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Class e.L^T 
 
 Book 13X2^ 
 
 OFFICIAL JJONATION. 
 
The Thornton Monument. 
 
ADDRESSES 
 
 DEDICATION OF THE MONUMENT 
 
 ERECTED TO THE MEMORY OF 
 
 Matthew Thornton 
 
 MERRIMACK, N. H. 
 
 SEPTEMBER 29. 1892. 
 
 Published by Authority of the State 
 
 CONCORD, N. H. 
 
 THE REPUBLICAN PRESS ASSOCIATION 
 
 I 894 
 

 OF ^ 
 
03 
 
 THE THORNTON MONUMENT. 
 
 Within the narrow enclosiu'e of a diminutive 
 burial-ground in the vilhig-e of Thornton's Ferry, in 
 the town of Merrimack, for over fovu" score years 
 have reposed the remahis of Matthew Thornton. 
 Only a modest tombstone with a simple inscription 
 has marked the resting-place of one of the signers 
 of the Declaration of Independence, and one of the 
 foremost promoters of the American cause. The 
 patriots of the Revolution are not forgotten. The 
 perpetuation of their memory in history and in 
 enduring inscriptions is the wilHng duty of a grate- 
 ful people. 
 
 The first suggestion of a monument to the mem- 
 ory of Matthew Thornton, if long delayed, found 
 prompt expression in action. By an act of the 
 legislature, approved August 28, 1885, the gover- 
 nor and council were authorized to erect a suitable 
 monument upon a site selected and donated by the 
 town of Merrimack. A disagreement between the 
 authorities of the state and the town for a short 
 time delayed, but was not allowed to prevent, an 
 early consunnnation of a patriotic impulse of the 
 people. A location for the proposed monument 
 was accepted by an act of the legislature, approved 
 
4 THE THOKNTON MONUMENT. 
 
 April 11, 1891. Without delay Governor Tuttle 
 appointed Councillors Ramsdell, Quinby, and Far- 
 rington to represent the state in the prosecution of 
 the work. A contract for the construction of the 
 monument was made with the Kew England Gran- 
 ite Works of Concord, and comprehensive arrange- 
 ments for the dedicatory ceremonies were promptly 
 consummated. 
 
 The monument, of artistic design, is of finely 
 hammered Concord granite. The base is six and 
 one half feet square, and the full height is thirteen 
 feet. The die, five and one half feet in height, is 
 three and two twelfths feet square at the base and 
 two and ten twelfths feet square at the top, and 
 bears on the front face the following inscription: 
 
 IN MEMORY OF 
 
 MATTHEW THORNTON 
 
 ONE OF THE SIGNERS OF THE 
 DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE 
 
 ERECTED BY THE STATE OF 
 NEW HAMPSHIRE UPON A LOT 
 AND FOUNDATION PRESENTED 
 BY THE TOWN OF MERRIMACK 
 
 The following account of the proceedings of the 
 day, reflecting credit upon the governor and coun- 
 cil and upon the town committee innnediately in 
 charge of the many details of the occasion, will best 
 introduce the actors of the day, and make known 
 with what care and forethought all the arrange- 
 ments had been made. 
 
DEDICATORY CEREMONIES. 
 
 The day designated for the ceremonies was clear 
 and pleasant. The air, tempered at once by the 
 genial warmth of departed summer and the invig- 
 orating coolness of early autumn, vouchsafed to all 
 a comfortable enjoyment of the out-door exercises. 
 At an early hour of the day the grounds were rap- 
 idly filling with the assembling guests from Merri- 
 mack and the surrounding towns. Upon the 
 arrival of the governor and council and other 
 representatives of the state government, they were 
 escorted by the veterans of the James S. Thornton 
 Post, G. A. E,., to the Thornton mansion^ owned 
 and occupied by Dr. James B. Greeley, where they 
 were hospitably received by Mrs. Greeley and 
 other descendants of Matthew Thornton. 
 
 The following great-grandchildren of Matthew 
 Thornton were present on this most interesting 
 occasion: Dr. James B. Greeley, Mrs. James B. 
 Greeley, Mrs. Harriet A. Woodbury, Mrs. Frances 
 E. Woodbury, Mrs. Hannah Thornton Fenn, Mat- 
 thew T. Betton, Thornton Betton; — also the follow- 
 ing representatives of the fifth generation: Mrs. 
 H. A. Cutter, Mrs. E. H. Cutter, Gordon Wood- 
 l)ury, James Thornton Greeley, Guy H. Greeley. 
 
6 THE THORNTON MONUMENT. 
 
 A mammoth tent, erected upon the spacious lawn 
 near the residence of Dr. Greeley, was filled to it 8 
 utmost limit by an interested and attentive audi- 
 ence. Hon. William T. Parker, who had been 
 invited to preside during the exercises, made a brief 
 introductory address, and on account of feeble 
 health introduced Dr. W. W. Pillsbury as president 
 of the day. On assuming the chair, Dr. Pillsbury 
 spoke as follows: 
 
 i)K. pillsbury's remarks. 
 
 Mr. Chairman of the Town Committee, Your Ex- 
 cellency the Governor and the Honoralde Council of 
 the State of I^cic Hampshire, descendants of Mat- 
 thew Thornton, Ladies and Gentlemen: The honor 
 and duty as presiding officer on this memorable oc- 
 casion were very properly tendered to our esteemed 
 and well known fellow-citizen, the Hon. William 
 T. Parker, to whom credit is due for this monu- 
 ment more than to any other citizen, and no one 
 regrets more than myself that his state of health 
 oblio'ed him to decUne the honor. And allow me 
 to thank you, sir, for suggesting my name to his 
 excellency the governor and his honorable council 
 as your substitute. I feel it to be one of the proud- 
 est days of my life to be thus honored in being- 
 called to preside over this historic event. 
 
 We have met here to-day to make a chapter in 
 our state and town histories in the dedicatory cere- 
 monies of a monument erected by the state of ]^ew 
 Hampshire upon a lot and foundation furnished by 
 the town of Merrimack in memory of Matthew 
 
DEDICATORY CEREMONIES. 7 
 
 Thoi'iiton, a signer of the Declaration of Indepen- 
 dence, the skilled physician, brave soldier, trne 
 statesman, upright judge, and " the honest man." 
 
 In behalf of the state of 'Ne^v Hampshire and the 
 town of Merrimack I bid you all a cordial welcome 
 to this historic town on the bank of the beautiful, 
 busy Merrimack, which has been rightly called the 
 "Rhine of America." As a citizen of Merrimack, 
 and in behalf of its residents, I extend a special 
 welcome to your excellency the chief executive, 
 and to your honorable council, and to the descend- 
 ants of Matthew Thornton. 
 
 This is the second time within the memory of 
 some present, that a governor, while in office, has 
 been present at a public gathering here, and I assure 
 your excellenc}^ we feel honored. 
 
 In accordance with an old New England custom, 
 and as no undertaking is properly begun without 
 seeking Divine assistance, you will please give 
 attention to the chaplain of the day. Rev. E. A. 
 Keep. 
 
 Prayer was offered by Rev. E. A. Keep, of 
 Merrimack. 
 
 The invocation was followed by the address of 
 His Excellency Hiram A. Tuttle. 
 
 GOVERXOR TUTTLE's ADDRESS. 
 
 Mr. President, Ladies and Gentleuien : We are 
 here to-day to express our regard lor Matthew 
 Thornton by fitting words, and by dedicating to 
 his memory an enduring monument. 
 
THE THOKNTON MONUMENT. 
 
 As its chief executive, I accept in belialf of 
 ^ew Ham]3shire this memorial tribute to tlie 
 distinguished patriot from the town of Merri- 
 mack. I am also happy to express to those 
 who have had this work in charge my grate- 
 ful appreciation of the very able and acceptable 
 manner with which they have executed their trust, 
 and my full satisfaction with the faithful and har- 
 monious completion of a patriotic purpose so worthy. 
 
 We know but little of the early life of Matthew 
 Thornton. Born in Ireland, which has furnished so 
 much muscle and brain for development, defence, 
 and government in the United States ; brought to 
 this country in infancy by his immigrant parents, 
 who landed in Maine, changed their abode to Con- 
 necticut, and finally made their home in Massachu- 
 setts, where their son received an academic educa- 
 tion and the usual training for the profession of 
 medicine, — he began the real work of life with prac- 
 tically such ideas as native citizens of his time pos- 
 sessed. When young Dr. Thornton settled to 
 practise medicine in our good old town of London- 
 derry, it was not by accident. He knew what he 
 was doing. He was always thirsting for knowl- 
 edge, and consequently was intelligent. He had 
 learned that the settlers of Londonderry were 
 from the north of Ireland, his native place, — a peo- 
 ple after his own heart; that they were industrious, 
 thrifty, provident, and honest, and that they were 
 consequently al^le and willing to pay their bills — 
 very important factors in the outlook of a young 
 l)hysician seeking a location. Dr. Thornton's skil- 
 ful relief of the sick, his engaging and instructive 
 
DEDICATORY CEREMONIES. 
 
 conversation, his splendid presence, with a g-raceful 
 dignity mellowed by charming hnmor and magnetic 
 address, made him very popnlar with all classes, 
 and a leader among the people of the several towns 
 with whom he sustained intimate relations through 
 his professional practice. He rapidly gained repu- 
 tation and property. His more public life began 
 when in a spirit of patriotic adventure he joined the 
 expedition against Cape Breton as surgeon of the 
 ^ew Hampshire contingent of 500 men. Although 
 the men performed great labor and encountered 
 severe exposure and hardships, Surgeon Thornton 
 managed so ably that l)ut six men died before that 
 strong forti-ess surrendered. 
 
 Dr. Thornton was appointed to honorable posi- 
 tions by tlie royal governors; but when the colo- 
 nists were oppressed by the mother country, and 
 hostilities had commenced at Lexington and Con- 
 cord, he instinctively and promptly lined up with 
 the people and took a bold and decided stand for 
 their cause. 
 
 When the royal governor, John Wentworth, 
 retired, in May, 1775, and the colonial government 
 was dissolved, leaving New Hampshire in a condi- 
 tion of anarchy. Dr. Thornton became president of 
 a convention to devise a government for the peo- 
 ple. This action he was probably aware might be 
 construed as treason, the penalty for which at 
 that time ditiered greatly from that of the United 
 States during the past thirty years: it was sure 
 and ignominious death. As Dr. Thornton was 
 executive officer of this convention, the only gov- 
 ernment in :N"ew Hampshire for a time, he was 
 
10 THE THORNTON MONUMENT. 
 
 really its first chief executive chosen by the people 
 or their delegates. Under the constitution formed 
 by this convention he was chosen speaker of the 
 assembly and councillor to President Weare. He 
 was chairman of the committee of safety, and also 
 chairman of its sub-committee. On September 12, 
 1776, he Avas chosen a delegate from 'New Hamp- 
 shire to the colonial congress, and took his seat in 
 that bod}^ November 1:. Immediately claiming his 
 right, he affixed his name to the Declaration of 
 Independence, which had been signed by most of 
 the members in August before his election. He 
 was not required to do this. It placed his life in 
 greater peril, had the colonial cause proved unsuc- 
 cessful. But it was this act more than all other 
 acts in the long and useful life of Thornton, that 
 brought this concourse here to-day to honor his 
 memory. 
 
 He performed many and valuable services, and 
 made great sacrifices for the liberty and indepen- 
 dence of the colonies, — and so did John Langdon, 
 Meshech Weare, John Sullivan, and many others; 
 but as the signers of the Declaration of Indepen- 
 dence, Josiah Bartlett, William Whipple, and 
 Matthew Thornton gained a higher and more 
 lasting distinction than other New Hampshire 
 patriots in the Revolution. They did better than 
 they knew: they became a part of the illustrious 
 fifty-six whose names will be preserved and cher- 
 ished Avith our great charter of freedom. 
 
 Riifus Choate, in one of his impassioned rhetorical 
 fiiglits, characterized the Declaration of Independ- 
 ence as " a strino' of g-littering- generalities." Ages 
 
DEDICATORY CEREMONIES. 11 
 
 upon ages after Rufiis Clioate and his marvellous 
 oratory are lost in oblivion, the Declaration of 
 Independence will be borne onward and onward by 
 the tide of time, and read with admiration and 
 wonder by the wise and good, the lovers of 
 freedom, and the friends of all mankind. 
 
 Dr. Pillsbury, in a brief and appropriate address, 
 introduced Hon. Charles H. Burns, of Wilton, 
 the orator of the day. 
 
 ADDRESS or HON. CHARLES H. BURXS. 
 
 J/r. President, Ladies and Gentle77ien: In the 
 events of the world which have been preserved 
 from oblivion, the acts and characters of distin- 
 guished persons form the staple of chief attrac- 
 tion. Remove from the pages of ancient and 
 modern history and literature all personal account 
 of the mighty minds that have dominated the con- 
 duct, moulded the will, and directed the thought 
 of the age in which they lived, and much of the 
 piquancy, force, romance, and interest that now 
 enchain the student would disappear. 
 
 Aristides, whose character is venerated for its 
 uprightness; Pericles, suggestive of the literature 
 and oratory of Athens; Cfesar, the glory of Rome, 
 and the most eloquent of orators before the 
 Saviour; Alexander the Great, with imperial pow- 
 ers, matchless in combined and effective force, 
 arrayed against and conquering all mankind as 
 enemies who did not choose tamely to submit to 
 his tyranny; Hannibal, the mightiest general of 
 antiquity; Alfred the Great, under whose powerful 
 
12 THE THORNTON MONUMENT. 
 
 and intelligent direeticni England became the 
 source of influences that extended over all Chris- 
 tendom; Milton, one of the ablest and noblest of 
 the world's great poets; Richelieu, Cromwell, and 
 ISTelson, Frederick the Great, Bonaparte, and Wel- 
 lington, Elizabeth, and Mary Queen of Scots, — 
 these, as well as Burke and Mirabeau, Fox and 
 Talleyrand, Knox and Luther, Bacon, Bun3^an, 
 and Shakespeare, and many other imperial minds, 
 are the great facts of history that touch the hearts, 
 engage the memories, challenge the admiration, or 
 arouse the contempt of all mankind. 
 
 But there is a roll of honor dearer to the Amer- 
 ican heart .than any line of self-constituted mon- 
 archs, or any array of mental giants, whose arena 
 of action has been on other soil, and who are 
 accounted the great teachers and leaders of the 
 Avorld, however l^rilUant their poetry and eloquence, 
 or convincing their logic and philosoj^hy, or admir- 
 able their boldness and heroism. In the century of 
 our national life there have appeared in the fore- 
 front, and who have been crowned by the universal 
 verdict of mankind, scores of grand men. In 
 startling deeds, in unbridled and tyrannical will, in 
 daring and merciless ambition, they may not have 
 been the equals of the intellectual giants who are 
 regarded as the great captains of Christendom; 
 but in homely virtues, in sturdy common-sense, 
 in deep and powerful conviction, in unflagging 
 integrity and courage, and in abiding and conscien- 
 tious patriotism, they have never been surpassed 
 by any rulers on earth. With what pride and 
 satisfaction we recall the names of those who have 
 
DEDICATOPvY CEllEMOKIES. 13 
 
 been thus exalted by the common consent of their 
 conntrymen. SnfRcient time has elapsed since 
 most of them passed away to secure for them an 
 impartial and accurate estimate. 
 
 In the famous galaxy of American statesmen 
 and heroes, men of immovable principles and un- 
 sullied honor, there are some of the most eminent 
 men appearing in the world for a hundred years — 
 men who deserve the most from their fellow-men. 
 Tennyson, England's great poet, has written that 
 we are " the heirs of all the ages ; " but in all of 
 our inheritance of all the ages, among the most 
 precions of God's priceless gifts to the American 
 people are the deeds, the examples, and the fame 
 of the noble sons of this great nation. 
 
 But it is not of the lieacon-lights of history that 
 penetrate the dimness of " slow-paced centuries," 
 nor of the men whose eminence is peculiarly 
 national, that I am to speak to-day, but of one 
 who greatly honored our state in a trying epoch 
 of her history, and whose memory is fragrant with 
 the perfume of many noble deeds. 
 
 The soil, climate, and government of New Hamp- 
 shire, from its earliest settlement, have conspired 
 to furnish a splendid arena for making completely 
 developed men and women. Physically, mentally, 
 and morally, her sons and daughters have ever 
 been distinguished for being solidly equipped, 
 rigidly disciplined, courageous, earnest, ready and 
 able to meet and adapt themselves to any and all 
 circumstances. With a history full of romance and 
 war, she has always found within her territorial 
 limits men who were sufficiently strong and Avilling 
 
14 THE THORNTON MONUMENT. 
 
 to defend and protect her from all assaults, while 
 the nation never called upon her in vain for assist- 
 ance. 
 
 In every crucial struggle of the repuhlic, Avhether 
 civil or military, legal or legislative, moral or con- 
 stitutional, IS'ew Hampshire has been a master 
 force. Her sons, impelled by a patriotism that has 
 never flagged, signed the immortal Declaration of 
 Independence, were first among those who initiated 
 the Revolution at Bunker Hill, were first and fore- 
 most at the decisive Battle of Bennington, entered 
 into and helped form the American Union, stormed 
 and captured the heights of Lundy's Lane, led in 
 an attack upon human servitude that resulted in the 
 emancipation of four millions of slaves, marched 
 throus'h Baltimore into the iaws of death at Bull 
 Kun, and fought till the end at Appomattox. 
 
 The world has never seen a more intelligent, 
 loyal, patriotic, resolute race of men than have 
 donunated the soil of 'New Hampshire since 
 its abdication by the red man. Small in area, 
 rough and grand in surface, with pure Avater, 
 vital and health-inspiring air, and peopled with 
 a sturdy race, she has furnished more than a 
 just share of courage, character, brain, and heart 
 to her country. Almost every page of her history 
 reveals a striking and noble figure. Her moun- 
 tain peaks, Avhich tower far above the level of the 
 sea, are not more numerous than her giant sons, 
 whose forceful deeds and lives have been con- 
 spicuous at home and abroad. 
 
 On a Ijcautiful spot in front of the state capitol 
 at Concord there stand the bronze statues of three 
 
DEDICATOKY CEREMONIES. 15 
 
 great men, all noble sons of the Granite State. 
 Stark, whose heroism was grandest when it was 
 most needed, and whose sword was all-powerful in 
 achieving the establishment of the commonwealth ; 
 Webster, whose great brain was the marvel of all 
 Christendom, and whose conspicuous statesman- 
 ship made the nation his debtor; Hale, the great 
 senator and magnetic leader in one of the most 
 sublime movements of his age, whose dauntless 
 courage and splendid powers carried terror to a 
 l)rutal system of human slavery, and helped lead 
 the way to the emancipation and freedom of mill- 
 ions of his fellow-men. As we behold these heroic 
 fio-ures, and recall to mind the splendid work of the 
 grand men they represent, we marvel almost that 
 their appearance has l^een so long delayed. 
 
 There is always a time following great civil and 
 military victories when the work of distinguished 
 leaders seems to be almost forgotten, so absorbed is 
 the community in the glorious results which follow. 
 But, as events accumulate and the world moves 
 along, the just sense of the people turns, as by 
 intuition, to the sublime and heroic conduct of 
 those to whom they are indebted for the blessings 
 they enjoy. 
 
 It is a curious fact that it requires a little dis- 
 tance in order to see the full and well rounded char- 
 acter of a great and good man. Washington, 
 who has been in later years called " first in peace, 
 first in war, and first in the hearts of his country- 
 men," was criticised and even traduced by some of 
 his compatriots. The sainted and martyred Lincoln 
 was denounced by many of his contemporaries; and 
 
16 THE THORNTON MONUMENT. 
 
 Grant, the mig'htiest general of our time, was 
 taunted as intending to establish a despotism, 
 instead of preserving the Republic. But who to-day 
 dares question the nobility of the character of 
 Washington, or the sweet purity and unsullied 
 honor of Lincoln, or the sublime patriotism and 
 matchless ability of Grant? Prejudice and polit- 
 ical hypocrisy perish, while character and patriot- 
 ism never die. Men in the end take the places 
 to which they are justly entitled. 
 
 The Colonial and Bevolutionary fathers did not 
 escape the criticism and personal jealousies of their 
 companions, but their patriotism was so noble, and 
 their sacrifices for the repul)lic were so great, that 
 all else is eclipsed in the estimation of their de- 
 scendants. 
 
 Matthew Thornton, the sul^ject of our thoughts 
 to-day, was a commanding character among strong- 
 men, in a great struggle for state and national 
 independence. That his name and fame are but 
 little known is only proof that his lot has been 
 such as is common to all manldnd. He was one of 
 three distinguished ^ew Hampshire patriots, whose 
 work for more than a quarter of a century was of 
 supreme importance to the state. Livermore, 
 Weare, and Thornton were great leaders in a 
 great cause. 
 
 It is not the i)urpose of this address to enter 
 minutely into the details of his exceedingly useful 
 and quite distinguished career. Only the leading- 
 events in his life may noAV be considered. The 
 world takes but little note of the private atfairs of 
 mankind, but it delights to learn of those great 
 
DEDICATORY CEMEMC»XTE8. 17 
 
 public deeds Avhich are heroic and patriotic. It de- 
 lights in conteiiiplatiiio- the hero and the patriot. 
 It is such who compose its idols. Thej are at once 
 Its exemplars, its pride, and its inspiration. 
 
 Matthew Thornton was born in Ii-eland in 1714. 
 When but two years of ag-e he was l)rouglit to this 
 country by his father, James Thornton. He first 
 settled in Maine, but soon removed to Worcester 
 Mass. He was educated in Massachusetts, and 
 studied medicine. In 1840, when at the age of 
 twenty-six, he settled in Londonderry and began 
 the practice of his profession, and he was constantly 
 engaged in practice from that time on for a period 
 of thirty-nine years. But in the meantime he 
 never neglected any opportunity to serve the 
 people with whom he had identified himself, when 
 duty required; and an examination into his career 
 uot only shows that he willingly and successfully 
 performed every duty, however insignificant or im- 
 portant, with marked fidelity, but it also shows that 
 he was eagerly pressed into public service, and for 
 uo other reason than that, in the estimation of his 
 fellow-citizens, he was eminently fitted for the dis- 
 charge of such duties. 
 
 Londonderry was then an important place in the 
 coloiiy. It was the largest and ])iost i)opulous 
 place, with the exception of Portsmouth, in that 
 jurisdiction, and it remahied so for many years It 
 was so all through the Revolution and'in the tran- 
 sition period from a colony to a state, during which 
 Thornton gave much time and performed his most 
 eminent public service. 
 
 It was here that one of the strongest and most 
 
18 THE THORNTON MONUMENT. 
 
 worthy races of men that ever settled on this con- 
 tinent had made their home. A race which had a 
 rngged origin in Scotland, and Avhich, in its move- 
 ment toward America, settled and long dwelt in the 
 north of Ireland. They came to this conntry with 
 the nohle pnrpose of becoming good citizens. They 
 Avere possessed with the native integrity of the 
 Scotchman, the firmness and devotion of the old 
 Covenanter, the frngality and enterprise of the 
 Saxon, the wit and cheerfulness, the loyalty and 
 steadfastness, of the Irishman. They were saga- 
 cious, with great staying qualities. They were 
 wise and fortunate in the selection of a locality in 
 which to make a home. Admirable in climate, ex- 
 cellent in soil, propitious in opportunities for the 
 formation of a just government, they found here 
 the very spot, of all the world, the best adapted for 
 the accomplishment of the purposes of their immi- 
 gration. Their advent to these shores was quite as 
 important to the state of ]^ew Hampshire and to 
 the United States as to themselves. Indeed, it is 
 not difficult to name scores of strong and mighty 
 men who have figured in a marked degree in state 
 and national history, whose origin can be directly 
 traced to the blood of this Scotch-Irish race. Their 
 strong wills, sterling integrity, unfiagging deter- 
 mination, uncompromising honor, permeate every 
 decisive movement that has ever been taken in the 
 progress of the people, from a British colony living 
 in the shadow of a throne, to the freest and noblest 
 government that has ever adorned the family of 
 nations. In this magnificent enterprise this valiant 
 race has been a living, vital, and powerful factor. 
 
DEDrCATOllV CKliEMONIES. jg 
 
 D.-. Tliornto,,, alftong-h his father located in 
 Massachusetts, was of this same race, aud it is 
 altogether hkely that i„ selecting ,, i,o„,e and a 
 heatre of action he was influenced very much by 
 tins fact; and ni view of his eminent usefulness as 
 a surgeon and physician-a profession which does 
 so much for mankind, and which is one of tiie 
 noblest of the great professions-as well as the 
 conspicuous service which he rendered the com- 
 nioi^ealth, his ad^■ent into Londonderry was a 
 most tortunate circumstance. 
 
 The town then included a very large territory. 
 \Vithin Its Inmts were Windliam and Derry and 
 parts of several other towns, and all this territory 
 as well as that embraced by the whole state' 
 has a v-ital interest in this spot which contains 
 the dust of Matthew Thornton. And it is indeed 
 most fitting- that the state of Xew Hampshire 
 slionld erect, as it has, this beautiful granite shaft 
 to mark the saeredness of the place made historic 
 fi-oin the relics it contains of a patriotic and fearless 
 character which must ever form an interesting 
 udy in racing the growth and develoj,ment of 
 an Lnghsh colony, struggling under the oppression 
 of British dictation, to a noble state, whose govern- 
 ment IS the majestic will of a free people 
 
 To a,,preciate the life and work of Thornton it 
 IS necessary to keep in mind the sacrifices that the 
 leaders m the colonial struggles were obliged to 
 make in espousing the cause of the people in their 
 warfare against the crown. They became what 
 the world called rebels. They were disobedient 
 citizens. Thev defied Inw Tu i ""^"'enc 
 
 i ney ucni a Jai\ . l hey denounced their 
 
20 THE THORNTON MONUMENT. 
 
 rulers. They openly challenged the right and 
 power of the kmg. They cast aside forever all 
 chance of preferment under the royal govei-nment. 
 They could no longer hope for the wealth that Avas 
 acquired by tlie fortunate few. They subjected 
 their all to confiscation and annihilation. But with 
 a boldness and courage woi'th}^ of the noblest 
 struggle for freedom and independence known to 
 history, they organized assemblies, issued addi*esses 
 to the people boldly and plainly warning them of 
 their danger and exhorting them to united action, 
 constituted committees of safety to execute the 
 resolves of their chosen representatives in avowed 
 opposition to and in defiance of the acts of the 
 British parliament and British ministers, charging 
 that government and its ofiicers with subjugating 
 the American colonies to the most abject slaveiy, 
 pledging their honor, their estates, and their lives 
 to the accomplishment of their disenthralment. 
 
 And it must also be borne in mind that this was not 
 a rebellion against a weak and ephemeral govern- 
 ment. They were not a set of wild adventurers, 
 who, if defeated, would disappear from the rulers 
 of nations. But it Avas treason to the most poAver- 
 ful kingdom on earth — a kingdom Avhich had ruled 
 and reigned for centnries, AAdiich Avas monarch of 
 the land and mistress of the sea, and beneath 
 Avhose tyrannical sceptre the people of the province 
 of 'New Hampshire had been forced to boAV for 
 almost a hundred years. Defeat, for this giant 
 government, meant only a AvithdraAval of its re- 
 morseless grip from the territory of its American 
 colonies, leaving it still the possessor of the 
 
DEDICATORY CEIIEMONIES. 21 
 
 wealthiest and most powerful of the world's great 
 kingdoms, capable of annoying, if not destroying, 
 any people who dared to dispute its supremacy. 
 
 All this was known to the heroes and patriots of 
 the colonial struggles, as it was to those of the 
 Revolution, and it serves to show of what mettle 
 they were made. Thornton entered the struggle 
 with manly courage. He early took his place 
 among the foremost of those who demanded larger 
 liberty for the people, and boldly resisted the 
 encroachments of arbitrary power. He was active, 
 energetic, enthusiastic, j^ossessing great intelli- 
 gence; and thus eqnipped, it is not strange that he 
 became a recognized leader in all public matters. 
 
 In 1745 he was surgeon of the 'New Hampshire 
 troops in the expedition against Cape Breton, per- 
 forming his duties with marked fidelity. He was 
 a meml^er of the Assembly when it was organized 
 in ;N'ovember, 1758. He was also a member in the 
 years 17(30 and 1761 ; and when the stamp act went 
 into operation, November 1, 1765, Dr. Thornton, 
 with scores of others, resisted it to the end. He 
 was conspicuous in all town affairs. He was mod- 
 erator of the annual toAvn-meeting of Londonderry 
 in 1770, 1771, and 1776. Dnring a part of that 
 time he was one of the selectmen of the town, thus 
 showing that he did not disdain to take part in the 
 minor altaii's of the people with whom he lived. 
 
 He was a member of the first convention, whose 
 members were regularly chosen in each town and 
 parish in the province, and which was held at 
 Exeter, May 17, 1775, to deliberate and act upon 
 the condition of affairs. There were one hundred 
 
22 THE THORNTON MONUMENT. 
 
 and fifty- one members of" this convention, and it 
 was called the " First provincial congress." It 
 selected Dr. Thornton as its president. It also 
 chose a committee of safety, consisting of five 
 members, of Avhich he was made chairman. It 
 adopted preambles and resolntions, voted instrnc- 
 tions to its committee of safety, the Avhole consti- 
 tuting a snbstantial declaration of war against the 
 British government, and it sent John Snllivan and 
 Nathaniel Folsom delegates to the First Continental 
 congress. The action of this assembly, together 
 with the vigorous measnres resorted to by the con- 
 gress, rendered royal government in this province 
 powerless, and compelled the last royal governor, 
 John Wentworth, to retire for safety to the Isles of 
 Shoals, where he performed the last act of his 
 administration " Ijy issning a proclamation adjonrn- 
 ing the general assembly of the province sum- 
 moned by him, but which he conld not control, and 
 which never met again, and then left the province 
 never to return; and royal government in 'New 
 Hampshire came to an end after an existence of 
 ninety-five years." 
 
 The committee of safety became at once the 
 executive power. It raised and organized regi- 
 ments, established a militia, assuming the attitude 
 of armed rebellion, some of whom engaged in the 
 battle at Bmiker Hill. Dr. Thornton, being chair- 
 man of the committee of safety, was prominent, 
 active, and conspicuous. The committee was 
 in almost constant session during the remainder 
 of the year 1775. During this period the com- 
 mittee and the Provincial congress were the gov- 
 
DEDICATORY CEPvE^NIOXIES. 23 
 
 ernment, and Thornton was the acknowledged 
 leader of both. 
 
 By the reconnnendation of the Continental con- 
 gress a convention was called, made np of repre- 
 sentatives apportioned according to the population 
 of the different towns, which met December 21, 
 1775. Matthew Thornton was chosen president of 
 this convention. It selected a committee of five, 
 of which Mr. Thornton was made chairman, to 
 draft a formal constitution to report to congress. 
 January 5, 1776, this report was jDresented to con- 
 gress, and adopted by it " with lint slight altera- 
 tions." Congress, under the power conferred by 
 this constitution, elected twelve councillors as an 
 independent branch of the legislatnre, of whom 
 Thornton was one. They were the advisers of the 
 president in executive matters. 
 
 In January, 177(5, Dr. Thornton was chosen by 
 the legislature, as it Avas called under the constitu- 
 tion, an associate justice of the superior court of 
 connnon pleas — an honor accorded him, not because 
 he was a lawyer, but on account of his large intelli- 
 gence and recognized integrity. 
 
 Both houses of the government of ^ew Hamp- 
 shire, in which Thornton was a commanding s])irit, 
 inianimously adopted a declaration which pre- 
 ceded and foreshadowed the immortal Declaration 
 ot Independence. In 1776 he was chosen a dele- 
 gate to the Continental congress by the legislature 
 for one year, and, although he did not become a 
 member until after the Declaration of Indepen- 
 dence had been made and executed, he was given 
 permission, at his own request, to add his signature 
 
24 THE THOl^NTON M0:NUMENT. 
 
 to it. He knew that by signing that immortal 
 paper be wonlcl secnre immortal renown, and con- 
 fer distingnisbecl bonor npon tbe sovereign state be 
 so nobly represented. In December, 1776, he was 
 again elected to tbe Continental congress for one 
 year from Jannary 23, 1777. He was a member of 
 tbe committee of safety almost continnously from 
 1775 to 1777. 
 
 Althongb be held a commission as colonel nnder 
 tbe constitution from Governor AVentworth, he 
 Avas not in tbe service during tbe Revolutionary 
 AYar. He held tbe office of associate justice until 
 1782, when he declined to serve further on account 
 of the infirmities of age. He served in tbe state 
 senate under the constitution of 1781, during that 
 year, and also in 1785 and 178(i. 
 
 Down to 1779, Dr. Thornton lived for tbe most 
 part in Londonderry; be then moved to Exeter, 
 but did not remain there long, as in 1789 be bought 
 a large estate in this town of Merrimack, on tbe 
 banks of its charming river, which is as beautiful 
 as tbe Rhine, where, being at peace with all men 
 and loyal to his Divine Master, be spent tbe re- 
 maining days of an honorable and eventful life. 
 The property he acquired bad been confiscated, 
 because its former owner was a Tory. Its full 
 and delightful enjoyment, by one whose distin- 
 guished services were a powerful factor in driving 
 Toryism from the soil of ^ew Ham])shire, was a 
 compensation richly and loyally earned by a true 
 and noble patriot. 
 
 Here be lived for tAventy years. He died while 
 visiting bis daughter at XcAvbury, Mass., June 21, 
 
DEDICATORY CEREMONIES. 2o 
 
 1803, at the age of 89 years. Here it Avas that lie 
 lieeaiue attached to tliis soil, and a part of the 
 histoiy of this grand old toAvii of Meri-imack. 
 Though well advanced in years when he became 
 a citizen of his adopted home, he was active, ener- 
 getic, and always devoted to the interests of his 
 profession, his neighbors, and his town. He not 
 only served frequently as selectman, but he was 
 elected twice to the legislature. In whatever he 
 engaged, he was able and faithful. 
 
 Blest in his home, as he deserved to be by his 
 devotion to it, leaving an interesting family and 
 many worthy descendants, among whom was a 
 grand-son, a native of Merrimack, who bravely 
 directed the thunders of the " Keai-sarge " in its 
 sublime action against a rebel privateer, thus adding 
 new fame to an already great name, he fulfilled 
 the measure of a well ordered and successful life. 
 
 This is but an epitome of the life and work of 
 the noble man in whose honor and at whose grave 
 we stand with uncovered heads to-day. The epi- 
 taph upon his tomb, "An honest man," is the ver- 
 dict of history. 
 
 Fortunate indeed was the community where 
 Matthew Thornton, with his rich experience, rare 
 professional skill, ardent patriotism, mature judg- 
 ment, and untarnished honor, spent the autumn and 
 evening of his life. Such a career confers imper- 
 ishable distinction upon the commonwealth. It is 
 at once an inspiration and a model. It spurs to 
 action and completeness. Living, he was a vital 
 force, and dying 
 
26 THE THORNTON MONUMENT. 
 
 " in a green old age. 
 And looking like the oak, worn, but still steady 
 Amidst the elements," 
 
 his memory is a valuable heritage, recalling one 
 who displayed distinguished merit in a trying- 
 crisis, a man 
 
 '" Of reason, valor, liberty, and virtue." 
 
 During a brief intermission immediately succeed- 
 ing General Burns's oration, a generous collation, 
 prepared Ijy the hospitable people of Merrimack, 
 Avas served in an adjoining tent. In the afternoon 
 the tented auditorium was again filled with an 
 attentive and willing audience. The following- 
 pages contain all the addresses of Avhich copies 
 have been obtained. 
 
 At 2 o'clock the exercises were continued, the 
 IJresident introducing William W. Bailey, Esq., of 
 ^N^ashna. He spoke as follows: 
 
 ADDRESS OF AV. W. BAILEY, ESQ. 
 
 I think it a matter of regret that the state of 
 ]>rew Hampshire has heretofore done so little in the 
 way of perpetuating the memory of her Kevolution- 
 ary patriots by monuments and statues. Some forty 
 years ago a very modest monument was erected by 
 the state at Hampton Falls to the memory of 
 Meshech AYeare. A few years ago a fitting statue 
 of General Stark Avas placed by it in the state-house 
 yard at Concord. And noAV, almost ninety years 
 after his death, the state has performed a grateful 
 duty by erecting a well merited monument to 
 
DEDICATORY CEIIEMONIES. 27 
 
 perpetuate the menioiT of Matthew Thornton. 
 There are yet others who well deserve such honors. 
 John Langdon, John Sullivan, and Alexander 
 Seammel are disting-uished names worthy of such 
 honors. 
 
 Such memorials serve a useful purpose. They 
 honor the dead and stinuilate the patriotism of the 
 living. They are evidences of appreciation of 
 l)rave and patriotic services by a grateful people. 
 Few persons now living have looked upon the face 
 of a Revolutionary patriot. They have all long- 
 since passed away. Our knowledge and impres- 
 sions of them and of their deeds are from history. 
 There may be danger that lapse of time and subse- 
 quent important events in the history of our nation 
 may tend to obscure the glory of their achievements, 
 and to diminish that due sense of gratitude that 
 ought to exist in the hearts of all succeeding gen- 
 erations as long as our nation shall endure. Monu- 
 ments and statues illustrate, emphasize, and keep in 
 remembrance great facts and characters in history. 
 This monument will remind coming generations of 
 the life, character, and j^ublic services of Matthew 
 Thornton. 
 
 Doctor Thornton's age undoubtedly prevented his 
 engaging in military service, as he was over sixty 
 years of age at the time of the commencement of 
 the Revolutionary War. He served his countr}^ as 
 a civilian, and i-anked with Meshech AVeare, John 
 Langdon, and flosiah Bartlett, his distinguished 
 contemporaries in civil life. As a member and 
 president of the first provincial congress of I^^ew 
 Hampshire, as a member and chairman of the first 
 
28 THE THOIJNTOX MONUME^IT. 
 
 committee of safety, as a member and president of 
 the convention called to meet in Decembei', 1775, 
 to establish a form of government for the colony of 
 'New Hampshire and as chairman of a committee 
 appointed by it to draft a form of constitution, and 
 as a signer of the Declaration of Independence, Doc- 
 tor Thornton performed services, and displayed an 
 ability and an exalted patriotism, which were of 
 vital importance to his conntry in its extremity, and 
 which entitled him to the lasting gratitude of his 
 countrymen and to this monument. Of Scotch- 
 Irish descent, a Presbyterian in sentiment, a patriot 
 by nature and instinct, of mature age and large 
 experience, he seems to have been specially fitted 
 for a leader in that great emergency. He was an 
 organizer and leader for the crisis. The fact that 
 two of the most critical battles of the Kevolution 
 — the Battle of Bunker Hill and the Battle of Ben- 
 nington — were fought largely by New Hampshire 
 soldiers I think has heretofore been somewhat 
 overlooked, and that for this New Hampshire has 
 not claimed or received sufficient credit for herself. 
 On the 2()th of May, 1775, the first provincial 
 congress of ^ew Hampshire voted to raise two 
 thousand effective men for military service, and for 
 paying for the expense of maintaining the same 
 each member pledged his honor and estate in the 
 name of his constituents. The committee of 
 safety, of which Doctor Thornton was chairman, 
 discharged the executive powers of the government, 
 and under its supervision three regiments were 
 raised and organized, two of which took part in the 
 Battle of Bunker Hill, being a majority of the sol- 
 
DEDICATORY CEKEMONIES. 29 
 
 cUers who were engaged in that battle on the side 
 of the colonies. 
 
 In 1777, upon the rece])tion of the news of the 
 fall of Ticonderoga, a general feeling of disconr- 
 agenient and depression prevailed thronghout the 
 colony. The colonial legislature of N^ew Hamp- 
 shire was then in session, and John Langdon was 
 speaker of the assembly. The morning after the 
 reception of the news, John Langdon said to the 
 assembly, "I have three thousand dollars in hard 
 money; I pledge my pLate for three thousand more; 
 I have seventy hogsheads of Tobago rum which 
 shall be sold foi- the most it will bring; — they are 
 at the service of the colony. If we succeed in de- 
 fending our firesides and our homes, I may be 
 remunerated; if we do not, the property will be of 
 no value to me." 
 
 This act and the spirit it infused enabled the 
 colony to raise those regiments which Stark led to 
 Bennington, and Avhich were over seventy-two per 
 cent, of the number of soldiers engaged in winning 
 that important and decisive victory on the side of 
 the colonies. New Hampshire has a right to claim 
 a large share of the glory of those two battles, and to 
 Doctor Thornton and John Langdon as civilians is 
 due great credit for making those victories possible. 
 We honor the memory of our Revolutionary ances- 
 to]"S because after seven long years of Avar they 
 achieved national independence. We also honor 
 their memory because they established a form of 
 government based upon the principle that the intel- 
 ligence, patriotism, and discriminating justice of the 
 people are sufficient for self-government, and that 
 
30 THE THORNTON MONUMENT. 
 
 government is of the people, by the people, and for 
 the people, a government which for more than a 
 centnry has stood the test of time and been an ex- 
 ample to all nations of the beneficial effects of a 
 free government. 
 
 The French Revolution, occurring shortly after 
 the close of our Revolutionary War, was produced 
 by substantially the same influences working in the 
 minds of the people, and had for its object the estab- 
 lishment of a government founded upon the rights 
 of the people to self-government. Control of the 
 Revolutionary movement fell into the hands of un- 
 principled, ambitious, and bloodthirsty men. In 
 the name and under the pretence of liberty and a 
 free government, gross crimes and atrocities were 
 committed. By such excesses the way was pre- 
 pared for the usurpation and career of Napoleon 
 Bonaparte with its attendant wars and calamities, 
 and the development of free government was 
 checked for generations. 
 
 In striking contrast, the control of our Revolu- 
 tion fell into the hands of unsclfifeh and patriotic 
 men, wise and able statesmen. Washington, 
 Jefferson, Adams, Hancock, Langdon, and Thorn- 
 ton are some of their familiar names. Through 
 their efforts our nation was founded. The o'enera- 
 tions since have enjoyed the rights and privileges 
 of a free government. Civil and religious liberty, 
 national and individual prosperity, have Ijeen en- 
 joyed to a greater extent than have heretofore been 
 enjoyed by any nation. Lapse of time has con- 
 fii'ined its usefulness and strengthened it in the 
 minds of the people. We to-day arc in the full 
 
DEDICATORY CEREMONIES. 31 
 
 and increasing- enjoyment of its benefits and bless- 
 ings. 
 
 Well may we all heartily join in the services of 
 the dedication of this monnment, erected as a token 
 of remembrance of the life and services of Matthew 
 Thornton. 
 
 Gen. Charles H. Bartlett, of Manchester, was 
 then inti-odnced. 
 
 ADDRESS OF GB^. CHARLES H. BARTLETT. 
 
 General Bartlett said, — 
 
 Mr. President: A celebrated philosopher, in 
 ancient times, is said to have been asked by a 
 friend why he did not have a statne erected in his 
 honor, and answered that he had mnch rather peo- 
 ple wonld inqnire wh}^ he did not have a statue 
 than why he did have one. If any one should here- 
 after ask why this enduring structure has been 
 erected to honor the name and perpetuate the 
 ffime of Matthew Thornton, the question has been 
 answered here by the orator of the day, answered 
 as few men can answer it; and the story of the 
 patriot's life has now been told, and so told, that 
 henceforth it will have its place in the literature 
 of the land, and the prominence to which it is 
 justly entitled. 
 
 It has not been the fashion of our state to cele- 
 brate the achievements of her heroes and statesmen 
 in bronze, granite, or marble, to any considerable 
 extent. Individual liberality, and appreciation of 
 departed greatness, for which we should be pro- 
 foundly grateful, have given us the manly forms of 
 
32 THE THORNTON MONUMENT. 
 
 Webster and Hale for the contemplation and ad- 
 miration of fntnre generations, and the state has 
 contributed the immortal Stark to the group, but 
 the public treasury has not been greatly depleted 
 by appropriations in this direction. JS'o one 
 incpiires why these have been so honored, but the 
 infjnir}^ is why others have not, whose absence may 
 well be cited as evidence of our want of appi-ecia- 
 tion and gratitude, where they ought to be marked 
 and conspicuously responsive. 
 
 The actors in our recent struggle for the jjreser- 
 vation of the Union have been liberally honored and 
 celebrated in that patriotic literature connnon to 
 all nations and races of men, which is read and 
 understood, as by common instinct, by all behold- 
 ers, is reverenced alike by Christian and barbarian, 
 and whose indestructibility defies the elements and 
 mocks the tireless tooth of time; but the actors in 
 our earlier struggle for independence have not 
 been so generously treated. 
 
 This volume which you to-day so appropriately 
 dedicate, and from whose open page even the pass- 
 er-by will learn the lesson of patriotism and love of 
 country which it will forever inculcate, let us hojie 
 will be followed by another and another, until the 
 story of all that noble band of heroes and patriots 
 who made our Revolutionary era forever famous 
 and forever glorious shall be told as Matthew 
 Thornton's story has been told to-day, and their 
 names, like his, are emblazoned to be read and hon- 
 ored ]3y all who shall hereafter reap the ])lessings 
 which will flow from the pure fountain of their 
 patriotism and sacrifices, let us hope, forever. 
 
DEDICATORY CEREMONIES. 33 
 
 Gordon AVoodbuiy, Esq., of Manchester, sjjoke 
 as follows: 
 
 ADDRESS OF GORDON AVOODBURY, ESQ. 
 
 Mr. President, Ladies and Gentle )nen : There 
 are two things which at the outset I suppose I 
 ought to say, for they are usually expected of 
 every man spealdng on such an occasion. One is 
 that the call upon me is wholly unexpected, and 
 the other, that it gives me great pleasure to be 
 here and to speak. 
 
 One of these statements would be entirel}^ true 
 in this case, and the other false. I am truly very 
 glad to be here, and to speak, but I was warned in 
 advance that I should be called upon. But I was 
 not warned of the treat to which we have all lis- 
 tened with so much pleasure and profit; and until 
 his claims were so ably set forth, I was really igno- 
 rant of how great a man Matthew Thornton was. 
 
 I have the honor to be numbered among his 
 descendants; and of any claim to consideration 
 which a man might put forward on the score of 
 his ancestry, where is that which comj^ares with 
 the claim of descent from one who served his coun- 
 try in her hour of need? 
 
 We have all heard of a father or of a mother 
 rising to plead for a son, or even for a grandson, but 
 who ever heard of a great-grandson asking people 
 to allow him to stand up tor his great-grandfather? 
 This peculiar duty seems to have devolved upon 
 me. And so, ladies and gentlemen, I was in a 
 quandary as I drove down here, to know what 1 
 might acceptably say. 
 
 3 
 
34 THE THORNTON MONUMENT. 
 
 Perhaps you can recall the statements, lately 
 seen in the public press, that Matthew Thornton, 
 the signer, Avas not really buried here; that during 
 the dark days of the struggle for independence he 
 turned royalist, and, like Benedict Arnold, received 
 for his desertion the grant of a large tract of land 
 within the limits of Canada; that he removed there 
 with his family, died, and was buried there. The 
 place of location was at St. Croix, and the state- 
 ment was made that his descendants were still 
 living at that place. 
 
 So serious a claim demanded serious attention; 
 and when it came to the knoAvledge of another 
 gentleman than myself, also interested in the sub- 
 ject, he investigated its truth. The result was so 
 interesting to him that he carried his search for 
 truth through the matter until he had exhausted it. 
 And though we need no evidence that the man 
 whose deeds and character we are lauding and 
 commemorating to-day was no traitor, it may be 
 interesting to us to know that a man of the same 
 name was accused of treachery. 
 
 It appears that the signer had a relative, prob- 
 ably a nephew, whose name was Matthew Thornton, 
 and who held a lieutenant's commission in Captain 
 Osgood's couipany during the Revolutionary War. 
 At the Battle of Bennington he was taken nnder 
 arms inside the British lines. He was brought to 
 Exeter, lodged in jail, court-martialled, dismissed 
 from the Continental service, and tried for treason. 
 His uncle, the signer, was one of the lustices of 
 the supreme court which was to try him, and, as 
 Avas the custom, the initials of those justices Avho 
 
DEDICATORY CEREMONIES. 35 
 
 sat on any criminal trial were written in the margin 
 of the indictment. Bnt on the margin of the indict- 
 ment nnder which Lientenant Thornton was tried 
 his nncle's initials were not written, and we may 
 suppose that the signer felt himself disqualified by 
 reason of his relationship from acting as judge on 
 his nephew's trial. The result was acquittal; but 
 as the prisoner was in jail for two years, it may 
 be imagined that at the end of his imprisonment 
 he did not feel entirely well disposed to those who 
 had kept him there. But it further ai)pears that 
 soon afterwards he removed to Canada, and was 
 never seen here again. 
 
 So much for Matthew Thornton, the nephew. 
 For Matthew Thornton, the patriot, it does not 
 become me to speak his praise, and there is no 
 need to. The work that he did speaks for itself. 
 It needs no defence or explanation. Because of it, 
 in part, you and I are here to-day, free and inde- 
 pendent, self-governed and self-respecting, citizens 
 of the best of the famous thirteen colonies. 
 
 And when we recall again, and from time to 
 time, the memory of the sturdy, rugged, honest 
 men who have gone forth to represent this good 
 old Granite State in the past, justice demands that 
 we number among them the name of Matthew 
 Thornton. I thank you for the patience and 
 courtesy with which you have heard me, and ask 
 you to pardon the many shortcomings of my poor 
 remarks for the sake of him who was once your 
 fellow-townsman. 
 
36 THE THORNTON MONUMENT. 
 
 HON. JOHN O. LLNEHAN's ADDRESS. 
 
 Ladies and Gentlemen: From the time I had 
 arrived at the age of understanding, it has ever 
 been my delight to read of the men whose deeds 
 have reflected honor and renown on our good old 
 state of ^ew Hampshire. 
 
 The names of Sullivan, Langdon, Stark, Thorn- 
 ton, Whipple, and Bartlett, as well as many others 
 of lesser fame, stand in the front rank among those 
 identified with the establishment of the republic, 
 and the prominence acquired for the state through 
 their patriotic labors has been maintained from the 
 time the name of Major John Sullivan headed the 
 roll of delegates at the first Continental congress, 
 in May, 177^, down to the present hour. For 
 throughout the land the memories of none are 
 more honored than those of Webster, Hale, Cass, 
 Wade, Butler, Chase, Grimes, Dix, Pillsbury, 
 Greeley, Pierce, and many others whose eflbrts in 
 the cause of freedom, or from the exalted positions 
 held by not a few of them, have made their names 
 household words, and acquired new honors for 
 their native state. With a recollection of all this, 
 I was, therefore, pleased to receive the invitation to 
 attend and participate in the exercises of the day, 
 and add my tribute to that of others who have 
 gathered from far and near to honor the memory 
 of Matthew Thornton, one of the immortal signers, 
 the Revolutionary patriot, and, as he was most 
 truly styled by those who knew him in life, ''the 
 honest man." 
 
 And this pleasure Avas heightened by the knowl- 
 
DEDICATORY CEREMONIES. 37 
 
 edge of the fact that, like myself, he was a native 
 of Ireland, the birthplace of so many Avhose names 
 are identified with the history of the state and 
 nation. Judge then of my surprise to learn from 
 the remarks of those who have preceded me, that 
 although he was born in Ireland he was not an 
 Irishman, but one of a race now known as Scotch- 
 Irish, the creation, not of the Almighty, but of a 
 new school of writers, who know more about the 
 origin of their ancestors than they ever dreamt of. 
 According to them, the race originated in Scot- 
 land: circumstances obliged many of them to 
 settle in the north of Ireland, where they kept 
 aloof from the native Irish, and from thence they 
 came to America; and they were different from 
 the Irish in blood, language, morals, and religion. 
 Now, against this idea I desire to enter a most 
 solemn protest; and I want to inform my Scotch- 
 Irish friends upon this platform, and upon the floor, 
 that I am stating a fact, not advancing a theory, 
 when I say that the country first known to history 
 as Scotia or Scotland, was Ireland, and the people 
 first called Scots, the people of Ireland. My 
 authority for this is not confined to writers of my 
 own nationality; the testimony of others, English 
 and Scotch, can be cited — Buckle, Green, Lecky, 
 Knight, Chambers, Sir Henry Mayne, and many 
 others — all of whom agree that the Scots of Ireland 
 crossed over to Caledonia al)ont the year 503, and 
 after a long contest conquered the Picts and 
 founded the modern kingdom of Scotland; and 
 i'rom them both country and people derive their 
 name. 
 
38 THE THORNTON MONUMENT. 
 
 A glance at the history and geography of Ire- 
 land and Scotland Avill convince the most sceptical 
 of the truth of this, for the surnames of the High- 
 land clans, as well as the similarity of the names of 
 places, confirm the relationship. So that the simple 
 truth is this, that when the Scots from Argyle 
 settled in the north of Ireland in 1(320, they were 
 but returning to the homes of tlieir ancestors, the 
 connection with which, despite the repeated efforts 
 of English rulers to break it, had never been sev- 
 ered; for the people of both countries had married 
 and intermarried from the most remote pei'iod, and 
 for ages the language, customs, and religion had 
 been the same. The fact that the blood had been 
 mixed with that of the Saxons of the Lowlands, and 
 the Scandinavians settled on the islands along the 
 Scottish coast, does not make any difterence, for 
 precisely a shnilar condition of affairs existed in 
 Ireland during the same period, the old Gaelic 
 blood being thoroughly mixed with that of the 
 IS'ormans who came over with Strongbow, with the 
 Saxons who came later, and with the Danes who 
 had acquired possession of the east coast of Ireland 
 before William the Conqueror had landed in Eng- 
 land. 
 
 It is, therefore, not too much to say that to no 
 single one of these races does the credit belong for 
 furnishing the hardy pioneers of INTew Hampshire, 
 but rather to the offspring of the English, Irish, 
 Welsh, and Scotch, whose bloods were so largely 
 mingled with the other races mentioned, is due the 
 debt for the stock which has made Kew Hampshire 
 famous for its eminent men during the past century, 
 
DEDICATORY CEREMONIES. 39 
 
 and whose descendants have tlius for furnished the 
 best type of the representative American. 
 
 It is my good fortune to have been a resident of 
 the state for forty-three years. Coming here when 
 only nine years old, my associations through life, 
 with books and with men, have been such that all 
 my thoughts, impulses, and aspii-ations are thor- 
 oughly American. I am a Yankee from the crown 
 of my head to the soles of my feet. jS'o native to 
 the manner born feels prouder of his country and 
 of the glorious achievements of his countrymen; 
 but in this matter of race I have my own ideas, 
 ideas founded on careful study and patient ol)ser- 
 vation, aided largely by a fair knowledge of the 
 Gaelic tongue, acquired from the lips of my good 
 parents. And to express opinions thus formed, I 
 am neither ashamed nor afraid. I believe the son 
 who retains no affection for liis mother can never 
 truly love his wife, and a man who is ashamed of 
 the land that gave him birth is unworthy of citizen- 
 ship in the country which has adopted him. 
 
 As an American citizen of Irish birth, I know of 
 no reason why I should remain silent when my 
 native land is despoiled of the credit due it for fur- 
 nishing to our good old state such a man as 
 Matthew Thornton. Apply the same rule to Scot- 
 land, and you would rob her of some of the most 
 glorious jewels in lier crown. Test the United 
 States in the same manner, and you would not have 
 a corporal's guard of Americans left to guard the 
 tomb of Washington. I am no lawyer, l)ut Avhen a 
 boy I committed to memory the old adage, " Pos- 
 session is nine points of the law," and as Matthew 
 
40 THE THOKNTON MONUMENT. 
 
 Thornton was born in Ireland, yon cannot rob him 
 of his birthright. 
 
 As an Irishman we claim him, and I honestly 
 believe, were he alive to-day, and able to express 
 himself, he wonld confirm the title. Some of the 
 best Irishmen that ever lived were, like him, of 
 English stock; and regardless of what has been 
 said here of his origin, the character of his name 
 denotes Saxon and not Scottish blood. This mnch 
 I say in justice to myself and to the memory of 
 those men who are now styled Scotch-Irish, but 
 who were in life as Irish as I am — your Sullivans, 
 Mooneys, Butlers, Kellys, McNeils, McMurphys, 
 McDutfys, Connors, Henrys, Connells, etc. — all 
 identified with the history of ISTew Hampshire, and 
 all, with one exception, of old Gaelic or Scottish 
 origin. 
 
 Whatever difference of opinion may exist now 
 on this question, I am satisfied time will make 
 right. I am glad to be here, and rejoice that I 
 can unite with you in honoring the memory of a 
 man who well deserves all that has been so elo- 
 quently said of him by our good governor, and by 
 the gifted speaker of the day. The inscription on 
 the stone at the head of this grave, "-the honest 
 man," placed there by the direction of those who 
 knew him in life, shows that he was a good as well 
 as a great man. 
 
 The state has supplemented this with the beau- 
 tiful monument before us; and it is not too much to 
 say, that long after we are forgotten, the plain 
 shaft of granite, so emblematic of his adopted state, 
 marking the last resting-place of his ashes, will 
 
DEDICATORY CEEEMONIES. 41 
 
 tell the stoiy of his life; and for what he has done 
 for us and for the nation, may God bless the mem- 
 ory of Matthew Thornton ! 
 
 ADDRESS BY REV. A. P. PUTXAM, D. D., OF 
 CONCORD, MASS. 
 
 3Ii'. President, and Ladies and LirentleMen : It 
 is good to be here, and I am very glad I have come 
 to be with you on this most interesting occasion. 
 You do well to erect monuments to your great men, 
 and surely no state in the Union, in proportion to 
 its size and population, has had so many noted 
 worthies as your own. It has been one of the 
 delights of my life to have seen and heard not a 
 few of them in years long gone — Daniel Webster, 
 Salmon P. Chase, Joseph Bell, Levi Woodbur^^, 
 George W. i^esmith, Amos P. Tuck, l^athaniel P. 
 Rogers, glorious John P. Hale, and others, some of 
 whom, at least, have been among the foremost 
 statesmen and champions of freedom in the land. 
 You have had so many of them that you have been 
 generous to supply other parts of the country from 
 your abundant store, and still have had enough, as 
 you yet have, for your own need. 
 
 We of Massachusetts have been immensely 
 your debtors, and the noble men you have- sent us 
 have shed so nuich lustre on the name of the old 
 Bay State, that we beg to ask 3^ou to send us more 
 of the same sort, and we will honor them as we 
 have the rest. Send us your orator of the day ! 
 We are proud of them all, and whithersoever they 
 go, they will surely, as in the past, carry with them, 
 
42 THE THOIINTON MONUMENT. 
 
 for the welfare of tlie nation at large, the true 
 principles of liberty and eonstitutional government 
 which have been born and nurtured Avithin tliem 
 among your granite hills and mountains. 
 
 Wherever there is a new state to be founded or 
 moulded, there you will find natives of New 
 Hampshire to help do the work. Though many of 
 your own farming districts may be on the wane, 
 you have your compensation for the loss in the 
 ever widening influence of your intelligent and 
 patriotic sons and daughters. 
 
 I do not feel that I am entirely a stranger 
 among you. If I here make new friends, I also 
 find old ones. Why, here is your distinguished 
 fellow-citizen, Hon. Joseph Ividder, of Manchester ! 
 I have been wanting to see him again ever since I 
 went to school to hiui in my native town of Dan- 
 vers, Mass., more than fifty years ago. He was 
 one of the best teachers we ever had, and I am 
 glad to see that the half century has dealt so kindly 
 with him, and that, after all his long and useful 
 life, he looks almost as young as he did when I 
 first Iviiew him, except, as with others of us, time 
 has a little touched his hair with gray. And then, 
 to say nothing of happy summer vacations which 
 from time to time I have passed amid your moun- 
 tain scenery, I am taken back to some of the 
 '4:0s, when I was also at school at Pembroke, 
 and sported on the banks and swam in the tide of 
 the same old Merrimack that rolls on here at our 
 feet to-day. Yes, I feel quite at home with you in 
 these festal scenes, and rejoice with you in doing 
 lionor to the memory of Matthew Tliornton. God 
 
DEDICATORY CEREMONIES. 43 
 
 bless his descendants, and bless you all, with the 
 g-allant state which you so justly love and so Mth- 
 fuUy serve. 
 
 Col. Frank G. ]N"oyes, of JSTashua, spoke as 
 follows : 
 
 ADDKESS OF COL. FRAXK G. XOYES. 
 
 Mr. President: I am heavily handicapped in 
 attempting to speak here to-day, as will be ap- 
 parent to every one who hears my voice — or rather 
 the lack of a voice. This is the result of an affec- 
 tion of the vocal chords received by me as a legacy 
 from the recent national encampment of the Grand 
 Army of the Republic at the capital of our 
 country. 
 
 But, sir, I cannot resist the desire to speak very 
 briefly in response to your courteous invitation, and 
 to say a few words on this memorable occasion. 
 This desire is chiefly inspired by the fact that 
 while justly due tributes have been paid here to the 
 memory of that great ^ew Hampshire patriot in 
 whose honor this beautiful monument has been 
 erected and dedicated by a grateful state, a very 
 important feature has not received recognition or 
 mention. That feature is significant of the fact 
 that the same spirit of loyalty, devotion, and love 
 of country that inspired Dr. MatthcAV Thornton 
 was transmitted lineally, and evidenced during the 
 late War of the Kebellion by men in whose veins 
 flowed his blood, and who fought loyally for the 
 integrity of the Federal Union. 
 
 Upon a h((s relief in bronze on the soldiers' and 
 
44 THE THORNTON MONUMENT. 
 
 sailors' nionument at IS'ashua is portrayed the 
 naval engagement, June 19, 1864, between the 
 United States sloop-of-war Kearsarge and the 
 notorious and dreaded rebel cruiser Alahama. The 
 Alahama is engulfed, sinking in the sea, while the 
 victorious Kearsarge is seen in the background, 
 on even keel, seemingly uninjured by the fight. 
 Famous as is this battle throughout the world, 
 it is especially memorable to us from the fact that 
 the Kearsarge Avas named for one of the mountains 
 of the old Granite State, and also because one of 
 Merrimack's bravest sons was the executive officer 
 of the victorious vessel in that conflict which 
 dragged down the rebel flag and sent the arrogant 
 corsair ship to the bottom of the Atlantic, off" the 
 coast of France. And that executive officer was 
 Lieutenant-Commander James S. Thornton, a 
 grandson of our Matthew Thornton. He died a 
 captain in the United States navy in the year 1875, 
 and lies buried near this spot. 
 
 Another lineal descendant and grandson of 
 Matthew Thornton is present here to-day to par- 
 ticij^ate in the ceremonies of dedicating this monu- 
 ment to his grandfither. I refer to Dr. James B. 
 Greeley. He illustrated on many a battle-field, in 
 defence of the flag of this country, during the 
 bloody years from 1861 to 1865, that he, too, in- 
 herited the same spirit of patriotism, and his pres- 
 ent l)odily infirmities, Avhich are the result of disease 
 incurred while in the service of his country, remind 
 us most pathetically that 
 
 " The paths of glory lead l)ut to the grave." 
 
DEDICATORY OEREMOXTES. 45 
 
 The president of the day called upon Hon. 
 George A. Kamsdell, chairman of the committee of 
 arrangements on the part of the state, to say a 
 word in conclusion of the exercises. Mr. Rams- 
 dell responded in sul)stance as follows : 
 
 ADDRESS OF HOIST. CiEORCIE A. RAMSDELL. 
 
 Mr. President: I cheerfully respond to your 
 invitation to say a word as these delightful exer- 
 cises are drawing to a close. This day, the mel- 
 lowest of the year, this landscape over-arched by 
 the softness of autumnal skies, and this more than 
 satisfied gathering, are enough to call out warm 
 words of appreciation. 
 
 That we have had a most enjoyable day is due 
 largely to the fact that the elements seem to be in 
 sympathy with the occasion. We took large risk 
 in having these dedicatory exercises so late in the 
 season, but the day has been perfect. It has been 
 a joy to be abroad and breathe the delicious air, 
 and to come so near Mother Earth when everything 
 is suggestive of absolute comfort and repose — and 
 yet, to experienced eyes, not without a gentle inti- 
 mation of the coming winter. 
 
 For the shelter of this tent, for the music of the 
 band, for the eloquent oration, we are indebted to 
 the state. But for the banquet at which we all lin- 
 gered, for the care and labor which have been so 
 freely bestowed in preparation for this long-to-be- 
 remembered day upon the banks of the Merrimack, 
 for that indefinable something and that indescrib- 
 able everything, in an afifiir of this kind, which to- 
 
46 THE THORNTON MONUMENT. 
 
 clay has made us feel satisfied with ourselves and 
 all the world, we are indebted to the good men 
 and women of this town. 
 
 As we survey this landscape of water, intervale, 
 and hill, a single feature of which — this beautiful 
 river — is enough to make a completed picture, we 
 wonder not that Matthew Thornton selected this 
 spot as a residence, and held it until his decease at 
 a good old age. From all we know of him, and in 
 particular from what we have to-day heard in the 
 words of our eloquent orator and in the addresses 
 by which his eftbrt has been so well supplemented, 
 we do not wonder that the influence of this good 
 and al)le man remains and has so indelibly stamped 
 itself upon this community. 
 
 We are a little late in erecting this monument, 
 and yet the fact that at the end of a centuiy, with 
 no sect or party to prompt to action, the people of 
 'New Hampshire unitedly have said, Let us build a 
 monument to Thornton, argues well for the good 
 feeling, the lofty purpose, and unquestioned patriot- 
 ism that to-day are found in the state he so much 
 loved and honored. 
 
 The next best thing to being great is to be able to 
 appreciate greatness. The intelligent and thought- 
 ful admirer of a hero is himself something of a hero, 
 or would be in a crisis. Am I outside the bounds 
 of sober speech when I say that all our manly 
 ideals are but ourselves, as we would be in our bet- 
 ter moments and under our loftiest inspirations? I 
 think not. Let no one despair of the republic so 
 long as our citizens are building monuments and 
 dedicating statues to the founders and preservers 
 
DEDICATORY CEREMONIES. 47 
 
 of our national lile, so long as integTity in private 
 affairs and in pul^lic office is counted worthy of 
 commemoration in bronze and stone. 
 
 The following letter from Senator Chandler, ad- 
 dressed to Councillor Ramsdell, was read in con- 
 nection with the spoken tributes to the memory of 
 Matthew Thornton : 
 
 LETTER OF HOX. WILLIAM E. CIIAXDLEK. 
 
 Waterloo, N. H., Sept. 2(3, 1892. 
 Hon. Cieorge A. RamsdelU of tlie Committee of the Governor's 
 
 Council : 
 
 Dear Sir: I very nuich regret that an engagement to 
 1)6 absent from the state on the 29th inst. will prevent me 
 from being present at the dedication of the Thornton 
 monument at Merrimack. 
 
 This dedication must remind us of the many-sided char- 
 acters and labors of the founders of our state. Matthew 
 Thornton was a scholar, theologian, physician and surgeon, 
 soldier, lawyer, judge, councillor, and legislator; yet history 
 does not record that he was a failure in any work to which 
 he laid his hand. 
 
 When he took the pen and in behalf of New Hampshire 
 signed the immortal Declaration of Independence, no abler 
 or worthier representative of the state lived on her soil. 
 
 When we commemorate such ancestors b}^ monuments 
 and orations, we best serve and teach the youth of the 
 commonwealth. If they will study and imitate the lives of 
 the founders of American liberty and the American con- 
 stitution, the future of the nation will be safe in their 
 control. 
 
 Very respectfully, 
 
 W. E. Chandler. 
 
AFK 1 1203 
 
 \