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REPORT
i 1 OF THE
SPEECHES, POEM AND OTHER PROCEEDINGS
1i AT A
!
DINNER GIVEN JUNE 3O, 187O.
BY THE ^
OITIZEFS OF PITTSFIELD, MASS.,
1,
TO THEIR
TOWNSMEN WHO HAD REACHED THE
AGE OF 70 YEARS.
ODffidol laejiort.
ALBANY, N. Y. .
JOEL MUNSBLL.
1870.
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f eptttag^tt^vi^tt §imtt.

REPORT

SPEECHES, POEM AND OTHER PROCEEDINGS

DINNER GIVEN JUNE 3O, 187O.

OITIZEIsTS OF PITTSFIELD, MASS.,

TOWNSMEN WHO HAD REACHED THE
AGE OE 70 YEARS.
©fficial Ecflort.

ALBANY, N. Y. :
JOEL MUNSELL.
1870.

AD VEBTI8EMENT.
Nothing since the old Berkshire Jubilee has so stirred
the local memories, and perhaps gratified the local pride,
of Pittsfield, as did the dinner to the townsmen of seventy
years and upwards, given at the American Iiouse, on the
SOth of June inst., and in accordance with a universally ex
pressed desire that the memory of the occasion, as well as
the quaint and interesting reminiscences drawn out, should
be preserved in a printed form, a somewhat full report has
been prepared and is submitted to the public in the fol
lowing pages.
PITTSFIELD, July, 1870.

THE
SEPTUAGENARIAN DINNER.

Pbbliminary Measures.
For several years past Hon. Thomas F. Plunkett has, in
conversation, called attention to the unusual number of long
lived men in Pittsfield, as compared with the roll of the same
class in most towns of equal population ; and to their high
character for virtue and intellectual ability. Some recogni
tion of these facts he thought due to them in commemora
tion of the achievements of their generation as well as of
their own virtues. In so honoring them he urged that the
town would honor itself; and he suggested a public dinner,
as the most convenient form in which it could be done .
Time, however, passed on, without — in the agitated days
which accompanied and succeeded our late civil war — pre
senting any period specially favorable for carrying out the
project; and in the interval many of those for whose gratifi
cation the honor was first designed passed away, while others
equally worthy, rose to the three score years and ten, to which
our active life is wont to be restricted ; although many of the
venerable citizens of Pittsfield pay so little regard to the bar
rier that it may be considered as practically thrown down.
Of those who, since this commemoration was proposed,
have died at an advanced age, most of them retaining
their mental powers almost to the last, it would be im
practicable to here mention all ; but the following names
will occur to every one :
Hon. Phinehas Allen, Founder of the Pittsfield Sun, who
died at 84.

6
Hon. Edward A. Newton, at 78.
Rev. Heman Humphrey, D.D., the first President of
Amherst College, and the well beloved ex-pastor of the
first church in Pittsfield, at 83.
Hon. Henry Hubbard, at 81.
Hon. Henry H. Childs, the Founder of the Berkshire
Medical College, 84.
Thomas Durant, Esq., 75.
Col. Thaddeus Clapp, 73.
Calvin Martin, Esq., 80.
Jason Clapp, Esq., 86.
Walter Laflin, Esq., 74.
"Walter Tracy, Esq., 85.
Only a few of those whose names come to mind in the retro
spect of a generation of noble men, and whose presence
would have added a crowning glory to the grand assembly
of the seniors, which met on the 30th of June, 1870.
On "Wednesday, the 15th of June, Mr. Plunkett meeting
several gentlemen accidentally, in the park where the Old
Elm had stood, once more broached the subj ect, and, the seed
not falling on stony ground, those present at once took the
matter in hand, and, by their invitation, a meeting of the
citizens to consider it assembled at the District Court room
onthe foUovdng evening, when Washington M. Root, Esq.,
was called to the chair, and J. E. A. Smith appointed secre
tary. On motion of Hon. Thomas F. Plunkett, it was voted
that the proposed dinner ought to be given, and the follow
ing committees, to carry out the plan, were chosen upon
the recommendation of a committee of nomination.
Executive Committee. — Thomas F. Plunkett, Robert Pome
roy, Thomas Colt, Phinehas Allen, John C. West, Ensign H.
Kellogg, James Francis, Samuel E. Howe, George S. Willis.
Finance. — James M. Barker, E. S. Francis, Washington
M. Root.

Invitations. — Gilbert West, J. E. A. Smith, T. P. Pingree,
Prof. John Tatlock, G. T. Barker, J. Dwight Francis.
Carriages. — Edwin Clapp, Cebra Quackenbush, Geo. Y.
Learned, Abraham Burbank.
Dinner. — Daniel J. Dodge, William H. Teeling, Solomon
K Russell.
Music. — John C. West, Geo. C. Dunham, S. M. Cooley,
E. S. Francis, S. E. Mchols, H. W. Chapin.
It was voted that the sub-committees report to the
executive committee, Monday evening, June 27, and that
the executive committee then determine upon the time
and place for the dinner.
After the adjournment, however, it was found that Mr.
Gilbert West, chairman of the committee upon in-^ita-
tions, having some years previous become interested in
the project, had made so complete a canvass of the Septua
genarians of the town, that the labors of his committee
could be perfected with much greater facility than had
been expected. The finance committee also met with so
prompt and generous a response that no delay was needed
on their part. And it being thought expedient to act
while the enthusiasm was fresh, the executive committee
met at an earlier day than was first named, and decided to
hold the dinner on the 30th of June, at the American
House of Mr. Cebra Quackenbush.
Much to the regret of the committee, it was found im
practicable to invite the mothers as well as the fathers of
the town ; but their praises were in all mouths, and they
were far from forgotten.
[Note. — Mr. Washington M. Root, who presided at the
first meeting, was debarred further participation in the
labors and pleasures of the occasion by the illness and
death of his son — an affliction in which he received the
most heartfelt sympathy of his fellow citizens.]

The Dinner.
The last meeting of the committees was held on the
evening of the 29th, when Hon. Thomas F. Plunkett was
chosen to preside on the following day, and J. E. A. Smith
made secretary.
On the appointed morning, the American House was
profusely decorated with star-spangled banners, well be
loved of those who were to be its guests, and by twelve
o'clock its spacious piazzas began to be thronged with
men of white locks, and furrowed faces, but mostly of
still keen eyes and full of vitality.
The canvass of the committee showed one hundred and
sixty-six men in town above the ordinary limit of human
life, of whom twenty-six were over eighty. But from
diflUculty in ascertaining residences, from the infirmities
of some, and from business engagements of others', only
one hundred and two were present, of whom sixteen were
over eighty.
There were present in addition about sixty invited
guests, mostly members of the committees, and gentle
men who had contributed to the occasion in some way.
Among the more venerable guests were Otis Cole, a
veteran fife-major, aged 75 years; P. Van Rensselaer
Taylor, another fifer of the old time, aged 73 ; and Nel
son Merry, aged 69, both of whom, we believe, also rank
as musical majors — certainly neither as minors or fiats.
Many of the old men present had, in their youthful
days of military pride, marched to the spirit-stirring
strains of the fife and drum of this martial band, which
began its service fifty years ago, and still, with hardly
diminished vigor, often leads the volunteer militia and
civil processions of the town — perhaps one of the most
remarkable instances of long service of this character.

9
At a httle past one o'clock this familiar band rolled out
the summons to dinner, and the long tables, sumptuously
loaded, and decorated with a profusion of choice flowers,
were soon surrounded by the most unique assemblage of
guests which had ever met around them.
The scene was one long to be remembered, and one, the
like of which has perhaps never before been witnessed :
over one hundred old gentlemen, hale and hearty, the
citizens of one town of little more than eleven thousand
population ; old men who had come together, born on the
banks of the Rhine, the Hudson, the Connecticut, in the
green Isle of Erin, among the brae fields and bonnie
heather of Scotland, from -wide and scattered birth places
where their infant lullabies had been the clangor of arms,
the peal of trumpets, and the crash of falling thrones in
the world's greatest confiict — now come peacefully to
gether to rejoice as American citizens with the native born
elder sons of Berkshire, in the common heritage which
they bequeath to their children.
Among them was Nicholas Bailey, who in the year 181'8,
as one of the detachment of British prisoners of war
marched down West and up North streets to the canton
ment, which stood where Maplewood Young Ladies'
Institute now does; the band, of which Major Cole was
perhaps one, ringing out with a peculiarly triumphant
shriek the patriotic strains of Yankee Doodle. Mr. Bailey
thought providence and Sergfeant Pike had done him a
good service, and concluded to stay where they had
brought him. Near him stood the descendants of Hes
sians, who, taken prisoners in 1777, at Bennington, had
come to the same wise conclusion. Nearly opposite to
him sat Capt. Jared Ingersoll, who gallantly led a company
of the Bloody Ninth, Col. Larned commanding, in the war
of 1812. 2

10
But there were few present of whose long lives some
interesting incident might not be recalled, a record of
which would transcend the limits of the present publication.
Of the dinner, as a feast for the palate, it would be doing
less than justice to Mr. Quackenbush to say, that we never
knew one to be prepared with equal luxury and elegance
for so large a number of persons, even with much longer
notice. He seemed to enter entirely into the spirit of the
occasion, and to be governed by that, rather than by re
gard for the cost. He never before, we will venture to
say, won more friends and higher respect in one day. The
approbation was unreserved and unanimous.
The dinner was followed by a succession of speeches,
which by their graphic eloquence happily relieved the re
porter from the necessity of himself attempting to elabor
ately describe the occasion.
The dinner having been discussed with a relish, Mr.
Plunkett addressed the guests with words of welcome sub
stantially as follows :
Venerable Men of Pittsfield .- It is a cause for congratulation
to «very citizen of this town that so many of its inhabitants
have reached the age of three score years and ten. The
fact is creditable to our climate, to our habits, and to our
institutions. Old age is honorable. That the hoary head is a crown
of glory is taught in the Bible, and the human heart
instinctively assents to the same sentiment. The glory of
children are their fathers. We all reverence what is old in
nature, and in art, and much more the experience and
wisdom which years give to the human mind.
It is to give expression to this feeling, and to enjoy the
pleasure of seeing so many of you together, that the citi
zens of Pittsfield have in-vited you to be present on this
occasion, and in their behalf I bid you welcome.

11
We shall hope to hear, from some of you, reminiscences
of the town, of the county, and of the United States.
You have been blessed not only with long life, but with
that life in a progressive age, and in a prosperous land.
You have seen a development in civilization, in science,
in art, in all that ennobles the human race, beyond that
which has been vouchsafed to any of your predecessors.
You have seen the inhabited portion of the United States
extend, from the vicinity of the Hudson, to the shores of
the Pacific. You have lived from the time when Pittsfield
was out west, to this present, when it seems almost at the
extreme east.
You have been wonderfully favored in seeing and enjoy
ing all the improvements of your day and generation — the
telegraph scorning ocean barriers, and uniting you by mag
netic bands to the whole civilized world — the rail road
joining ocean to ocean, the steamship linking continent to
continent, and both annihilating time and space — the in
troduction of gas and pure water into our crowded towns
and cities; in a word the most wonderful advances in
science and art, such as no former generation ever saw or
dreamed of. Many of you have witnessed the growth of
Pittsfield from a small hamlet over the mountains to a large,
prosperous and growing town, almost a city, connected
"with the world by rail roads and telegraphs, with daily
business transactions equal, in amount, to the entire busi
ness of a year in your boyhood.
But despite the changes which have come with the
increase of population and of wealth, and -with the develop
ment of science and of art, there is one thing which is
constant in this pure air of Berkshire, our warm affection for
the friends of yore. It is in this feeling that we greet you
to-day, with the wish that you may yet live many years,
to enjoy the blessings ofthis wonderful age.

12
S. L. Russell, Esq., responded very briefly to the Address
of Welcome, and requested Hon. Thomas Colt to read the
more formal response which had been prepared by him,
Mr. Russell. Mr. Colt prefaced the reading with the fol
io-wing remarks :
Mr. Chairman : I am glad to read what Mr. Russell has
to say on such an occasion as this. No one has a better
right than he to be heard here in behalf of the elderly
citizens of Pittsfield. For though not a native here, nor to
the manor bom, he has resided here forty-four years, and
from the very commencement of his living here he has
taken a zealous interest in all the aff'airs of the to-wn.
Always foremost and active in any movement to beautify
and adorn our -nllage, we, the younger citizens of to-day,
are indebted to him for many things that make our town
our pride and our boast, and I am glad to acknowledge here
my share of our obligations to him. In the public dis
cussions for the welfare of this town his -views of its
present needs and its future prosperity have always been
of the most liberal character, and I am not sure, sir, but
that he is right in his avowed belief that whilst this town
now exceeds the whole world in its natural beauty and its
social advantages, it is still to grow on in both to an ex
tent that nobody now sees but he himself If we can have
Ms zeal, perhaps his prophecy will be realized. But I
have detained you too long from Mr. Russell's written
letter, which I vdll now read :
Mr. Russell's Letter.
Mr. Chairman and Gentleme?! of ihe younger generations : We
whose active life in the affairs of this town ended before
the late great struggle for Union and liberty against rebel
lion and slavery, receive with heartfelt thanks the compli
ment which is to-day given us by those who have borne

13
the burden and the heat of that great epoch, and who as
juniors labored with us before that era.
We have watched your labors since we rested from our
own with intense interest and they have been all that we
could desire, both as to faithfulness and ability. In the
times past, working often together with you, we have done
something, as we think, for the honor, prosperity and
adornment of this town — the Park, the Cemetery, the
Water Works, our Public Schools and our Churches, as
well as other public works and institutions, were begun
and well carried forward while we labored -with you ; and
to them we look as our monuments.
Since the conduct of public affairs has devolved solely
upon you, they have been managed -with a spirit of
liberahty, energy and discretion, which has elicited our
warmest approbation. You have taken no step back
ward; but have carried the town forward with ever
increasing energy.
And now, meeting, as we shall never meet again, we
charge you that you go on as you have begun, earnest and
true for the highest good of the town, the state and the
nation ; that you never falter in the support of the Union
and the Constitution — that great charter of freedom which
has been sealed -with the blood of so many of our sons.
And as the most essential instrument in those efforts, we
charge you that you labor to preserve in-violate our old
New England system of town municipalities, which has
been declared by the great French publicist, DeTocqueville,
and later in the Spanish cortez by the eminent statesman,
Castelar, to be the foundation stone of our free institutions.
And, finally, reserving our natural and indefeasible right
of finding fault, when it is deserved, we wish you God
speed in the great endeavors and enterprises which you have
undertaken for the good of Pittsfield : in all of which you

14
are promised our warmest sympathies, and such aid as old
men can give.
The Rev. Dr. Todd being called upon by the president,
responded as follows :
Mr. President ; There are some things that we can never
see but once; never do but once; never enjoy but once.
Such is the occasion which we enjoy to-day. We have
never seen anything like it before, and we can hardly ex
pect to see its Hke again.
It is said, we naturally admire what is old. I don't
think that we do, if age be all. I never heard of an old
horse recei-ving special notice. It is the young, spirited,
lithe horse that we admire. I have never seen an old tree
greatly admired. Even our own Old Elm, the last monarch
of our forest, whose young head first glinted forth when
Columbus was on his way to discover this continent, on
which the tree was born, passed away -without a funeral.
An old house stands and decays and crumbles, and nobody
pays it any homage.
And when the old ship covered with barnacles, comes
into the harbor with her spars broken, her sails torn, her
hull bruised, her joints weak, we reverence her, not be
cause she is old, for had she spent the same time in grow
ing old and rotten in the dock, we should have paid her
no respect, but because we seem to endow her with human
life and think of the storms she has endured, the moun
tain waves she has climbed, the dangers she has passed
through, the property she has safely conveyed over the
deep, and the mission she has fulfilled.
And here to-day, we come around these, our fellow
citizens, to honor them ; not because they have lived just
so many years, but because, without certain qualifications,
they could not have lived so long. It is not the years we
honor, but character which these years have developed.

15
and we congratulate them, not because they are three-
score-years-and-ten old, but because they have been car
ried through, and lifted over, many dangers. Very few
men, probably, arrive at this age without barely escaping
many deaths, protected by the great hand of Divine Pro
vidence. No man has done it without being a man who
has governed himself and his appetites. Gluttony has not
destroyed him ; strong drink has not burned his body ;
excess has not crippled the powers of life. And, if he is a
hero who has taken a city, and ifhe is a greater hero who has
mastered his o-wn spirit, then here is a company of heroes.
These have not been shut up in prison for crime, banished
for wrong doing, or worn out by remorse of conscience.
They are a great temperance monument, a great evidence
of worth of character ; men who have paid back to the
world more than they have received from it.
Here are gathered, in one room, ten thousand years of
honest human character. And if we cannot honor all this,
pray what can we honor ?
There is another thing to be noticed here, and it is this.
He is not a wise man who never makes a mistake, but he
who can turn his mistakes to account, and grow wise by
them. Children in learning to walk must have a fall ; but
every fall is an addition to experience. And experience
to the wise man brings more -wisdom. These, our friends,
have lived to see great changes in the world. In many
respects they do not leave the world as they found it, and
when their sun shall set, they know that their children
and their children's children are to be better off, far better
off in many respects, then they were in commencing life.
They leave a world whose hght has been gro-wing not
more dim, but brighter ; whose sorrows have been grow
ing not heavier but lighter ; whose destiny is not to be
more sad but more cheerful, even as the spirit of the Lord

16
Jesus Christ is advancing over the earth. These men,
our fellow citizens, are more than so many ships coming
into harbor, more than so many warriors who obtained
one -victory each ; and the same Pro-vidence that placed a
crown of gold on the head of Solomon, and a second one
on the head of Mordecai, and who, he says " put a beauti
ful crown on the head of his people," whom he brought
out of Egypt, hath gone before us and put a beautiful
crown of silver on the heads of these men, a crown that he
seldom puts on the heads of wicked men. They will wear
it, and the crown will grow brighter till they have done
with time. And our prayer shall be, noble representa
tives of a generation about to pass away ! that the next
crown ye wear, will be the crown of life eternal, placed
upon your heads by the lo-ving hand of a faithful Re
deemer. The president then called upon Judge Henry W. Bishop,
of Lenox, as one of the most honored guests of the day ;
a septuagenarian who honored the generation to which he
belonged. Judge Bishop replied, first gracefully, and feel
ingly alluding to the great men of the old time in Pittsfield,
to Col. Danforth, the Larneds, the Aliens, Sheriff Bro-wn,
Col. McKay and others, -with whom he had been fami
liar, and then half playfully, but with as much truth as wit,
reproving the self-glorification of the 19th century, which
arrogates to itself the whole honor of discoveries and
achievements whose great principles were the fruit of the
labors of the intellectual giants of the 18th. He admitted
the superiority of the present age in mechanical invention
and the adaptation of scientific truths to practical use ;
but the grander achievement of the elucidation of the
principles upon which those improvements were based,
and without the knowledge of which they would have
been impossible, belonged to a prior age. When would the

17
electric telegraph have sent its messages across the Atlantic,
or even from Lenox to Pittsfield, had not Benjamin Frank
lin first discovered the identity of electricity and hghtning,
and that it would course along the metallic wire. Morse
and Field, and all, stand on the shoulders of the older
giant ; could reach none of the heights where they
stand -without his aid. We boast of our achievements by
the aid of steam-power ; but do we suppose that it was
unknown before 1800 ? If we do we deceive ourselves.
The first step had been taken, and in such cases the first
step is more than half the battle.
Judge Bishop's remarks were received with unquahfied
favor, by all, and as calling attention to a truth too often
forgotten, made a good impression, we think, upon the
younger portion of his hearers, as a humorous suggestion
of a half forgotten but familiar truth often does.
Prof. W. C. Richards being called upon, assumed the
rSle of the veteran, and favored the company -with

The Old Man's Story.
I alius sort o' hanker'd some arter a cMldren's party,
The little people seem to be chock-full o' fun an' hearty ;
So when I was invited to 'tend this 'ere one to-day,
I jest made up my mind at wonst, I couldn't stay away.
An' I'm right glad I come, for I'm sure I didn't ever
See a nicer lot of promisin' little boys, no never 1
An' I ra'aly wish I was a shaver now myself,
An' not a gray old feUow that's laid up on the shelf.
They told me if I'd come I might be the children's poet,
And what I know about old times in metre try to show it,
An' as I alius had a knack o' puttin things in rhyme,
I'll say my little say at wonst, 'thout takin' up much time.
3

18

Nigh seventy year ago— my story if you doubt it,
Jest ax your good old gran'thers, they'll tell you all about it :
I couldn't ha' been much older then than most o' you perhaps,
Though I see here to-day some very little white haired chaps.
WeU seventy year agone, as I was jest now saying
(I wish the little rogues there, cou'd be kep' a bit from playin' ;
An old man like me ye know must have a feeble tongue,
Though I used to shout with the best on 'em when I was young ! )
Seventy year ! — I said — yes that was Eighteen Hunderd,
An' I stop sometimes an' think how I should ha' wonder'd.
Could I ha' seen how big this to-wn would come to be —
With all its splendid housen that to-day these old eyes see.
Why look at that grand place they call the Berkshire buildin'.
Where they -must ha' spent I think, jest for carvin' an' gildin',
More'n old Parson Allen's new meetin' house cost in my day,
Which I used to look up to in a worshipfiil sort o' way.
I went to see that same old meetin'-house this mornin',
An' if they'd ha' took me there without a word o' wamin',
I shouldn't no more ha' known the old place,
Than I should ha' known old gran'ther, with a boy's face.
It wasn't the old place nuther ; that is it wasn't in it,
'Twas up in Maplewood they called it, whar I seen it,
And it ain't a church ' any more, but some sort o' gim-crack,
I've clean forgot the name — ye see my mem'ry's runnin' slack.
There's no great deal left in Pittsfield to remind me
O' those early, early days I've left away behind me ;
Though my old dim eyes go speerin' round to flnd some trace —
O' what I looked on then, as you do now with childish face.
It's jest new-fangled all to me, altho' I watched it comin',
An' in the mills I'm queerish to hear the spindles hummin' ;
An' I start up some o' nights when the railroad whistle screams,
An' the whoop o' the red Injin seems ringin' in my dreams.

19

There warn't stores in town then to count on all my fingers,
An' not a vestige of 'em now about the village lingers ;
I laugh a bit a thinkin', what if Bissel should come back,
Would he, or his successor, West, take the inside track !
Why on'y yesterday, it was, they .axed me in to Brewster's,
Where all the drugs are dizen'd off as gay as crests o' roosters.
An' I drank some bilin' water, that yet was nice an' cold,
An' I thought a drinkin' it, of Tim Childs's shop of old.
It stood e'en amost upon the spot where I was drinkin',
But the differ o' the two was what sot me a thinkin',
Seventy year ago, jest think, drugs were nastier than now,
When Sherman's lozengers an' Tilden's piUs are all the go.
Ye see I don't jest live in the village, but some norrard.
An' while the old man's clost t' hum, the world moves forrard,
So when I comes to village, as happens I may do,
There's changes what ha' been a going on all through.
Six year ago, many a sprightsome boy o' you remembers,
What stirs -within my poor old heart long smothered embers,
They cut the dear old Elm tree down, I knew 'twas like to fall,"
But it 'most cut me do-wn too, I couldn't stand it at all.
Why chUdern, some o' you were big enough for tears and wonder,
When ye saw the old tree fall that you'd played under ;
But what's seven year to seventy, and what's your wo to mine.
When where the shadder used to faU, I see the bald sun shine !
But the old Elm warn't itself agin sence the lightnin'.
And faster, as it turned out, than my poor head was whitenin',
It was comin' to its end long afore me and is gone,
An' I don't care now to see the spot it grew upon.
'Twas a proud day for the vUlage an' you seldom see a prouder,
And never throats, and bells and gims went merrier or louder,
When we gave the hero welcome, as means great Lafayette,
Whose name like that o' Washington we'll never more forget.

20

I think 'twas 'twenty-five he come, an' the sogers went to meet him,'
An' the county poured its thousands out, old and young to greet him ,
For he draw'd his sword to help us when we'd a mighty foe,
And gratitude's a sort o' debt we pay — but aUus owe.
I've tried some, now an' then, to learn how things were goin'.
And never meant to under-vally any thing, worth knowin',
For seventy year, all told, I've read, week in an' out " The Sun"
An' I remember, boys, the day its printin' was begun.
There ain't many papers either that come to be so ancient.
There was some here afore it, but they was all transient,
An' I told friend Allen, yesterday, he filled his father's place,
An' open praise like that I 'lot, ain't any way disgrace.
There's lots o' folks in the village ; but there's a many sleepin',
An' some times its hard to keep an old man's eyes ft-om weepin',
As he sees the living feet go tramping careless o'er the dead,
An' stores and housen buildin' where his own kith was laid.
We didn't reckon as the dead would keep pace with the livin',
An' the grave cry alius " Give," and we be alius givin' ;
An' so it come to pass, that twice they changed the buryin' place,
An' graves o'er which I wept a boy, the old man cannot trace.
Its twenty year, I count 'em, since they went across the river,*
To find a plenty o' room where Death may fill his quiver ;
And they've laid the old dust there, 'side ofthe childern's dust,
An' I hope it'll be quiet now, tlU the risin' o' the just.
Its a fine place, I know, an' laid out beautiful and solum.
And the moniments are grand, but the blessed holy voUum,
With the cross a restin' on it where our dear good Gu-vnor lies,"
Some how alius touches me the tenderest, in heart an' eyes.
I shall be lying there myself in a little while longer.
For it isn't me, but the great foe, who's daily gettin' stronger.
An' its sort o' comfortin' to think as the streets won't come —
Tramplin' down the daisies that grow above my narrow home.

21

Its jest life ye see, to go from the graveyard to the weddin'.
An' my thoughts are e'en flowin' in the channels they are led in ;
So I've run right oflf the old track, to somethin' in your day —
An' some of tliese little white haired chaps was there I des-say.
Its Linus Parker's weddin' I mean, or rather fifty years after,'
When they played it all agin, amid tears an' laughter,
Its call'd the golden weddin', for ye see its source as gold.
And its not for the young folks ; but a crown for the old.
Linus was a'most as old as me when he was mamed over,
An' I laughed and cried, both, to see th' old man playin' lover,
But best of all, old Parson AUen's son, with locks of snow,
Come back to tighten up the knot he'd tied flfty year ago.
I must ha' my say about the Jubilee occasion,'
There's been nothing finer'n that I guess in all the nation ;
'Twas jest in my prime — a multitude o' Berkshire boys come back,
An' her gals too for that, 'long many a far and dusty track.
I must not stop to name names — the' they'd stir your proud feelin' ,
Poets, preachers, statesmen, jedges, an' sioh sort revealin'.
An' they praised up dear old Berkshire, so my eyes would brim —
But I didn't mind, for every body's eyes as well went dim.
Ton little chaps may hope to live to celebrate another.
For go where you will, you won't forsake your dear old mother ;
So in 'ninety-four they'll caU you back to JubUee HiU —
When in that mother's last embrace, I shaU have long laid stiU.
Tm an old man now, an' when my tongue gets goin',
Its jest like a mUl-taU that wiU keep a flowin',
An' I'm like to forget that Uttle folks don't care.
At such a feast as this to have only old folks's fare.
So I won't keep you fi-om your childish sport another minit.
An' I'm sorry my poor verse hasn't sugar plums in it,
But if you should ever come to be four score years an' more.
You'll be jest as fond as me to live an' talk 'em o'er.

22

An' there may come to pass, some time in nineteen hunderd,
Stranger things, a deal, than them at which I've wonder'd,
When you'll travel in balloons, and Pittsfield may have grown.
From a Uttle country viUage to a splendid seaport town !
Notes to the Old Man's Story.
^ "And it ain't a church any longer, but some sort o' gimcrack."
The Old Meeting House, which stood where the present First Church stands, was
sold, being greatly injured by fire in 1863; and the parish having decided to build a new
one, moved the damaged house off the site, and sold it to Mr. Le-vi Goodrich, who imme
diately thereafter, sold It to Eev. Prof. W. H. Tyler, then principal ol the Maplewood
Female Seminary. It was then planted upon the grounds of that institution, and fltted
up as a gymnasium. = " They cut the dear old Elm tree down, I knew 'twas like to faU."
The old elm which stood in the centre of the -village park, and which had long been a
tree of renown, was cut down on the evening of Monday, July 35, 1864. Its decayed con
dition rendered it necessary to remove It from the spot It had so long overshadowed. Its
age was found to be three hundred and forty years. Its estreme height was one hundred
and twenty-eight feet, and its broadest girth twenty-eight feet. It was twice struck by
lightning; first in 1840 and again in 1860, and was but a wreck of Its primeval magnifi
cence when It was at last laid low.
' " I think 'twas twenty-flve he come, an' the sogers went to meet him."
General Lafayette arrived In Pittsfield, on Ms way to Boston, on Monday, June 14,
1825. He was received with great enthusiasm, and generous festivities marked the
memorable occasion.
' " Its twenty year, I count 'em, since they went across the river."
In 1841 the farm of George W. CampbeU, lying south-west of the viUage and across
the Housatonic, was purchased for a rural cemetery, and was laid out with much care for
that purpose. It was opened with appropriate services In 1850, and is now much admired
for its beauty. > " With the cross a restin' on It where our dear good Gu-vnor lies."
The Hon. George N. Briggs, who after an arduous and faithful service in congress,
from 1831 to 1843, was elected governor of the commonwealth of Massachusetts in 1844,
and held that oflice with distinguished fidelity and honor for seven years. The monu
ment erected to his memory in the Pittsfield Cemetery Is at once beautiful and unique,
and attracts the attention of every visitor.
° " Its Linus Parker's weddin' I mean, or rather fifty years after."
Linus Parker and Sophia Churchill were married October 13, 1815. They are both
natives of Pittsfield, and the ceremony was performed by the Eev. Wm. AUen, D.D., also
a native of Pittsfield— a son of the first minister of the town and his successor in the
pastorate of the Congregational Church. The interest of Mr. and Mrs. Parker's " golden
wedding" was greatly heightened bythe presence of the venerable man who married
them, and who came ftom Northampton, in his eighty-first year,- to honor their second
nuptials. The author of T/ie Old Man's Story had the privilege of contributing a Qolden
Wedding Song for the occasion.
' " 1 must ha' my say about the Jubilee occasion."
The Berkshire Jubilee was celebrated In 1844, and few great gatherings in our country
have created equal interest. It lasted two days, August 22d and 23d, and Its Mecords
make a volume of about two hundred aud flfty octavo pages. A growing section of the vil
lage bears the name of Jubilee HIU as having been the site of the immense assemblage and
the InteUectual services which marked the occasion. The dinner was served on the bean-
tifhl grounds of Maplewood. Governor Briggs, then In the first year of his gubernatorial
administration, presided over the grand festivities, with a happy combination of dignity
and grace.

23
At the conclusion of the poem, the president announced
that the company of Abel West, one of our oldest and
most respected citizens, now in his 90th year, had been
expected ; that he had come to attend the meeting, but
finding himself unequal for the excitement of the occasion,
instead of presenting himself in person, had sent a com
munication which would be read by his son. Prof. Charles
E. West, of Brooklyn, after the reading of which he
hoped to have the pleasure of hearing from the professor
on his own account.
[Note. — Mr. A. West is one of a long lived family ; five of
his sisters attaining the foUo-wing ages : Mrs. Hannah Cham
berlain of Delaware, Ohio, now in her 93d year; Mrs.
Rhoda Cooley, of Attica, N. Y., in her 88th year ; Mrs. Al-
mira Nichols, of Richmond, aged 80 ; Mrs. Betsey Eames,
of Washington, 78 ; Mrs. Laura Cone of Richmond, 72.
Mr. West was especially worthy of honor on this occa
sion as the last surviving member of the committees who
planted the elms, lindens and maples which now make
the Pittsfield park so beautiful, most of which he trans
planted with his own hands.]

Mr. West's Letter. Pittsfield, June 30, 1870.
Mr. O. West, Chairman, etc.
Sir : I thank you and the committee for their kind in
vitation to dine with the old men at the American House,
on the 30tii inst.
I need not say that it would give me much pleasure to
do so. But I fear it -will be too much for me, especially
in this hot weather. I can but just keep myself comfortable
at home, and wish not to be burdensome to others.

24
Many of the old men who will be present were born in
Pittsfield. I was not; but have been a citizen of the
town much of the time for seventy years. I need not
assure you of the deep interest I have felt in the pro^
sperity and happiness of its people.
Compared with many of the western towns, its growth
was slow until a recent period. Within the last twenty-
five or thirty years, its growth has been rapid ; some fear
too rapid to hold out. The pohcy of the patriarchal
fathers and mothers of the town was to make improve
ments, but pay for them as they were made. " Keep out
of debt, don't leave a heavy debt for the children to pay
after you are gone."
Are we aware what the first settlers of the township
have done for us ? These men and women left father and
mother, took the Bible and Dilworth's SpelUng Book for a
library, a plough, axe and spinning wheel, oxen and cart
and perhaps a pack horse, and cut their way through the
wilderness to Poontoosuc township, a much longer and more
tiresome journey than now to go to Denver City. The
first thing they did when they became numerous enough
was to build a meeting house, and next a school house,
which the blessed old mothers soon filled. I knew one
who added fifteen, another thirteen, ever so many ten, few
less then seven, the number of the churches of Asia Minor.
These were not the first mothers, but the second, I now
speak of.
Pittsfield must and will become a city of no mean di
mensions. There is no better land to build on than from
South Mountain to Lanesborough hne. A rounded turn
pike between two of the handsomest rivers that run, not
unlike New York from the battery to Harlem, North river
on one side. East river on the other ; or Buffalo, from
City Hall to Cold Spring, Niagara river on the west side

25
and Indian creek on the other — three plots of ground,
the most desirable of any I ever saw for building purposes.
By prudent economy, Pittsfield will be one of the neatest
cities on the continent.
In conclusion, this meeting will be one of no ordinary
type. Let some of the Learned Scribes suitably bring to
notice the first settlers and their privations. There is no
class of men and women I delight to honor more.
I thank all the gentlemen for their invitation. May
peace and good will be multiplied.
A, West.
Prof. West remarked, that on going for his father, this
morning, he had been reminded of his juvenile days ; for the
old gentleman took the reins and drove, not caring to trust
himself to the guiding hand of his boy ! or thinking that he
could do it a great deal better. Mr. President, if there
were time it would please me to pass in review the men
of Pittsfield as I xemember them from my boyhood. I
knew nearly all the families in to-wn, and could give per
sonal reminiscences of very many of them. I am indebted,
under Pro-vidence, for whatever I have accomplished in
life to the early discipline I received from my father and
the district school. Almost from the time I began to
creep, I was put to earning a livelihood. The farm fur
nished abundant occupation. Summer and winter I toiled.
Becoming familiar vdth the forces of nature, I was taught
to turn them to practical account. A portion of the year
was devoted to school instruction. There the elements
of education were acquired ; there, particularly under the
tuition of Henry K. Strong, was imbibed a love of know
ledge which has never died out. There, and in the Village
Academy under that master, were the minds of many
young men turned toward a classical education. But I
4

26
wish to confine my remarks to what was called The
West Part. It was there I spent my boyhood, it is there
my venerable father still lives, in the same old home
stead. Nearly sixty winters has he battled with the
storms which have swept over the old mansion, and
thank God, he still remains, though weakened in body,
in full possession of his mental faculties, a monument of
past generations.
I would call attention to the fact that the West Part
was regarded as the court end of the town. It was a large
community of influential men. There were the Baggses,
the Roots, the Stevenses, the Stockings, the Francises, the
Wadhamses, the Goodrichs, the Churchills, the Ashleys,
the Wards, and many others. They had their stores, their
taverns, their shops, theif farms, their schools and their
churches. They possessed nearly all the resources of
living within themselves, and were not obliged to go to the
village or elsewhere, for articles of domestic consumption.
They were men of independent thought and action. Poli
tics, education, religion, in a word all that concerns man,
were discussed with a freedom and power and breadth of
argument that would put to shame some of the popular
assemblies of the present day. If there were time I
would like to particularize, but there is not. I -will call
attention to one of the Revolutionary heroes who resided
in that neighborhood. Col. Oliver Root, who related an
anecdote to me in regard to Gen. Israel Putnam, which I
have never seen on the pages of history. I do so because
an effort has been made by Dawson, in his paper on Gen.
Putnam, to underrate his personal prowess, and to make
him appear in the eyes of the American people little
better than a coward. Col. Root informed me that he
learned from Gen. Putnam's own lips the following anec
dote of personal history. In the early part of the war.

27
Gen. Putnam was taken prisoner and was conducted
through the wilderness by two Indians. In their march
they came to a little stream of water, which required a
leap to pass over it. The general and his conductors
walked in Indian file, one before, the other behind him.
Just as the leader was about to leap over, Putnam caught
his foot, and, laying the Indian length-wise with the stream,
made a bridge of him and stepped over. The Indian rose
in great anger and was about to dispatch the general,
when the other was so pleased with this exhibition of
daring on the part of their prisoner, that he interfered and
would not allow him to be hurt.
I have spoken of the churches. The Methodists, old
line and reformed, and the Baptists, held their meetings
there. The Methodists were more numerous. Their
preachers, some of them, were men of eloquence. Early
methodism was a power. The zeal, energy and devotion,
with which its clergy prosecuted their work is deserving
of all praise. They were bright and shining lights, and
accomplished much for the truth. Those primitive times
have changed. There was less conformity to the world
than now. Their church edifices were more simple. Men
and women did not occupy the same seats, but sat on
opposite sides of the house. It was in the yellow meeting
hou,se that I have heard th« eccentric Lorenzo Dow, who
¦with his long flo-wing hair and beard, was a curiosity to
the crowds who gathered to hear him. It was there and
in the school house, that I often heard Elder Leiand, a
Baptist preacher of world-wide fame. He abounded in
anecdote and repartee. On one occasion, I heard him dis
course upon the poverty and hardships of ministerial life ;
but he said there was something after all, to match and
supplement it in the kindness of Christian charity, which
he illustrated as follows : On preaching to his own people

of his trials, he said, " I am poor, so poor as to have but
half a shirt to my back." A few days after, to his sur
prise, he was waited on by some of the ladies of his con
gregation and presented with half a dozen shirts. " What
does this mean ? " he enquired. " Don't you remember
that you said that you had but half a shirt to your back ? "
" Why yes," was the elder's reply, " and shall I have more
when I put on one of these ? "
Mr. President, I cannot allow the opportunity to pass
without alluding to a strange character who traversed
these hills and valleys, and was known by the name of
Crazy Sue. She often -visited my father's house, and on
one occasion she desired to pass the night. She was put
into a room where there was a good bed. In the morning
she came with her arms full of straw, which she had taken
from the mattress ; the feather bed she had thrown out of
the window into the rain, while the sheets and blankets
she had put up in the chimney. She was reproved by my
father, and told no more to come to the house again. But
this she did not heed, and on a severe winter night she
came again and asked for shelter. Not daring to turn her
away, she was told she could stay, but that she could not
have a bed. A large fire was made for her, and in the
night she seemed to be very busy about something, and
was found in my father's clothes, and in the act of throwing
her own upon the fire. On another occasion the boys of
the -pillage had ears of roast corn, and were asked by her
for some. She was refused, when her ready wit suggested
a mode of getting the coveted treasure. " Boys," she
asked, " do you want to hear me pray ? " " Yes, yes," was
the ready response. " But you will eat while I am doing
it." " No, we won't." " I can't trust you unless you'll
put your corn in a pile, and kneel down and cover your
faces." " We'll do it," they cried, and dropped on their

29
knees. She began to pray, and jumping up and seizing
the corn, cried out, " watch as well as pray."
Now, that I am in the way of story telling, allow me to
call attention to another genius, who was distinguished
for his tall; lank body, strong mind and taciturn manner :
William Smith. He was a respectable man, had great di
gestive capacity and could store away as large a quantity
of edibles as any man in the town. He was known as a
great feeder. On all holiday occasions, it was customary
for pedlers of pies, cakes, gingerbread and cooked meats,
to come to the village to appease the appetites of the
masses who never thought of going to a hotel. These
resaturants on wheels could be seen in great numbers on
cattle show days or general training. On one of these
occasions, Joseph Merrick, keeper of the hotel, who was
fond of a joke, met Smith, and asked him if he was
hungry ? " Yes," was the reply. " Come along with me,
then." Smith was taken to a pedler, who was asked what
he would charge for what this poor man could eat.
" Twenty-five cents," said the pedler. " Here's your
money," said Merrick, and retired. Smith mounted the
wagon, and looking down into a box of baked chickens,
informed his host that he would take " one of them 'ar
chickens." The chicken was consumed. Smith wiped
his niouth and looked wishfully into the chest again.
" What now," said the pedler. " I'll take another of
them 'ar chickens." Reluctantly another bird was handed
to the gourmand. This and its accompanying condiments
were devoured. Smith again wiped his mouth and took
another survey of the box and its remaining contents.
" "What now is wanted ? " " Another of them 'ar chick
ens," which was more reluctantly handed out than its
predecessor. This in time was consumed, when Smith
dismounted and was asked if he was through ? " No,"

30
said the stalwart eater," I am going for a drink, and -will
be back soon." " No," said the pedler, "take the quarter,
and don't let me see you again."
These are some of the salient points of local history.
There are others which crowd upon my memory ; but I
must forbear. This, Mr. President, is a novel occasion.
It is an epoch in your annals. The like I never saw be
fore. Here are literally gathered the fathers of the to-wn.
They bridge the two centuries ! Some of them have lived
nearly a hundred years ! They have -witnessed great
changes in the town and county. From a rude hamlet,
Pittsfield has become a large and beautiful village. She
has sent out her sons and her daughters, who have wrought
for the world's improvement ! She has grown rich and
infiuential, a queen among New England villages ! "What
imagination can forecast her development in the century
to come ! May her old men then assemble, as you have
done to-day, and, looking back to this occasion, witness
the growth of her people, not only in wealth and power,
but in intelligence and -virtue.
At the close of Prof. West's remarks the foUo-wing in
teresting letters were read ; one from Rev. Orville Dewey,
D.D., who after a long and brilliant career as a pulpit
orator and one of the most polished and thoughtful writers
in American literature, has returned to his native town of
Sheffield to spend the evening of his days ; the other from
the Pittsfield Society of Shakers :
Rev, Dr. Dewey's Letter.
Sheffield, June 28th, 1870.
John Tatlock, Esq. — Dear sir : I am obliged to you and
the committee, to whom I beg you -will convey my thanks,
for inviting me to be present at the dinner on the 30th

31
inst. Do men live longer than they used to ? I can count
nearly twenty persons, li-ving within half a mile of me, who
are between seventy and eighty years of age. I would
bring their greetings to you, if I were worthy and fit to do
it ; but I have so little of the gift of speech, and feel such
a growing dislike of locomotion with my gro"wing years,
that I must beg you will excuse me.
With my respect and all good wishes to my brother sep
tuagenarians of Pittsfield, I am, yours truly,
Orville Dewey.
From the United Society, West Pittsfield.
West Pittsfield, June 29, 1870.
To Gilbert West, Chairman of Committee on Invitations to
Dinner at the American Iiouse, on the SOth inst., of Septuage
narians. — Esteemed friend: We have appointed our be
loved brethren, Simon Mabee, and Joseph Patten, as
representatives ¦ at said gathering, who will present our
apology for not appearing individually ; and also, to return
our kind thanks for the invitation as a mark of respect we
highly appreciate.
We take this befitting occasion as most opportune to
call to mind the pleasing reminiscence of the long ago,
that when our society arose, some of our most efficient and
honored members were from the town of Pittsfield. We
may mention Wm. Williams, Nathaniel Deming, father
and son, and Wm. Deming, Jonathan Southwick, Daniel
Goodrich, father and son, Cason Dana Goodrich, Sarah
Deming, Jeannette Davis, Rebekah Clark, and many
others ; all of whom we hope will attend your gathering
from the Spirit Land (into which we shall soon enter), as
ministers of blessing, with ourselves to the town of Pitts-

32
field, for having withheld the hand of religious persecution
from our order at a time when it was laid hea-vily upon us
by some adjacent towms, not so favored with Gamaliel
rulers. Simon Mabee,
Joseph Patten,
Wellington R. Rose,
Joseph Sneider,
Lucas Collins,
Leverbtt Augur,
Benjamin Whipple.
Friend Mabee made a few remarks in a tone similar to
that of the letter.
Hon. E. H. Kellogg being jocosely introduced by the
chairman as one whose whitening hairs gave unmistakable
e"vidence of growing age, responded as follows :
Mr. President : You introduce me as though I was down
for a speech, but you mil get none. 'Nary a speech from
me now. I want just to stand here a few moments and look
these gentlemen, these old acquaintances, in the face. I
love to have them look at me. Here is much of Pittsfield
as it was thirty years ago. "What a scene ! "What a mo
ment ! Such another we shall never see. All hail then
to the Pittsfield of other days ! We do not feel quite so
familiar with the great lady of the present day, in her ex
panded, fiowing, and garish robes ; but of the dear old
¦village neighborhood of 1840, we know every nook and
corner, and every man, woman and child. But we of that
day are not all here ; are we Captain Ingersoll ? (Capt. I.
oh, no ! oh, no ! ) Ah, how many have gone since you
and I met in 1838, you as deputy sheriff, and I a young
attorney. What would I give if Dr. Humphrey could be
here. What a serene smile would clothe that counte
nance; what full and strong joy would he feel; what

33
words of wisdom would he utter. And Capt. Jonathan
Allen, aged and somewhat broken when I knew him, but
always awake to the duty he inherited of glorifying the
democratic institutions of America. Were he here to-day
he would choke with enthusiasm over the blessings that
the revolutionary fathers have left us. And then how would
Harry Childs have bounded and exulted in a scene like
this. Few men loved his kind better than he ; few men
rejoiced more sincerely in human progress than Dr. Childs.
And then there was Henry Hubbard ; this is just the occa
sion to have inflamed his peculiar genius, and he would
have filled the air for us with glittering gems, for a good
half hour. Edward A. Newton, too, with his well culti
vated tastes ; his eye for paintings, his love for poetry, and
his ready tongue for playful repartee, his high relish for
frolic with children of all ages and aU growths. How
should we hke to see him rise here with his slight, but
elegantly clad figure, and mingle his spirit ¦with ours?
And how many others do we fondly call to mind, who,
were they here, though never rising to formal speeches,
would be brim full of the spirit of this occasion. Lemuel
Pomeroy, a fountain of inspiration and courage to the
whole town ; a broad, catholic, and generous spirit, set in
a noble and befitting frame. We all see him now, as he
rises and quits his office, crosses to the Newton corner,
turns toward his homestead in East street, -with that round
and massive staff in one hand, the other arm ¦with a
gentle, outward, bend at the wrist, marking off his foot
steps ; his blue overcoat, his becoming beaver hat, ever
the same in style, and his cherished queue ; with a hearty
greeting, morning, noon and evening, for every one he met.
The name that this stately man bore, soon attracted my
attention to an attenuated figure that glided through the
streets a little more than erect, with lips so thin and com-
5

34
pressed, eyes so glassy, and an air so imperative and de
fiant, and a voice so indicative of a high strung tempera
ment, that I looked upon him as an embodied streak of
lightning, and I dared not come ¦within gun shot of him ;
but in good time, I found Mr. Josiah Pomeroy to be a
very approachable and enjoyable man. General Willis,
the solid, substantial, and accurate business man; the
courtly and accomplished Sheriff Bro^wn. Samuel D. Colt,
as well known for farming and sheep husbandry, thirty
years ago, as any man in the state. Thomas B. Strong,
whose taste tested all the fruits and other edibles ; and
whose -wit was freely expended on the human foibles that
fell -within his observation. Cal-vin Martin, the strictly
honest man and la-wyer ; sitting in the maple shaded door
of his office ; hale and ruddy, always ready to fathom the
deepest controversies vdth any who might throw down
the glove. Theodore Hinsdale, shaking in his chair at
the jokes and badgering of Lawyer Rockwell. The meek
Mr. Jabez Colt, that you always met about sundo^wn, just
by the old Bush arcade, that so long mocked the new
born pride of Pittsfield. Col. Gad Humphrey, who
scattered his jokes around as easily as he could snap his
fingers. How would Mr. Phinehas Allen have exulted in
this meeting. Prompt, pronounced, transparent, with
quick sympathies for all that benefited his fellow-men, he
was as perfect a specimen of a public spirited citizen, as I
ever knew. Butler Goodrich, the chivalric old federal in
his old age, as in his youth. Esq. Orrin Goodrich, quiet
and sedate. Capt. Jonathan Allen, 2d, the studious and
reticent man. Capt. 'Lish Allen, the town meeting hero,
whose ¦views were always pronounced, and frequently bel
ligerent. Dick Coggswell, the all-knovdng assessor, and
many other men we have lost more recently. Jason and
Thaddeus Clapp, both much distinguished in their respect-

35
ive pursuits ; Ezekiel R. Colt, the renowned cashier of the
last Berkshire generation ; Capt Jabez Peck the fair and,
square man ; Le-vi Goodrich, erect in figure, erect in spirit ;
The -wide awake Lyman Warriner ; the quiet and natural
town clerk, James Warriner ; Robert Colt, the wool fan
cier ; Thomas A Gold, a gentleman in the social circle ;
M. R. Lanckton, the busy bachelor lawyer. We all re -
member how Dr. Campbell moved amongst us for most
of these thirty years. He was certainly a favorite of Hea -
ven in his endowments. With strong intellectual powers,
he had an aptitude, and exquisite relish, for all art, all
science, all knowledge ; and an impelling temperament
that made him* an enthusiast in whatever direction his
mind happened to be engaged. I think I never knew a
man who would drink ¦with such rapture, at so many of
this world's fountains of rational pleasure. "What a pang
of pain we all felt to hear that this cup of enjoyment was
dashed at his feet; that these golden fruits turned to
ashes on his hps ; and that disease had loaded life ¦with a
burden that the stoutest manhood could not bear. You
¦will not forget what a pleasant thing it was to receive the
-visits of the celebrated man of Lanesboro' at the old bank,
and old Berkshire Hotel. How he poured life and plea
sure into any circle, large or small, of which he was the
centre. I have heard nearly all the great men of the last
generation who honored our country, converse ; and I
never heard a man so brilliant, bewitching, and so en
trancing in his talk, with the possible exception of Rufus
Choate at times, as Henry Shaw. Of George N. Briggs,
I shall venture to say nothing in the presence of his elo
quent biographer, to-day our poet. Besides these contem
poraries of yours that I have mentioned, and many others
equally worthy of notice, there were others so aged, when
I came here, that I did not know them well. Mr. James

36
D. Colt, Capt. Joel Dickenson, John B. Root, Hosea Mer
rill, Sen., Noble Strong and others; who seemed to have
belonged to the age of Washington, and who certainly
weU sustained its venerable dignity.
But there were other Pittsfield notabilities that attracted
my attention soon after I came to town. The first was
old Nogard, as he was called. He hovered around Bank
row, in the bank, and in Buel & Colt's store. I was study
ing law near by. He was the hero of the eel and the bull
head. He was dark, hairy and grim. "When not angling
for these monsters of the deep, he would usually have his
long forest staddle leaning up against the roof of the bank
or the store. You might then frequently find him in the
bar room of the old Coffee House, reconnoitering for a
drink on credit. It was fun to hear Spencer Field enforce
upon him the ¦virtues of temperance, while the old fellow
would grunt out his profane dissent. This used to tickle
the old witty landlord mightily. Mr. Colt used to tell a
story (and no one ever enjoyed a good thing more than
the late cashier), that showed how the old man was some
times the ¦victim of practical jokes, and at the same time how
closely he followed the -wise rule of keeping all his capital
invested in his business. " Mr. Colt," said he, after maun
dering into the bank one day, " can you tell me where
my fish pole is ? " " "Why no, where did you leave it Mr.
Nogard ? " "I left it standing up against your bank."
" Oh, go and look again, you will find it out there." " I
can't find it, and if my pole is gone, God knows, my all is
gone." In former and better trout days, he went over to
Perry Drew's pond for bull-heads, or catting, as they then
called it. He soon landed a two pound trout. He hurled
it spitefully back into the pond, ¦with a " There, damn you !
"When I go catting, I go catting." Mr. Buel, you remem
ber Teddy Mead ? He was an old man when I first knew

37
him, ¦with a still, small voice, but an arch expression, and
ha^ving been lord high-constable of Pittsfield in his younger
days, he claimed to know a thing or two about her police
interests. In the day of his power, he was wont to use
some official discretion in behalf of state economy. Once
when he thought the young attorneys were a little too
lively -with their assault and battery charges, he walked
one ofhis prisoners one side, and whispering, " Run, now,
run ! you fool, why don't you run. You'll save the state
thirty dollars." And you haven't forgotten, Mr. Buel,
how, when he was inside the water wheel of the old cotton
factory, repairing it, you let the water on, just to see him
dance about a little, and when he got out how he took after
you in fierce wrath, ¦with the broad axe. If he had over
hauled you, you wouldn't have been here to-day, would
you ? Who don't remember old Mr. Spurr ; who lost his
hfe by the powder explosion ; and the blooming Ellsworth,
who trotted up in his shirt sleeves, from Water street,
¦with early and crisp greens ; and who, if you declined buy
ing, would turn on his heel, ¦with " Wall, very wall, call agin,
p'raps, to-morrow." I well remember the sore trial our
friend, Nate Bro^wn, had on one election, in getting him to
vote for me : his objection being that I was too much
of a prohibition man. "Who will ever forget the honest
and ringing voice of honest Lewis Stoddard, as it pealed
through the streets. I cannot but recall that remarkable
being. Sue Dunham, the Madge Wildfire of these valleys,
and these hills ; Salmon Bow, with a soldier-like bearing,
astute and wary as a diplomatist ; Peter Peterson, almost
forgetting the dance, in the ecstacy that the fiddle and
the bow brought on ; the Amazonian Pendar, etc.
I promised I would make no speech, I have made none.
I have only indulged in recollections. They are dear
and tempting, and I have used too much time. I thank

38
God that so many of the friends and companions of those
I have mentioned still survive, and are here to-day, for
the most part in good health, and in the enjoyment of all
their faculties. These lives span the history of the great
republic, and it is wonderful ¦with what accuracy and in
terest they still note the progress and spread of their cher
ished principles of republican government. In conversa
tion ¦with one of your number yesterday, of four-score years
and more, Mr. Russell, he burst into a ¦vision of the future
¦with the fire of an old prophet : " There is no mistake about
it, Kellogg, you know it and I know it. The world is all
nearly ready for republicanism. "When poor old priest-
ridden Spain calls Europe to repubhcanism, in the trumpet
tones of Castelar, you better believe it thunders all around
the sky. Their thrones are all shaky ; Castelar has seized
the secret of the strength of the American republic, to
¦wit : our trained municipalities. He calls on Europe to
follow our example. He is a greater statesman than Bis
marck or Napoleon, and you ¦will see, before long, Europe
a confederate republic under his lead. America ought to
thank him for studying our institutions till he understands
them ; and for commending them to the world -with such
eloquence. I want you to say something about him."
May the aspirations of our aged friends be realized, and
may the liberty that they so fondly cherish in their closing
years, soon be the heritage of all the sons of men.
Hon. Thos. Allen, a son of Pittsfield, who has wandered
far and won wealth and honor in distant states, without
forgetting his old home, to which he returned in the
meridian of his days, responded to the call of the president,
substantially as follows :
Mr. President: As you have thought proper to intro
duce me to this historical assemblage as identified ¦with
Pittsfield for a hundred years, and as our friend, Mr.

39
Bishop, has sought to connect himself with the last cen
tury, I confess to some confusion and embarrassment,
scarcely being able to recall, for the moment, to what
generation I belong. I think, however, I shall have no
difficulty, when I look at the unique exhibition of gray
heads before me, and remember that most of them are
septuagenarians. This is, indeed, a rare 'and unusual
sight. I have traveled much over the world, and I have
never seen its like before. There are very few places, if
any, in this country containing the population of this
to^wn that can summon such a body of men together. By
what means or influences have these men been able to
tarry so long and preserve their health and ¦vigor ? It
may be that there is something in the chmate, in the
purity and healthful influence of this mountain air and
scenery, but, more than likely, it is due very much to tem
perate habits, bodily acti^vity, and regular and quiet enjoy
ment of the comforts of life. I congratulate them upon
their success in attaining longe-vity ; for the art of li-ving
long and well is what all men study and few men attain.
I expected to see old ladies here, too, for I beheve the
census shows us that there are more females than males
li-ving between the ages of thirty and seventy. The fact
elicited by the census is that the age of sixteen is about
the point where numerically our race is di-vided, that the
number under sixteen is about equal to the number over
sixteen, and that up to the age of sixteen there are more
males than females ; but that after thirty up to seventy,
the females gain in number upon the males. After
seventy the males gain in number upon the females, and
that in the population of this country generally, the per
centage of persons male and female li^ving between the
ages of seventy and eighty is not over two and one-fourth.
It is evident that in this part of the country the percent-

40
age of these old persons is above the general average.
There are indi-vidual cases, in all parts of the country, of
persons attaining the age of one hundred and upwards. I
have kno-wn such cases li-ving even in the miasmatic
influences of the low lands of the valley of the Mississippi,
and the swamps of Missouri. Quite recently I met a hale
old man of a hundred years at the tomb of Washington.
He had been the secretary of the first Methodist Episcopal
bishop (Asbury), that we ever had in this country. I was
curious to know how he had preserved himself so long and
well. He said he had lived temperately in all things, he
was in the habit of eating vegetables and beef cut very
fine, and abstained from the use of ardent spirits and to
bacco, until lately, when he had resorted to tobacco a little
to quiet his aching teeth. These are rare cases.
But, sir, what wonderful events have been crowded into
the age of these men ! You have said that Pittsfield in
their time was a frontier town of the west. What is still
more remarkable to be recalled, is the fact that at the
time many of these men were born, all that vast extent of
our present country lying in Florida and west of the
AUeghanies, even to the lakes and the Paciflc, was claimed
by the Spaniards ! Within their span of life, a Massa
chusetts man (Adams) asserted our right to the free
na-vigation of the Mississippi against the exclusive claims
of Spain ! The Spanish first, then the French, and the
Indian titles, they have seen extinguished to all that
country. They have seen all the western, the north-west
ern and south-western states and territories, settled and
established. In their day the country of the Missouri
was a terra incognita, and it seems but recently that the
boundaries of Oregon were established — still more recently
that we have acquired Texas and California, and spread
our settlements out upon the Pacific slope. And, sir, it

41
is this generation of men we have here to-day, who have
achieved this vast territorial progress, and while they made
the conquest of these territories, it is their spirit infused
into their children, and that spirit of unrest and feeling of
a great work to be performed, apparently implanted by
the Almighty in the bosom of Young America, as a
motive to leave the old homesteads and go out and plant,
develop and build up this vast heritage, that has removed
and established the seat of power and empire in the west.
Sir, I claim to be one of those, who, actuated by those
motives, went out to the far west from the old hive, and
to have done something in aid of those works which have
developed the interior and the Far West so wonderfully.
One of those, who, as friend Bishop ad-vises, has endea
vored to imitate the virtues of his ancestors. One of those,
who, while he reveres the memory of those who esta
blished our independence and secured to us the liberties
we enjoy, looks upon the present generation of men as
having achieved the greatest progress in science, the
mechanic arts and physical power, in a given time, in all
history. Sir, I remember that my father (the late Jona
than Allen), to whom my friend Kellogg has so kindly
referred, told me, that when he was for a time a merchant
here, sloops were the principal means of transportation
on the Hudson, steam boats not then existing, and he was
often three weeks in making the trip to New York. It is
in your day, gentlemen, that steam has been introduced
as a propelling power upon land and water. Brother
Bishop does not do you justice when he claims all things
for the last century, even the electric telegraph. True,
Franklin brought the lightning down from heaven, but it
was reserved for Morse of your generation to apply elec
tricity to telegraphic communication. It happened to be
a part of my experience that I saw Prof. Morse making
6

42
his experiments in a store-loft in New York, and after
wards, when, ¦with difficulty and in doubt he procured a
little help from congress to try the experiment of an elec
tric telegraph between Washington and Baltimore, remem
bering -with delight its success, and knowing that this was
the first time- in the world that electricity had been suc
cessfully used in transmitting human language over long
distances. Thus in your time has space been annihilated,
and the telegraph wires become the nerves of all nations.
Prof. Morse, were he ¦with you, would seem to be one ofyou.
He belongs to your generation. Itwas also my good fortune
to ¦witness the first trip of a steam locomotive as applied to
rail roads in this country. This was on the road between
Albany and Schenectady. This was in 1831. We have
lived to see the locomotive running over fifty thousand
miles of railway in our country, and across the continent.
You have lived through two foreign wars and one awful
internecine war. Some of you took an honorable part in
the war of 1812, and we know that in all these wars your
heartfelt sympathies were with your country, and it must
be a great satisfaction to you, in the evening of your lives
to feel that in spite of all enemies, foreign and domestic,
your country has always been triumphant, and that the
glorious free institutions which you have so long enjoyed
¦will be transmitted unimpaired to your posterity. The
time allotted will not allow me to recall all the wonderful
achievements in science, mechanics and physics, which
you have witnessed in your day. The purchase of Louis
iana, 1803 ; steam on the Hudson, 1807 ; war ¦with Great
Britain, 1812 ; steam on the western rivers, 1811 ; con
vention between the United States and Great Britain
relative to the north-western coast, in 1818 ; Florida treaty,
1819 ; Erie Canal completed, 1828 ; introduction of rail
roads, 1831 ; first steam ships na^vigated the ocean, 1838 ;

43
invention of electric telegraph, 1840 ; war with Mexico,
1848; war of rebellion, 1861 to 1864; ocean telegraph
laid. Pacific rail road completed, 1869.,
It is to your generation, gentlemen, that is due the use
of the water power of this region in the manufacture of
woolen and cotton cloth, paper and other products. Here
were imported from Spain about 1809, some of the first
flocks of merino sheep, and gave at that early day a great
impetus to the gro^wth of wool. Here was established, in
1811, one of the first agricultural societies of the United
States, the first in New England, which, as we well know,
continues to flourish to the present time. There are men
U^ving amongst you, like Capt. Ingersol, who went out to
the frontier ¦with companies of Berkshire men to fight the
British in the war of 1812, and many of you doubtless
remember that it was a daughter of Pittsfield who went
to the aid of her husband (Gen. E. W. Ripley), who
fell severely wounded at the sortie of Fort Erie. Many
of you doubtless remember a colonel of that war, Simon
Larned, and his distinguished sons. He lived opposite
Thomas Gold's (now Plunkett's), in the same house lately
occupied by Dr. Brewster, and next door to him, on the
west, lived in those days Col. Danforth, for years our post
master. I remember well the cantonment of United
States troops that existed long after the war on the grounds
now occupied by Maplewood Institute. I remember dis
tinctly when Gen. Lafayette was received here, and when
the crowd attending the guest passed under the triumphal
arch temporarily erected between the Old Elm and the
church. And this ear-piercing fif e and spirit-stirring drum we
hear to-day forcibly remind me of the old militia system,
long since exploded. "What living native of Pittsfield
does not remember the famous general trainings of the
soldiers ? Sir, I could take that fife and give you pre-

44
cisely the old tune with which the Washington Mountain
Light Infantry always came marching into town. It
rings in my ears to-day, and I shall never forget it. And
then the Pittsfield In^vincibles, sometimes called Flood-
woods (Capt. Elisha Allen, Major J. F. Allen, Capt. Lem
uel Pomeroy), and the Berkshire Greys (Capt. Fenn,
still amongst us and here present to-day), and the Berk
shire Artillery Company (Capt. Ensign), how proudly they
paraded our streets, and didn't we then feel that with such
troops we were surely invincible ? Joseph Merrick, and then
Timothy Coburn, kept the Berkshire Coffee House, after
wards the Russells, where now stands the stately Life Insur
ance Building, and that was the head-quarters of militia
elections, where punch flowed freely, and agricultural balls
wound up the autumnal fair. The Old Elm was in those days
sole monarch of the green (now a park), and to my youthful
eyes there was no end to the soldiers at the annual general
muster. The spirit of the war of 1812 continued for many
years to keep up the militia, and even the boys of the
¦village, in imitation of their elders, buckled on their
armor, and fought mimic battles on the green. Pittsfield
furnished her quota of troops in all the wars ; and the
spirit of the Hartford Convention, which threatened nulli
fication and disunion, and appointed committees at Boston,
found little encouragement here. Three Pittsfield boys
(Thomas Childs, G. W. Allen, and J. P. Center) were in
the Seminole war, and there the latter fell in battle.^ The
second sur^vived the Mexican war, through which he
passed as a colonel of the regular army, to die at its close
at Vera Cruz, where he Hes buried. Many of you doubt
less remember that officers of the war of 1812, like Gen.
Ripley, Col. Gad Humphreys, Major Watson, and others,
'I stood at the grave of John Purvis Center, May 30, 18'i'O, at JeflTerson
Barracks, Mass.

45
took to themselves daughters of Pittsfield for their
vdves.^ And there were sons of the flrst minister (EHsha
and Samuel Allen), who went out to join the army, never
to return to their native land. Neither do we forget the
manufacture of arms by the late Lemuel Pomeroy, con
tinued to a comparatively recent date. Then there were
not to be forgotten who were lawyers and legislators
amongst you— such as the Golds, WiUiam C. Jarvis, Col.
Samuel McKay, Hurlburt, Hubbard, Martin, Strong ; nor
the teachers (one mentioned by Dr. West, H. K. Strong),
who taught at the old academy that stood on the site of
the present Episcopal church, and whose frame still sup
ports the dwelhng occupied by Mr. Harding in East street,
rendered memorable also by the swarms of swallows that
hived nightly in its capacious chimneys : among those
teachers, not to be forgotten, a sister of Mr. Strong, and
James K. Kellogg; and then at the Berkshire Gymnasium,
a boys' school, now a Young Ladies' Institute ; we not only
remember Chester Dewey, principal, and Mark Hopkins,
tutor, but that some of the prominent men of the land
(like the Coxes), learned many primary lessons there ; and
then at the corner of the square ¦within my present grounds
stood the old Pittsfield Hotel, long the head-quarters of
the democracy, and the medical lecture rooms afterwards
erected in its rear, at the edge of the old burying ground ;
its dissecting room too near, many thought, for the jepose
of the newly dead, and the succession of learned profes
sors, Uke Bachelder, Delamater, Parker, and the Childses,
who, for years, made the Berkshire Medical College a
bright light in the land.
I am sometimes asked, when far away, why I -visit so re
mote a corner of our country as Pittsfield. I answer, because
' Love AUen married Gen. Eipley. Mary Lamed married Col. Humphreys.
Elizabeth Marsh married Major Watson.

I was born there. It was not my fault, but undoubtedly
my good luck. But you, most of you, have chosen this as
your place of residence ; and while I came here originally
nolens volens, you have shown your judgment and good
taste, and the wisdom of your choice is justified by your
harvest of honors, happiness and longe-vity.
I had intended to close -with a toast, but as in the rapid
utterance of the last five minutes I have forgotten it as
having any connection ¦with what had been said, I am
reminded of a sentiment of a Persian poet, whose name
I do not remember, as an appropriate ¦wish in taking leave
of such a body of old men as I do not again expect to have
an opportunity of doing. It is this :
" Thee on thy mother's knees, a new-born child.
In tears we saw, when all around thee smiled.
So live, that, sinking in thy last long sleep.
Smiles may be thine, when all around thee weep."
At the close of Mr. Allen's remarks, Mr. Plunkett said
that there were other gentlemen present from whom he
had hoped to hear, but the day was far spent, and he felt
some responsibility that the young gentlemen who were
their guests should be returned to their homes at a proper
hour. He therefore called upon the choir for Auld Lang
Syne, which was given ¦with spirit; after which the doxology
was sung by the assembly to the tune of Old Hundred.
Rev. Dr. Edward Wentworth pronounced the benediction,
and one of the most unique and characteristic festi^vities
ever known in Pittsfield, ended pleasantly, reverently and
appropriately, as it had begun and been carried through.
After the adjournment. Merry's band discoursed martial
music on the piazza of the American House for an hour,
to the great delight of the veterans who had marched to

47

the same strains, played by the same musicians, half a
century ago. A large share of the pleasures of the day
were due to this band and to the fine choir, which con
sisted of Messrs. E. S. Francis, W. A. Osborne, S. E.
Nichols, J. I. Lalor, John C. West, J. D-wight Francis,
Wm. J. Hawkins and Charles E. West, with George C.
Dunham as organist, who interspersed the exercises with
appropriate music.

List of Septuagenarian Guests.
As has been here stated, a considerable number of the
citizens of the to^wn, over seventy, were not found in
season to extend them an invitation, although their names
now appear on fhe census. The following were found
and were present :

Barker, Gardner T.,
Bonney, Edson, .
Butler, James 13., .
Brown, John, .
Bow, Jabez,
Bates, J. D., .
Barnard, John M., .
Buel, James, .
Bailey, Nicholas,
Bowerman, Prince,
Burghardt, Ira,
Corcoran, Patrick,
Coleman, Thomas, .
Cooley, I. A.,
Cooley, W. B., . .
Cady, Stiles, .
Castle, Levi,
Churchill, Charles,
Cole, Otis, .
Childs, Levi, .
Chapman, Nathaniel,
Cotton, Timothy, .
Coughlin, Patrick, .
Demming, Francis,
Davis, Daniel, .

91
75 7170 7470 7085
73 80
707272 727080
7177
75727072
70
72 77

Davis, Edwin,
Emery, Simon, .
Penn, C. T., . .
Puller, Josiah, .
Francis, James 2d,
Goodrich, Chauncey,
Griffin, Gilbert,
Girst, Adam,
Holden, Eben,
Hager, James, .
Hall, Timothy,
Hubbard, Enoch,
Herrick, Horace,
Horn, Jacob,
Ingersol, Jared,
Jacobs, Godfrey,
Kearney, John,
Lawton, J. R., .
Lawrence, John S
Lynes, Charles,
Miller, Pestus,
MacMahan, Patrick
Malcomb, Zalmon,
Moulthrop, Joel,
Merrill, Justus,

72 8379 75717370
7472
7570
72 73
84 80 7578
82 8280
74 73
70 75

48

Martin, McMahon
Mabee, Simon,
Nichols, Ansel, .
Partridge,  ,
Patton, Joseph, .
Peck, Elijah, .
Peck, Otis,
Parker, Linus,
Parker, Elias, .
Parker, Titus,
Parson, Jason, .
Pratt, Benjamin,
Patridge, Oliver,
Piatt, C. B., .
Patton, A.,
Rose, Wellington R.
Russell, S. L.,
Reed, Nathan,
Reed, Festus, .
Robbins, Henry, .
Robbins, William,
Reed, Daniel, .
Roeshler, Christian,
Rice, Thomas,
Ryan, Edward, . Wales

72 7570
75 76
797480 8077718380 78
70
7477
77 75 74 80
7274 71
78

Wm.,

Rearden, Patrick,
Royce, I. B., .
Sandys, Edwin,
Sloan, Thomas W.,
Stockbridge, Caleb,
Stearns, Daniel,
Smith, William,
Schmidt, Chas.,
Solon, Michael, .
Shaw, John, .
Sevart, George,
Sneider, Joseph,
Schwentz, George A.,
Taylor, Thomas,
Taylor, P. V. R.,
Ticknor, Almon,
Todd, Dr. J., .
Thayer, Kingman,
Wilson, Joseph H.
Wardwell, Benj., .
Wylie, F. I., .
West, Abel, .
Weller, Bliakim,
Webster, W. W., .
Wilcox, H. H., .
. . . 72

75
757171 72
7072
74
7380
74 77747773 71
70 82 71 87
76 90
73 77 73

The following were found and invited, but were unable
to be present :

Buck, Bushrod,
Burlington, Amos,
Clark, Noah,
Curtiss, Sherman, .
Conroy, Thomas,
Clark, Thomas,
Durant, Clark, .
Drew, Perry G., .
Dunlap, John, .
Bldredge, Herman,
Frink, Lyman, .
Hobby, David L., .
Hubbell, Stoddard,
Hubbard, Marshal,

70 78 81
71 7572 7574 70
70 78
7073 73

Harrington, Thaddeus,
Jewell, Samuel,
Kent, Milton, ,
Merrill, Philip,
McLaughlin, John
Merry, Rufus,
McManama, Chas,
Newton, S. W.,
Pool, Samuel, .
Root, O. S., .
Root, Franklin,
Skinner, Oliver,
Tracy, Rowley, .
Whipple, Benjamin,

. 70
71
. 84 79
. 7384
. 70 87
. 7971
. 7578
. 72 77

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