of one of America's greatest benefactors, a 
 gifted hymn writer. Samuel ( i. Smith is the son 
 of Samuel Francis Smith, the author of "My 
 Country, 'Tis of Thee," the one hymn that has 
 been accepted by all the people for these main 
 years as our national hymn. Samuel ( r. Smith 
 left his \\'\\ England home and in early man- 
 hood went to Davenport, Iowa, where he rose 
 steadily into places of power and influence, lie 
 became a banker, a philanthropist; he was the 
 chief citizen; he was a church-man, trustee of es 
 
 14 
 
tates, the head of a large number of charitable 
 organizations. The entire communtiy trusted 
 him, so that when his downfall came, the shock 
 to the community was something terrific. The 
 disclosure revealed the fact that he was guilty 
 of larceny, large and small stealings from estates 
 that had been entrusted to his care, even stealing 
 from the wife of his dead coachman. All Daven- 
 port was stunned by the news. The church suf- 
 fered a severe blow; he was the ex-president of 
 the .state bankers' association, and the vice-presi- 
 dent of the Iowa Sons of the Revolution, and the 
 downfall of no other man in the State of Iowa 
 could have brought a greater feeling of chagrin 
 and loss of confidence than was caused by this 
 man's downfall. The fact that he went to prison 
 five years ago, a man nearly seventy years of 
 age, and came out just the other day, and that 
 he fell dead on the streets of Toronto, has little 
 to do with his life story. llis influence was 
 ended and his fame as a good man was buried 
 fathoms deep by his conduct in Davenport. 
 
 The man of integrity is the man who does 
 not make money his God, does not bow down 
 to it nor serve it. And yet we find at the pres- 
 ent time that there are main who do this very 
 thing. Young men have false ideals of life as is 
 illustrated by the fact that the schools of min- 
 ing, engineering, manufacturing, are filled with 
 those whose thoughts are centered upon the big- 
 stakes of life. A sense- of the power and luxury 
 of money has seized our people. The fact that 
 great fortunes like $40,000,000 are made in a sin 
 gle day have corrupted the imaginations of our 
 young men. The Alton steal by Ilarriman, by 
 which the road was robbed of $26,000,000 is a c 
 
 15 
 
in point. These great prizes of money dazzle the 
 eyes of our youth and the}- forget that such giant 
 prizes are won only at the expense of integrity, 
 of soul-life. No wonder that Harriman is a 
 broken-down old man at the age of 59, begging 
 the reporters to keep away from his home. This 
 greed for money keeps young men out of the 
 callings where high ideals and small remunera- 
 tions are expected. Young men today do not 
 take to the practice of law or medicine or the 
 ministry as they did a few years ago, and this 
 is due to a poverty of ideals and the sad thing 
 about it is, that to them there is no shame in 
 their poverty. Those were halcyon days in our 
 country's life when a young man like Agassiz, 
 the scientist, had no time to make money, as he 
 said, when he refused $500 for a single night's 
 lecture. Charles Sumner declined to lecture at 
 any price as his time belonged to Massachusetts 
 as its senator. Spurgeon, one of England's 
 greatest preachers, refused to come to America, 
 preferring to stay in London, that he might save 
 a few souls. Emerson showed a fine idealism 
 that is much needed today when he spurned an 
 opportunity to receive a salary of more than 
 $1200 a year for it would take away his time 
 for thinking. 
 
 A second requisite for our village hero is 
 that the man should be a man of kind heart and 
 take an interest in others. The published brief 
 biographies of General Towne say that he "was 
 not extraordinary in either intellectual or cul- 
 tivated ability," "that he was a man of fair cul- 
 ture, and general understanding, but somewhat 
 remarkable in his kindness of heart and genial 
 temperament," and that "for these qualities he 
 was conspicuous." 
 
 1G 
 
if. 
 
 General Towne is known as a discoverer of 
 
 young men. as instanced in the case of William 
 P. Marcy (the account of which Mr. Hicks has 
 already given us). The man who gives the por 
 trait today is another illustration of the fact that 
 General Towne is entitled to this honor that is, 
 a discoverer of young men, and Judge Twiss is 
 making what he terms to be a feeble attempt to 
 pay the debt that he owes to General Salem 
 Towne. We do not know what others owe to 
 him, whose names are not familiar to us, hut a 
 man who was the discoverer of young men in 
 those days or at the present, is no ordinary kind 
 of a man. Please notice the qualities by which he 
 was distinguished, and which led him to take a 
 special interest in young men, such as kindness of 
 heart, doing good, a useful man, always gain- 
 ing friends but never losing them. And when 
 you can say these things of the most prominent 
 man in town, you are paying high tribute of 
 praise. Take, for instance, General Towne's 
 interest in education, and see him as he is one 
 of the petitioners who is suing the General 
 Court for the charter of Amherst College. He 
 becomes a trustee, and holds that position for 
 21 years. He is a generous giver to her funds, 
 making a contribution at one time of $500, which 
 was a large sum of money ninety years ago. lie 
 is made chairman of the charity fund of Amherst 
 college, which fund was then regarded as the 
 true foundation of the college, lie visits the 
 college annually, riding with his own horse and 
 chaise. His love for young men led him to take 
 this interest in education, long after he Stopped 
 being a school teacher. General Towne had thai 
 loving interest in boys that enabled him to place 
 
 17 
 
his hand upon the shoulder of the young" man 
 and bid him make something of himself. We 
 little realize how much hoys are looking" to older 
 men for counsel, direction, encouragement, and 
 even rebuke. Do you, realize what it means to 
 have a respected man, whom all the community 
 honors, look you up in your boarding place, take 
 notice of you before you leave home, and give you 
 wise counsel? That is what Gen. Salem Towne 
 did, and that is why we are here today, celebrat- 
 ing" his memory. 
 
 Again, General Towne took a keen interest 
 in social and political questions. He was a 
 strong temperance advocate. At the time of the 
 Washingtonian movement in our country, a 
 strong temperance tidal wave swept over Charl- 
 ton. It was at a time then as now, when men 
 were obliged to take sides and the man who 
 dared to defy public sentiment and stand for total 
 abstinence, subjected himself to much ridicule. 
 General Towne was misunderstood, belied, and 
 his motives impugned, but he stuck to his belief 
 that total abstinence as a practice was best for 
 individuals, and best for the community, and he 
 lived long enough to see his views fully vindi- 
 cated. 
 
 In politics, he became a staunch Whig, and 
 stuck to the principles of the Whig party because 
 they meant progress by state and nation in the 
 matter of internal improvements. His interests 
 were nation wide and were not limited simply 
 to the local affairs of the town of Charlton or of 
 the State of Massachusetts. 
 
 < icneral Towne had more to do, probably, 
 than any other one man in giving Charlton a 
 railroad, which shows his progressiveness. Such 
 
 18 
 
men are worth more to the town, state and na- 
 tion, than the discoverer of the North Pole, or 
 the inventor of a flying machine, for the influence 
 of a great and good man goes on long after he is 
 dead and he will be remembered for what he 
 was as well as what he did. 
 
 "1 low e'er it he, it seems to me 
 
 'Tis only noble t<> be good ; 
 Kind hearts are more than coronets, 
 
 And simple faith than Norman blood," 
 
 Lastly, Gen. Towne was a religious man of 
 intelligent and deep convictions. To be sure, 
 he did not join the church until he was past four 
 score. J lis long life and habits of devotion are 
 evidences of his religious character. I am told 
 that he was the first superintendent of the first 
 Sunday School in Charlton; he was always a 
 regular and generous financial supporter of the 
 church and for twenty-five years its foremost 
 worker; he was always present in his pew on 
 Sunday, if he was in town, and 1 cannot but 
 think, judging by what he said as he stood up on 
 the day that be joined the church, that be would 
 have joined it much earlier if be bad realized 
 bow great bis influence was. 
 
 True religion is the crown of a man's life. 
 Without it he is undeveloped, at least on one 
 side of bis nature and that the most important. 
 Me is dwarfed in bis moral and spiritual life. 
 Without religion to support and comfort, no man 
 can find bis way around in this universe. With- 
 out it, be cannot reach the highesl joys, cannot 
 have the deepesl pleasure, nor see the best things. 
 
 This i^ an age of toleration and that is good. 
 lint it is also an indifferent age, a neglectful age 
 
 19 
 
We ought to have toleration for the sincere opin- 
 ions of others, however much they may differ 
 from ours, but neglect of religious acts and duties 
 is a different thing. Men think today that they 
 can be just as good at home, as they would be if 
 they went to church. They consider themselves 
 "pretty good already," and blandly question, 
 "What more can you ask?" But this is unlike 
 the spirit of Gen. Towne, who never thought of 
 himself as pretty good already, or good as the 
 average, or as one who didn't need to go to 
 church. 
 
 Gen. Towne was a participant in the church 
 services, so far as he was able. He was not a 
 singer and made no claim to any musical ability, 
 but when old Coronation was given out, 
 
 All hail the power of Jesus' name 
 he joined in with such vigor and evident sym- 
 pathy with the thought of the hymn, that all in 
 the house knew he was there, and no one who 
 heard him at such times ever forgot his zeal and 
 enlivened manner. 
 
 A great man must inspire by his character, 
 which is a man's solid worth. Nothing but char- 
 acter can make any lasting impression upon 
 others. Wealth, education, political favor, social 
 prominence — all these things are insignificant 
 when compared to character as a molding force 
 in the life of the community. The principal busi- 
 ness of a town is to raise men. Charlton's glory 
 is not her hills, beautiful though they are, nor 
 her lovely valleys, but rather her chief glory is 
 men, the kind of men raised here. It is not her 
 manufacturing nor her farms, it is not her past, 
 nor her present, nor her future; it is not her 
 monuments that have been erected here, but 
 
 20 
 
rather it is her men, the men of integrity, of light 
 and leading that she has reared, that we most 
 gratefully remember. 
 
 Yet me use the following poem written by 
 the Bishop of Exeter, England, but slightly 
 changed for our need today: 
 
 ( rive us men! 
 
 Men — from every rank. 
 
 Fresh and free and frank: 
 Men of thought and reading, 
 .Men of light and leading. 
 Men of loyal breeding. 
 Freedom's welfare speeding; 
 Men of faith and not of faction, 
 Men of lofty aim and action : 
 
 ( rive us men — I say again, 
 ( rive tis men ! 
 
 Give us men ! 
 
 Strong and stalwart ones; 
 Men whom highest hope inspires, 
 Men whom purest honor tires. 
 Men who trample Self beneath them. 
 Men who make their country wreath them 
 
 As her noble sons. 
 
 Worthy of their sires ! 
 Men who never shame their mothers. 
 Men who never fail their brothers, 
 True, however false are others: 
 
 Give us men — I say again 
 ( rive us men ! 
 
 ( rive us men ! 
 Men who, when the tempest gathers. 
 Grasp the standard of their fathers. 
 In the thickest fight : 
 
 21 
 
Men who strike for home and altar, 
 (Let the coward cringe and falter), 
 
 God defend the right ! 
 True as truth, though lorn and lonely, 
 Tender — as the brave are only; 
 Men who tread where saints have trod, 
 Men for country — home — and God: 
 
 Give us men ! I say again — again — 
 Give us such men ! 
 
 We cannot have too much sweetness of life, 
 too much gentleness, too much toleration, but, 
 we need men today who stand for something 
 positive. Of all things that destroy character 
 and unfit for usefulness, the greatest is a religious 
 indifference and a proud spirit that is unwilling 
 to bow before the great white throne! 
 
 The picture I have tried to draw is that of a 
 life-long citizen of Charlton, a man of integrity, 
 a man who took a keen interest in others, a re- 
 ligious man. These things entitle General Salem 
 Towne to a place in the foremost ranks of those 
 whose memory is cherished here. 
 
 Note. — During Mr. Brewer's address he took occasion 
 to remark that George H. Brewer, his father, and Abbie D. 
 Twiss, a native of Charlton and a sister of Judge S. P. 
 Twiss, were married fifty years ago today in the Congre- 
 gational Church by Rev. John Haven. They are both here 
 today. 
 
 22 
 
judge Stephen P. Twiss 
 
Address of Judge Stephen P. Twiss. 
 
 T assure you that nothing- can give me 
 greater pleasure than to be here on this home 
 day of good cheer and good wishes, of each one 
 of us to all others; again to meet the sons and 
 daughters of Charlton. 
 
 It is with special pleasure that we, all of us, 
 see and greet our venerable friend, the benefac- 
 tor of Charlton, the town of his birth and child- 
 hood. This Dexter Hall is his munificent gift 
 to us and to the inhabitants of Charlton forever. 
 Long may he live and be the recipient of the 
 sincere and oft repeated expressions of gratitude 
 for his generous beneficence. 
 
 This is Labor Day. Old Charlton Home 
 Daw It is General Salem Towne Day. A fe- 
 licitous Trio, which we, her sons and daughters, 
 vigorously assert, studiously appreciate and I03 
 all}" c o m m e m o r a t e . 
 
 Yes, we are all glad once more to be at home, 
 around the family altar, the old family fire-place 
 and hearth-stone, under the roof-tree of our 
 childhood in the lap of our dear old Mother 
 Charlton. Once more at home in the enjoyment 
 of the social life and friendly greetings of the 
 day. We all realize better than ever before, 
 "there's no place like home," and no home like 
 Charlton. 
 
 We, children of Charlton, born on these 
 snow clad wintry hills, or in these beautiful sunny 
 valleys of alluvial meadows and meandering 
 brooklets, which are interspersed with Charlton 
 homes of intelligence, purity, and the ^»ul of 
 
 23 
 
honor; are at our ancestral home, in the house 
 of our fathers, the home of our deceased parents, 
 who were born, lived, died, and buried in Charl- 
 ton. Their dust is our inheritance, an ever-abid- 
 ing sacred trust and charge which we loyally ac- 
 cept and execute with profound reverence and 
 filial affection. 
 
 We, children of our good old Mother Charl- 
 ton, brothers and sisters all, are here to celebrate 
 the day, to commemorate and honor the place of 
 our birth, the home of our childhood, with the 
 strength of our earnest hearts and souls, to cher- 
 ish the many tender memories that cluster around 
 it, to re-establish and reproduce in our mental 
 vision, the scenes and associations of our happy, 
 innocent childhood, under the defending wing 
 and watchful eye of our protecting fathers and 
 loving mothers. 
 
 The first settlers and pioneers of Charlton 
 were not idlers nor drones. They were intelli- 
 gent men and women of laborious and strenuous 
 lives, who cheerfully accepted the hardships of 
 the pioneer. The}' subdued the rebellious, un- 
 broken soil, that had never known the plow or 
 spade, and reduced it to their will and dominion; 
 and made the wild wilderness to yield in abun- 
 dance the various fruits of the earth, essentially 
 necessary to their support and comfort. 
 
 They were watchful, and wisely attentive to 
 the trials, hardships and vicissitudes incident to 
 an isolated frontier life. They were confronted 
 by the questions and difficulties of organizing 
 and establishing a town with adequate power 
 and jurisdiction of local self-government reserv- 
 ing to the individual all personal rights consis- 
 tent with his greater good; and at the same time 
 
 24 
 
best promoting the growth, development and 
 welfare of the municipality — the greatest good 
 of all. They proved themselves equal to the oc 
 casion, to the necessities of their day and gen- 
 eration, and the demands of the near future. 
 
 With an intelligent, high-toned public spirit, 
 and a true conception of the wants and welfare 
 of the town, they constructed thoroughfares 
 leading to the adjoining towns in all directions 
 and bridges and cross roads, necessary to the 
 convenience of themselves and the journeying 
 stranger, and Charlton was soon at the forefront 
 and rightfully held a high standing among the 
 sixty-five towns of the county. 
 
 They divided the town into three, then into 
 six, and afterwards into thirteen school districts. 
 They erected in each district a commodious 
 schoolhouse, for the education of all children of 
 school age, and maintained free public schools in 
 each district from four to six months in every 
 year, and successfully established in Charlton 
 the free public school system which now obtains 
 in all parts of our country. 
 
 From the beginning the town stoutly re- 
 sented and opposed the tyranny of ( ireat Britain, 
 and duly appreciated the supreme worth oi tree 
 self-government, founded upon the will oi the 
 people, justice and equality. From the time oi 
 the battle of Bunker Mill, Charlton was enlisted 
 with all her soul and energies in resistance to 
 British tyranny and oppression, and "during the 
 war, out of ;i population of about thirteen hun 
 dred, she furnished upwards of three hundred 
 men for the Continental army, who, in the true 
 spirit of the patriot soldier, well performed their 
 part in the hardships of the long and weary 
 
 25 
 
march and privations of the camp, and in several 
 well fought battles ending with the capture of 
 Burgoyne." 
 
 During the terrible conflict for the main- 
 tenance of our Government and the Union Charl- 
 ton did not falter in doing her whole duty in the 
 defense of the Union and Government established 
 by our fathers, so close and dear to the heart of 
 General Towne. She furnished two hundred and 
 eighteen men for the army, which was thirteen 
 more than her quota. 
 
 The intelligent, well directed Christian home 
 is a sacred enclosure against many besetting 
 temptations and the corrupting influences of the 
 day. It is a haven, where all, the youngest and 
 the weakest, as well as the older and the strong- 
 est, are protected from the storms and passions 
 fiercely raging on the outside ; a harbor where all 
 are safe; where the distant roaring winds and 
 waves that drive ships and crews whither they 
 will, do not enter; where there are no winds to 
 smite or storms to destroy, but gentle breezes are 
 as "rippled whispers at the bow," and confidence 
 and safety rest upon the undisturbed waters. 
 
 Such, briefly, is a symbolical description of 
 the well conducted home of purity and right- 
 eousness. It is the home of the pure and faith- 
 ful mother, whose influence in forming the char- 
 acter and giving direction to the life of those 
 God has given her for this purpose, is not in our 
 power to estimate adequately. The home is the 
 domain of the wife and mother. She is the Queen 
 of the Household. Her jurisdiction is complete. 
 Love is the paramount law of her realm. Her 
 love for her children is pure, disinterested, self- 
 sacrificing, self-consuming, it is heavenly. It is 
 
 26 
 
born in heaven but lives on earth, and has no 
 earthly equal. 
 
 "There are teachings on earth and sky and air, 
 The heavens the glory of God declare; 
 But louder than voice beneath, above, 
 He is heard to speak through a mother's love." 
 
 We are sometimes told that Charlton is 
 boomless. conservative and old fogy, not up to 
 date in modern business life and methods. Yes, 
 my friends, our dear old town is slow and con- 
 servative, when compared with some other 
 places; she still prefers to stand out doors in the 
 "wet" rather than come into a clean, pure house 
 and be "dry." 
 
 But she makes no claim to many of the so- 
 called business financial activities, conspicuous 
 and well understood in some of our cities. Charl- 
 ton is an agricultural community, her people eat 
 their bread in the sweat of their brows. Charl- 
 ton has no grinding, abject poverty and destitu- 
 i i< >n. no "sweat shops" where the poor and almost 
 helpless women and children are compelled to 
 work for less than half paw Our men of means 
 and business ability are not men of overpower- 
 ing greed and passion to get rich quick, in a 
 heartless disregard of the comforts, health and 
 life of their neighbors. Their wealth is not wit- 
 ness against them; neither does the cry ol their 
 employees in want and distress rise up against 
 them. 
 
 Charlton stands upon her time honored 
 hill tops, in the light of the brightest sun at high 
 noon; not spotless, perhaps, bul unimpeached 
 and unassailed; she evades nothing; her brow is 
 undisturbed. Her record is before the world 
 and she is content. 
 
 27 
 
There is probably no one in this hall, who 
 knew General Towne so long and so well as I 
 did. I have known him from my earliest recol- 
 lections, seventy-six or seventy-eight years. In 
 my childhood recollections of him I believed him 
 to be the greatest man in the country and per- 
 haps in the world. But as I grew up and went 
 out into the world I soon learned that there were 
 greater men than General Towne, but I never 
 lost my faith in him as a great and good man. 
 I have special reasons for looking back to him 
 with thankfulness and gratitude. In my young 
 manhood he proved himself to be my very good 
 and true friend. He occasionally came into my 
 office and sat for hours at a time, often giving 
 invaluable advice and encouragement to a young 
 man just starting in life. His talks to me were 
 always instructive and interesting. There was 
 never another man in this world who did so 
 much to fashion and help me on in the right di- 
 rection as General Towne did. And I should 
 now be an ingrate if I did not remember him 
 with gratitude. In some respects he made a con- 
 fidant of me to a greater extent than to any other 
 young man in Charlton or elsewhere I believe. 
 
 He was an all-around wise and safe man in 
 public affairs. I remember well, that he was al- 
 ways present at our town meetings and took an 
 active interest in them. He was always right, in 
 public, social and moral affairs. And in national 
 affairs the results of the last lift)* or sixty years 
 have proven that he was generally right there. 
 He was among the very first enlisted in the cause 
 of temperance, He was sincerely opposed to the 
 manufacture, sale and use of intoxicating liquors 
 
 28 
 
as a beverage and to the traffic in the same, and 
 consistently continued so until his death. 
 
 In the early days of the anti-slavery agita- 
 tion, or, as it was then called, the abolition move- 
 ment, he was stoutly and unchangeably opposed 
 to the institution of slavery and was in favor ol 
 confining it within the limits of the states in 
 which it was permitted by the Constitution of 
 the United States, lie believed slavery to be a 
 curse and a scourge to the country, to the people 
 of the north as well as to the people of the south, 
 white and black, bond or tree, and thai sometime 
 and in some way which he did not profess to 
 know God in his providence would wipe it out 
 of existence. But at all events, slavery or no 
 slavery he was in favor of maintaining the Con- 
 stitution of the United States in its integrity 
 as the paramount law of the land. 
 
 Salem Tow tie was born during the hardships 
 and privations of the American Revolution. The 
 Constitution of the United States was adopted 
 during his childhood, but not so long before his 
 earl_\ manhood that he did not have some under- 
 standing of the great and unspeakable cost in 
 life and treasure of the achievement of inde- 
 pendence. He undoubtedly carried with him 
 to his death recollections of many events ol those 
 inciting, stirring and formative days — the be 
 ginning of the Great Republic, lie must have 
 been an interested listener to much of the folk- 
 lore of the days of his childhood and youth. As 
 he ripened into maturity, the theories and prin 
 ciples of Washington, Hamilton, Adams, [efifer 
 son, Marshall and Madison of and about the Con 
 stitution, then new and untried, were undoubt 
 edly read by him, with what avidity we cannot 
 
 90 
 
assert, but we have good reason to believe that 
 he early in life had a good understanding of the 
 working machinery and powers of the Constitu- 
 tion and of many of the most important ques- 
 tions, policies and measures both of the people 
 and of Congress, and of the support or opposi- 
 tion of the early administrations, among which 
 notably the Louisiana Purchase, the troubles with 
 France, the antagonistic positions of Hamilton 
 and Jefferson over the same; the vexatious and 
 unparalleled offensive conduct of Edward 
 Charles Genet, representative of the French 
 republic. The election of Jefferson to the 
 presidency over Burr, the killing of Hamilton by 
 Burr with murderous intent in a duel, the trial 
 and acquittal of Burr on charge of treason against 
 the United States, were very much alive and 
 burning questions of the day. 
 
 The Civil war was commenced and carried 
 on against the Government by the united and 
 desperate energy of eleven states of the Union, 
 with the design and purpose of extending the 
 territorial domain of slavery and of fixing and 
 strengthening its powers with express and abso- 
 lute certainty; by erecting a confederacy upon 
 the ruins of the Union, with slavery one of its 
 chief corner stones. He was alive to the 
 transcendent importance of the issue, and would 
 have the Government with all of its powers crush 
 slavery forever out of our national life and being. 
 
 Never under any circumstances whatever 
 would he tolerate the thought of the possibility 
 of the dissolution of the Union. With him it 
 was a union, not only of the fathers, it was in 
 part his union with his brothers and friends, the 
 companions of his childhood and youth, cemented 
 
 30 
 
by the people, to which was added imperceptibly 
 the one small mite; the youthful voice and zeal 
 of young Salem Towne. 
 
 From what we know of his record and ca- 
 reer, we must believe that he without doubt or 
 hesitation was in full accord and sympathy with 
 the teaching's, principles and measures of Wash- 
 ington, Hamilton, Marshall and Madison. lie 
 accepted the Constitution as his polar star and 
 compass, and afterwards with Webster the Union 
 was to him "one and inseparable now and for- 
 ever." And still later with almost inexpressible 
 joy he heard the declaration of the Supreme 
 Court that it is "An indestructible Union com- 
 posed of indestructible states.*' 
 
 He never shrank from the opinion that the 
 eleven states, notwithstanding their ordinances 
 of secession and their hundreds of thousands ol 
 soldiers on the field in their support were never 
 out of the Union. That our good old Constitu- 
 tion still lives and supplemented by the Thir- 
 teenth and Fourteenth Amendments is the 
 crowning glory of all human legislation. His 
 hope of the future of this country rested on the 
 loyalty of the people to the Constitution and the 
 Union. He believed the Constitution would be 
 preserved and slavery destroyed within the 
 Union and he lived to see the realization of his 
 belief and hope. The results of the war showed 
 that he was right. Slavery is destroyed and the 
 Union is preserved and lives and will live forever 
 until time shall he no more. 
 
 In the>e few wmls and thoughts which \ 
 have presented to you I have endeavored to por 
 tray the character, private life and public career 
 of General Salem Towne. And if he were alive 
 
 31 
 
and standing by me dictating what I should say, 
 I believe I have said nothing which he would 
 not approve. Much of what I have said in sub- 
 stance he expressed to me in personal conversa- 
 tions. For several years I have had in my mind 
 the thought of presenting a portrait of General 
 Towne to the town of Charlton. When 1 look 
 hack upon his various acts of kindness to me, 1 
 feel that I am in a small way paying the debt 
 which I owe to his memory, and I sincerely 
 thank you for your manifest approval of the act. 
 
 Note. — The Spencer Leader of Sept. 10 contained 
 the following comments of the events of the celehration 
 of Charlton Old Home Day which preceded the ad- 
 dresses given in these pages : 
 
 "For the thirteenth time old Charlton welcomed back 
 her sons and daughters on the occasion of the annual 
 reunion and old home day. Labor day. The affair was a 
 grand success, being attended by about 3,000 people. It 
 was conceded by all that this year surpassed all previous 
 celebrations. The spirit of old home day was in the very 
 air and every one seemed impressed with the desire to 
 grasp by the hand as many old acquaintances as possible 
 and the pleasure on the faces of the oldest present at see- 
 ing old friends whom they had not seen for perhaps half a 
 century was apparent to even a casual observer. Chaf- 
 tin's orchestra furnished music for the day and gave an 
 open air concert at 10:00 a. m. The illustrated lecture 
 given by Lawyer ('has. S. Dodge of Worcester attracted 
 many. Dinners were served at eleven, twelve and one 
 o'clock and banquet hall was filled each time and the 
 tables set again at two p. m." 
 
 32 
 
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home of General Salem towne 
 
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