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A MEMORIAL 
 
 OF 
 
 OLIVER AMES. 
 
 • ••••••• . . • . 
 
 • ••%•••• , . • 
 
 •• • • • • • '•' a 
 
^,;> 
 
 Born in Plymouth, November 5, 1807. 
 Died in North Easton, March 9, 1877. 
 
 ■•" •«• 
 
MEMORIAL, 
 
 WHEN, on Saturday, March 3, 1877, it began 
 to be known at North Easton, that Oliver 
 Ames was seriously ill, a general and painful anxiety 
 was felt throughout the community lest he might 
 not recover. But though prepared to hear the fatal 
 message of his death, when it came it was a genuine 
 shock of grief to all. Men looked each other in the 
 face and mournfully said, " We shall never see his 
 like again." Old men and strong men, who had 
 seen many years of hard toil, and whom no superfi- 
 cial emotion could overcome, repeated the sad intel- 
 ligence to each other with choking voice and tearful 
 eyes. Groups of citizens conversed with tender 
 respect concerning the noble traits of his character, 
 his intellectual abilities, his extraordinary business 
 capacity, his many acts of kindness, his gift of a 
 church, his preparation of a beautiful cemetery, and 
 
 235186 
 
2 A MEMORIAL, 
 
 other works which he was known to liave in con- 
 templation for the adornment of the village and the 
 benefit of its inhabitants. Little can those who 
 have not conversed with the older employes of the 
 Shovel Works, who had known him for many years, 
 or with some of the poorer and humbler persons 
 whom he and his family have helped in their times 
 of need, know of the deep and strong hold he had 
 upon the affection of those to whom his genial pres- 
 ence was familiar. 
 
 These testimonies illustrate the affectionate re- 
 gard in which this good man was held by his fellow- 
 citizens and by those who knew him best. The 
 most searching test of real worth will be found, not 
 in the more public circles where we meet as men of 
 business and men of the world, but in the familiar 
 circles of home and its surroundings, where our 
 daily life, our spirit and character, are closely scru- 
 tinized and thoroughly known. And this sorrow, 
 like that occasioned by the death of his brother four 
 years ago, was felt as a personal bereavement by 
 the people of North Easton, irrespective of class or 
 condition ; and with good reason : for, in his inter- 
 
A MEMORIAL. 3 
 
 course with them, he was kind, considerate, and 
 courteous. It was remarkable to notice how many 
 persons, conversing together during the sad days 
 following his death, had some one or more incidents 
 to relate of his acts of thoughtful and courteous 
 attention to them personally, — some word of com- 
 mendation and appreciation. 
 
 It was such public-spirited enterprises, and such 
 acts of genuine neighborly kindness and philan- 
 thropy, that more and more became the leading 
 object and characteristic of his life. These sug- 
 gest some of the reasons for the sincere affection 
 he secured, and the universal grief his death has 
 awakened. 
 
 In Oliver Ames's character, the two elements of 
 strength and beauty were harmoniously blended. 
 No one could know him without receiving the 
 impression that he was a strong, substantial, able 
 man. His business ability was of the highest order, 
 his judgment remarkably sound and correct. It 
 was this business faculty and sagacity, together with 
 his unquestioned integrity, that caused him to be 
 sought for so many positions of executive and ad- 
 
4 A MEMORIAL. 
 
 ministi-ative responsibility. To secure his name 
 was a sufficient endorsement for any enterprise. 
 Though Oakes Ames, with characteristic courage 
 and enterprise, took the initiative in the magnificent 
 undertaking of constructing the Union Pacific Rail- 
 road, his brother, by the co-operation of his sound 
 judgment and wise executive management, as well 
 as by his financial support, shares in the honor of 
 that splendid achievement. 
 
 Although so extensively engaged in large and 
 varied business enterprises, Oliver Ames did not 
 permit these cares to engross his attention to the 
 exclusion of literary culture, social intercourse, and 
 the enjoyment of a happy home-life. Developing 
 in early life a taste for intellectual pursuits, he kept 
 himself familar with the great questions that agitate 
 thought and life, enjoyed the society of cultivated 
 persons, and often surprised them by the clearness 
 and comprehensiveness of his carefully formed 
 opinions. He was a clear and admirable speaker, 
 going straight to his conclusions, and quite sure to 
 take his hearers along with him. Before him, per- 
 sons often became suspicious of the soundness of 
 
A MEMORIAL. 5 
 
 their own conclusions, previously held with confi- 
 dence ; and many have good reason to know how 
 quick he was to prick the bubble of inflated though 
 glittering sophistry by some keen and trenchant 
 criticism. To have him for a listener was felt to be 
 a discipline for rational judgment and good sense. 
 He had a keen appreciation of the humorous, and 
 loved a good joke ; but there was also about him a 
 dignity before which vulgarity and flippancy were 
 abashed. His prominent position did not seem in 
 the least to change the admirable simplicity of his 
 m.anners, or the cordial fellow-feeling with which he 
 regarded all, even the humblest friends. Towards 
 all whom he believed to be worthy and honorable, 
 he manifested a refined and genuine courtesy, which 
 was never felt to be mere condescension, and which 
 gained for him the w^ell-deserved title of Christian 
 gentleman. His generous philanthropy is already 
 well, though only partially, known. His liberal aid 
 was sure to be secured for any object that could 
 command his confidence, though he was too wise to 
 bestow money where he was uncertain of the worthi- 
 ness of the cause that sought it. But these numer- 
 
6 A MEAfORFAL. 
 
 ous and large benefactions need not be detailed, 
 since he so studiously avoided giving them publicity 
 while he was lie re. 
 
 Though a firm believer in the principles of Lib- 
 eral Christianity, as held by Unitarians, he knew 
 that these principles were the monopoly of no sect, 
 and he was in no sense a sectarian. He believed in 
 a religion founded on the two great commandments, 
 and whose guiding motive is the Golden Rule. His 
 faith in the overruling Goodness was unwavering; 
 his belief in the Immortal Life became hope and 
 anticipation. His favorite hymn beginning, — 
 
 " One sweetly solemn thought," — 
 
 is one which expresses a readiness to lay down the 
 duties and burdens of life, and the sweet and solemn 
 peace of a soul that looks through the gates of death 
 to the beauty and blessing that lie beyond. He was 
 desirous to live ; but still he said, " It is all right." 
 And so, with his memory behind us and his hope 
 before us, even in our grief let us look up into our 
 Father's face and trustfully repeat the words, " It is 
 all right." 
 
A MEMORIAL. 7 
 
 Hon. Oliver Ames was the third son of Hon. 
 OHver and Susannah Ames. He was born at Plym- 
 outh, Mass., Nov. 5, 1807. In 18 14 he became a 
 resident of Easton, by his father's removal to this 
 place ; since which time, Easton has been his 
 home. In his youth, his time was divided between 
 attending school and employment in the Shovel 
 Works. He became an expert workman, and was 
 thorough in every branch of the shovel manufac- 
 ture. He also showed great aptitude for study ; and 
 in 1828, being disabled for active labor by a severe 
 fall, he entered an academy at North Andover, 
 Mass., intending to prepare for college, and ulti- 
 mately to study law, for w^iich pursuit his talents 
 peculiarly fitted him ; but after spending a year 
 and a half at the academy, he entered as a law 
 student the office of William Baylis, Esq., of West 
 Bridgewater. This proved unfavorable to his health, 
 and with the increasing demands of business at 
 home led him to cast in his lot with that of his 
 father and his brother Oakes. In June, 1833, he 
 married Sarah, daughter of Hon. Howard Lothrop 
 of Easton. In 1844 he entered into co-partnership 
 
8 A MEMORIAL. 
 
 with his father and brother, forming the house of O. 
 Ames & Sons, and became a most efficient co- 
 laborer with them. As early as 1826-27, he became 
 much interested in the Temperance Movement, sup- 
 porting the cause of total abstinence ; of which from 
 that time he was a consistent and earnest advocate, 
 serving it actively and contributing to it largely. He 
 was a member of the old Whig Party, and, at its dis- 
 solution, joined the Republican Party, taking a lively 
 interest in its principles and measures. In 1852 he 
 was elected to the Senate of Massachusetts by the 
 Lower House, there being no choice by the people ; 
 and did excellent service upon several important 
 committees. In 1857 he was elected to the State 
 Senate by popular vote. In some of the political 
 campaigns, he made effective speeches upon the 
 issues of the hour. In 1855 the Messrs. Ames 
 built the Easton Branch Railroad, and after this 
 became interested in those important railroad en- 
 terprises in which the two brothers have become 
 so deservedly famous. The achievement of building 
 the Union Pacific Railroad, which was mainly ac- 
 complished by their united efforts, is now common 
 
A MEMORIAL. 9 
 
 history. In 1866 Oliver Ames was elected Presi- 
 dent of that Railroad, — an office he held with signal 
 ability until March, 1871. During this time, the 
 road passed through some of its stormiest days 
 and severest trials. His sound judgment, busi- 
 ness capacit}^ and inflexible honesty were of im- 
 mense service in carrying this great enterprise 
 safely through difficulty and peril, to final success. 
 
 Oliver Ames has held many positions of trust and 
 responsibility, of which a few may deserve mention. 
 For about twenty years he was a trustee of the 
 Taunton Insane Asylum ; he has been president 
 of the National Bank of Easton, of the Ames 
 Plow Company, and the Kinsley Iron and Machine 
 Company; a director in the Union Pacific, At- 
 lantic and Pacific, Kansas Pacific, Denver Pa- 
 cific, Colorado Central, Old Colony and Newport, 
 and other railroads ; also of the Bristol County 
 National Bank, and other corporations. His public 
 spirit has led him to take an interest in many enter- 
 prises of education, philanthropy, and reform. He 
 has been identified with agricultural, historical, and 
 other societies. He was always interested in the 
 
lO A MEMORIAL. 
 
 Unitarian Churches of Easton and North Easton 
 was constant in his attendance upon rehgious ser- 
 vices, and for several years was a Sunday-school 
 superintendent. 
 
 His Hberality towards the North Easton Unitarian 
 Society ought not, in this sketch, to be unnoticed. 
 He built and presented to it a costly church, 
 exquisite in proportions and finisli, with chapel, 
 organ, and every thing that could be desired. Just 
 beyond this church, he laid out and prepared 
 what is destined to become a beautiful cemetery. 
 A fine parsonage, corresponding in architecture 
 with the church, and now (February, 1878) ap- 
 proaching completion, is his generous gift. Besides 
 all this, he left one large fund to keep church and 
 parsonage in repair, and another to keep the ceme- 
 tery in order. Such thoughtfulness showed his 
 interest in this society ; and his name, already hon- 
 ored and loved by those who knew him, will always 
 be held in grateful remembrance by its members ; 
 and their church will be his perpetual memorial. 
 Besides these direct gifts, he gave to this society 
 the power of appointing trustees who should con- 
 
A MEMORIAL. II 
 
 trol the management of two of the three large 
 funds which he left for a town library and for 
 other objects of public benefit. 
 
 Mr. Ames's health began to decline a few years 
 since. In 1874 he gave up, so far as he could, his 
 attention to the demands of business, and spent his 
 time in superintending the construction of Unity 
 Church. His health improved, and all his friends 
 ardently hoped he might be spared many years. 
 But on the evening of Friday, March 2, 1877, he 
 was attacked with pneumonia; and after an illness of 
 less than a week, on Friday forenoon, March 9, at 
 eleven o'clock, he breathed his last, and passed on to 
 the reward of the faithful and good. 
 
 [Note. — The foregoing biographical sketch was first printed in 
 the "Easton Journal" of March 17, 1877.] 
 
SERVICE AT UNITY CHURCH. 
 
 March ii, 1877. 
 
 /^N the Sunday intervening between the death 
 ^-^ and burial, a large audience gathered in the 
 Unitarian Church. An unusual stillness and solem- 
 nity prevailed, all being moved by a common grief. 
 The empty pew, trimmed with flowers, with a beau- 
 tiful wreath at the head, spoke to all with sad and 
 touching eloquence. The low and solemn tones 
 of the organ broke the stillness, while the sweet 
 anthem, — 
 
 " Abide with me, fast falls the eventide," — 
 
 drew tears to many eyes. The twenty-third Psalm 
 was then read, and was followed by the hymn 
 beginning, — 
 
 " Oh, for a faith that will not shrink ! " 
 
 After the prelude of this hymn was played, there 
 was a moment of affecting interest ; for hitherto 
 
14 A MEMORIAL. 
 
 Mr. Ames had always been the first to rise; and 
 involuntarily all waited as usual for him. And in 
 that moment of silent waiting, when the form of 
 their honored benefactor did not appear, there came, 
 with sadder and stronger impression, the feeling 
 that these worshippers would see him no more in 
 his accustomed place. The prayer and sermon were 
 both appropriate to the occasion. The whole ser- 
 vice was an expression of the common feeling and 
 spirit, — an uplifting of the hearts of all present in 
 devout thanksgiving for the gift of such a friend, 
 and in fervent prayer that peace might come to the 
 hearts of the afflicted family and friends. 
 
THE FUNERAL SERVICES. 
 
THE FUNERAL SERVICES, 
 
 ly yrONDAY was a sorrowful and gloomy day to 
 ■^^-^ the residents of Easton, who united in be- 
 stowing upon the mortal Remains of their benefactor, 
 friend, and co-laboi;er the last offices of affection and 
 respect. The weather was in keeping with the occa- 
 sion. The atmosphere was cold and damp, and a 
 leaden sky hung like a funeral pall over the place. 
 All labor was suspended, the public schools were 
 closed ; and the large numbers of people from all 
 parts of the town, as well as an assemblage of nota- 
 ble men representing the varied business interests 
 of the country, testified better than words to the 
 worth and influence of the life they honored. 
 
 The funeral was attended by many friends from 
 Boston and elsewhere, who were conveyed to North 
 Easton by a special train, the locomotive of which 
 
 3 
 
I 8 A MEMORIAL. 
 
 was appropriately draped with mourning emblems. 
 Among those present were officers and directors of 
 the Union Pacific Railroad, with many prominent 
 men from Boston, Taunton, Fall River, New Bed- 
 ford, and other places both in and out of the State. 
 
 From ten o'clock until noon, large numbers of his 
 employes and towns-people availed themselves of 
 the sad privilege of looking once more upon his 
 face. At one o'clock private religious services were 
 held at the house, conducted by the pastor. Rev. 
 W. L. Chaffin, after which the remains were borne 
 to Unity Church. The pall-bearers were Willard 
 Lothrop, D. C. Lillie, Joseph Barrows, B. G. Blais- 
 dell, John Carr, O. A. Day, Caleb Carr, and Jason 
 Willis, — all of whom have been in the employ of 
 the Ames family, father and sons, between twenty- 
 five and fifty years. 
 
 The funeral procession of relatives and friends 
 passed slowly, on foot, to the church, many of Mr. 
 Ames's employes and fellow towns-people standing 
 by in silent sympathy ; and, just as it was entering 
 the sanctuary he loved so deeply, the sun parted 
 the clouds for a moment and poured down its light, 
 
A MEMORIAL. I 9 
 
 as if in cheering hope for the hving and peaceful 
 benediction for the dead. 
 
 The church was beautifully adorned with flowers, 
 which, with numerous floral tributes from friends 
 and relatives, formed a beautiful and affecting deco- 
 ration. Nothing, however, touched the feelings so 
 deeply as the sight of the unoccupied pew of Mr. 
 Ames, which was trimmed with flowers, and over the 
 arm of which hung a wreath of lilies. 
 
20 A MEMORIAL. 
 
 2rf)c Services. 
 
 A S the procession passed up the aisle, a low 
 -^ ^ dirge was played upon the organ. The ser- 
 vices began with the following hymn : — 
 
 ONE sweetly solemn thought 
 Comes to me o'er and o'er, 
 Nearer my parting hour am I 
 Than e'er I was before ; 
 
 Nearer my Father's house, 
 Where many mansions be, 
 Nearer the throne where Jesus reigns, 
 Nearer the crystal sea ; 
 
 Nearer my going home, , 
 
 Laying my burden down, 
 Leaving my cross of heavy grief, 
 Wearing my starry crown. 
 
 Father, to thee I cling : 
 Strengthen my arm of faith ; 
 Stay near me while my wayworn feet 
 Press through the stream of death. 
 
A MEMORIAL. 2i 
 
 .Scriphire ^Elections. 
 
 READ BY REV. R. R. SHIPPEN. 
 
 T AM the resurrection and the hfe, saith the Lord: 
 ■^ he that beHeveth in me, though he were dead, 
 yet shall he live ; and whosoever liveth and believeth 
 in me shall never die. 
 
 The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away: 
 blessed be the name of the Lord. 
 
 Lord, make me to know mine end, and the meas- 
 ure of my days, what it is, that I may know how frail 
 I am. Behold, thou hast made my days as an hand- 
 breadth, and mine age is as nothing before thee ; 
 verily, even man at his best estate is altogether 
 vanity. 
 
 Hear my prayer, O Lord, and give ear unto my 
 cry: hold not thy peace at my tears; for I am a 
 stranger with thee, and a sojourner as all my fathers 
 were. O spare me, that I may recover strength 
 before I go hence and be no more. 
 
 Lord, thou hast been our dwelling-place in all 
 generations. Before the mountains were brought 
 forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the 
 
22 A MEMORIAL. 
 
 world, even from everlasting to everlasting thou art 
 God. Thou turnest man to destruction, and sayest, 
 Return, ye children of men. We spend our years as 
 a tale that is told. So teach us to number our days 
 that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom. 
 
 There is one glory of the sun, and another glory 
 X)f the stars ; for one star differeth from another star 
 in glory. So also is the resurrection of the dead. 
 It is sown in corruption : it is raised in incorruption. 
 It is sown in dishonor : it is raised in glory. It is 
 sown in weakness : it is raised in power. It is sown 
 a natural body : it is raised a spiritual body. As we 
 have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also 
 bear the image of the heavenly. This corruptible 
 must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put 
 on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have 
 put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put 
 on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the 
 saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in 
 victory. O Death, where is thy sting? O Grave, 
 where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin, 
 and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to 
 God, who giveth us the victory through our Lord 
 
A MEMORIAL. 2 7, 
 
 Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be 
 ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the 
 work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your 
 labor is not in vain in the Lord. 
 
 Let not your heart be troubled : ye believe in 
 God ; believe also in me. In my Father's house are 
 many mansions : if it were not so, I would have told 
 you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go 
 and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and 
 receive you unto myself ; that where I am, there ye 
 may be also. 
 
 Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto 
 you : not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let 
 not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. 
 
 We know that if our earthly house of this taber- 
 nacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, a 
 house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. 
 
 I saw a new heaven and a new earth ; for the first 
 heaven and the first earth were passed aw- ay. And 
 I heard a great voice out of heaven, saying, Behold, 
 the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell 
 with them, and they shall be his people, and God 
 himself shall be with them and be their God. And 
 
24 A MEMORIAL. 
 
 God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes ; and 
 there shall be no more death, neither sorrow nor cry- 
 ing, neither shall there be any more pain ; for the 
 former things are passed away. And he showed 
 me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal. 
 And there shall be no night there ; and they shall 
 need no candle, neither light of the sun : for the 
 Lord God giveth them light, and they shall reign 
 for ever and ever. 
 
 And, behold, I come quickly ; and my reward is 
 with me, to give every man according as his work 
 shall be. 
 
 Blessed are they that do his commandments, that 
 they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter 
 in through the gates into the city. 
 
 And the Spirit and the Bride say. Come. And 
 let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that 
 is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take 
 the water of life freely. 
 
A MEMORIAL. 25 
 
 ^titiress bg tf)e Pastor, 
 
 A S we meet here to-day, with the shadows of this 
 •^ ^ great sorrow resting upon us, let us be grate- 
 ful that we can do so with no misgivings concerning 
 that Fatherly providence which orders all the condi- 
 tions of our life, and always works for good. No 
 words are needed here to make that goodness appar- 
 ent to our hearts. Not a day but it speaks to us out 
 of the beauty and grandeur of earth and sky. It 
 has filled our lives with blessing, has given high and 
 noble satisfaction to our minds, and has endowed 
 our hearts with those strong affections that unite us 
 in relations full of happiness and good. Upon our 
 Heavenly Father we can rest with perfect trust in 
 this time of our trouble, as well as in the hour of 
 joy. And because we have this perfect trust in 
 God, we can have unwavering faith in the immortal 
 life. For how can any one believe that God would 
 bring us into life gifted with great possibilities that 
 shall be for ever unfulfilled ; fill us with hopes and 
 noble longings he means to disappoint; or unite us 
 
 4 
 
26 A MEMORIAL. 
 
 by these strong and tender affections which cling so 
 deathlessly to their objects, and cannot think of their 
 permanent loss, — if he meant to destroy them all at 
 the touch of death ? It is, I say, hardly possible for 
 those who believe in God's goodness to think that 
 he would create us with such hopes, capacities, and 
 affections, if he did not mean to prolong our exist- 
 ence so that they might go on to nobler activ- 
 ity and larger fulfilment. Therefore, sad as our 
 hearts may be this day, we do not mourn as those 
 without hope; for we have faith in God's good 
 providence, and in the glory and reward of the 
 Immortal Life. 
 
 And what a difference, dear friends, does this faith 
 make in our estimate of what we call death! By a 
 necessity of the case, our attention is largely taken 
 up with the outward and visible aspects of this 
 providence. We see it chiefly upon its physical and 
 earthly side. And therefore death reminds us of 
 days and nights of pain and weakness, of the fad- 
 ing cheek and faltering breath, of the lifeless form, 
 and of the closed eyes that know no waking. It 
 means the disappearance from our sight of a dear. 
 
A MEMORIAL. 27 
 
 familiar presence ; it means the funeral solemnit}^ 
 and the last sad rites that hide for ever in the earth 
 the form we loved so well. But, in fact, these are 
 only the outward incidents and accompaniments of 
 death. They do not touch or suggest its real mean- 
 ing. They are only passing and transient facts that 
 ought not to veil from our sight the real significance 
 of the event they attend. For when we look beneath 
 these appearances to the essential matter, and see 
 things exactly as they are and not as they seem, 
 what a different aspect this event presents to. us! 
 In truth, the strength of our grief is often propor- 
 tioned to the weakness of our faith. Let our 
 thoughts, instead of turning downward into the open 
 grave, look upward into the newly opened heavens. 
 There shall we see him whom we call dead risen 
 above all the weakness and pain of this world, with 
 every burden and care left behind him, and with a 
 fuller life and joy than earth has to bestow. There 
 shall we see him renewing the delightful companion- 
 ships of other days, entering into new activities, and 
 into the glorious realities and satisfactions of the 
 heavenly world. 
 
28 A MEMORIAL. 
 
 This, then, is the essential fact in the event of 
 death : not the descent of the body into the grave, 
 but the ascent of the spirit to heaven ; not destruc- 
 tion and loss, but new life and nobler gain. Look 
 upon it on this higher sid^r^ God and the angels 
 do, and we see that the death of the good man 
 is not darkness and defeat, but light and victory 
 and enduring joy. He will find it to be the crown- 
 ing act of God's goodness to him, taking him from 
 all pain and evil, and opening a world of promise 
 and happiness to his sight. Let us learn to think 
 of death in this way, looking up and not down, 
 and peace and strength will, sooner or later, come 
 to the heart. We shall see him whom we mourn as 
 he now is. The light from above will shine down 
 peacefully upon us ; and all sense of personal loss, 
 deep as it is, will be made easier to bear, by the 
 thought of his transcendent gain. 
 
 I am aware how prone we are, under the impulse 
 of a strong and deep affection, to give an exagger- 
 ated estimate of the worth and goodness of those 
 whom death takes from our sight. We all know, 
 too, that the man who shrank from giving his bene- 
 
A MEMORIAL. 29 
 
 factions publicity, whose sense of truth and propri- 
 ety was so keen, would be the first to rebuke any 
 extreme praise, and might almost prefer that we 
 should not attempt to speak of the impression he 
 has made upon us. But it would be a violence to 
 our deepest feelings not to endeavor to express our 
 appreciation of his noble character, and our indebt- 
 edness to his generous kindness. Happily there is 
 little danger here of too high an estimate of his 
 goodness ; for the life whose earthly part has now 
 drawn to a close, was one to be most highly honored 
 and loved. 
 
 He was a man of unquestioned integrity, whose 
 word was as good as any man's bond, whose name 
 always suggested probity and uprightness, whose 
 heart was free and hands clean from, all dishonor ; 
 a strong and vigorous character that made the im- 
 pression of a sturdy determination and resolute will, 
 a man whose name was a tower of strength in any 
 enterprise in which his co-operation was secured. 
 He had a high and quick sense of honor, that was 
 prompt to abhor and indignant to rebuke any 
 thing dishonorable and mean ; exceptionally free 
 
30 A MEMORIAL. 
 
 from ostentation, with simple and yet cultivated 
 tastes; never surrendering himself entirely to the 
 claims of business, but always allowing or taking 
 time for the culture of his mind, and for the demands 
 of hopie love and domestic enjoyments. 
 
 With all this manly strength and vigor there was 
 also a refined and genuine courtesy, which made 
 him deserve the name of a Christian gentleman ; a 
 courtesy that was manifested not only to those who 
 w^ere on the same plane of social life and wealth 
 with him, but which treated all with respect and 
 politeness. He had a kindness of disposition that 
 more and more opened his heart in generous service 
 to his neighbors and his fellow-men; so that it is 
 safe to say that no appeal for aid was made to him, 
 for an object in which he could have confidence, 
 without its securing his generous aid and support. 
 And in these later years, with the shadows of death, 
 or rather let me say, the light of immortality, coming 
 more consciously near to him, there was, as we have 
 all noticed, a ripening grace and sweetness of dis- 
 position, as though he were already taking on the 
 lineaments of the heavenlv life. 
 
A MEMORIAL. 
 
 31 
 
 To his conspicuous philanthropy was added an 
 unconspicuous, but none the less genuine, piety ; 
 not the piety of mere sentiment, but which, growing 
 from his unblemished integrity, was manifest in an 
 unwavering belief and trust in the Eternal Good- 
 ness that guides the world in blessing. It was 
 manifested by his strong belief in the immortal life, 
 — a belief that passed into an entire faith which 
 grew stronger and brighter with his declining years ; 
 a faith, which, with the loss of health, became hope 
 and glad anticipation. For he was one of the few 
 persons who have embodied as part of their feeling, 
 of their daily experience, the sentiment of the beau- 
 tiful hymn that has been sung here to-day, — a hymn 
 which expresses not only the blessed hope of immor- 
 tality, but readiness to lay down the burdens and 
 ills of life, the sweet and solemn peace of a soul that 
 seems already to look through the gates of death to 
 the beauty and the blessing that lie beyond. This 
 piety was manifested not only by his constant 
 attendance upon and interest in our religious ser- 
 vices, but peculiarly so by his great love for and 
 enjoyment of many of the hymns in our collection. 
 
32 A MEMORIAL. 
 
 which he was never tired of repeating, and often 
 had read to him again in the quiet of his home. 
 His love for these rehgious hymns, expressing as we 
 all know they do, so much better than our poor 
 prayers, the ardent faith and aspirations of our 
 souls, may be taken as an index of that unostenta- 
 tious but genuine piety which towards the last grew 
 more and more characteristic of him. 
 
 These w^ords, sober and simple as I have tried to 
 make them, may seem to those who saw him only 
 casually, to be an exaggerated estimate ; but those 
 who knew him better than most of us here to-day, 
 the dear kindred whose home he made one of the 
 happiest, who saw his tenderness and love as none 
 outside could do, and were aw^are of the numerous 
 benefactions he concealed from the world, — they 
 know how far any such words as these come from 
 portraying the ideal which fills their minds, and 
 which his life impressed upon them. 
 
 We all knew the ever-increasing joy and deliglit 
 which he took in this beautiful sanctuary, which his 
 bounty, his thought, his watchful care raised up to 
 the glory of God and the good of his neighbors and 
 
A MEMORIAL. * 33 
 
 friends. How could he be otherwise than happy as 
 he saw gathering here, from week to week, larger 
 congregations than he had ever anticipated, with 
 glad hearts, eager to avail themselves of the blessed 
 privileges his Christian liberality opened to them ! 
 For not only did he delight in the beauty of this 
 place, but he knew that he came here to worship 
 surrounded on every side by those whose hearts 
 were full of grateful love for him ; and God knows 
 it is a grateful congregation that gathers here to 
 worship, who prize and will be perpetually blessed 
 by the ministry of this surrounding beauty. We 
 and our children and our children's children would 
 be ungrateful indeed, if we did not rise up and call 
 him blessed, and cherish the memory of his good- 
 ness as one of the most precious remembrances of 
 our lives. 
 
 Here upon my right hand we see the Memorial 
 Tablet which his love, raised to the memory of that 
 good man, his father, whose name he bore, whose 
 interest and aid were the foundation of this religious 
 society, and whose integrity was white and stainless as 
 the marble that commemorates it. And upon my left 
 
 5 
 
34 ^ MEMORIAL. 
 
 is the Memorial Window placed there by filial hands, 
 in loving remembrance of a father who was most 
 trusted and honored where he was best known, and 
 one of whose achievements has laid this whole coun- 
 try of ours under a debt of gratitude it is too slow to 
 appreciate, and who, less than four years ago, rose up 
 out of our sight, above the reach of human detrac- 
 tion, where merit is rewarded and perfect justice done. 
 
 But concerning this son and brother, whose dear 
 and honored presence we shall no more have visibly 
 with us, one thought is in all our minds. It is that 
 this whole building of God, which was the pride and 
 joy of his heart, will be his perpetual memorial. He 
 has so identified himself with it, he is so associated 
 with it, that it will always be suggestive of him. 
 And if the dear ones who pass out of our sight, but 
 do not perhaps go far away, are permitted to look 
 down upon us and be with us here, then, next to the 
 home of his love, this will be the place where his 
 presence will be ; and, in the blessing we all receive 
 here, he will find a joyous satisfaction. 
 
 And now we bear this mortal form away to lie in 
 that place of rest, in the beautiful cemetery he has 
 
A MEMORIAL. 
 
 35 
 
 himself prepared. Alas that he should be the first! 
 But, dear friends, he is not here : he is risen. 
 
 Eemarits of Eeb. fHr. Sftippcn. 
 
 TN the death of Oliver Ames, a good man has 
 -^ passed away, who will be missed in many places, 
 and tenderly mourned by many friends. 
 
 Born in Plymouth, Nov. 5, 1807, at the age of 
 seven his home was removed to the village of Eas- 
 ton, where the remainder of his life was spent. 
 Fond of books and debates in his youth, he fitted 
 for college at North Andover, but intimations of 
 breaking health withdrew him from his purpose; 
 and, although for a time he devoted himself to the 
 study of the law, health considerations and the 
 enlarging enterprise of his father attracted him to 
 a business career. In 1844, with his brother and 
 father, he entered into the partnership of O. Ames 
 & Sons, in the industry that has built up the busy 
 village of North Easton. From that time forward, 
 he and his brother Oakes worked hand in hand with 
 
36 A MEMORIAL. 
 
 undivided interests and unbroken affection. In 
 death they were not long divided, both passing away 
 by a similar malady, and within a week of the same 
 age of nearly seventy. 
 
 Carrying large enterprises, and especially for the 
 last ten years engaged in great transactions, Mr. 
 Ames never permitted himself to become wholly 
 engrossed in business. He never yielded the claims 
 of home and church ; but had a rare faculty of bear- 
 ing heavy burdens without worry or fret, and of lay- 
 ing aside business cares to enter heartily into the 
 enjoyment of social companionship and religious 
 worship. Discriminating in his estimates of men, he 
 never uttered a harsh word of any one. However 
 differing in opinion, and frank and outspoken in 
 expressing dissent, his judgments of all were kindly. 
 With calm and placid temper, he could yet flash 
 with righteous indignation in his rebuke of mean- 
 ness or wrong. Caring little for profitless enter- 
 tainment of the imagination, he was a lover of all 
 practical information ; and his mind was well stored 
 with reading, as w^ell as by wide experience among 
 men. Interested in education and philanthropy, he 
 
A MEMORIAL. 37 
 
 was ever on the side of reform and progress in all 
 the movements for the welfare of society, and both 
 by strict personal example, and by generous annual 
 gifts, bore his earnest testimony for temperance. 
 
 His help was ready as his word was kindly for all 
 of every class; and to a manly strength and dignity 
 he added a grace of manner that comes not by 
 superficial polish, but only from inner fountains of 
 sweetness of spirit and brotherly love. His devout 
 sentiment was quick and tender. Fond of the sim- 
 ple music of church and home, he was especially 
 a lover of good hymns, evincing refined taste and 
 delicate perception in choosing the best, generally 
 assigning pre-eminence to the majestic and worship- 
 ful hymns of Watts. In his closing years, he took 
 deep satisfaction in erecting this beautiful church- 
 edifice, as a gift to the congregation with whom he 
 was accustomed to worship, and as an expression of 
 his own devout faith. The substance and simplicity 
 of his religious faith are fitly expressed in the two 
 Scriptural scenes that he chose, painted in fresco, 
 for the adornment of its entrance, — the good Samar- 
 itan, and Jesus at the well of vSamaria, inculcating 
 the worship of God in spirit and in truth. 
 
38 A MEMORIAL. 
 
 Love to God and man was his belief and his prac- 
 tice. This church edifice, indeed, is not only a 
 beautiful memorial, but also a fit expression of the 
 man himself, — resting on massive granite founda- 
 tions, and rising into proportions of symmetry and 
 grace. He was a genuine Puritan in his simplicity 
 and integrity, mellowed into a ripe sweetness by lib- 
 eral and sunny influences. 
 
 A fitter tribute to him than any we can utter, is 
 the inscription prepared by himself for the marble 
 tablet in this church in memory of his father. In 
 preparing it, he unconsciously described himself: 
 " From early manhood a devout believer in the unity 
 of God and in Liberal Christianity. A man of rare 
 virtue ; believing that Christian faith is best shown 
 by right living. He was upright in all his ways, true 
 to duty, and of sterling integrity, pure and simple in 
 his habits, liberal without ostentation, a kind father 
 and employer, a good citizen, and faithful friend. 
 Thorough in all his undertakings, his skill, energy, 
 and faithfulness made his name and workmanship 
 widely known and honored." 
 
 While the Commonwealth claims such citizens, 
 
A MEMORIAL. 39 
 
 the best destiny of the State is secure. Let the 
 Church produce more such practical Christians, and 
 the kingdom of God will speedily come. As such 
 men go from our midst, may the generation who 
 take their places bear their names and write their 
 record as worthily! To many who knew him, earth 
 is less attractive by his loss, while heaven by his 
 presence is more real and more near. To many 
 hearts his memory will be very precious, and his 
 departure will bring fresh consecration to the high 
 purposes of life. 
 
 The following hymn was then sung: — 
 
 HOW blest the righteous when he dies ! 
 When sinks a weary soul to rest ; 
 How mildly beam the closing eyes, 
 
 How gently heaves the expiring breast ! 
 
 So fades a summer cloud away, 
 
 So sinks the gale when storms are o'er ; 
 
 So gently shuts the eye of day, 
 So dies a wave along the shore. 
 
 Life's duty done, as sinks the day, 
 
 Light from its load the spirit flies ; 
 While heaven and earth combine to say, 
 
 " How blest the righteous when he dies ! " 
 
40 A MEMORIAL. 
 
 Pragcr bo tfje pastor. 
 
 Cf)ant. 
 
 THY will be done. In devious way 
 The hurrying stream of life may run ; 
 Yet still our grateful hearts shall say, 
 Thy will be done. 
 
 Thy will be done. If o'er us shine 
 A gladdening and a prosperous sun, 
 This prayer shall make it more divine. 
 Thy will be done. 
 
 Thy will be done. Though shrouded o'er 
 Our path with gloom, one comfort, one 
 Is ours, — to breathe, while we adore. 
 Thy will be done. 
 
 At the close of the services, an opportunity was 
 given the congregation to look on the face of the 
 dead. Old and young, rich and poor, joined in the 
 slow procession of those who gazed for the last time 
 upon the familiar features of their neighbor and 
 friend. 
 
A MEMORIAL. 4 I 
 
 Then the precious burden was taken up, and car- 
 ried to an eminence in the new cemetery. This 
 was the first pubHc burial there. 
 
 The relatives and friends gathered about the grave, 
 while the following service was conducted by Rev. 
 Mr. Shippen. 
 
 Scripture Selection. 
 
 TN the midst of life we are in death: of whom 
 may we seek for succor but of thee, O Lord } 
 Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord ; for they 
 rest from their labors. 
 
 As it hath pleased God to take to himself our 
 dear brother, we commit his body to the ground ; 
 earth to earth, and dust to dust : looking forward 
 with lively hope to a sure resurrection of eternal life, 
 and a blessed reunion in that better land, where no 
 tears or parting come. 
 
 Prager. 
 
42 
 
 A MEMORIAL. 
 
 LOWLY and solemn be 
 Thy children's cry to thee, 
 Father divine ; 
 A hymn of suppliant breath, 
 Owning that life and death 
 Alike are thine. 
 
 O Father ! in that hour, 
 
 When earth all succoring power 
 
 Shall disavow : 
 When spear and shield and crown 
 In faintness are cast down, 
 
 Sustain us thou. 
 
 Trembling beside the grave. 
 We call on thee to save, 
 
 Father divine ; 
 Hear, hear our suppliant breath, 
 Keep us in life and death. 
 
 Thine, only thine. 
 
COMxMEMORATIVE DISCOURSE. 
 
A DISCOURSE 
 
 Delivered by Rev. L. H. Sheldon, to the young men of the 
 Evangelical Society in Easton Centre, and afterwards, by 
 invitatiofi, ifi Unity Church at North Easton, soon after the 
 death of the Hon. Oliver Ames. 
 
 " He that walketh uprightly, walketh surely." 
 
 Proverbs x. 9. 
 
 /^^HARACTER is not an inheritance: it is not 
 ^"^ an estate to which one is born an heir. The 
 most doting parent, possessing unbounded wealth 
 of wisdom, knowledge, and goodness, cannot endow 
 the idolized child with those qualities of mind, heart, 
 and soul which unite in each one of us to distin- 
 guish us from all others. 
 
 Character is formed, inwrought with the develop- 
 ment of life, and only established when, by almost 
 superhuman effort, we reach those cloudless sum- 
 mits, where the noblest endowments of humanity are 
 the rich rewards of a soul struggling for all that is 
 noble, beautiful, and good : or, on the other hand, 
 
46 A MEMORIAL. 
 
 when it recklessly plunges into the fearful abyss, 
 where every unbridled lust, passion, and desire revel 
 unrestrained, and we mould the life, which should 
 have ripened into an angel's high estate, into all that 
 is evil, destructive, and hateful. 
 
 Between these two extremes there is a vast mid- 
 dle ground, where countless numbers are marching 
 toward the one or the other, working out the great 
 problem of life ; forming for time and eternity a 
 character by which they will be known both by men 
 below and God above. Oh, my friends, this inde- 
 scribable development of humanity, beginning in 
 childhood and running out and on into maturity of 
 life, is one of the mightiest forces for good or ill the 
 world knows. You and I are rising upward to this 
 sublime height, or we are dragging ourselves down- 
 ward to these dismal depths of sin and shame. 
 
 Such is character in its best and worst develop- 
 ments ; " and it is only he that walketh uprightly, 
 that walketh surely." 
 
 In the practical exhibition of these peculiarities 
 of our being, we fail to estimate correctly, or I might 
 more justly say we fail to have any proper concep- 
 
A MEMORIAL. 
 
 47 
 
 tlon of, the untold worth of a good character; of 
 those blend'ed excellences of life which flow together 
 into one harmonious whole, and give us a fulness 
 and perfectness of worth which awakens a universal 
 plaudit of " Well done ! " 
 
 It is only when we contrast these extreme devel- 
 opments, in all their relations and bearings on this 
 world and the next, — on this generation, and out- 
 ward and onward through all coming time ; on the 
 generations yet unborn; on social life; on the vast 
 business interests of the nation ; on the stability 
 and perpetuity of government; on the educational, 
 moral, and religious welfare of our land and the 
 world, — that we can correctly, or approximately, esti- 
 mate the real worth and grandeur of a life embracing 
 in the main, and to a wide extent, those characteris- 
 tics which richly entitle it to be called good. But 
 place in your mind's eye two children of similar in- 
 tellectual and social endowments : one fastens his 
 affections upon whatever is noble, beautiful, and 
 good; the other sees no desirable good in any thing 
 that does not minister to his selfishness, his pas- 
 sions, his pride, his ambition, or some other low and 
 
48 A MEMORIAL. 
 
 unworthy motive. Follow them on in their oppo- 
 site courses of life, until they reach those extremes 
 of goodness and degradation, and mark their al- 
 most infinite separation as their career widens and 
 culminates. 
 
 It is only in this way that we can really estimate 
 and appreciate the true value, to any community, of 
 a worthy life. And by this I do not mean a life 
 that no one ever finds fault with, that is absolutely 
 perfect, that has no blemishes; but one whose grand 
 aim is to make the most of its powers for the sub- 
 stantial and lasting good of humanity, wherever it 
 acts. And this includes the honor of God ; for what 
 really secures the highest good of man does most 
 to honor God. Such a life, like the sun, secures a 
 springtide of new growth and beauty, of fragrance 
 and fruit. 
 
 And when, in the providence of God, such a life 
 ends, humanly speaking it is an irreparable loss 
 to the people who have enjoyed its continuance. 
 True, the " memory of such a life is blessed ; " but 
 its restraining and elevating power as a living 
 example to the young is lost. 
 
A MEMORIAL. 49 
 
 In a marked degree has the life of an honored 
 citizen, just now closed, — by its integrity, its gen- 
 erosity, its wisdom, its enterprise, its hearty and 
 enlightened sympathy with the unfortunate of every 
 class, and with the friends of education and religion, 
 and by its love of truth and virtue and every manly 
 and noble trait, — presented to us, to the whole com- 
 munity, and to strangers from abroad, its great worth 
 while enjoyed, and its great loss when taken. 
 
 Hon. Oliver Ames, whose mortal remains were 
 recently borne to their last resting-place, has spent 
 all but the first seven years of his life among this 
 people. For more than sixty years has he mingled 
 with the citizens of this town : for more than half 
 this period has he been practically recognized as a 
 man of rare integrity and ability, in places of great 
 responsibility and in enterprises of great magni- 
 tude and national renown. But the great beauty 
 of his character shone no less in private than in 
 public. 
 
 That the young may derive profit from a career 
 so free from fatal blemishes and so eminently 
 worthy of imitation in its grand characteristics, I 
 
 7 
 
50 A MEMORIAL. 
 
 will group these ennobling and praiseworthy devel- 
 opments as they were exhibited in the different 
 spheres of life in which he moved, and where their 
 influence was most felt, and their high worth most 
 appreciated. 
 
 I. View him in the bosom of his own home, as a 
 husband and a father, and I might most justly add 
 as a son ; for the home of his youth was the model, 
 in many respects, of the home of his riper years. I 
 can well remember the parents of the youth just 
 ripening into manhood, and the reputation they 
 bore, in all parental and filial relations in that old 
 homestead. There were hallowed associations and 
 heavenly influences, that linked this manhood to 
 that boyhood, of which I have heard no public men- 
 tion made. And yet, those who knew, as I knew, 
 that sainted mother in her own home, in her pri- 
 vate and public Christian activities, in her steadfast 
 zeal and prayerful interest in promoting the virtue, 
 intelligence, and happiness of all whom her kind 
 sympathy and influence could reach ; whose deep 
 solicitude and earnest effort for the young I often 
 
A MEMORIAL. 5 I 
 
 witnessed in my own father's house, — could not but 
 see that many of the graces of the mother had fallen 
 upon the son, and her affectionate precepts and win- 
 ning ways had somehow interwoven themselves into 
 his very heart and life ; so that one familiar with the 
 life and character of the Christian mother could not 
 enter the home of the son and enjoy the hospitalities 
 and social delights there found, could not look upon 
 the face and listen to the conversation and see the 
 devotion of the husband and father, without thank- 
 ing God that he had such an intelligent, cultivated, 
 affectionate, yet firm and judicious, guide in his 
 tender and plastic childhood. Those beautiful and 
 ennobling traits of the mother developed into the 
 adorning excellences which so distinguished the 
 husband, father, and friend in the quiet of his own 
 home, and in the refinement and social joys of his 
 own household. And this appeared no less in the 
 days of his early manhood than in maturer life, when 
 affluence had added external attractions before un- 
 known. No doubt, the stern integrity and correct 
 business habits, the industry and discipline of the 
 father, mingled wisely with the maternal influences 
 
52 
 
 A MEMORIAL. 
 
 above referred to, and did much to fit him for his 
 numerous responsible public activities. 
 
 It is indeed delightful to see a life thus advanced, 
 unsoured by the conflicts and detractions, the evil 
 surmisings and jealousies of the world, maintaining, 
 with unaffected simplicity and cordiality, its hold 
 upon all. Every worthy visitor could not but feel 
 at home in his presence. While the sanctity of the 
 domestic circle is not to be invaded, and the details 
 of private life not to be revealed, still, when the light 
 of such a home goes out, we know what it was that 
 filled it with radiance and joy; what it was that 
 made it so attractive ; what it was that made rela- 
 tives and friends so happy in its harmony, its refine- 
 ment, its virtue, its generosity, its sympathy, and its 
 protection. And we pray God that the same heav- 
 enly and Christian nurture, discipline, and training 
 that blessed his young days, and did so much to 
 adorn his later life, and make him what he was as a 
 husband, father, and friend in his own home, may 
 bless all our homes, and make them the abodes of 
 purity and joy ; make them the centres of generous 
 sympathy and active benevolence, where the smiles 
 
A MEMORIAL. 53 
 
 of God shall rest, and the Saviour of man take up 
 his abode. 
 
 II. Mr. Ames was no less distinguished in his 
 general intercourse with the world. 
 
 I refer now particularly to his social life outside 
 his immediate family and relatives. It is one thing 
 to carry one's self affectionately, gently, worthily, 
 and nobly, surrounded by all the endearing ameni- 
 ties ihat cluster around the holiest relations of life 
 in the home of one's choice and creation ; and 
 quite another and different thing to encounter a 
 Babel world of strife and selfishness, envy and jeal- 
 ousy, sectional animosity and local prejudice. To 
 encounter these, and a thousand other perplexing, 
 discouraging, mean, and dishonest practices in the 
 intercourse of life, without becoming cynical, re- 
 served, and austere, if not morose, shows a wonder- 
 ful self-control, and the possession of those noble 
 and sterling virtues that make a man not only an 
 honored and respected citizen, but a wise counsellor, 
 a chosen companion, and cherished friend. 
 
 I do not say that our departed friend never chafed 
 
54 
 
 A MEMORIAL. 
 
 in this maelstrom of selfishness and crime ; that he 
 was never impatient or vexed in his contact with 
 mankind : for that would have made him more than 
 mortal. But for one having so much to do with 
 his fellow-men, in almost all the relations of life, 
 with all classes and conditions, to bear himself so 
 firmly yet gently, so modestly, intelligently, yet with 
 such dignity, without egotism, vanity, or arrogance, 
 certainly presents characteristics which our young 
 men may most wisely and worthily imitate. 
 
 His associations with men occupying the higher 
 positions in life, — men of culture and wealth, possess- 
 ing political power and honor, — never shut out of his 
 notice, his sympathy, or his beneficence, the needy 
 suppliant, however humble his condition. 
 
 Dignified and affable, free from any pride of posi- 
 tion, show of superiority, or assumption of power, 
 he mingled with men, in the usual social intercourse 
 of life, as simply their equal, and thus removed all 
 feeling of restraint, and taught every one that hon- 
 esty and virtue, a just respect for the rights of 
 others, and a true interest in those in trouble, were 
 the noblest attributes of manhood. It was only 
 
A MEMORIAL. 55 
 
 when men laid aside their self-respect, and fellow- 
 shipped that which was dishonest, mean, and low, 
 that they encountered his indignant rebuke or neg- 
 lect, and were made to feel their inferiority. 
 
 It was indeed a touching tribute to the beauty 
 and strength of his character, when the sons of toil 
 from the streets and shops, who had looked up to 
 him and listened to his voice, and had become 
 familiar with his daily life, gathered in sorrow and 
 solemnity to take a farewell look of those features 
 which, though quiet in death, still wore the winning 
 smile of life. His temperance, his virtue, his integ- 
 rity, his beneficence, his intelligent and refined cour- 
 tesy, all woven into the warp and woof of life, gave 
 a charm to his unassuming intercourse, that made 
 his burial-day a sad one to those whom he had em- 
 ployed, counselled, or aided in the struggles of life. 
 
 I hardly know which were the more touching and 
 expressive, — the tears which silently fell upon his 
 cold form from eyes unused to weep, or the matchless 
 floral offerings contributed in such profusion, and in 
 such forms of beauty, by his employes and associates 
 from distant States. Each spoke of hearts that had 
 
56 A MEMORIAL. 
 
 been bereft of an honored and loved friend ; each 
 was significant of the strong hold he had on the 
 highest and humblest in social position. 
 
 Ah, my young friends, there is something sublime 
 in the power of a good name and a worthy life, 
 when you see how it thus touches the extremes 
 of society, and draws forth in response the noblest 
 and best manifestation of sympathy and affection. 
 There are " steps to this throne ; " and he who 
 would gain its coveted heights must ascend them 
 one by one. He cannot leap from the corrupting 
 and debasing influences of a sensual and criminal 
 life ; from a life of intemperance, dishonesty, and 
 vice, a reckless disregard of the interests of his fel- 
 low-man and the honor of his God: he cannot rise 
 at one bound from such a character to that lofty 
 summit of unquestioned integrity and acknowledged 
 superiority. It is a pilgrimage from youth to man- 
 hood, from manhood to ripe old age. It starts out 
 from obedience to parental authority and discipline, 
 from a rigorous regard of w^orthy parental example, 
 from a confidence in and respect for God's ap- 
 pointed educators of the young heart. The first 
 
A MEMORIAL. 57 
 
 step in this ascending flight is quite near the 
 threshold of an honored home, a sanctuary where 
 the hoHest affections cluster around all that is pure, 
 noble, and true. In such homes, by the blessing of 
 Heaven, the foundation of such a character is laid. 
 In the legitimate influence and grateful remem- 
 brance of them is it advanced, and in a growing 
 sense of our responsibility to man and God is it 
 consummated. 
 
 III. Notice Mr. Ames's probity of character in 
 his extensive business transactions. 
 
 In this age of defalcation, embezzlement, and 
 theft among our trusted public and business men, 
 who have squandered, on their vices, extravagances, 
 or folly, millions upon millions of the invested sav- 
 ings of the industrious poor, it is an almost infinite 
 relief to look upon a life, passed amid the most 
 extended and complicated industries and business 
 transactions, and behold it making up its record, 
 and marching to its consummation without a taint 
 of dishonor. It is a sad fact, and one exceedingly 
 dangerous to the integrity of a young man entering 
 
 8 
 
58 A MEMORIAL. 
 
 upon a business life, that the public confidence has 
 been so fearfully weakened in respect to the trust- 
 worthiness of business men, occupying places of 
 great responsibility, and intrusted with large amounts 
 of property belonging to others. The immorality 
 and great criminality of these fraudulent acts seem 
 to be lost sight of in their frequency and magnitude. 
 How grand, then, is that character which fights 
 down every temptation, spurns every bribe, scorns 
 the enticements and false promises of dishonest 
 gain, tramples under foot every mean suggestion, 
 and thus passes triumphantly through a long and 
 prosperous life, without robbing the poor of their 
 scanty earnings, or sacrificing integrity to a lust of 
 wealth! It is true, "A good name is rather to be 
 chosen than great riches, and loving favor rather 
 than silver and gold." 
 
 Yet, when great riches can be obtained by hon- 
 orable industry, by the creation of great national 
 benefits, and the promotion of healthy enterprise 
 and general thrift, without the least tarnish of a 
 good name, we may justly rejoice in that prosperity 
 which so happily secures each ; and when silver and 
 
A MEMORIAL. 59 
 
 gold flow into a man's hand in large measure, as the 
 legitimate fruit of wise and careful consideration of 
 the need of man, and the safe investment of what 
 has already been obtained by honest industry, we 
 know that no " loving favor " is lost, though the sil- 
 ver and the gold be greatly increased. 
 
 I am only presenting to you, young men, a char- 
 acter formed amid the excitements of worldly gain, 
 and the lying code, thrust into our very faces, that 
 no man can be rich and be honest in all his deal- 
 ings ; a character for fair and high-minded integrity 
 in all business transactions ; a character without a 
 hint or suspicion of any of those fraudulent, mean, 
 and deceitful tricks by which confidence is betrayed 
 and advantage is taken of a man's ignorance or 
 pressing need ; a character wdiich has a basis of 
 moral principle, and glories more in doing right 
 than in coining gold. 
 
 If, in starting out into life, you will rightly esti- 
 mate the value of this all-controlling element in a 
 noble and successful business life, if you will keep 
 your eye on the bright example which is now before 
 you, one thing is certain : whether you die in a 
 
6o A MEMORIAL. 
 
 mansion, surrounded by all the refinements and 
 luxuries and domestic enjoyments that wealth can 
 purchase, or in the more modest home secured by 
 your honest toil and made blessed by your refined, 
 active, and worthy life, you will have the sweet con- 
 solation of knowing that " he that walketh uprightly 
 walketh surely." Such is the testimony of your 
 own conscience, and of the outside world, whatever 
 be their practices; and such also is the testimony of 
 the infinitely pure and rigidly just Sovereign of the 
 universe. 
 
 And we bless God to-day that, for the great good 
 of our young men, one, right here, has demonstrated 
 before our eyes, in this most marked and signal 
 manner, one of the profoundest truths of the sacred 
 Word : " By humility, and the fear of the Lord, are 
 riches and honor and life." 
 
 My young friends, w^e have taken you, for a few 
 moments, to a life and character that have been devel- 
 oped and ripened in your very midst. We have 
 asked you to contemplate them as exhibited in the 
 important and practical relations of domestic, social, 
 
A MEMORIAL. 6 1 
 
 and business intercourse. Not that they were perfect 
 in every respect ; for no one would shrink from such 
 a claim quicker than he who ever bore himself with 
 such humility and modesty : but because, as a whole, 
 his virtues and success in life give a prominence to 
 his example, and make it a wise counsellor and faith- 
 ful instructor of the young. 
 
 It only remains for me to notice, in a word, the 
 two crowning traits of his character which so 
 ennobled and beautified his • closino^ life. I refer 
 to his general benevolence, his regard for the wor- 
 ship of God, and his profound respect for the relig- 
 ious convictions of man. 
 
 To my own knowledge, his benefactions for the 
 relief of personal need, and for the promotion of 
 the permanent good of society, have been timely, 
 constant, and large. They have not been conspicu- 
 ous, because his delicacy and sense of propriety 
 would not permit them to be trumpeted abroad. 
 But again and again have some of our most labori- 
 ous and successful philanthropists acknowledged to 
 me their indebtedness to his liberality for their abil- 
 ity to carry on their good work. I very much doubt 
 
62 A MEMORIAL. 
 
 whether he was accustomed to mention these bene- 
 factions, even to his own family. 
 
 Thus, his sincere and hearty interest in the \vel- 
 fare of individuals, and in the promotion of general 
 virtue and morality, are made the more worthy of 
 approbation by this remarkable abstinence of all 
 parade and pride in the act of giving. Many hearts 
 to-day are made joyous by his unostentatious benev- 
 olence, and yet do not, and probably never will, 
 know the hand that ministered to their need. 
 
 The munificent gifts to his own township and 
 neighborhood, for its practical, educational, and reli- 
 gious benefit, will ever stand as a monument of his 
 devotion to their great and permanent interests ; of 
 his regard for the true and lasting weal of the com- 
 munity where he lived and died. 
 
 Infidelity found in him no friend to its cheerless 
 and chilling faith. Positive in his own religious 
 views and character, he ever manifested a noble 
 freedom from prejudice, and rejoiced in that sweet 
 charity which received to its warmest friendship the 
 sincere worshipper of God. Reverent, and cherish- 
 ing an intelligent and worthy love of sacred song. 
 
A MEMORIAL. 63 
 
 the sanctuary was his delight ; and he crowned 
 his noble life with this beautiful and imperishable 
 temple, where God may speak to man through his 
 inspired word, and harmonious voices tuned to 
 praise may bear the reverent spirit upward, toward 
 a better and purer life. 
 
 Thus his estimation of the value of divine wor- 
 ship, his reverence for sacred things and regard for 
 the law of the Lord, will be impressed upon the 
 youthful heart so long as the rock he wrought into 
 this attractive sanctuary of the Most High shall 
 endure. He needs no emblazoned tablet to set 
 forth his virtues or sound his praise. Though 
 dead, he lives in the works of national renown to 
 which he gave his intellectual energy and his per- 
 sonal supervision; in the hearts of the people among 
 whom he displayed his rare wisdom, his calm judg- 
 ment, his business thrift, and his unquestioned integ- 
 rity and generosity. Ah, yes ! he still lives and will 
 live in the intelligence and virtue of the children 
 whose minds and hearts shall be blessed by his 
 munificent remembrance, as they enter the room for 
 
64 A MEMORIAL. 
 
 mental training, as they open the Word of God in 
 his courts, and sing the songs of Zion in the house 
 of religious worship ; or as, with solemn tread, they 
 follow the remains of departed loved ones to their 
 last resting-place, amid the quiet and the beauty 
 that his own hand hath prepared. And once more : 
 he will never die in that cherished home which his 
 love, intelligence, and virtue ever adorned, sanctified, 
 and sweetened, while the hallowed memories of the 
 past, and the varied achievements of the present, 
 remain as the reminders of the untold worth of such 
 a character in its influence upon the dawning life of 
 the young, to whose hands are committed the great 
 and good works still to be sustained and perfected. 
 
 Young men, I pray God that the thoughts to 
 which your attention has been invited may seem to 
 you worthy of the most careful consideration. Ah ! 
 it is, it is a noble, a blessed thing to live and toil in 
 this world, if, at the end, we may leave an unsullied 
 character; if the dear ones, who gather with tearful 
 eyes and aching hearts to take a farewell look of our 
 earthly remains, can say in truth of us, " Indeed, 
 
A MEMORIAL. 65 
 
 indeed ! the good man has gone ; the kind, the hum- 
 ble, the virtuous, the upright, the friend and brother 
 of mankind." Such a triumphant departure is worth 
 a most active and earnest effort to secure. Let no 
 one of us fail of it ! 
 
LETTERS OF SYMPATHY. 
 
LETTERS. 
 
 T 
 
 HE following are extracts from letters, express- 
 ing the sympathy of friends : — 
 
 " March ^, 1877. 
 " A few moments ago, I sent a messenger to the pLqui- 
 table Building to inquire about your father ; and the sad 
 answer is returned that all is over. You have my deepest 
 sympathies in this bereavement. Your father's character 
 was one which, in common with others, I greatly admired ; 
 and I have also reason to remember his kind offices to 
 myself. I had felt for some time that his days were not to 
 be many, and was the more anxious to make the visit . . . 
 when I hoped specially to see him at home. His is a 
 beautiful memory, but the loss is very great." 
 
 " March 10, 1877. 
 " I was greatly shocked to learn, on my return home, of 
 the death of your father, — the best man I ever knew, and 
 my ideal of all that was admirable and beautiful. I cannot 
 
70 A MEMORIAL. 
 
 deny myself the liberty of saying, I loved him most heart- 
 ily, and not because everybody loved him, but because I 
 could not help it. There is not a manly virtue in all the 
 list that he did not exhibit. He was always good to me. 
 I think I can appreciate something of your sense of loss. 
 I would do any thing for you ; but alas ! nobody can do 
 any thing." 
 
 " March io, 1877. 
 " I have just read the death of your good father in the 
 paper. I have been quite depressed by his illness. Yes- 
 terday the papers said he was better, and I believed it. I 
 could not think so good a man in his great usefulness 
 could be cut off. But * He who doeth all things well ' has 
 ordered it otherwise ; and we must yield, and be grateful 
 for the promise that we shall not be burdened beyond 
 what we can bear. Your father's noble example will ever 
 be a delight to you, and for his long life you must be 
 thankful." 
 
 " March ii, 1877. 
 " I trust that you will not think it intrusion, if I add my 
 sympathy to the grief that must burden your heart so 
 heavily to-day. Last evening I read in the paper the notice 
 of your father's death, of which I had a sad presentiment, 
 when I saw some days ago that he was seriously sick ; and 
 
A MEMORIAL. 7 1 
 
 to-day I feel a sense of personal bereavement, such as I 
 have not felt since the death of my own father. In our 
 Sunday-school this morning, the lesson was of the mem- 
 ory of the dead, and of the examples of the wise and good ; 
 and I used the instance of your father as an illustration of 
 the lesson, and spoke to the children of his noble and 
 upright life, and the great work that he had done for the 
 country, and for temperance, virtue, and religion, and espe- 
 cially of his beautiful gift of a church to his friends and 
 neighbors in the village where he had his home ; how he 
 cared so well for common duties not less than large enter- 
 prises ; how kind and generous and patient he was, and 
 what a blessed record he had left of his life. No one out 
 of your own family can feel more truly than I do the sever- 
 ity of the loss in the death of so faithful and trustworthy a 
 friend, a feeling in which hundreds more will share. I had 
 learned to look upon him as one of the rare men, admi- 
 rable in all the relations of life, conscientious, true, consid- 
 erate, firm, whose yea and nay could never be mistaken, 
 whose judgment was rarely at fault, and whose deliberate 
 action was always ruled by his trained moral sense ; who 
 was religious without any spirit of fanaticism, and wise 
 without any pretension ; whom prosperity could not spoil, 
 and who could meet adversity, if it should come, without 
 complaining, as he could bear pain serenely ; who aimed to 
 be just to all, and could be generous while he was just ; 
 whose greeting was a promise of welcome which could not 
 
72 
 
 A MEMORIAL. 
 
 be mistaken, and whose pressure of the hand carried the 
 heart with it ; whose life was an example of the true Chris- 
 tian life and temper, and whose face was a constant bene- 
 diction. My heart is sad in the thought that his gracious 
 presence will not wait any more at the threshold, when I 
 come as a guest to your hospitable home. But his spirit 
 will stay there ; and it will stay in the village which he 
 loved so well, and has done so much to glorify. He has 
 built his own monument, not only in the beautiful church 
 which points its spire to the sky, and in the new graveyard 
 where his body will rest, but in the grateful memory of 
 friends and neighbors, to whom his word was for so many 
 years almost a rule of action, and whose ready deference 
 to his opinion was a free and spontaneous tribute. And 
 it may be a comfort to you in your affliction, to know that 
 he whom you loved so fondly was one of whom all spoke 
 well, and whose fame will not suffer by the event of his 
 death. And though I shall not be able to wait with you 
 at the service of his burial, I shall be with you in spirit to 
 say * Amen ' to every good word that is spoken for one 
 whom I so much loved and honored. May the best bless- 
 ing of God rest upon you all, and strength be given to you 
 to bear your heavy trial." 
 
A MEMORIAL. 73 
 
 "March 13, 1877. 
 " I wish to express to you my deep sympathy for your 
 great and irreparable loss by the death of your most esti- 
 mable father. In the midst of his great usefulness, he has 
 been called by the great Author and Ruler of the world to 
 leave us, and return to that home where there is no more 
 death and sorrow. Blessed are the dead that die to their 
 Lord and Master. It is of very rare occurrence that so 
 many good qualities centre in any one man as that of 
 your departed father : his goodness of heart was always 
 flowing out with acts of kindness to all. There was not a 
 man, in the whole range of my acquaintance, that I held in 
 higher esteem than your dear father. In him I always 
 felt that I had a friend with whom I could freely advise, and 
 I never asked a favor of him which was not freely and 
 cheerfully granted. His acts of kindness are indelibly im- 
 pressed on my memory, never to be erased as long as I 
 am permitted to remain in this world." 
 
 "March 13, 1877. 
 " I desire to express to you my high appreciation of the 
 great excellences which shone out in the life and character 
 of your honored father. I have known him more or less 
 for many years. We have generally sympathized in the 
 same public and benevolent objects ; and I have always 
 regarded him about as near a perfect pattern of a man, in 
 
 10 
 
74 A MEMORIAL. 
 
 all his relations with his fellow-men, as I have known. 
 Just, sincere, modest, kind, and charitable, uniting in him- 
 self those high business qualities which have been of so 
 much importance to the great public enterprises of the coun- 
 try, I have regarded his influence on the great number of 
 operatives, in the employment of the manufactories with 
 which he has been connected, as most salutary and benefi- 
 cent, and his occasional public testimonies to the importance 
 of sobriety and good morals have been of great value to the 
 community. His influence has been great in this vicinity, 
 and as good and useful as it was great ; and his memory 
 will long be remembered and honored." 
 
 " March i8, 1877. 
 " The death of your father brings to my mind acts of 
 kindness and attention that I have received from him, 
 which were of such a nature that but few would have per- 
 formed. Last fall, I had quite a number of interviews 
 with him, and there were two things I noticed, and shall 
 not easily forget ; and these are briefly stated : his kind- 
 ness of heart, and patience in listening to me and my 
 propositions, although there must have been at all times 
 plenty of weighty matters to occupy his mind. I never 
 met with any one who so thoroughly and promptly did as 
 he agreed : he did not say he would do a thing, and then 
 give it no more attention, but performed to the very letter. 
 This is rare in mankind, and should be acknowledged." 
 
A MEMORIAL. 75 
 
 NOT LOST. 
 
 THE look of sympathy, the gentle word, 
 Spoken so low that angels only heard ; 
 The secret act of pure self-sacrifice. 
 Unseen by men, but marked by angels' eyes : 
 These are not lost. 
 
 The happy dreams that gladdened all our youth. 
 When dreams had less of self and more of truth ; 
 The childhood's faith, so tranquil and so sweet, 
 Which sat like Mary at the Master's feet : 
 These are not lost. 
 
 The kindly plans, devised for others' good, 
 So seldom guessed, so little understood ; 
 The quiet, steadfast love that strove to win 
 Some wanderer from the ways of sin : 
 These are not lost. 
 
 Not lost, O Lord, for in thy city bright 
 Our eyes shall see the past by clearer light ; 
 And things long hidden from our gaze below 
 Thou wilt reveal, and we shall surely know 
 These are not lost. 
 
 Anon. 
 
RESOLUTIONS OF RESPECT. 
 
RESOLUTIONS. 
 
 Boston, March 17, 1877. 
 Madam, — We herewith forward to you a copy of Reso- 
 lutions unanimously passed this day by the Directors of 
 the Old Colony Railroad Company, relative to the lamented 
 death of your honored husband. 
 
 Permit us personally to express our sympathy with you 
 and your family in your great affliction. 
 
 We are, with sentiments of sincere respect, 
 Your obedient servants, 
 
 Onslow Stearns. 
 Uriel Crocker. 
 
 Old Colony Railroad Company, 
 In DniECTORs' Meeting, March 16, 1877. 
 
 The following preamble and Resolutions were unani- 
 mously passed : — 
 
 Whereas, Since the last meeting of this Board, the Hon. 
 Oliver Ames, for many years a Director of this Corpora- 
 tion, has deceased, and we are desirous of entering upon 
 our records our appreciation of the loss which this Corpo- 
 ration and the community have suffered in the death of 
 our associate in the fulness of his usefulness, — 
 
8o A MEMORIAL. 
 
 Resolved, That, in the death of Mr. Ames, we recognize 
 the loss of a wise counsellor and true friend ; generous 
 without ostentation, courageous, patient, and unassuming, 
 decided in his opinions and true to his convictions of duty ; 
 honored for his spotless integrity, and endeared to us by 
 his simple dignity of character and kindliness of heart and 
 manner which make our long association with him in offi- 
 cial duties a precious memory. His example and his life 
 added new honor to a name already honored throughout 
 the land for virtue and successful enterprise. We have 
 lost a most valued associate, and the community a citizen 
 leading in all good works. 
 
 Resolved, That we tender to the family of Mr. Ames our 
 heartfelt sympathy in their bereavement. 
 
 Resolved, That these Resolutions be entered upon our 
 records, and that the Clerk be directed to send a copy of 
 them to the family of Mr. Ames. 
 
 Jacob H. Loud. 
 Francis B. Hayes. 
 Benjamin Finch. 
 Samuel L. Crocker. 
 Royal W. Turner. 
 John S. Brayton. 
 Charles F. Choate. 
 Thomas J. Borden. 
 Prince S. Crowell. 
 
 E. N. WiNSLOW. 
 
 A true copy from the records. 
 
 Attest : George Marston, Clerk. 
 
A MEMORIAL. 8 1 
 
 At a meeting of the First National Bank, Massachusetts, 
 held April 3, the following Resolutions were adopted: — 
 
 WhereaSy An all-wise Providence in his own good time 
 has been pleased to remove by death our friend and brother 
 Oliver Ames, one of the founders and ardent supporters 
 of this Bank, — 
 
 Resolved, That the remaining members of this Board 
 wish to express their deep sorrow at the death of Mr. 
 Ames. Connected with this institution as he had been 
 from its commencement, we have ever found in him a wise 
 counsellor, true friend, of great industry, and of unswerv- 
 ing integrity, always prompt to do his full duty. Let us 
 honor his memory by being true to all trusts committed 
 to our care, that, when the final summons comes to us to 
 go hence, we may be able to say as he said, " It is all 
 
 RIGHT." 
 
 Resolved, That a copy of these proceedings be sent to 
 the family of Mr. Ames, as a slight token of our deep 
 sympathy with them in their deep affliction. 
 
 P. A. GiFFORD, Cashier. 
 North Easton, April 3, 1877. 
 
 The Union Pacific Railroad Company. 
 At a meeting of the Board of Directors of the Union 
 Pacific Railroad Company, held in the city of New York, 
 
 II 
 
82 A MEMORIAL. 
 
 March 15, 1877, the following Resolutions were unanimously 
 adopted : — 
 
 Resolved, That, whereas death has deprived us of the 
 presence and counsel of Mr. Oliver Ames, one of our 
 oldest and most esteemed Directors, it is fit and proper 
 that his associates in the direction of the Union Pacific 
 Railroad Company should express the official and personal 
 regard which they had for the deceased, and their unaf- 
 fected grief at his sudden death in the full tide of his 
 usefulness. 
 
 Mr. Ames came into this Board at a period when high 
 character, financial ability, and extended reputation were 
 indispensable to the Company's success. His experience 
 in great enterprises was then a matter within the public 
 knowledge. From 1866 to 1877 he remained a Director, 
 and was President from 1866 to 1871. Throughout this 
 long service, his name has been like a tower of refuge and 
 strength. His faith in the capacity and future of our road, 
 early formed, was unfaltering. In periods of financial 
 peril, his means and credit were most generously placed at 
 the disposal of our treasury. His daily presence and 
 timely word of counsel have contributed very largely to 
 the good reputation which the Company has attained. 
 With his official intercourse with members of this Board 
 have been united acts of personal friendship which will 
 cause us to hold him ever in affectionate remembrance. 
 
A MEMORIAL. 83 
 
 And to his ability, culture, wealth, station, and dignified 
 but unostentatious manners, were added the kind heart and 
 the open hand of a Christian gentleman. 
 
 Resolved, That the Secretary be requested to transmit a 
 copy of these Resolutions to the family of the deceased. 
 
 A true copy. 
 
 Attest: Henry McFarland, Secretary. 
 
 Resolutions of respect adopted by the Board of Direct- 
 ors of the Massachusetts Total Abstinence Society, May 7, 
 1877: — 
 
 Whereas, The death of the late Hon. Oliver Ames has 
 awakened a wide-spread sadness in the community, where 
 he was intimately associated with various philanthropic 
 efforts and large business enterprises. He was known for 
 his unquestioned integrity, clear business sagacity, and 
 active sympathy in all efforts to help his fellow-men. The 
 temperance cause, especially, found in him a constant and 
 efficient benefactor, and he gave to it both the influence of 
 his personal sympathy, and his generous pecuniary aid. 
 He was a prominent officer of the Massachusetts Total 
 Abstinence Society from its first organization ; he ren- 
 dered it great service by his regular and munificent con- 
 tributions, and never failed heartily to co-operate with its 
 measures for enlarged usefulness. 
 
84 A MEMORIAL. 
 
 Therefore, Resolved, That in the death of Hon. Oliver 
 Ames, senior Vice-President of the Massachusetts Total 
 Abstinence Society, the cause of temperance, especially, 
 has lost a life-long friend of great ability and influence ; 
 whose outspoken advocacy of the cause, and consistent 
 example, whether in high or humble life, has made human- 
 ity his debtor, and secured to his memory the title of a 
 public benefactor. 
 
 Resolved, That we recommend to all, as worthy of imita- 
 tion, his personal example of total abstinence from all 
 intoxicating drinks as the only path of safety. 
 
 Resolved, That the Secretary of this Society be directed 
 to inscribe these Resolutions upon the records of the Soci- 
 ety, and transmit a copy to the family of our deceased 
 colaborer. 
 
 W. B. Spooner. 
 S. W. Bush. 
 William Claflin. 
 Edward S. Tobey. 
 
 Unanimously adopted at the monthly meeting of the 
 Board of Directors of the Massachusetts Total Abstinence 
 Society, held the seventh day of May, a.d. 1877. 
 
 C. L. Hey WOOD, Treasurer. 
 Benjamin R. Jewell, Secretary. 
 
A MEMORIAL. 85 
 
 Resolutions of the Providence Conference of the Method- 
 ist Episcopal Church, at its session in New London, Conn., 
 held April 16, 1877. 
 
 Whereas, The Main Street Church at North Easton has 
 been made the recipient of the generous liberality of Hon. 
 Oliver Ames in the noble gift of a church edifice, which 
 has been transferred to trustees for the use of the Method- 
 ist Episcopal Church in that place, — 
 
 Resolved, That the Conference gratefully recognizes 
 and acknowledges the kindly regard for our Church which 
 has always been manifested by the Ames family in North 
 Easton, Mass. 
 
 Resolved, That, in the recent decease of the Hon. Oliver 
 Ames, our Church has lost one of its kindest benefactors ; 
 and, in common with the community which has been so 
 deeply afflicted, we mourn his death, and extend our 
 Christian sympathy to his bereaved family. 
 
NOTICES OF THE PRESS. 
 
NOTICES OF THE PRESS. 
 
 [From the "Brockton Weekly Gazette," March 15, 1877.] 
 
 On Friday forenoon last, word passed through this vil- 
 lage that Oliver Ames was dead. All labor at once ceased, 
 a Sabbath stillness reigned, and it was a day of general 
 grief. All felt that we had met with a very great, an irrep- 
 arable, loss ; for he was a man whom we all loved. We 
 loved him, because he was a friend of the poor and the 
 humble and the lowly ; we loved him because he put on 
 no airs of superiority, because he was open-hearted and 
 tender-hearted ; a generous, sympathetic, noble man. He 
 was a public benefactor. The beautiful church, built so 
 substantially and so gracefully, will remain a monument of 
 his generosity and public spirit for centuries to come. 
 Early last year he concluded to prepare a large tract of 
 woodland, west of and adjoining the church, for a ceme- 
 tery, and an immense amount of solid work was done in 
 removing rocks, in grading, in building roads and walks, 
 and enclosing the whole by a high and massive stone wall. 
 Winter, however, set in before the work was entirely com- 
 pleted. Later in the fall, the remains of his father, mother, 
 
90 A MEMORIAL. 
 
 and brothers, and also other members of the Ames family 
 were removed to this new cemetery ; and now he reposes 
 by the side of his father and his brother, in the heart of 
 this village, through whose energy and enterprise it was 
 built up, and made so lovely and attractive to us all. Mr. 
 Ames had always the good of this people and village at 
 heart. 
 
 The writer does not intend to write an eulogy of the 
 good man now gone. He knows that he is not capable of 
 the task, and will leave it for abler pens ; but having been 
 in the employ of Mr. Ames from boyhood, and knowing 
 and loving him so well, wishes simply to add his humble 
 testimony to the exalted worth of the departed. 
 
 The funeral of Mr. Ames took place Monday afternoon. 
 An extra train was run from Boston, which brought two or 
 three hundred people, mostly prominent railroad and busi- 
 ness men, and many others from among the leading men in 
 the Commonwealth. The remains were placed in the east 
 room at ten o'clock, when an opportunity was given to 
 those who wished to view them. The people of the village 
 availed themselves of it to take a farewell look of their long 
 and cherished friend. The countenance of the deceased 
 was remarkably pleasant, as though he had but fallen into 
 a gentle sleep. 
 
 After a prayer at the house at one o'clock, the body 
 was borne to the church on a bier, the bearers, eight in 
 number, being selected from men who had long been in 
 
A MEMORIAL. 91 
 
 Mr. Ames's employ. The floral display at the church was 
 rich, beautiful, and profuse. The house was "filled princi- 
 pally by people who came from out of town, and hundreds 
 were unable to gain admission. Remarks were made by 
 the pastor, Rev. William L. Chaffin, and they were a 
 remarkably tender and fitting tribute to the memory of the 
 good man. Rev. Mr. Shippen, who preached the sermon 
 at the funeral of the Hon. Oakes Ames, and who was a 
 personal friend of the family, also spoke with much feeling 
 of the character and virtues of the deceased. After the 
 services at the church, the body was borne to its last rest- 
 ing-place on the summit of the hill in the new cemetery, 
 where, after singing by the choir and a brief and appropri- 
 ate prayer by Mr. Shippen, it was lowered into the grave. 
 
 [From the " Boston Daily Traveller," March 9, 1877.] 
 
 In the death of Hon. Oliver Ames, which sad event 
 occurred at the family residence at North Easton this 
 forenoon, Massachusetts loses one of her ablest and most 
 enterprising business men, one whose measures were ever 
 dictated by a far-sighted sagacity and energetic execution. 
 
 Mr. Ames — who was the last of the five sons associated 
 with his father, the late Oliver Ames, in the celebrated 
 firm of Oliver Ames & Sons — was born at Plymouth, 
 Mass., and was sixty-nine years of age at the time of his 
 decease. At an early age, after receiving a careful prelimi- 
 
92 A MEMORIAL. 
 
 nary education, Mr. Ames became associated in his father's 
 business, for which he had shown remarkable aptitude, and 
 in the success of which his general ability was an impor- 
 tant element. 
 
 Never relinquishing his interest in the great iron works 
 at North Easton, he took a large share in advancing the 
 firm to the position it attained as one of the leading iron 
 houses of the world, known and respected in every centre 
 of business activity. His far-sighted sagacity enabled him 
 quickly to comprehend the importance of the extension of 
 the railroad system to the growing resources and capabili- 
 ties of the country ; and he became interested in many of 
 our local lines, being for years connected with the directory 
 of the Old Colony & Newport Railroad, of which he was 
 an activQ promoter. The same qualities which led him to 
 appreciate the importance of the construction and' exten- 
 sion of local lines caused him to be among the first to 
 realize the importance of connecting the Atlantic seaboard 
 with the rich Pacific slope. He early became engaged in 
 the movement which eventuated in the construction of the 
 Union Pacific Railroad. 
 
 While the enterprise was yet in its inception, he was 
 prominent in bringing its claims to the attention of capi- 
 talists and the public in general ; and his experience, and 
 general business capacity for large and far-reaching opera- 
 tions of this nature, proved of immense value to the success 
 of the road. 
 
A MEMORIAL. 93 
 
 On the departure of Gen. John A. Dix for Europe in 
 1866, Mr. Ames was chosen president, /r^? tern., and acted 
 in that capacity until March 12, 1868, when he was for- 
 mally chosen president of the company. 
 
 This position he held until March 8, 1871, when, to the 
 sincere regret of his business associates, and the stock- 
 holders generally, he declined re-election, and was suc- 
 ceeded by Thomas A. Scott, of Philadelphia. His position 
 as director of the road Mr. Ames retained at the time of 
 his decease. In shaping and formulating the policy of the 
 road, Mr. Ames's service was of great importance, as his 
 associate directors cheerfully testify, and as all cognizant 
 with the history of the enterprise will heartily agree. 
 
 But the loss of Mr. Ames will not be felt alone by the 
 business portion of the community ; it will be realized 
 as well by all who ever met him simply in his personal 
 capacity. A man of large, benevolent nature and kindly 
 impulses, he endeared himself to both associates and sub- 
 ordinates, and his death will be mourned quite as heartily 
 by those who knew him as an employer, as by those who 
 were his colleagues. 
 
 [From the " Shoe and Leather Reporter," March 15, 1S77.] 
 
 Oliver Ames. — An eminently useful, honorable, and 
 successful career was closed by the death of the above- 
 
94 A MEMORIAL. 
 
 named gentleman, on the 9th of March, at his home in 
 North Easton, Mass., at the age of sixty-nine. He was 
 the last of the five sons of Oliver Ames, whose Shovel 
 Works acquired so much celebrity during his lifetime, and 
 have been noted under the management of his successors 
 for the production of the best quality of that indispensable 
 article of general utility. 
 
 Mr. Ames was most widely known through his identifi- 
 cation with great enterprises, foremost among which was 
 the Union Pacific Railroad, of which he was from the start 
 a leading director and proprietor, and for some time presi- 
 dent. He was at the time of his decease the owner of 
 fully one-tenth of its capital stock. His name was always 
 a source of strength to the corporation, because of his 
 acknowledged probity and excellent judgment in business 
 affairs. 
 
 But it was not his wealth nor his practical sagacity that 
 constituted his highest claim to posthumous honor. It was 
 the simplicity of his nature, the kindness of his heart, the 
 purity of his life, that endeared him to the multitude of 
 friends who are sincere mourners for his loss. One who 
 knew him intimately remarked on the day of his funeral 
 that the three most conspicuous traits of his character 
 were " honesty, modesty, generosity." He was constantly 
 doing good deeds in an extremely quiet and unostentatious 
 way. One of the most beautiful memorials of his liberality 
 is. the church in North Easton, a perfect gem of architec- 
 
A MEMORIAL. 95 
 
 ture, and as exquisite an edifice as can be found in New 
 England. He devoted nearly all his time to the details of 
 its construction, notwithstanding the various other con- 
 cerns that demanded his watchful care. It is an enduring 
 monument alike of his good taste and his wise munificence. 
 Happily he lived to see it completed, dedicated, and con- 
 secrated to the religious services, which are so important a 
 feature of the New England Sabbath. 
 
 In the family circle, Mr. Ames was an exemplar of the 
 highest domestic virtues. As a neighbor, he was the 
 object of universal esteem and regard. He had no enemy 
 in the village in which so much of his life had been spent, 
 and in which he had long held the .leading position. As 
 an employer, he was always thoughtful and considerate. 
 As a citizen, he was faithful to every duty and true to 
 every obligation. 
 
 The last rites of respect for his memory harmonized 
 admirably with the modest tenor of his serene life. The 
 pall-bearers at his funeral were all of them workmen who 
 had served him for a generation in the old factory. The 
 solemnity of the scene was not disturbed by any intermin- 
 gling of pageantry with the genuine sorrow caused by so 
 great a bereavement. Floral tributes there were in profu- 
 sion. Such offerings, tendered to mark the sense of those 
 who gave them of the sacredness of the dust whereon they 
 were reverently laid, could not be refused. But silent tears, 
 more eloquent than wreaths or crowns, fell upon that bier, 
 
96 A MEMORIAL. 
 
 expressive of heartfelt regret for a departed benefactor and 
 an estimable man. 
 
 [From the "Omaha Republican," March 14, 1877.] 
 
 At a meeting of the citizens of Omaha, called to take 
 appropriate action on the death of the late Hon. Oliver 
 Ames, the Mayor of the city was unanimously called upon 
 to preside. Upon taking the chair, he spoke as follows : 
 
 Gentlemen, — For the unexpected honor of being 
 selected by you to preside over your deliberations at this 
 meeting, I tender you my most sincere thanks ; and the 
 more especially am I grateful for the position you have 
 assigned to me from the fact that Oliver Ames, the enter- 
 prising and good man whose memory we have met to cher- 
 ish, and whose life we are here to commend, was for many 
 years personally known to me. When such a man as he 
 is called hence, to be no more upon earth, mourning is not 
 limited to his family circle, to his relatives, nor to his 
 neighbors and friends. The people of the State, whose 
 enterprises he honored, the men of the nation whose welfare 
 he promoted, are alike mourners over his departure. How 
 natural, then, that we of the West, who have shared so lib- 
 erally of his public spirit ; that we of Omaha and Nebraska ; 
 that the people all along the vast region now traversed by 
 the Union Pacific Railroad, towards the successful and 
 
A MEMORIAL. 97 
 
 speedy construction of which he contributed so much of 
 time, of money, of financial skill, — should gather themselves 
 together as if by intuition, to pay that sad yet cheerful 
 tribute to that excellent worth which shone forth so pre- 
 eminently and so constantly in the daily life of our departed 
 friend. Rare indeed is it that goodness, greatness, and 
 simplicity are so harmoniously blended in the character of 
 one man as they were in that of Oliver Ames. 
 
 After these remarks by the Mayor, a committee of five 
 was appointed to draft appropriate Resolutions. The fol- 
 lowing were reported, and unanimously adopted : — 
 
 Whereas, The citizens of Omaha have lately been informed 
 of the sudden death of Hon. Oliver Ames, of North Easton, 
 Mass., on the 9th inst., and, — 
 
 Whereas, By frequent intercourse with him during the last ten 
 years as president and director, and one of the most influential 
 promoters and owners, of the Union Pacific Railroad, we have 
 learned to appreciate and esteem his great capacity, his public 
 spirit, his unspotted integrity, and his fidelity to all his engage- 
 ments ; and are desirous of giving public expression to our admi- 
 ration of his character and our regret at his loss ; therefore, — 
 
 Resolved, That we have heard with deep sorrow of the death 
 of Mr. Ames ; that in his demise the country has lost one of its 
 most public-spirited and patriotic citizens, and this city and 
 State a friend deeply interested in their prosperity, and ever 
 ready to embark his wealth in every enterprise calculated to 
 develop our resources and promote our prosperity. 
 
 13 
 
98 A MEMORIAL. 
 
 Resolved, That, believing as he did that the true interest of 
 Omaha, Nebraska, and the entire trans-Missouri country was 
 and must be coincident with the growth and development of the 
 business and prosperity of that great national enterprise, the 
 Union Pacific Railroad, to which he had largely devoted the last 
 twelve years of his life, and his great wealth ; and that complete 
 harmony and mutual support was the highest and best policy of 
 each : that being thus led to sustain, encourage, and aid the 
 most important local railroad enterprises undertaken west of the 
 Missouri River ; such, for example, as the Utah Southern, Utah 
 Central, the Utah Northern, the Colorado Central, the Black 
 Hills Branch of the Union Pacific, the Omaha and Republican 
 Valley, and others in contemplation, but not yet made public, — 
 he was entitled to and should receive the gratitude of the people 
 of this city, and all those localities whose welfare has been com- 
 mensurate with the growth of the public enterprises in which he 
 and his associates were embarked. 
 
 Resolved, That in the death of Mr. Ames, the officers and 
 directors of the Union Pacific Railroad Company have lost an 
 associate whose name was a tower of financial strength, whose 
 counsels were ever prudent, wise, and conciliatory, who shrank 
 from no responsibilities, and halted at no obstacles in the 
 advancement and consummation of the public enterprises to 
 which he devoted himself. 
 
 Resolved, That the employes of the Union Pacific, in the death 
 of Mr. Ames, have lost one of their best friends ; one whose 
 early years had made him familiar with the life, the trials, and 
 needs of the laboring classes, and who, ultimately achieving an 
 immense and varied business and great wealth, never lost sym- 
 pathy with working-men ; but on the contrary was ever jealous 
 of their rights, and solicitous of their welfare. 
 
A MEMORIAL. 99 
 
 Resolved, That the secretary be directed to forward a copy of 
 these Resolutions to the president of the Union Pacific Raihoad 
 Company, and to Frederick L. Ames, Esq., North Easton, Mass., 
 and also furnish copies to the daily press of this city for 
 publication. 
 
 Remarks highly appreciative of the character and ser- 
 vices of Mr. Ames, and of the great benefits to Omaha 
 and Nebraska resulting from his enterprise, were then 
 made by various prominent citizens. 
 
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