F R A N C I S T H O L D E R . THE HOLDER MEMORIAL

G I VE N T O

The C inton Historica Society

F I T H L D E R R A N C S . O .

A N D R E W E mm a .

A H E . C L I N T O N , M A S S C U S T T S

I 905

C H-R TH E NEW'O R ' PUBLIC Ll

A S T O R L e , n o x AN . T i L D E N FO U N D Afl o ns . 1 9 l 3

C L I N T O N , M A S S

P R E S S O F W. . C O U L T E R I T E M O E J , F F I C . C O N T E N T S ,

N D H I A N C E S T O R s . F RANC I S T . H OLDER A s

C ' T H E C LINTON H I S TORI AL SOC IET .

- T H E L A'ING O F THE C ORNER STONE .

— a m e s D un a n . Address Rev . J C . c

T ERM S A N D N ATU RE O F THE GIF T .

h e t E m l e Statement o f A r c it c i Gr e w y .

T D H E EDI C ATION .

— i Words o f Welcome J onathan Sm t h .

— n Address ';The Old and the New H o . Alfred

S . Roe .

Address ' The Influence o f the Q uaker o n o ur

— National Development Prof . C harles F .

Holder .

— Poem Caroline H . H older .

' — H Presentation Of eys John . Coyne , for

Francis T . Holder .

c o f ' — h h h Acceptan e eys Jonat an Smit , for T e

Clinton H istorical Society .

T H L C E U N HEON .

— Toasts and Responses Wellington E . Pa rk

hurst , Toastmaster . I L L U S T R AT I O N S .

F I T . R A N C s H O R h e . LDE , t donor Frontispiece

C HRI S TOPH R C . STO o f E NE , President The Clinton O p p o s i t e Pa ge c 1 — 1 2 8 . 1 6 Historical So iety , 94 90

D AVID H OLDER .

R U TH BA s s E T T H OLDER .

T H E H OLDER M EM ORIAL .

T H E C ENTRAL HALL .

O ATHA S M ITH o f T h e J N N , President Clinton His

t o ri c a l Society .

P ' S o f T h e W I GTO E . AR H U R T ELL N N , Treasurer

Clinton Historical Society . F n H l n H i n ra c is T . o de r a d s A c e s tors .

E R A N C I S T . H O L D R , the donor o f the Holder f Memorial , is descended from the Holders o H older t h ness , Christopher Holder , the first Of e Holder

1 6 1 . family to live in Am erica , was born in 3 H e inherited considerable prop erty and received a liberal education . Being converted by George F o x to a belief in the principles advocated by the Q uakers , his zeal for the cause led him to become a minister o f the faith . His eloquence as a speaker and the power o f his pen united with his social position to make him a leader among the Friends du ri ng the thirty- five years Of his ministry . The call came t o him t o visit America and testify ' there to the truths revealed to him by the inner light . h h h o n Embarking wit eig t ot er Friends the Speedwell , he 1 reached Boston in the summer o f 656 . H e and his associ o n ates were arrested at the landing , and being brought

before Governor Endicott were committed to prison , where they remained eleven weeks . Then they were sent back t o England . t N othing intimidated , Christopher Holder returned o

America the next year . At Sandwich , Massachusetts , he and John Cop eland labored for W eeks and gathered as the result o f their labors the first society of Friends ever formed in America . H aving preached in various towns they at last

' T h e wri t er a ck n o wl e d ge s h i s i n d e bte d n es s t o t h e H o l d e rs o f H o l der

b h a l e F . H o l d e . n e s s . y C r s r 6

t o o f came Salem , the stronghold bigotry . There in the First Church after the service Christopher Holder a t tempted to address the congregation , but was dragged from the church , brought before Governor Endicott and c o n de m n e d to receive thirty lashes . Bowden says , that after ' u t the sentence was carried o on Boston Common , torn ” and lacerated , they were conveyed to their p ri son cell .

While in j ail Christopher Holder, John Copeland and Rich ' D o udn e f ard y prepared their Declaration o Faith , the

first Quaker document o f the kind ever written . An order was issued that Holder and Copeland should be whipped every week . In all , during seven weeks , Holder received three hundred and fifty lashes administered with ' a triple ” knotted cord . Then they were threatened and banished from the colony .

The next year , however , they returned again from

England , and while visiting Sandwich were arrested and whipped . Later in the same year Holder and Copeland ' ” t o went Boston to testify , but they were arrested before

c o n they had an Opportunity to Speak , and each was demmed to have his right ear c ut o ff by the hangman . When this sentence had been executed they declared ' ' In the strength o f Go d we suffered j oyfully for the ” sealing o f the testimony which the Lord hath gi ven us .

After this they were whipped every week for nine weeks ,

n f and then banished o pain o death . Yet in the next year we find Christopher Holder in

America once more . He was immediately arrested , and three o f his associates were put to death . He , however ,

n was spared , surely o t because he was less bold in pro claiming his faith , for none was more bold than he , but ,

o n o f possibly , account the influence Of his friends in Eng / i land . When b a n shed again he acted with other Q uakers in securing an order from Charles II to Endicott that all Quaker prisoners should be set free and that toleration should be granted to the sect .

During his later years Christopher Holder had a hom e . 7

in Rhode Island and another in England , but much o f the

F o x time he was travelling with George and others , spread ing in England and various portions o f America the doc

trines to which he was so devoted . He died in England 6 in 1 88 . The most striking characte ristic of this fou nder o f Q ua

ke r i s m in America was his singleness Of purpose . To f spread the doctrines o the inner light , he sacrificed the

o f ease o f wealth , the pleasures social p osition and the

allurements of scholarship . H e persistently attacked the

o f stronghold o f bigotry and , amid countless privations

- mind and body , in lon g continued imprisonments , under

constant threats o f death , he fought for freedom o f con f science and the gospel o p eace . Though Christopher Holder spent the closing y ears o f his life in England , his descendants continued to live in

America . For the next three generations the Holders were among the leading Quakers of New England , and were also

prominent in its business interests . D aniel Holder , the f great grandson o Christopher , was a shipbuilder in Nan tucket . Thomas H older , his son , who was born in Nan 2 8 1 tucket September , 7 54, married Sarah Gaskell , a n f Quaker mi ister o high repute . H er home was in that part 1 o f Mendon now called Blackstone . About 778 Thomas Holder and his family moved to Berlin and built the house there still known as the Holder Homestead . H e died in

1 0 1 8 0 . Berlin January , 3 o f David Holder , the fifth the eight children of Thomas 1 2 H older , was born at the Holder H omestead September ,

1 788 . He attended the district school and Leicester Acad emy , and afterwards taught school . H e m arried Ruth

o f o n e Bassett Uxbridge , who had been of his pupils , and had also been brought up in the Quaker faith . They made their home in the south part o f Bolton o n the Hudson road in a house o f two tenements now known as the George D ow

’ place . David s older brother , Joseph , lived in the other o f half the same house . Both J oseph and D a vid followed 8

’ the shoemaker s trade , and in all worked in the same neigh

o r h o o d b for more than a quarter of a century . Joseph had the wider reputation as a maker of fine

i s a shoes , and it to him rather th n David that the following

- statement o f Henry S . N ourse applies ' On a cross road in the south part o f Bolton stood a humble cottage with a

o little unpainted sh p close by , wherein lived and delved a

o f Quaker shoemaker by the name Holder . He was no x common cobbler . The e ceeding excellence o f his work had somehow gained the attention o f the wealthier ladies of Lancaster and vicinity , and they soon would wear no work but his . While living in this house David Holder

' B . 0 1 8 1 had two Children Rachel , born June 3 , 3, and 26 William Penn , born August , 1 8 1 6. About 1 8 26 the family moved to that part Of Lancaster

then known as the Factory Village , now Clinton . Mrs .

Holder kept a boarding- house for the weaving department of the Lancaster Cotton Manufacturing Company . This house w a s at the foot of Church Street o n the west side o f

Main Street . Many years ago it was moved to the east

o n side of Main Street , and is now the first house that side , south o f Church Street . Here Mrs . Holder kept eighteen or nineteen boarders . The price charged the mill girls

- for board and lodging was eighty three cents per week . David Holder in the meantime carried on h i s busi n ess of shoemaking in a little s h O p north of the house . While liv ing here , David and Ruth Bassett Holder had two children r 1 8 1 8 . who died in infancy . August , 33, F ancis T H older

- was born in this O ld boarding house . He was the last child in the family .

When Francis T . Holder was twenty months old , his parents moved back to Bolton and occupied the second house on the same side o f the road from the one in which s ill they had first begun their married life . Joseph t lived in the same house which he had formerly shared with

David . Here David lived quietly , engaged in farming and shoemaking , for the next fifteen years . 9

William Penn Holder, his oldest son , came to Clinton ville about 1 849 and began the making and selling of shoes in a little shop which stood about where the Blood Building

now stands . A little later this shoeshop was moved to the

present location Of the Fitch Block . Francis T . Holder 1 8 j oined his brother in 49 , and worked with him at making

shoes . The father and mother came here once more in

1 0 c o n 85 , and lived in a tenement built by David Holder in

- n e c t i o n with the shoe shop . The father had furnished the little capital needed and had owned the shoe business from the beginning . Several hands were employed in making

’ ladies custom shoes . David Holder was the cutter . There are many women yet living who recall the remarkable ex f c e ll e n c e o the work done at this shop , and s a y they have

- n ever worn as well made shoes Since as they secured there . 26 1 86 David Holder died at this house March , 4 . Ruth

1 88 Va s s e lbo r o B assett Holder died in August , 3, in , Maine , f B at the house O her daughter , Rachel . , who had married

Thomas B . Nichols . B oth David and Ruth Bassett H older

throughout their lives clung to the Q uaker form Of worship , and whenever possible attended the meetings . Both died f in the calm security o that faith . S u c h are the simple annals of David and Ruth B assett v Holder , in whose honor filial de otion has raised the Holder

M emorial . They possessed in a high degree the Character

t i O f - i s c virtues old New England , self dependence , industry , frugality , honesty , and they united with these a temperance somewhat rare in those days , together with a breadth of

- sympathy not always associated with Puritan self restraint . o f The gentler virtues the Quakers were theirs also . Their neighborliness is shown by the fact that they were famil i a r l y known as Uncle David and Aunt Ruth by a wide circle o f friends unrelated by blood . It was perhaps from the

mother even more than from the father that Francis T .

H older derived his character . She united with the p r a c t i cal qualities which enabled her to manage a large boarding house successfully and rear a family in comfort on a meagre 1 0

income , a warmth o f heart which causes her to be remem bered by so many who were the recipients of her kindness

o f as o n e the best women who ever lived .

o f We have noted the birth Francis T . Holder and his removal to Bolton in early childhood . Here he lived until f he was sixteen years o age . His father kept him employed

- much Of the time on the farm and in the shoe shop . He was given an Opportunity , however , to attend the district school several months each year , and later was for a few

o f short , scattered terms a member the famous Frye School

which flourished in the Q uaker Village in those days . He

is remembered as a leader in all the sports of boyhood . 1 8 f When he came to Clintonville in 49 , he boarded o r a time at the Clinton House , which had been Opened a year o r two before under the management o f Faulkner Bur dett . When his father renewed his housekeeping in Clinton ,

. 1 8 2 Francis lived with him In November , 5 , when he was only nineteen , he married Arabella P . Davis , who was born in Newark , Vermont . They boarded for a few months and then went to housekeeping in the second tenement of the corporation house which stands first on the north side o f

o f . Pleasant Street , east Main Street The rent was two

- - t dollars sixty two and one half cen s per month . They had

0 1 8 . o n e child , Ava L . Holder , born December 3 , 53 ’ He continued at the work o f making ladies sewed shoes 1 2 with his father and brother until 85 . He never liked the v business , howe er , and was anxious to get out into a more f stirring life . William Eaton , who was in Charge o the f Bigelow Carpet Mill , O fered him the position of watchman

t o - fo r there . He was work eighty four hours per week five

f s i x a o . c dollars , or at the rate about cents per hour He

t o c e pt e d the position , but when he went assume it Horatio / t o l M r . N . Bigelow d Eaton that he could give the young

t o man a better j ob , and took him over the mill of the Clin t o n Company and s e t him at work in the finishing room in packing cloths , and other similar labor . Here he worked

fo r s i x days in a week , thirteen and a half hours per day , 1 1

six dollars , a little over seven cents per hour . In thre e months h i s wages were raised to o n e dollar twelve and one

s i x o n e - five half cents per day , in months to dollar twenty

i . cents , in two years to one dollar f fty cents Three months

later he was made second- hand in the dressing room at o n e

- - o n dollar eighty seven and one half cents per day . This c stant increase o f wages has been noted because it gives the best o f evidence of the faithfulness o f the young mechanic to his work and the development o f his ability and knowl f edge o the business , as well as of the growing appreciation

f m . o his e ployers . It is worthy of note that Mr Holder

o f never asked for an increase wages or salary in his life , but every advance was made by his employers without

solicitation .

I n 1 858 , H oratio N . Bigelow and John P . Buzzell urged him to come into the weaving room of the Bigelow Carpet

- fix e - Company , as a loom r and second hand . Although the

n e wages were less , o dollar fifty cents per day , than he was

v h . recei ing from t e Clinton Company , he made the change

Here he worked until the beginning o f 1 864. During this

o f time he received an offer from E . S . Higgins N ew York o f two dollars seventy- five cents per day for work at his car p et mill , but Mr . Bigelow p ersuaded him t o stay here by an

offer o f t w o dollars twenty- five cents per day and free house rent in a good tenement .

Although he was a Quaker by birth and education , yet ' like many others of that part o f the sect known as Free

o f Quakers , he recognized that the maintenance the right sometimes requires war . His parents agreed with him in this and had symp athiz ed most deeply from the beginning of the Civil War with those w h o were struggling t o main 1 tain the Union . In the beginning of 864 , when the recruit

o f fi f ing the army had become very dif cult , his sense o his duty to his country would n o t allow him to remain at home

any longer .

1 86 . January 5, 4, he was mustered into the Third Cavalry c I n Colonel Thomas Chi kering commanded this regiment . 1 2

the beginning it had been the Forty- fir s t Massachusetts

Infantry . This regiment saw hard service under General

Banks in the Red River Expedition . March 20, it was near

o n Alexandria the Red River , and from this time to May 20 it w a s almost constantly engaged in skirmishing with the

. 8 enemy The battle at Sabine Cross Roads , April and 9 , was the most important engagement . During the latter part o f May and June it rested at Morganza Bend o n the 2 1 Mississippi . J une , the regiment was dismounted and 1 armed as infantry . July 5, it was dispatched to Fortress

Monroe , and then sent to j oin General Sheridan in the

O e ua n Valley of the Shenandoah . At p q and Cedar Creek the regiment did some valiant fighting . After the latter 1 battle , October 9 , the Third Cavalry was not again seri o us ly engaged .

Battery L , Fifth United States Artillery , one Of the few mounted batteries , needed more men to recruit its ranks and volunteers were called for from the Third Cavalry . f t Mr . Holder was among those who O fered o make the change . H e says he had seen such lack of discipline in the v w a s volunteer ser ice , that he glad to enter an organization where men were compelled to do their duty , and do it with o t o r u question hesitation . He remained only three

a o months in the regular army , yet during this time he

o f quired more than from any other experience his life , the principles and qualities which gave him s o great success in business . After these three months he went back to the

Third Cavalry . f At the close o f the war , as the men o the Third Cavalry

o u t saw the other regiments sent home to be mustered , they constantly expected that their turn would come next . They 1 86 o ff were disappointed , however , and in June , 5, started o n the railroady i n from Washington without the rank i and file knowing the r destination . They were carried to

Leavenworth , 'ansas , to overawe the Indian tribes which were becoming uneasy . At this time Mr . Holder became first sergeant without passing through the lower grades o f 1 3

f offi ce . As the commissioned o ficers were absent for some o f time , Sergeant H older had command his company . But o f at last there came a time consolidation , and by good

’ luck Sergeant H older s warrant was so dated as to admit o f

f r his discharge . H e had been paid o only two months o ut o f h the twenty he had served , so that he now received eig t ’ fo r een months pay , beside a large amount travelling ex 1 p enses . H e was mustered out August 3, and just failed to

n - reach home o his birthday , which occurred August 1 8 . The connection of William Eaton with the Carpet Mill

had been severed in April , and the position Of overseer was

’ kept vacant , awaiting Mr . Holder s return and readiness for 1 service . October he renewed his connection with the

o f Carpet Mill as overseer , at a salary fifteen hundred dol 1 86 lars . Here he continued until 8 , when he went to take what he hoped would be a better position in Everett Bige

’ ’ low s silk mill at Roxbury . But Everett Bigelow s business

in Roxbury soon after became involved , and Mr . H older 1 86 returned to Clinton , to the Andrew Fuller mill , in 9 . Carpet looms were being made at this time in the Par

fo r o f ker Machine Shop Alexander Smith Yonkers , New

C h e n r ut e t . York . Seth e y went o to s them up Complaint

was made that these looms were not running satisfactorily ,

C h e n e r . . and Mr . y told Mr Smith that if Francis T H older could be engaged to have charge of them everything would

be all right . N egotiations were opened and Mr . Holder

f o f f received an o fer a salary o eighteen hundred dollars . The Bigelow Carp et Company made him an Offer to remain

here and return to its employ . He decided that he ought to

’

1 1 8 0 . accept Mr . Smith s offer and entered his mill April , 7

Mr . Holder was put in charge Of nineteen looms which up to this time had produced o n an average only eight yards

T w o Of Axminster carpeting each per day . years after he

became overseer Of the room , the average product was

twenty yards per day . This was brought about through o ’ Mr . H lder s knowledge o f m achinery and power to make

various adaptations and improvements in the looms , and 1 4

also from his ability to secure the best help and t o get the

best work from them that they were capable o f doing .

After a time he became superintendent of the weaving mill , and o n e department after another was placed under his c o n

. 1 8 trol until at last he managed the whole In 94 , he became

president Of the company . H e retired from this posi tion 2 in 1 90 . He was given absolute power over methods o f produc

tion , changes in the plant and expenditure o f money for

needed improvements . From statistics prepared fo r the

fair at St . Louis we learn that floor space o f the mills

- five was then thirty acres . The number o f employees was

- - fift y eight hundred . There were thirty five thousand

- , v v spindles six hundred and thirty four el et , tapestry and

Wilton velvet looms , and seven hundred and fourteen

Axminster looms . The average daily product had risen o r h 1 8 0 t o from thirteen fourteen undred yards per day in 7 ,

- o r - fiv sixty two thousand yards thirty e miles . This product is more than double that o f any other carpet mill in the

world . That this great development o f the mills is due to

Mr . Holder is proven by the following resolution passed by the directors o f the company o n his retirement from the

f - presidency . It was O fered by W . B . Smith , ex president . ' ’ Resolved , That owing to Mr . F . T . H older s desire to be relieved o f the cares o f business this Board Of Trustees

o f accepts his resignation as p resident this company , and at the same time takes this Opportunity to express their a p p r e f c i a t i o n and thanks for the great ability , untiring e forts and sound j udgment that he has given to the management o f this business since his first connection with it , covering a

- o r period o f thirty two years . We wish to put on record u appreciation o f his work and influence o n this business dur ing all these year s; first as weaving sup erintendent , then as n general superi tendent , and finally , during the past eight

. v years , as president While we lose his ser ices as president with the greatest regret , we appreciate his kindness in con

o ur senting to serve as a director , and extend best wishes ” fo r that a long and happy life may be in store him .

T h e C lin n H is ric al c ie to to S o ty .

26 1 8 UNE , 94, a meeting was held at the District Court Room in Clinton to consider the question o f forming a society which should h ave for its object the collection and preservation o f records and relics connected with local his

o f tory , and the awakening and maintaining an interest in the past life Of our community . Christopher C . Stone was made Chairman of this meeting . Remarks were Iri a de by l C . C . Stone , W . E . Parkhurst , A . E . Ford , J oshua T h is s e l ,

. . , . . v , . . . . . , C L Swan E A E ans Dr G W Burdett , G W Weeks

Dr . W . P . Bowers and G . P . Taylor , upon the reasons for the organiz ation o f such a society and the work which should

be done by it . A . E . Ford , Dr . G . M . Morse and W . E . Park hurst were appointed a committee to prep are a constitution

- and by laws , and to report at a future meeting . The committee made its report at a meeting held Sep 1 0 S tember , and after light amendment the constitution and

- o f by laws as reported were adopted . The management the affairs of the society was largely left to a board o f directors

- consisting of a president and two vice presidents , a Clerk , a treasurer, an auditor and a curator . The membership fee was o n e dollar and the annual dues the same . The meet

l e/Id ings were to be y quarterly , on the second Monday in

S eptember, D ecember , March and June . f ' o ' . . The original members the society were C L Swan , ' O ...... S G . W Burdett , A . A Burditt , C W Field Jr E C ' , . . . . . , O . . good H C Greeley , Mrs H C Greeley L Stone , S T N C H R I S T O P H E R C . O E

1 7

m e . . . . C o . G . J Ott , P . P . y , W J Coulter, D B I ngalls , F .

E . Holman , C . A . Bartlett , E . W . Burdett , C . D . Copp , H .

A . Burdett , S . W . Tyler, J . F . Philbin , Warren Goodale , ' G . W . Weeks , J . C . Duncan , Mrs . J . C . Duncan , C . C .

Stone , Mrs . C . C . Stone , W . E . Parkhurst , Mrs . W . E .

k . . . . . , . Par hurst , E S Fuller, Mrs E S Fuller Ellen F Logan , 0 W . W . Jordan , C . L . French , W . . Johnson , S . R . Cather ,

A . E . Ford , Mrs . A . E . Ford , W . P . Bowers , C . G . Ban

. . . . J croft , Jonathan Smith , E A Evans , T F Larkin , oshua

l . . . l . T h i s s e . . , Lucius Field , W R D ame , H N Bigelow , J A

M organ , C . G . G . P . Taylor, Neil Walker , C . L . ' Hunt , G . M . Morse , A . C . W . E . Page , F . E . ' H oward , W . E . H . J . B rown , J eremiah Fiske , M innie S i x E . Vickery , Jennie E . Stone . more were afterwards added 'H . F . Hartwell , E . D . Morey , W . I . J enkins , A . H . M . . r s . Waterman , Mrs . G M Morse and Jonathan Smith ,

- making sixty five names in all . The membership of the ten whose names are starred was terminated by death . Twelve others withdrew from Change Of residence or for other reasons . 2 f September 4, the permanent organization o the society f was completed . The following is a summary o its offi cial management during the nine years of its existence as an unincorporated society

— — C . 1 8 1 02 President . C Stone , 94 9 ; Jonathan S mith , — 1 902 3. — - — . . 1 8 1 00 G . . Vice Presidents M M orse , 94 9 ; A C D akin ,

— — — 1 8 1 8 1 02 . . 1 02 1 0 94 5 ; Jonathan Smith , 95 9 ; C C Stone , 9 9 3; — 1 02 1 0 . . 1 0 . N eil Walker , 9 9 3; C L Hunt , 9 3 — A 1 8 — 1 0 Clerk . E . Ford , 94 9 3. — — W . . 1 8 1 0 . Treasurer E Parkhurst , 94 9 3 — — C . 1 8 1 2 . 0 . Curator . A Bartlett , 94 9 ; H F H artwell , — 1 902 3. — 1 8 — 1 8 Auditor J . A . Morgan , 94 5 ; E . W . Burdett , 95 0 1 9 3. Addresses have be en given at the quarterly meetings as follows 1 8

1 894 — A . 2 . . Sept . 4 E Ford The Clinton Historical Society ” O o f . the bj ect , Method and Scope its Work — C o f . Dec . I o . C . Stone The Old Houses Clinton 1 89 5

- o f March 1 1 G . W . Burdett Reminiscences School

days . o f W . E . Parkhurst Personal Recollections

High Street . ” — 1 8 6 . June I o G . M . Morse . Reminiscences Of Clinton in 4 ” h i l r Joshua T s s e l . My Fi st Seven Years in Clin

ton . — A . Sept 9 . E . Ford . Our First Cotton Factory — 8 D . . . 1 D ec , 9 B Ingalls Clintonville in 47 from the Stand ” p oint o f a Young Mechanic . 1 896 — o f March 9 Henry S . N ourse of Lancaster . Mutilation ” Geographical Nomenclature .

— O f June 8 C . M . Bowers . Memories Some Former Cler ” gy me n . — f f 1 W . . o o Sept 4 T Forbes , Judge Probate Worcester

County . Probate Courts . ' — 1 . Dec . 4 Jonathan Smith D evelopment o f Jury Trials . I 897 — 8 C . . March L Hunt . Some Recent Educational His

tory . — 1 0 . . June J C . Duncan William , the Silent . — 1 C . . . Sept . 3 C Stone The Factory Village in the Thir

ties .

1 — r D ec . 5 Devoted to Resolutions and Rema ks o n the Lives of the Recently D eceased Citizens ' George

. A r h W Burdett , John R . Foster , c a l a us C .

D a ki /C h a r l e s . n , G Stevens . 1 898 — 1 - o f . March 4 Curtis Guild Boston Every day Patriotism . H ” 1 — S . a n i h June 3 Henry A Potter . p s Sketches . ' ” 1 2— Sept . Annie E . Batchellor . Florence . 1 9

— f . F ' 1 2 . o D ec . J Evarts Greene Worcester The Santa

Trade , its Route and Character . 1 899 — March 1 3 Congressman George W . Weymouth . Con ” gr e s s i o n a l Life at Washington . ” — June 1 2 Hiram A Miller . The Metropolitan Water Sup

ply . Illustrated by stereopticon . ' — 1 T . . o f Sept . 8 . F Larkin The I nfluence Poetry o n

History . — f I I W . . . o Dec . P Bowers The History the Clinton H os

pital Previous to the First Printed Report . 1 900 March 1 2— Celebrated as the Fiftieth Anniversary o f the I ncorporation of Clinton by general remarks

by members .

— June 1 8 The municip al celebration of the S emi - Centennial of Inco rporation took the place o f a regular

meeting . 1 902 ' — Dec . 8 Edwin D . Mead . The Voice Of the Old South

- Meeting House . 1 90 3 — March 9 N eil Walker . Some Phases o f the Evolution o f ” r o u Greatest I ndustry . ' — June 1 8 W . E . Parkhurst . The Chapel Hill School . ' — ’ 1 . o f R e Sept . 4 Jonathan Smith Some Phases Shays

bellion .

Thus in all some twenty- seven p apers and addresses were f given before t h e society . Some fifteen o them were o n subj ects o f local history . These were in many cases given by men w h o were eye witnesses o f the events narrated o r conditions p ortrayed , and were published in the Clinton

Courant and the Clinton Daily Item , which have always worked most harmoniously with the society in preserving the researches o f its members or of those invited t o sp eak

o r before it . The other twelve p apers addresses had a v ' broader range , and were deli ered by persons , often outside 20

the society , who are recognized as authorities on the sub j e c t s treated . The most important wor k done by the Clinton Historical Society in its unincorporated form was that in connection with the celebration o f the Semi - Centennial of the Incor p o r a t i o n Of the Town of Clinton . The first movement in this direction was a motion p assed at a meeting of the 1 8 society held September , when it was voted that the president , C . C . Stone , be instructed to bring before the town the question of the desirability o f celebrating the fiftieth anniversary o f the incorporation of the town o f

o f Clinton . From this initiative the society a celebration was held under the auspices o f the town which did much to

, S awaken local pride and patriotism mark historical pots , and to gather together in many most valuable addresses

o f afterwards published , a store local history which might otherwise have been lost . N ot only did the society take the initiative in this celebration , but the Chairman o f the society , C . C . Stone , became the chairman of the general committee of arrangements , the secretary , A . E . Ford , the f editor o the memorial volume , and other members were most active on the committees and in taking part in the the various functions . The effort of the society in connection with the Semi

fo r Centennial seems to have exhausted its energies a while , so that for a year no meetings were held in which there

f o f was a quorum su ficient for the transaction business . From the beginning it had been felt that permanent quarters with conveniences for the collection , preservation and exhibition of documents , books and other articles of historical value were essential to effective work , and even to the very existence o f the society . The erection of a new / building for the p t l i c library gave a hope to the society that

u such a room might be reserved there for its s e . When a request to this effect was made by the society through a committee to the board of library directors , that board did n o t feel that it had the power to grant such privileges as the

22

over its records , papers and other property to the corpora ” tion known as the Clinton Historical Society . It was fur ' ” ther voted that the voluntary association be dissolved .

Meanwhile , action was taken for securing a charter for r the incorporated society and for o ganizing the same . The m first eeting was held after due legal formalities , October

- 6 . b , at the Court Room At this meeting y laws were pre sented by a provisional committee , W . E . Parkhurst and A .

- E . Ford , appointed for this purpose . These by laws were considered and voted upon article by article , and then , as

b - o amended , adopted as a whole as the y laws f the society . The preamble is s o broadened from that o f the unin c o r p o r a t e d society as to include art and natural history as

o f well as history , within the aims the society . The mem b e r s h i p fee is made five dollars for all those not members o f the o ld society . The curatorship is dropped in the list of

n officers . The clerk , treasurer and auditor are o longer o n

o f the board directors which , six in number , are elected as

- such by the society . The president and two vice presidents are elected by the directors from their own number . 1 The charter was Signed October 3. The charter mem

J , . . , . . J bers were onathan Smith W E Parkhurst W I enkins ,

J . C . Duncan , C . C . Stone , N eil Walker , D . B . Ingalls , A .

A . Burditt , A . E . Ford , and H . F . H artwell . f The other members o the society are Lucius Field , E . T h i s s l . . e l S . Fuller , W O Johnson , Jeremiah Fiske , Joshua ,

E . D . Morey , G . J . Ott , W . R . Dame , Mrs . W . R . Dame ,

C . L . French , Mrs . A . E . Ford , C . L . Hunt , H . A . Burdett , M M r s ...... r s . . Mrs . C . C . Stone , E S Fuller H N Bigelow , G

. . . . O , . . M Morse , Mrs Jonathan Smith , E C sgood F E H ow ard , A . H . Waterman , E . A . Evans , C . D . Copp , E . W .

Burdett , W . P . Bowers , C . A . Bartlett . All these are from the o ld s o c i e t y// T h o s e who have j oined since are E . W .

. . 0 . Gibbs , J . C . L . Clark , Mrs . J . C . L . Clark , C E Shaw ,

L . Stone , W . A . Fuller , E . L . Harris , C . H . Bowers .

The officers since incorporation have been ' President ,

- Jonathan Smith ; vice presidents , C . C . Stone and W . I . ‘23

Jenkins ; other directors , J . C . Duncan , D . B . Ingalls and

Neil Walker ; clerk . A . E . Ford ; treasurer, W . E . Park

hurst ; auditor , H F . Hartwell . The addresses and papers given before the incorporated Clinton Historical Society are as follows '

— 1 H o n . . . . 1 0 D ec 9 , 9 3 William Everett Edward Everett ” ” — 1 1 1 0 C . . . March , 9 4 C The Clinton Militia ” — I 1 0 C . . June 3, 9 4 M History of the Baptist ” Church o f Clinton . ' — ' 22 1 0 W . . . Sept . , 9 4 E Parkhurst Indian Paths and Old

Roads . — 1 2 1 0 . f c . . o D e . 9 4 Joseph H Perry The Rock Floor Clin ”

ton and the. D evelopment of the N ashua Valley . ' 1 0 — o f M arch 4 , 9 5 J oshua The Social Life Clin

ton during the Civil Wa r . Those starred have been printed in the Clinton D aily

Item and Clinton Courant . The mee tings of both the unincorporated and c o r p o r a t e d societies up to the present time have been held for the most f part in the District Cou rt Room , the us e o which has been

o f furnished to the society free Charge . Those meetings at which pap ers or addresses have been given have been Op en to the general public . The attendance at the meetings in the Court Room has usually been small , seldom exceeding forty . The addresses which seemed likely to draw larger

o r audiences were given in Bigelow Hall , in one case , in the vestry Of the Unitarian Church . The number of p eople

a v , v who heard these p p ers and addresses was , howe er ery much smaller than the number reached through their publi

i n r cation , full o by extended rep orts , in the Clinton press .

v , , Moreo er as those p apers dealing with local matters , will be used as sources o f information by those who in the future touch upon local history , through the press , in the schools

r o in public sp eaking, they will directly and indirectly reach a body o f listeners and readers worthy o f their value and the labor Sp ent up on them , T h e L a in o f th e C rn e r - S n y g o to e .

H E first action relative to the laying of the co rner- stone of the Holder Memorial Building was taken at a meet ing of the board o f directors o f the Clinton Historical 2 1 0 Society , held May 3, 9 4, when arrangements were made for inviting the Grand Lodge o f Massachusetts and Trinity

. 8 Lodge to assist in the ceremonies June , a meeting o f the directors was held , at which it was announced that both the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts and Trinity Lodge were ready to coo perate with the Clinton Historical Society in ” - laying the corner stone , and it was voted ' that the board o f h — J directors of t e Clinton Historical Society onathan Smith ,

C . C . Stone , Dr . D . B . Ingalls , Rev . J . C . Duncan , W . I . Jenkins and Neil Walker— serve as a committee to act with t o a committee be chosen from Trinity Lodge , in making all necessary arrangements fo r the ceremonies in connec

- tion with laying the corner stone .

A . E . Ford , the clerk , and W . E . Parkhurst , the treas ' t u er , were appointed a committee to Obtain a box to place

h h - t o wit in t e corner stone , and secure such documents and

r e e r ve ' h other articles as may seem suitable to be p s d t e r e i n .

x An excellent copper b o , ten by twelve by fourteen inches ,

S n . o was presented to the society by E . B Badger o f

Boston . Trinity L o dge / a p p o i n t e d as a cooperating committee

W . Jonathan Smith , W . Charles A . Bartlett , W . Allan G .

Buttrick , Bro . Charles Frazer , Bro . Lucius Field . 0 Saturday, July 3 , was fixed upon as t he date for the ceremonies . Rev . James C . Duncan was asked to give the 25

h v o f g address , and t e Har ard Quartette Bost on was enga ed to furnish music .

0 o f By July 3 , the construction the building had so far advanced that the first floor was laid and there accomm oda tions were provided fo r the ceremonies and a considerable

fo r part of the spectators . There were seats others in front o f the building . The grand officers o f the Grand Masonic Lodge o f Mas ’ s a c h u s e t t s arrived in Clinton at about one o clock and were

t o o n e - fiv escorted the hall of Trinity Lodge ; at forty e , a v h luncheon was gi en in t e Masonic Banquet Hall , at which about sixty gentlemen and ladies were served ; at two thirty

w s a . . a meeting of Trinity Lodge held , with W M Walter

o f F . Page in the chair . Then the members the Lodge marched in due order to the Site of the Holder Memorial

Building , with George W . Richardson as marshal .

A s d . the onor of the building , Francis T Holder , was unable to be present , he was represented by Wellington E .

Parkhurst in making the request . ’ The ceremonies Opened at three o clock , and were car ried o ut in accordance with the following program

1 . Hymn . Sung by Harvard Quartette .

t h t t o f th h v Grea Arc i ec ear and ea en , t n o r o fi By ime space c n ned , Enlarge o ur l o ve t o c o mprehend

r th k . O u bre ren , all man ind

’ ’ h h t do W ere er we are , w a e er we , Thy presence let u s o wn ; h k o r T ine eye , all seeing, mar s u deeds , o h tho u ht k o n T T ee all g s are n w .

’ ’ While nature s wo rks and science s laws o t o v We lab r re eal , O h 'be o ur d u ty d o ne t o Thee z With fervency and eal .

th A I T H o r hu O P E Wi F u gu ide , and mble H , I Warm C H A R T ' and L OV E , May all at last be raised t o Share h t t o v T y perfec ligh ab e , 26

f o . 2 . Request Bro Wellington E . Parkhurst , representing

r o . B . Francis T Holder , the donor .

’ ’ M o s t Wo r s /z z pf ul Gr a n d M a s t e r of t h e Gr a n a L o dg e of M a s o n s of M a s s a c k n s e t t s

f . In behalf o Francis T Holder , the builder of this edi

fi e o u c , I here and now make request that y will proceed to the laying O f the corner - stone in accordance with the usual

o f ceremonials the order ; also , in behalf of the Clinton His

fo r t o r i c a l Society , whose benefit the building is erected , that y o u will place the provided b o x o f documents beneath the stone .

3. Response by the Grand Master , M . W . Baalis Sanford . o f 4 . Responsive Reading Selections from the Scriptures ,

. . . D . D . by W Rev Charles A Skinner , , Grand Chap

lain , and the Brethren .

5. Prayer , by the Grand Chaplain . o f o f 6 . h Reading List Contents of t e Box , by Albert

Blodgett , the acting Grand Treasurer .

L I S T O F AR T I C LE S .

- to o f C to . E . o S C t His ry lin n , by A F rd ; emi en ennial Mem o

v 1 0 . E . o to to o f o rial o lu me , 9 0, A F rd , edi r ; His ry H lder Family, C o C to o o t 1 0 L t o f P011 T a x by . F . H lder ; lin n T wn Rep r s , 9 4; is 1 0 C to u t t x E t t a l a Payers , 9 3; lin n , Ill s ra ed ; Ta able s a es and V u

t 1 1 o B - L to o f O t Lo io ns , 90 ; T wn y aws ; His ry ld Trini y dge , by th S th o D to — C o Ch t Jo na an mi ; Mas nic irec ry mmandery, ap er , ’ and Lo dge ; Lancaster Lo dge Odd Fello ws Directo ry; Clinto n ’ Lo dge Odd Fello ws Directo ry— Encampment Offi cers ; Grand ’ o t — o t 6 L S o o f V t Army R s er P s 4, adies Relief , ns e erans , D ht f t h to Ch t D R aug ers o Ve erans ; Mary Was ing n ap er , . . C t t t o h W e ke e ke C o u o o ns i u i n and Members ip ; p ncil , R yal Ar — canu m— D irecto ry; Clinto n Histo rical S o ciety B y - laws and Membership ; Bigel o w Free Pu blic Library Catalo gu e ; Wo r t E t t o c i e t ~ ffi c e r s u L t ces er as Agricu l ural S y O and Premi m is , 1 0 A n n ua l e o r t C to o t o t o 1 0 A n 9 4; /R p lin n H spi al Ass cia i n , 9 4;

t t o t t o a n . 1 1 0 C o nu al Repo r M e ro p li an Wa er B ard , J , 9 4; ngre ga ti o n a l Chu rch Manu al ; Bap tist Church Articles o f Faith; The C o ngregati o nalist; The Watchman ; The U nited Presby ’ terian ; The Churchman ; 'io n s Herald ; The Christian Regis ’ o o x ter; The Republic ; Bigel w Carpet C mpany s E hibit at St . 27

Lo u Ex o t o tu o f v t o f is p si i n , pic re Wea ing Mill , and pic ure S n L t t th n pinni g Mills ; ancas er Mills Pic ure , wi M a ufa c t ur i n St t t C to C o th t O h g a is ics ; lin n Wire l Mills , p ic ure f; Wac u S tt D wo v o v L e am , t iews , ab e and bel o w . o cal Rec o rds ' C O u ’ t— L t 2 0th v 1 t ran ancas er s 5 Anni ersary, 903; descrip io n o f Free Pu blic Library bu ilding; descriptio n o f H o lder Memo rial Build to o f t t Ch h C i n g; His ry Bap is urc , by . M . B o wers ; R e mi n i s

f Ch S ho o E . kh t t cences o apel Hill c l , by W . Par urs . I em ’ C i to S - C t o t t 1 o f l n n s emi en ennial Rec rd , illus ra ed , 900; N eeds

C D u . C to v . . . lin n , by Re J ncan

- 7 . Application of the J ewels to the Corner stone . f 8 o . . Libation Corn , by the' Deputy Grand Master , R W

William H . Emerson .

h o o f O W en nce ld , in Israel , r th wr o u ht th to O u early Bre ren g wi il , ’ Jeho vah s blessin g o n them fell h o f C o O In s o wers rn , and Wine and il . ,

o f . . 9 . Libation Wine , by the Senior Grand Warden , R W

J . Gilman Waite .

When there a shrine t o Him al o ne h t t h o h t o o T ey bu il , wi w rs ip , sin f il ,

n th ho o n o - to O res ld and c rner s ne ,

h o o u t C o n O . T ey p ured rn , and Wi e , and il

f . . 1 0. o O , Libation il , by the Junior Grand Warden R W

William H . H . Soule .

A n d h v o t we a e c me , fra ernal bands , th o o o Wi j y and pride , and pr sper u s spo il , T o ho no r Him by vo tive hands th t o f C o n i l Wi s r eams rn , and Wi e , and O .

1 1 . Invocation , by the Grand Chaplain .

o f t o . 1 2 . Presentation Working Tools Architect

1 . . . . . 3 Address , by Rev Bro J ames C Duncan

- F r i e n ds a n d F e l l o w C i t i z e n s . The occasion that brings us together suggests many thoughts upon which we might dwell with both pleasure

r - and profit . When the noble structure whose co ner stone

we have met to see laid in its place , comes to be dedicated , ample opportunity will doubtless be given fo r the exposition 28

o f its significance to this community . A humbler task has been laid upon me ; it is t o indicate , with the brevity that m an outdoor celebration in midsummer de ands , some of the

i s uses which this building designed to fulfill .

Before indicating what these uses are , let me s a y that many other themes present themselves , inviting o ur c o n s i d

i n e r a t o . And it is only by holding a tight rein upon the imagination that we c a n keep to the straight and narrow path that the occasion requires . What an inviting theme , for example , the presence of the Masons and the meaning o f the interesting ceremony which we have witnessed ' H ow tempting to dwell at some length upon the history o f

- Freemasonry , how a trade came to be a world wide moral

o f and social organization for the building temples , not made o f v o f with hands , but li ing temples , temples the Holy Spirit ' The true Mason is an expert in the art of character f building , for by the use o the Holy Bible , square and compasses , he is enabled to make himself a perfect man .

How tempting , too , to utilize this hour in dwelling upon the

o ur development of town , and in showing how much the Holder Memorial will add to its attractiveness and educa t i o n a l advantages . But I must dismiss all these inviting themes and confine my remarks to the purpose Of the building . So you will see that if I experience any embarrassment

n t o n this occasion it arises , o from having nothing to say , but rather in knowing what n o t t o say . But I trust that I know where and when to stop . It is the intention o f the builder of this edifice to present it to the Clinton Historical Society . That means that it will be used as a place for preserving articles of local historic interest . It is nee dless for me to dwell on the desirability of preserving s articles . Without them the town could n o t know its 'w n history ; and history is to a community

H o w o f what memory is to an individual . would any us like to rise in the morning and remember nothing of o ur former life ' We would be utter strangers to ourselves . A

30 time that J ohn Prescott built his mill o n yonder brook in the midst o f a howling wilderness until through the industry

o f Po i a n and energy and sagacity men like gn d and Plant ,

H a r r i s e s the Bigelows , the , Franklin Forbes , George W .

Weeks and many others too numerous to mention , Clinton has become as o n e o f o ur o w n poetesses has sung

ht o to o f v hi A brig c sy wn alley and lls ,

thr v th ho o - ho u hu h All i ing wi sc l ses , c rc es and mills ; h o o h h o v th t W ere green dr ping branc es arc er e stree , And Industry shines o n the faces y o u meet ; h ho u ho h h ho o W ere ses are mes , w ere c ild d is a g y , ” And Order and H o nesty ever ho ld sway and he is inspired to contribute his share to the upbuilding o f o ur beloved town . T o this memorial building may citiz ens and strangers seeking the truth concerning the origin and development o f this section of the commonwealth come and find the facts they seek . i g , v h D o not ima ne howe er , that cold facts are all t at is o to be found within these walls . F r while this is t o be a

o f . N o r temple of truth , it is also to be a temple beauty do

I refer to the structure alone . That the building itself will be solid and beautiful what we already s e e furnishes abun dant evidence , while those having seen the plans know full well that it is to be as strong and proof against fire and water as a building can be built , and withal wondrously pleasing to look upon . But it will not be until we have passed within these doors that the full meaning of the ' ” phrase temple o f beauty will enter o ur minds . That the interior finish will harmonize with the exterior goes without f saying , and that in itself is su ficient guarantee that it will be beautiful without and within . N o t , however , until we come to look at t h paintings o n the walls and the statuary on the p edestals , which it is the purpose of the builder some day to bring here , shall we real ize how much the erection Of this edifice means to the town Of Clinton .

Here will be preserved , besides Old relics and bare facts , 31

the rarest works o f art . Valuable paintings will adorn these walls and costly statues occupy these floors . Thus will the H older M emorial be a source not only of instruction

’ o f b in the truth o f the town s history , but enj oyment in e

N o t holding beautiful art treasures . that I think the high

i s est function o f art to give pleasure , for I hold that the chief service of art is to inspire men and women to real

o f ize the ideal life . The vision the beautiful in nature and human nature , leads the seer to make his own life beautiful . Art is o n e o f the greatest moral and spiritual forces in the S o f world , and we hould hail with delight the prospect hav ing an art collection t o which we can come and catch glimpses o f the ideal . Think of the sermons delivered o n ‘f ” the dignity o f labor by such pictures as the A n ge l us o r ” ' o r o n o f the Sower , the Glory Motherhood by the Sis ” tine Madonna — lessons which the better classes o f o ur modern Ame ri can society cannot ignore without peril to themselves and the nation . It is the mission of the artist n o t so much t o copy what everybody sees in nature and life as it is to reproduce his

o f o w n personal vision . And the vision the artistic soul is oftentimes very different from that o f the average man o r ' ” - woman . I assert for myself , said the poet painter , Wil ' liam Blake , that I do not behold the outward creation , and ‘ ’ that to me it is hindrance and n o t action . What 'it will ‘ n be questioned , when the sun rises do you o t see a round '’ O , s e e disk of fire , somewhat like a guinea h no , no , I an ' o f innumerable company the heavenly host crying , Holy , ’ holy , holy is the Lord God Almighty . I question not my corporeal eye any more than I would question a window ” concernin g a sight . I look through it and not with it . f That is the answer o the idealist to the realist in art . The true artist i n t e p r e t s nature and life and leads us t o see c o l o r s and meanings in them that we never saw before . For example , among the many delightful walks or drives in this vicinity few are finer than that between here and Bolton . On one o f those roads there is a particularly pleasing bit of 32

scenery not far from the residence of J . Wyman Jones . But it s real Charm I never realized until I saw recently a picture of it painted by a Clinton boy . It is a flock o f Sheep graz ing in an orchard on a fine autumn evening . The picture is not large , but the coloring and Spirit of it are exquisite . It makes one appreciate a s he never appreciated before the glory o f our New England hillsides . They may not have the romance Of the heathery hills Of bonnie Scotland , but there is a beauty and tranquility about them exceedingly

pleasing and restful to weary Spirits . And we have a right to congratulate ourselves that we have in our midst o n e

o f who has the gift revealing the beauty of our local scenery . What more fitting than that some day o n e of his pictures should find a place within these walls . We come now to the third and last use for which this building is designed . Though I mention it last , it is really primary and central . For this is above all else a memorial f building . The moving thought in the mind o the builder is to commemorate his honored father and mother . This edifice is supremely a memorial to virtue , for the chief claim that D avid and Ruth Holder have to be remembered is that they were honest and honorable citizens . Speaking O f this ” ” ‘ o f worthy couple , the author of The H olders Holderness ' o f assures us that D avid was a man sterling qualities , whose word was as good as his bond in the community in which he lived . He was educated at one of the large insti t ut i o n s o f learning of the time , and married Ruth Bassett , a beautiful woman , who sat upon the high seat in the meet ' ings of the society o f Friends . Time forbids my giving

o f a detailed description the lives of David and Ruth Holder , o r of dwelling on the excellent quality o f Quaker blood that

f s a runs in the veins of the Holders . Su fice it to y that

w a o f David Holder the descendant Christopher , who in the seventeenth century suffered agonies for his religion . F o r as much as four years and a half he lay in prison o n ' account o f his faith . His pardon came , says Professor ' o f 11 Holder , with the accession J ames , who released the D A V I D H O L D E R

33

Quakers from j ails all over England and gave them liberty o f conscience . Broken in health by his long imprisonment and by the many terrible experiences he had passed through,

Christopher Holder returned to his home . With William

Penn , George Fox , Edward Burroughs and others he was a sturdy figure standing out in strong relief in this era of i n t o l

n o n e o f e r a c e and bigotry , and of the advance guards the ” culture and refinement o f the following centuries . Such was the illustrious ancestor o f the man to whose

o f is memory and that his wife this building being erected .

D avid H older was by trade a shoemaker , and his wife for a

- o f time kept a boarding house at the foot this street , Charg ing the girls for room and board the amazing s u m of eighty three cents per week . That she could make both ends meet and yet save something is sufficient testimony that she was a woman o f ability who looked well to the ways of

o f her household , and ate not the bread idleness . N O mar vel that her children rise up and call her blessed . Of David w H older , I can learn little more than that he a s a man o f

fo r sterling character , and his day and generation well edu c a t e d . While living in Bolton he planted with his own hand many of the fine trees which n o w cast their welcome shade along the roads . By some strange mistake , D avid has b e come mixed up with his eldest brother , Joseph . In the f o . Military Annals Lancaster , by H enry S Nourse , there is a paragraph about an obscure Quaker shoemaker who lived in Bolton , who made slippers for Parisian belles and Cuban

. O , . . . ladies ur townsman and historian Mr A E Ford , quotes this passage in his History o f the Origin o f Clin ” ton , and gives us to understand that this wonderful maker o f slippers was no other than D avid Holder . But I am i n formed o u the best authority that the famous shoemaker Of

, J h . T O Bolton was not D avid but his eldest brother , osep be sure it is all in the family , but in matters historical we

t o o cannot be careful in getting at the truth . I have spoken o f this because I w i s h to emphasize the importance o f having this magnificent edifice erected to a 34 man and a woman whose only title to remembrance are the o f common qualities honor , and honesty , and industry , and o n e fidelity to another . But are these qualities s o very common' Are all men and women honest and honorabl e and industrious and faithful' We have but to ask the ques tion to realize the radical improvement that would take place in society were all men and women as good as D avid and Ruth Holder . We erect monuments in abundance to

r the memo y of great men and women , and we do well , but here is a monument erected by a loving son to his honored father and mother . As we pass along this street and behold this beautiful building, and much more when we enter the Spacious door way and see the faces of David and Ruth Holder looking h v down upon us from t eir frames abo e the fireplace , we

o f o f f shall be reminded no unwonted deeds heroism , but o humble , simple , faithful living , and be inspired to do our nearest duty with a contented and happy heart .

o f These , then , are some the principal uses for which — this edifice is designed the pursuit of truth , the enj oyment o f beauty and the remembrance Of simple goodness as man ife s t e d in the happy though humble lives of David and Ruth

o f Holder . We congratulate ourselves as citizens Clinton in having in o ur midst this magnificent building designed for these high uses . And our hearts go out in gratitude to him from whose generosity this great and good work proceeds .

His absence o n this occasion we greatly deplore . But even if a previous business engagement had not called him away , it is doubtful if his modesty could have endured the inevitable conspicuousness attendant upon his presence here today . This brings me to the last and most delicate word I have wh ' v to speak ; for y the benefactor li es , good taste forbids o n e o f many words . And yet is not of the finest features this occasion the fact that though the builder of this memo rial has passed his three score years and ten he is yet alive h o f h and well , able to enj oy t e fruit is labor and to watch

35 with commendable pride the rising o f these walls to the memory Of those he loved and honored' In erecting this building while still living Mr . Holder sets an example in mu n ific e n c e t o that it is be hoped many will follow . Con sideratio n for his feelings forbids us to sing his praise as it deserves to be sung and as it Shall some day be sung . But we cannot refrain from nor would he Object to o ur c o m mending him to the safe - keeping Of the good B eing who gave him the power to get wealth , and who put it into his

t o heart administer it with wisdom and righteousness . May

he long be spared to enj oy the work of his hands , and may multitudes for many generations , as they enter the Holder

r Memorial either to seek truth , admire the beautiful o praise v Go d o f irtue , rise up and ask to bless the life and the labor

Francis T . Holder .

1 . . 4 Proclamation , by the Grand Marshal , W Frank W

Mead . m 1 . . . 5 Hymn , A erica Sung by the Audience

I 6. Benediction , by the Grand Chaplain . m n T e r s a d N ature o f th e Gift .

N the months which followed the laying o f the corner stone the members O f the Clinton Historical Society watched with de e p interest the growth o f the Holder Memo i t rial Building as rose , enduring in its structure , stately in its proportions and beautiful in its adornment . During the winter and spring came the work on the interior , which , in

o f the taste displayed and in the perfection the finish , as

e o f well as in the compl teness the appointments , entirely

O f fulfilled the promise the exterior . By the middle of Sep tember , not only had the building been completed even to minute details , but the entrance hall , the assembly room , the directors ’ room and the toilet rooms had been furnished m in harmony with the finish of the interior . So e o f the larger pieces o f furniture needed in the rooms of the janitor had also been provided . All this was done by Mr . Holder .

One characteristic gift should n o t p ass unnoticed . This was a flag , which was to be hung from the portico . It was ’ Mr . Holder s desire that it should often be flung to the breeze , and should thus symbolize the patriotic uses to which the building Should be devoted . Meanwhile matters connected with the terms of transfer and provisions for maintenance were discussed by Mr . E s . H older and his representative , John H . Coyne , q , o n

o n e a d r e r e the hand , n the Clinton Historical Society , p

o n . . sented by its directors , the other Mr Holder was ready to do everything needed in the most liberal way , and simply wished to know what the society thought desirable , while the society was trying to determine the lines o f its 37

v o ut h de elopment , so as to find w at its future needs might be . The outcome of these discussions may best be learned from the terms o f the conveyance .

The property , including land , building and furnishings ,

n ‘ T all o f which had cost F r a c i s . Holder somewhat in excess

- w o f eighty t o thousand dollars , was conveyed to the Clinton

Historical Society with no reservations except the following , which are in fact more in the nature of provisions for future benefactions than reservations . ' Reserving to the use o f said grantor and his heirs the large room in the second story on the east side o f said build ing fo r the deposit and exhibition o f such articles and memo rials a s h e o r they may desire to place therein ; reserv ing also to him or them the right to place and maintain o n the walls of the rooms portraits o f the father and mother of said grantor and the Holder family crest ; and further r e s e r v ing t o said grantor the privilege of placing paintings on the panels of the main hall as he may desire ; and also reserving

o f to said grantor , his heirs and the members the Holder family , the right to enter said building or any part thereof ” freely at any and all reasonable times . It may be said here that the paintings of David and Ruth

o f Bassett Holder and , at the special request the society ,

o f . that Francis T Holder , already adorn the walls of the hall . These p aintings are the work of the New York artist ,

- Bayard H . Tyler . They are all most life like in their p or t r a it ur e v , and seem to welcome all isitors to the building with gracious hospitality . f A s regards the last provision , that o the right of enter ing the building to the members of the Holder family , the society accepted this most gratefully as an indication that it might sometimes be favored with the presence o f the donor and those related to him . It was with this feeling that at the meeting in which the gift was accepted the society ' voted ' Both as an expression o f the thankfulness o f the society and o f its desire that it may still have the benefit o f

o f his wise counsels and , if it may be , his genial presence , 38

that Francis T . Holder be made an honorary member Of the Clinton Historical Society , with all the rights and priv il e e s g appertaining to regular membership , and that his c o - workers in preparing this gift and arranging for the dedi cation thereof , Elizabeth W . Holder , Charles F . H older ,

E mil e w e J ohn H . Coyne (his attorney) , and Gr y (the archi ” t e c t ) , also be made honorable members of the society , with the same rights and privileges . The following is the provision for maintenance '

The said Francis T . Holder covenants and agrees that he will pay to the said Clinton Historical Society annually o n o r about the first day o f September during his lifetime

s u m o f o n e the thousand dollars , to be used and applied by said society for the support and maintenance o f the grounds and the building thereon , known as the Holder Memorial , and that he will donate o r be queath by his will to said society o r other corporation or individual in trust the fur

o f - five ther sum twenty thousand dollars , the net income ” thereof to be used after his death for the aforesaid purposes . The Clinton Historical Society was unbound by any ' agreements , save that in the event , if it shall cease to be

r t o o u t o exist as a corporation , or neglect carry the pur f poses o its incorporation , then the estate hereby granted

o f f shall cease , determine and be void and no e fect , and this ” estate and title Shall revert to the said Francis T . Holder ; ” ” ” also , that the payment or trust shall cease , under the same conditions .

Few , if any , historical societies devoted to the local interests of so small a community have ever received a gift

i fi n s o mun c e t . It remains for the society to do a work

o f commensurate with its endowment , and the character its membership is such that it may be confidently expected that every e ffo rt/will be made to attain this end .

The Holder Memorial is centrally located o n the north side o f Church Street , midway between the busiest corner

- o ffi c e o f High Street and Walnut Street . The post is nearly

40 the center of the rear is carried back three feet and four inches further .

Gr e w e The architect , Emil y , of Yonkers , New York , has furnished the following statement about the architecture o f the building '

STATEMENT O F ARCHITE CT .

While sketching the preliminary studies fo r the H older

Memorial Building , certain suggestions from the donor r e garding the central hall o f the Memorial and its fir e - place led most naturally to the adoption of the American Colonial

Style for its construction . The large open hearth with its traditions was an inspiration and became the key- note of the entire architectural theme .

o f Having no fixed standard expression in architecture , o f unless it be that pure beauty , it was thought p ossible that a reproduction of the architectural forms of our colon ial mansions , might thus reflect and recall the home life and f fortitude of the founders o our republic . These forms are reproduced in the lofty hall with its vast and hospitable fir e

- place , the interior gallery , giving access to the second story rooms at each side , a faithful adherence to the best Colonial

models down to the minutest details , handrails , balusters , wainscot , mouldings , etc . Many o f the external features o f the Holder Memorial are modified reproductions o f the best examples o f Ameri c a n Colonial . The steep slated roofs , the dormer windows ,

c o l the forceful central treatment with its pediment , the

f . c a n t o u m n s o the porch , etc , be traced the Arnold Man sion in Fairmount Park , Philadelphia ; other features to the ’ L a n de n s 'ion Church in the same City , also to Governor g house in Portsmouth , New Hampshire , and other similar

- structures erect e d in pre revolutionary times . The exterior front o f the Holder Memorial is a sincere exposition o f the interior anatomy of the building . It is accentuated by means o f cornices and pilasters correspond ing with the interior divisions . The principal entrance and 4 1

porch are richly treated by setting groups o f Cori nthian

columns , fluted pilasters and ornamental iron railings . Variety and unity have b een obtained by a judicious grouping o f materials combined with due regard to their

texture and color . The deep red bricks , laid in Flemish

s t r u bond , and the walls constitute the main body of the c — ture . The granite bases and pedestals , the terra cotta

t c columns and pilasters , the copper mouldings , e . , are all subordinated to o n e principle and assist in forming a c o r relation o f forms and harmony of colors satisfying to the

eye and mind . The American Colonial Style and i t s history may be

o f confined within the limits a phrase . It is simply a rational adaptation of the best features o f Italian Renais

sance , modified to conform with domestic and climatic

conditions . The colonial carpenters faithfully copied the

- b o f mouldings from text ooks that period , such as Cham

’ ber s Encyclopedia o f Architecture . They did not attempt

to improve the Italian masters , and therein they differed

from their English brothers . The American Colonial is

chiefly distinguished from the s o - called English Georgian by a studied delicacy and finished treatment of the mould

o f r ings , a certain reticence and absence heavy o vulgar

ornamentation .

In the construction of the H older Memorial , it has bee n

f n t attempted to revive the Spirit o the style , o only o f its o f S traditions , but also its inherent beauty , implicity and

reposeful appearance . These qualities make it an admira ble medium to illustrate the purposes for which the memo

— o f rial is erected a repository for works art , mementos of

u o r past history , a temple t o education and a monument dedicated to the memory of worthy parents .

This statement with the accompanying picture will give a good idea o f the exterior of the building if o n e keeps in C mind the great amount of opper used , the remarkable

o quality of the pressed brick , the perfe ction f the mason 42 work and the excellence of the plate glass and the leaded crown glass .

The central hall , twenty feet wide and about forty long , is Op en to the roof , from which a great window pours an

fi - . r e abundant flood of light The huge place of buff brick ,

it s the heart of the room and building , with great crane , its i t s andirons , its hobs , and mantle with electric candles , first

o f meets the eye the visitor , then the p ortraits o f David and

o f Ruth Bassett Holder on either side , and that Francis T .

ri Holder on the ght wall , then he glances for a moment to the pleasing pattern o f the tiled floor and the two large cir

l a r - c u leather covered seats in the center of the room , then

he looks aloft to the gallery , the panelled walls , sometime , perhaps , to be filled with p aintings , the cornice and the great window of Florentine glass . The whole of the eastern side o f this floor is occupied

- fi by the assembly room , which is forty ve feet and eight inches long by nineteen feet and four inches wide . It has

- s i x been furnished with one hundred and twenty seats , a

fo r reading desk , a desk the clerk and platform chairs . On

the west side , there is to the south a room for the directors nineteen feet and four inches by about twenty - four fee t o f

s average length . This i furnished with a beautiful large table and chairs . The rear room on the west is thirteen feet by nineteen feet four inches . This is to be used for the is present as a library and exhibition room , an d being fitted

— - up with a large book case and show cases . Between these

’ - rooms are the stairways and the men s toilet room . The

n o t stairway to the second story , though pleasing , is espec i a ll y emphasized . There are two small rooms in the rear o f the hall behind the massive Chimney . The rooms o n the second floor opening from the galler / ies correspond i n form and size to the rooms below . The ’

t o . room on the east is be used for Mr Holder s collection , and a large cabinet is already planned for it . In this room

o ut the great folding doors are a notable feature , and the look o n the library grounds and the Central Park is most T H E C E N T R A L H A LL

43

pleasing . The us e of the rooms on the west side o f this

d r floor is not yet determined , and will depend upon the i e c tion in which the collections O f the society especially

u develop . A small room opening o t Of the northwest room ’ f - takes the place o the men s toilet room o n the floor below .

The rooms behind the chimney stack are toilet - rooms for women . All the rooms o f the first and second floors are in cherry

ri with mahogany finish , a d all have a high panelled wains

C o t . The furniture is also finished in mahogany . All the

o f ld door furniture is solid o brass . The walls are sand

fin i s h e d - and tinted in distemper . The color , a terra cotta verging o n pink , harmonizes most beautifully with the mahogany finish . The floors o f the first story , except the t w o small rooms , are of tile in concrete . The hexagonal h h tiles are less t an an inc in area , and are combined in white ground with a conventional figure o f sage green and dull yellow . In the border the dull green and yellow pre vail , with a touch o f red to bring it into accord with the

o f woodwork . The floors in the other rooms are hard wood o n concrete . The ceilings are all in white with plaster of paris finish . They all have elaborate cornices and mould ings . The electric lighting system is so complete that the rooms are lighted most brilliantly , and are more beautiful by night than by day . In the lower hall and two east

h . rooms , the lig ts are within globes attached to the ceiling

These are o n thre e circuits . With a single Circuit the rooms are abundantly lighted , and the three together make them exceedingly bright . J ust below the great roof win do w there is o n all sides another line o f lights which are reflected from the white cu rves o f the plaster . The fixtures elsewhere in the building , in the other rooms , at the stairs and in the gallery , are o f unique and pleasing designs , and serve n o t only for lighting , but also as ornaments to the building . 44

m o f Open plu bing the best quality i s everywhere used .

Here as elsewhere beauty accompanies utility . The heat ing is done by the Gurney hot water system , with abundant radiation . The building is co mpletely fitted with the best o f shades and screens . On the upper floor there is o n e finished room for the

t w o j anitor and great storerooms . In the basement a

- - kitchen , a sitting room , a bath room and a laundry are

fo r - fitted up the janitor , and there is a coat room for gen eral use . The rest of the basement is thoroughly concreted throughout .

The concrete floors , the brick partitions , the iron , tile

fir e and slate of the roof , render the building completely

i n t proof i s construction . Every department of work has been done with all possi ble care by most skillful workmen . The credit for this perfection is due to the donor , to the architect , to the con

C O . o f tractors , J . W . Bishop Worcester , and to David

H . Maynard who acted as the agent of Mr . Holder in kee p f ing oversight o the work .

46

been well decorated for the occasion . All the seats in the

hall were occupied before the hour for beginning came . The literary exercises were carried out in accordance with the following program

SELEC TION Praise ye the Father . Go u n o d V HAR ARD 'U ARTET .

o L . . tl tt h . . L ho Jewell B yd , M Bar e , W B P illips , J . . T mas .

— RA'ER . . . . P Rev Charles M Bowers , D D

- D . h i s Charles M . Bowers , D . , is in eighty ninth year , and w a s made pastor o f the Baptist Church i n - Clintonville in 1 847 .

O RD S O F EL C O M E— W W Jonathan Smith , president Of the

Clinton Historical Society .

F a i . H o l d I n i d e M r . r n c s T e r v t e Gu s t s , ,

L a di e s a n d Ge n t l e me n ' The Clinton Historical S ociety greets you with a cor dial welcome to the festivities of this interesting occasion . i It s no ordinary event which has called us together . All nature i s in sympathy with the purposes fo r which we have

s k o f assembled , for a clouded y Sheds no tears gentle rain upon the exercises o f this hour . Your eager , attentive faces Speak the j oy which fills the heart that an enterprise s o long and so fondly anticipated h a s now come to fulfillment . We

s i r c a n welcome you , , and congratulate you that you now s e e in all its dignity and beauty the finished structure which expresses in enduring brick and granite the filial and family affection which inspired the thought and guide d the hand in the design and construction of the Holder Memorial

o f Building . To you it marks the completion a long Cher

u is h e d and benevolent purpose . To s , the wards of your bounty , it will be a constant admonition to imitate the vir tues which prom ed the gift .

The founder and donor of this memorial , Mr . Francis T .

Holder , o f Yonkers , New York , is a native of Clinton , and is the s o n o f the late David and Ruth Bassett Holder . The parents were Quakers in religious faith , and their son , 47 desiring to embody in some permanent form the inestimable f debt he owed them for their parental a fection , their private

t o worth and civic Virtue , decided express it in the way w i s n . which o before you Fortunately for this people , he chose the town o f his nativity , where his parents lived many

years , for its location , and happily for this organization , he selected the Clinton Historical Society as his trustee t o take the legal title and care for the trust . Learning , in the fall 1 0 of 9 3, that the historical society would probably accept the privilege , after many conferences with its members for their suggestions and wishes , he completed his sketches

r w and placed them in the hands o f Mr . Emil G e e y o f

o ut e i fi Yonkers , as architect , to draw the plans and S p c c a tions . The lot , occupied by the late Dr . George W . Burdett ,

n o Church Street , was selected as on the whole the best site f . o 1 fo r the edifice O n the tenth day May , 904 , the ground

. . C 0 . was broken and the work , entrusted to J W Bishop r of Worcester , contractors , we nt rapidly forward . The c o

- o n o f J ner stone was laid the thirtieth uly in the same year , f with imposing Masonic ceremonies , by the Grand Lodge o

o f o f o Massachusetts , in the presence a large assembly p e

o f ple , and the early summer this year saw the structure v completed , the grounds graded , and e erything in readiness fo r its transfer , under the conditions agreed upon , to this

society . In design , in material employed , in thoroughness of workmanship and in beauty o f finish the edifice is a tri ’ umph o f the builder s art .

It is fortunate in its situation . It stands Opposite the h school , near to the public park , and next to t e public

fo r library . In the uses which it is designed it will supple ment and complete the work o f all three and crowns the list o f those educational forces which work for the real happi ness and well being of a people . We have invited you here that y o u may se e with your o w n eyes how great is the good

us o u fortune which has come to , and that y may j oin with us in dedicating this memorial to the noble purposes fo r which it was erected . 48

h v , , h h It is to t is ser ice then t at we welcome you , t e kith o f and kin the generous donor , for here will be a safe and

f r fitting repository o your family memorials , where they c a n be kept fo r the instruction and pleasure o f your descend ants . We welcome you who are Of the same household of w faith with the parents in whose honor it a s built . May it henceforth be a rallying place for all those who follow the

o f Inward Light , and love Peace , for it is to the Cause ” Good Will to Men that it is also consecrated . We wel

f o f come you , the o ficial representatives Massachusetts , that

o u s e e f y may , in its concrete form , an expression o those high ideals o f domestic affection and public Spirit which have placed o ur beloved state at the head of a long line Of

American commonwealths , and have made its people the

o ur . highest types of civilization And we welcom e you ,

- o u fellow citizens Of Clinton , y to whom this institution means so much and for whom it is laden with so many hopes

o for the future . We welcome y u all , to j oin with us in this service Of dedication and to share with us in the c o m mon j oy .

A D D R E s s The Old and the New , by H on . Alfred S . Roe

of Worcester .

Each generatio n gathers to gether the imperishable children o f th t th o o f ht k t th e p as , and increases em by new s ns lig , ali e radian wi t t — B a n c r o t imm o r ali y. f .

In o n e Of the busiest centers o f this commonwealth , ever

o f conspicuous for thrift and enterprise , in the forepart a it s midweek day , when the whir of machinery is at highest pitch , we are gathered to dedicate a beautiful and c ostly edifice t o historical purposes . The Circumstances which render the event possible are alike creditable to giver and

o f recipients , fo r if we laud the generosity the son who thus / l i s s a fili a l y r e m e mb e r s h native town , what shall we not y of the Old home which so impressed itself upon him that long years o f absence only intensified the affection s o early engendered here' Both are entitled to our praise and admiration . 49

The disposition O f prosperous people to remember their early home by building or endowment has had many illus t r a t i o n s in Massachusetts ; perhaps no other portion of o ur

country equals the Bay State in this particular , for already more than o n e hundred and fifty loyal sons and daughters

have wrought their memories into library structures , and as many more have shown their devotion in donating public ’

- parks , soldiers monuments , hospitals , meeting houses , schools and colleges .

When Francis T . H older sought his birthplace with gen e r o us intent , he found the usual locations fo r liberality

already occupied . Library and hospital o n solid fo u n da

o f tions were evidencing the fealty other sons . Education and religion were ade quately maintained by those directly ’ interested ; town hall and war s sad token had long been in

existence . What then was there which , in builded form , might continue an honored name and at the same time i n

’ di c a t e the donor s love fo r scenes hallowed by recollections o f boyhood and early manhood . ’ Fortunately , Mr . Holder s attention was drawn t o the

- advantages of a well housed historical society . The most influential societies in the commonwealth , even that o f the

state and the American Antiquarian , were once no larger

fo than that o f Clinton . All were started r the meritorious purpose o f preserving the ancient landmarks and the records

o f the past . A strictly local society finds its most valuable work in collecting and retaining relics and records o f its

immediate Vicinity . Its collections need not consist alone

in written and printed matter , for flora , fauna , and fossils

’ contribute no less to the true r e c o r d o f a township than

those made by man . An institution like this o f Clinton ,

properly managed and developed , may raise up scholars who shall be to this prospective city what Gilbert White was to Selborne and Thomas Edwards and Robert Dick

were to the north o f Scotland . SO then we have here most beautifully blended the Old f and the N ew , the latter in all the refulgence o modern art 50

o f and science , in the shape the Holder Memorial , is to kee p

i t s in embrace the storied treasures of the past , whether o l d material or otherwise . The finds here a safe harborage . Yet in the face of all this outlay and these preparations for coming years , it were easy for those thus disposed to shoot

Shafts of ridicule at people inclined to antiquarian research . The polished wit of Charles Dickens has made vivid for many a year the deliberations of the Pickwick Club over the ’ leader s antiquarian discovery of the bit o f paving- stone

B I T M P S H I M AR'. with its famous inscription , LL S U S f Even Sir Walter Scott , himself the most devoted o anti

ua r i e s h a s q , left us scarcely more than travesties of men who have found delight in tracing the antique and hidden . His Dominie Sampson must ever conjure up a nondescript ” S n uffi e figure with the word Prodigious . Davy , success

E l z e vi r s ful collector of though he was , we would hardly care to emulate , and Jonathan Oldbuck . the antiquarian

- i s . himself , a far fetched creation f f On the contrary , the later antiquary is a man o a fairs , interested in all that pertains to the welfare of humanity , as delighted in the latest event as in those of yesterday ; indeed , were I to name the ideal historical student and true

o ur delver in antiquity , I should recall late United States

Senator , George F . H oar , who , amid the multifarious duties of his public life , found time to seek out and secure a vast array o f material precious in the eyes o f the student Of the

past . Witness his long devotion to the story of Rufus Put

f de t e r mi nam and the settlement o the Northwest , and his

H o w nation that the Rutland home Should be preserved . many relics did he bring from beyond seas to properly embellish and equip that structure whose age goes back to the Revolutionary period ' His o w n home was crowded with tangible eviden ce of h i s love fo r the Old . What treas ures could not that chest of drawers , a prominent obj ect in

o n his study , reveal Of people whose deeds laid hold the early history of the n ation ' Hard by is a chest whose exist ence is coeval with that o f an English ancestor of centuries 5 1

since , and there is a door from the house in which dwelt his forbears long before John Hoar thought o f mi grating to

America . That the Senator was an active participant in

o n e the affairs of today every was well aware , particularly those who presumed to attack any one o f his public positions . Probably no o n e event in his long and useful life gave Senator Hoar more pleasure and conferred more happiness upon the American people than his successful e fforts to have restored to this country and commonwealth the long ' v lost manuscript , history of Plimoth Plantation , by Go

26t h o f 1 e r n o r . 8 Bradford The scene on that day May , 97 , when the recently occupied Representative Hall o f the State House in Boston w a s crowded by the most distin

ui s h e d g of her sons and daughters , will not soon be forgotten by those who were fortunate enough to have a place there . The best o f talent in depicting historic scenes should have

o f made a study the men prominent in the acts of that day . Did Massachusetts ever have a more graceful presiding

f w a s o ficer than Roger Walcott , who governor then' Ex

s Senator Thomas F . Bayard of D elaware , o recently ambassador at the British court , was there to render back

’ t o this people the volu me after its more than a century s absence , and the story that the Senator told on that occa sion must ever linger as a delightful memory to him who heard and with those who read . Only one who reveres the

’ O l d past , who loves the , could weave into a twenty minutes address s o much that every true American Should know and ’ ' feel . In Senator Hoar s words , N ot till there shall be revealed a manuscript o f o n e o f the four Gospels c a n be ” seen a document so valuable to Americans as this , we may know how he appreciated it . And yet the man who could O w h o 1 88 1 speak thus glowingly of the ld was the same in , during the somewhat acrid discussion over the admission o f '

Senator Mahone of Virginia , said ' There are Democrats in the South who do not intend to live any longer in the graveyards and among the toombs , whose face is toward I

I . I

7 f i t ) . i

A g ra L 4

w i T h e n e a r o rt h D I E fl n g . e r

P r — ' w w P ‘ I C ’ w r l —v L al I LI I l e e t s h o n h o w s c h H

5 4

e went unrecognized by the eld rs . Of course this may have come in part from the increased wealth o f the community

o f and consequent added leisure all , but the fact remains that general information concerning the varying phases of animal and vegetabl e life is far greater th a n it w a s a ve r y

. o f r few years since Where could the collections beast , bi d , fi s h and flower be better stored and preserv e d than within

o f ' t the walls the Holder Memorial But the ear h , itself , h a s it s o f own story growth and development , and the local geologist could well make this the cabinet o f his discoveries in a geological , mineralogical and paleontological line and still in no way trench upon the special fi e ld o f the school m a ster who , by the way , through his very position should be a member o f the historical society . Back o t a ll the re cords made by the white man in Amer ica , are the traces of the aboriginal inhabitants who before the dawn of our history roamed over the hills and through the forests which in subsequent years we have called our w ' o n . ing Philip and his men would find very little to rec o gn i z e over the route which they pursued during the t r o ub lous day when Lancaster w a s destroyed and Redemption

Rock , in nearby Princeton , acquired fame through the end

’ R o w l a n ds o n s n c s Of Mrs . captivity , there effected by an a e t o r o f Senator Hoar who , upon the rock itself , has deeply f graven his appreciation o the event . Who will be the artist to properly paint the scenes s o vividly p ortrayed by t h e prin

i a l o f c p survivor that sad tragedy , and when delineated , what better place for its bestowal than the walls of this

' o f w n memorial building The Indians have art their o , examples o f an age through which the white m a n passed cycles since , and they have left many valuable relics of their

o ur e day and deeds . In own times they giv us Specimens of handiwo r k w h i c h/w o u ld baffle the skill of o ur most ingenious w orkmen . If t h e Holder Memorial should some day become the depository of collections o f aboriginal handiwork of both the past and the present , how would the same add to the interest o f this place s o rich in material things ' 5 5

Again , we find Spaces evidently designed for the recep

tion of books . Even before their existence as we know o f

o f them , we read that the making of many books there i s no

end . The annual product runs far into the millions o f vol

umes , yet we never seem to have too many of those that

we really like and appreciate . President Eliot has sp oken o f the necessity o f greater discrimination in the acquire ment O f books and of a sort of literary coventry to which

may be sent volumes no longer called for , but in a society such as the one to occupy this building there c a n be little

s t o . question a what is properly before it Moreover , if , in

the fullness of time , its shelves should bear the lifelong col

l e c t i n g of the speaker who follows me , the record of that

o f religious denomination into which the donor the edifice ,

fr u h t was born , and whose history is o g with s o much that is interesting , in a double sense the structure would be a

H older Memorial . Here would have to come the student who would know the ultimate fact concerning the people who gave William Penn to Pennsylvania and Christopher

H older to Massachusetts , whether the Bay State would have it s o or n o t . The ease of locomotion in these days has rendered null the Old plea that all ' great collections of books should be piled upon each other in centers already

filled t o repletion . To another has been assigned the pleasant task o f speak

ing Specially o f the family whose name this building bears , but I cannot deny myself the pleasure of expressing the

o f a s a s thanks that residents other places , well those of i h s . Clinton , would return to him for discriminating gift All men who love to record the deeds o f worthy people must rej oice that at least o n e historical society of a local charac ter i s most delightfully placed in quarters as fine a s art and architecture can make them . Let us hope that other philanthropists and lovers of the old home will take heed H w Of this act and go and do likewise . o much that is truly valuable could be rescued from possible destruction if the

h e o f possessor knew that , in passing it into t custody the 5 5 6

local historical society , it was to be preserved a s surely as f we can be certain o anything . To very few people is given the discernment which dis criminates between what ought to be preserved and what

should be thrown away . When in doubt , the proper way is to take the Obj ect to the custodian of the nearest colle e

a l l tion fo r his Opinion . If could s e e the mass o f printed matter annually submitted to the American Antiquarian

Society fo r inspection and j udgment , a very good lesson might be had as to what should be done with that which '

- - many a housekeeper calls just good for nothing clutter .

The Old leather- bound book carelessly shoved under the attic eaves by one generation , becomes the rarest of Ameri

Po cana in the next . If Edgar Allen e could have realized a tenth part of the prices recently paid for first editions of

Tamerlane , p erhaps the poet had not died in penury and misery , but were every copy printed preserved , there would be no rare first editions . H e is a wise man who knows just what to plant fo r the reaping , scores o r hundreds of years hence . The edifice today opened and dedicated is added to a group near the center of Clinton , already conspicuous for number and interest . As the Visitor from the south a p

h e s p r o a c the village , after skirting the Wachusett Reservoir and climbing the bill which overlooks the vast factories

o f inclosing so many thousands swiftly moving spindles , he passes first the High School where the older children o f the town are advanced either to college o r into the battle o f

e e - life . N ext his y rests upon the stately meeting houses where the questions o f time and eternity are regularly pre ’ sented and Wh i t t i e r s refrain on the value of nearness o f church and school must recur to him . A glance across the / Common s h o ws h im the hall wherein assemble those who elect the officers of the town and vote the annual appropri

n a t i o s , and close by the same , as it were a silent sentinel , is the monument which ever commemorates the patriotism f f and valor o the sons o Clinton in Rebellion days . Then , if 5 7

v ’ k the tra eller s glance be quic enough , he may see the new

O f structure devoted to the library the town , free to all , where rich and poor alike may feast upon the finest mental

n food that money c a purchase . He will not be able to s e e

fir s t - - the Holder Memorial from the named view point , but as his vehicle swings around upon High Street and he

t s - t reaches i principal cross street , a look o the right will

v . re eal the final figure in the cluster Last , but by no means

least , it is a worthy supplement to all the buildings named .

No less than they , it enters upon a useful career , for here shall be gathered for preservation the story Of all that the

town was , is and is to be . History is ever making , and within these walls will assemble those who are interested in its keeping . It has been said that those who make history are too busy to write it , but their Iliad will here be told and

Clinton is to be a happier , better town and City through the

o f s o n thoughtful generosity her and benefactor , Francis T . i s O . H older , who making the New preserve the ld

’

S . /z ELEC TION Love s Old Song A r r . by S mi t

'U ARTET .

A D D R E s s The I nfluence of the Quaker in Our N ational f . . o Development , by Prof Charles F Holder Pasadena ,

California . I consider myself highly privileged to stand on this historic ground , where every mile , every acre has its story and its legend— the strands which make up the history o f a great state and nation . I consider it a high honor to ‘ have been asked to Speak upon the subj ect o f a p eople s o closely interwoven with the intellectual and moral development o f the commonwealth from it s inception as a colony , and my only regret has been that this r e p o n s ibil it y could n o t h a ve been placed in worth ier hands among the many historians of the state . I have in my possession a paper which has a peculiar and significant bearing upon this interesting occasion . It is not a document of state ; it bears no glittering seals , yet 5 8 reading it in the light o f future events it was a shadow on the wall of history ; the first written word suggesting the coming demand for true and complete liberty of conscience

i s n . o the American continent It , in brief , the p assenger o f list the good ship Speedwell , Robert Locke , master , o t h which sailed from England May 3 , in the year of our

Lord 1 656 .

- f I find here forty one names , many o them well known

o f today as the founders distinguished colonial families . As I cast my eye down the list I find that eight of these forty ” one names are indicated by the letter Q , and below in

- E the left hand corner the initials J . . , and the date of arrival — 2 in B oston July 7 , Why were these eight names indicated ' It meant that the p assenger list , which was sent ashore o n the arrival o f the Speedwell , conveyed to John Endicott , governor , the information that the eight men and women s o de s ig n a t e d were Quakers . It was the signal for him to order their arrest ; and as they landed , every man and woman s o f designated was cast into j ail . The names o these cultivated

o f men and women , ministers the society of Friends , were

J , Christopher H older , ohn Copeland William Brend ,

Thomas Thurston , Mary Prince , Sarah Gibbons , Mary

Weatherhead and D orothy Waugh . They were disciples of Peace ; they bore the message o f p eace and good will toward men ; they were not garbed in the panoply of war , yet they unconsciously constituted an army which gave battle for many years under the banner o f passive resistance ; an army which , by its very moral force , swept all before it ; an army whose notes for honor , fidelity

, C to trust Christian faith , still ring in larion tones the length and breadth of the Civilized world . The leader j( /t h i s party o f Friends and Quakers was l Christopher H o der , the ancestor of all the Quaker H olders and some o f the Slocums in N ew England . He was an

English gentleman of wealth and position , who , like William h i Penn many years later, resisted the importunities of s 59

family and cast his fortune with George Fox , the founder of

n e o f Q uakerism , who was o the great figures of history in the seventeenth century ; raised u p by inscrutable destiny as a living protest against the splendors of the church that found its most elaborate and sensational expression at this time . There comes a tim e in the history o f every nation when the people rise and throw o ff som e incubus as in the Protes

o f tant Reformation ; and at this period , when the princes the church dominated state and eve n life , the Q uaker , Fox , called a halt . H e and his followers first prayed for the right

f o f o liberty Sp eech , then demanded it .

At this time bigotry reigned in England . The Pu ritans had fled to H olland and Am erica , and for years the Frie nds o r Q uakers filled the j ails in England and became martyrs to their cause ; but they became so well established that many p arties went to various lands t o preach their doctrines ; doctrines w hich in the present year stand as the corner stones o f public morality and the conduct o f Christian life .

The Holder party was the second to reach America .

r 1 6 Mary Fisher and Anne Austin ar ived in B oston in 55, from the West Indies , and were then thrown into j ail and deported . The second p arty met the same fate . They

fo r t w o were confined in j ail in Boston about months , then

g . banished , all their books and papers havin been destroyed SO little were t h e Quakers understood that Governor Endi cott now passed a law forbidding Quakers to come to the alleged land o f religious freedom , and providing fines for

n e f any o who aided them . This paper was the first o ficial note o f what was virtually a war of extermination o n o n e

n o f . hand , a war of p assive resistance o the p art the Q uakers The doctrines of the Q uakers were denounced as dangerous

f e xa e r a and pernicious . What they were , divested o all gg ' tion , Joseph J ohn Gurney gives as follows ' I should not describe it as the system so elab orately wrought o ut by o r o f h Barclay , the doctrines maxims Pe nn , or as t e dee p and refined Views o f Pennington , for all these authors have 60

their defects as well as their excellencies . I should call it the religion of the New Testament o f the Lord Jesus Christ without diminution , without addition , and without c o m

. , s o V promise In a word the religion of the Q uaker , io l e n t l y attacked , was fundamentally that of the Puritan .

The Quaker missionary party had met with defeat , they ’ e wer deported , and the long two months voyage went for nothing ; but on arriving in London they secured another 1 6 vessel , the Woodhouse , and in 57 again Christopher Hol der led eleven Quakers across the Atlantic in a vessel about

o f . the size a smack John Copeland , Dorothy Waugh ,

D o u dn e Humphrey Norton , Richard y , Mary Weatherhead , e Sarah Gibbons , Mary Clark , Robert H odson , William Br nd and William Robinson were their names . The crew of the vessel consisted of two men and three boys , and in about

’ two months they arrived at Martha s Vineyard , where Hol

o f der and Copeland landed , the rest the party continuing to New Amsterdam . The two ministers were soon ordered

w s to leave . Every house a closed against them ; but the

Indians took them in , carried them across the channel to the beach , where they began their march to Boston . They stopped at Sandwich , Massachusetts , first , and here founded the first Quaker society in America . Here the first service — was held under the preaching o f Holder and Copeland , and

- the first meeting house built . When the ministers moved o n they left eighteen families as converts to their views —~the nucleus of the great organ i z a t i n o that from that time until today , over two centuries , has exercised a profound and dominant influence for moral ity and the simple life . To follow the footsteps o f these men in the succeeding years would be to give the history of the rise of Quakerism / in England a n d Am e r i c a — a story that has been sung by

Whittier and Longfellow , and inadequately told by the his t o r i a n s o f our day— and in the brief time at my command I c a n but touch upon the stepping- stones that bridged this chapter o f our national history .

62

w a s Samuel Tucker now tried for being a friend of Quakers , and while the three men were in prison it w a s discovered that Lawrence and Cassandra Southwick o f Salem had e n t e r t a i n e d Christopher Holder at their house ; forthwith they were arrested and thrown into j ail . The husband was soon

o n o f d e c l a released , but the person Cassandra was found a tion of faith , the first of the kind issued by the Quakers in

England or America , written by Christopher Holder while

F C a s in j ail . o r having this document in her possession sandra Southwick was imprisoned for several weeks and publicly whipped . Friendship fo r Christopher Holder accomplished the

o f complete ruin this family , the enmity of the Oppressors

o f literally following them to the grave . The estate the

S o u t h w i c ks was seized , and they were banished , finding shel

a t o f ter the house of a Friend , Nathaniel Sylvester , Sylves ter Manor , at Shelter Island , where they died from the

f o f e fects the continual brutal treatment they received . Their children were arrested later for neglecting the Puri

n t tan church for the meetings of Quakers . AS they would o pay the fine , Provided Southwick was offered for sale as a slave o n the public docks of Boston ; but for the honor o f the town no sailing master could be found who would buy her , o r even carry h er to Virginia o r Barbadoes . Whittier ' has described t his scene in his poem , Cassandra South wick , and it is interesting to note that a niece of the dis t i n gui s h e d gentleman who has given this memorial building

f i s is a lineal descendant o Cassandra Southwick , and in this audience . Doubtless the authorities believed that the experience o f

Holder and Copeland would warn other Quakers , but the friends of the maltreated men began to gather from Rhode

D o u dn e Island and N e w A fii s t e r da m to protest . Richard y , was arrested in D edham and brought before Endicott , and after an examination received thirty lashes and was thrown into prison with his two companions , where he signed the declaration of faith which Christopher Holder had pre pared . 63

Just previous to the expiration of their term o f imprison J h ment , Christopher Holder and o n Copeland prepared a paper showing how contrary to the teaching o f the N ew

o f Testament were the actions Endicott and his magistrates .

o f When accused the authorship they did not deny it , and

r Endicott said that they deserved to be hung fo it , and as adequate punishment for writing a logical argument against

crime , the prisoners were ordered to be severely whipped

t o twice a week , the hangman begin with fifteen lashes and f to increase it by three at every whipping . As a result o

this , the three ministers were repeatedly flogged upon the

n o t . bare back . But this was enough The Quakers uttered

t o no protest and still came B oston , whereupon , in August ,

1 6 - - 57 , the famous ear cutting law and tongue boring law was ' ” promulgated against the cursed sect , called Quakers .

o f fo r First , there was a fine one h undred shillings enter v o f taining a Q uaker , and forty shillings for e ery hour such

entertainment . Second , any Q uaker caught in the j ur i s di c

c u t o ff tion was to have an ear , then kept in the house o f correction at hard labor until he had earned a sufficient s u m

h i . f r to pay s p assage away For the second O fence , he o s h e would lose another ear . Every Q uaker woman was to ' fo r h be severely whipped ; and finally , a t ird offence , they

h o t shall have their tongues bored through with a iron , and be kept at the house o f correction there to work until they

n be sent away at their o w charge . Such was freedom and

o f r 1 liberty o f conscience in Boston in the year o u Lord 657 .

o f s o - The D eclaration Faith , defining the called doctrine

of the Quakers , written by Christopher H older and issued

from the j ail , was the most important document issued in

America up to this time . It defined the position of the C Friends , and by its lear logic , its eloquence and the evident

o f earnestness of its purpose , became the means making

many converts to the cause of Quakers among the Puritans . The paper was the first declaration o f American i n de p e n d

ence , in this instance ecclesiastical rather than political , and in some o f its lines recalls the famous declaration o f Ameri 64

o n e u can liberties written h ndred and twenty years later . ' ' i s They are Whereas , it reported by them that have not a bridle to their tongues that we , who are by the world called Quakers , are blasphemers , heretics and deceivers , and that we do deny the Scriptures , and the truth therein contained ; therefore , we who are here in p rison shall in few words , in truth and plainness , declare unto all people that

e e s , h o f may this t e ground our religion , and the faith that we contend for and the cause whereof we suffer . There

u r fore , when y o read o u words let the meek Spirit bear rule and weigh them in equal balance , stand o u t o f prej udice , in

m e s u e h the light that judgeth all things and a r t all things .

fo r o As ( us) we d believe in the only true living God , the

o f o r b Father u Lord J esus Christ , who hath made the eav

a ens and the earth , the s e and all things in them contained , and doth uphold all things that He hath created by the ” o f word His p ower , etc .

n o w The repeated beatings , twice a week , which the

Quakers were receiving , aroused so strong a public feeling in Boston against Endicott , Bellingham his deputy , and the 1 6 priests , that in August , 57 , they were released and taken before the court , where , scarcely able to stand , they were

a sentenced ' Christopher Holder , John Copeland , Rich rd

D o u dn e y and Mary Clark to banishment , while Cassandra

Southwick was sent to her home in Salem .

In the meantime , all the Quakers in N ew England were being brutally treated ; still , Christopher Holder , now in

England , decided to return , and with John Copeland he crossed the Atlantic and Visited Sandwich , only to be

- v . arrested , taken to Barnstable and gi e n thirty three lashes

o f f 1 6 Then followed months su fering , until 59 , when we find

Christopher Holder in j ail in Boston , being Visited by Mary

o t h e r s A Dyer and / short time later , seventeen Quakers — were in j ail , and three William Robinson , Marmaduke

— Stevenson and Mary Dyer sentenced to death . Holder

is was again banished . H e was spared death , it supposed , o n account of the influence o f his family with Cromwell ; C but the others were e xecuted o n Boston ommon . 65

f Then came the restoration o Charles the Second , the

’ f s dramatic episode o the king s messenger , o fully treated in history and song ; the release o f the American Quakers 1 68 and peace for a while . But it was not until 5, when

James the Second succeeded to the throne , that the war

against the Quakers practically ended . At that time ten thousand Quakers were released all over England , among them Christopher Holder , who had spent four years and a

o f o n e n half in j ail for insisting upon the rights free c c i c e .

o n e o f Such , very briefly , is the history of the Holder name , a Quaker in the colonies in the seventeenth century , whose memory is to be honored in part in this splendid pile given to the Clinton Historical Society by Francis T . H older , as

a memorial to his father and mother , types of the gentle ,

- o f God fearing man and woman the Quaker faith . In one o f the rooms will be preserved all the historical works o f the seventeenth century relative to him and his missionary life in America . Here will be hung the D eclara tion of Faith by him , and various documents relating to the f early struggles o the Quakers in America , with various t h e pap ers relating to other members of family . So this building has a wide significance . It is in a sense a monu

o f ment to the pioneer Quakers America , and a reminder to generations to come of the greatest victory ever w o n on

American soil , where a handful of men and women , armed with moral force and passive resistance , planted their ban ' ” ner bearing the motto , Religious liberty , throughout the

American colonies .

Christopher Holder , as a type , was a great general , in a f contest that the historian o the future only , c a n ade quately

o f a c c o m describe , and is a stirring illustration what can be p li s h e d by strength of purpose , indomitable will and the consciousness o f a righteous cause . Opposed to him and

e n the Quakers was the colonial government and its laws , acted a t will , and the home government ; yet the Victory

' was s o c o mpl e t e that the singleness of purpose o f the Qua o f c r e fin e ker , his faith , his standard honor , his ulture and 66

- ment , have been far reaching factors in the development o f o ur national character . The coming o f George F o x was a renaissance of culture

- in the seventeenth century , and the Friends were ill treated , tortured and killed merely because they were two hundred and fifty years ahead of their time . We hear much today f o the Simple life , yet this was the fundamental doctrine the

Quakers preached t o the Puritans ; and that they lived it , is

o f well known ; it was the keynote their lives , which were beautiful in their unostentation , and their influence has per

u r meated o national life .

1 6 0 e The Quakers denounced slavery in 5 , and work d for S the liberty of the laves until they were freed , then spent their money in educating them . The Quaker was a shrewd

h i s business man , but his word was as good as bond ; he held his honor above all things . H e invented the religion that wa s used every day of the week , instead of on Sunday alone .

1 6 6 o f In 5 , he denounced war as a relic barbarism , and de m a n de d arbitration . H e demanded the right to worship

Go d after his own fashion . H e demanded the right to think and express his thoughts before the world . He refused to b o w down before a human potentate ; to doff his hat to kings , who were really servants of the p eople . He refused

r to swear o bear false witness . In all the reign o f terror n o Quaker struck a blow o r made a complaint . They accepted their fate with the Spirit

Of martyrs , strong in the belief that right would prevail .

Mary Dyer , William Robinson and Marmaduke Stevenson went to their death with a smile on their faces , strong in the belief that their cause would be advanced by their destruction . o f h In all these years persecution , the sole weapon of t e

r a e f . Quaker was p y and passive resistance In brief , the Quaker lived up to his doctrines ; his model was the Word t of God , and it was impossible o ignore the fact , even in the seventeenth century , that here was a people who were living lives that were models to the world . They made no pro 67

fessions , they lived the simple life as preached today , and their m ethods made a profound and distinct impression upon the young and plastic country . The Quakers from being laughed at became accepted as types to be followed . Their humanitarian ideas were adopted , and great parties were formed favoring arbitration and peace .

Their policy with the Indians is remembered today , and

u r through all the years much that is best , purest in o na t i o n a l life can be traced to them . Some o f us may regret the passing of the quaint forms o f speech , the simple , beautiful dress which characterizes

o f the Friends , but the veneration Christian symbols , the faith of the power o f the spirit o f truth that guides them

o f . A through all the vicissitudes Oppression , still lives s a ' ' distinguished clergyman said Such things matter little . The Spirit o f their sublime faith has permeated every relig ious body as a power incontrovertible , though perhaps

ut w r d m l e m unsuspected , and the o a e b s are not needed in the broad , liberal religious light that is spreading over the ”

t o . world , bringing peace and goodwill men k e Li e littl rivers that flow down the mountain side , S preading , growing wider and stronger , their deeds mingle

o f with the greater waters that are the heritage the world .

The outward semblance of the Friend may p ass , but the

spirit that filled his soul is eternal in its influence for good . But thirty thousand Q uakers are found today in Eng i land , only ninety thousand n America , but their influence is stronger than in the age of Cromwell and F o x . There is hardly an old colonial family today that is n o t allied to the

o f — Quakers . The best traits the American character honor , f independence , bravery , culture and the attainment o high

— intelligence were a part o f their faith . Their gentle ways and lives inspired the author of The Simple Life , and the term Quaker , given in derision , is today and always has been a synonym o f a high standard of honor and good C itizenship , which , combined with the austerity and good qualities of the P uritan , have given us the standard o f Amer f i c a n is m o today . 68

In closing , I would like to refer to the giver of this splendid memorial , whose life and many qualities are well known in this community , but I need only s a y that he is a worthy son o f a distinguished ancestry ; a Quaker o f the type that gives strength and stability to the nation , that in

Christian virtues , in dignity and high motives stands at the head and front in the twentieth century .

— f OEM . o P Caroline H Holder , Lynn .

Over tw o h uu dr e d years have fle d S o r to th t ince u ances r , by e spiri led ,

' t u de vo n o n Fired by a r e , th S o th o In e peedwell cr ssed e cean . Fro m the city o f Lo ndo n he came th h th o Bearing wi im e H lder name , ’ th o n o o In is land Freed m s s il , o o h h t o to Here t w rs ip , ere il , Here t o rear a family tree

Fu ll o f grace and symmetry. M u ch o f life the wo rld hath kno wn D th s o t flo uring e years swif ly wn . Oft d o th the mu se in accents l o w

S O e o u th t o o ing f th s ls a did c me and g , Of their j o yfu l hearts and merry ways

As they lived o ut their app o inted days . O t h flo w f er nu mbers in cadence , S o t u z o f as s mmer bree es bl w , While she m urmurs o f days go ne by

And Of tho u ghts that never die . Glo wing with celestial fir e h th h v r B o ld s e sweeps e ea enly ly e , As She sings in lo ftiest str ains O th h h o f e ards ips , w es and p ains , O th o fl t o f e c n ic s dire and l ng, O th t th o o f e s r uggles wi err r and wr ng, h t th t o v t T a e na i n did bra ely mee , t ’ th t t Trampling yranny nea i s fee , / M i I n ht o u u h t a ri e s ca se , g y t g h Respec ing G o d and u man laws . to h u s B u t day s e bids all ,

S o umm ned by a friendly call , t o th h t o t Here ga er , ere mee , o That we may each ther greet .

70

thereby imposed , and so far as is within its power will exe cute the obligation with fidelity t o the noble purposes by which it was inspired and wrought o u t , and to the condi

tions contained in the instruments perfecting the grant .

Let o ur first and most earnest words voice o ur heartf e lt

o f gratitude for the donation this beautiful structure , s o s o finely conceived , thoroughly executed and s o generously bestowed . It is more than a tribute t o the family affections —it is the expression o f a broad and p h il a n t h r o p l c spirit i t s which would include within bounty a whole people . This edifice and the uses for which it is designed will serve purposes that touch the common lot , and will inspire this people with the thoughts and feelings o f the higher and better life . Its words are the words o f the old Hebrew ” prophet at the foot o f Sinai ' Honor thy father and thy mother , that thy days may be long in the land which the

Lord thy God giveth thee . It tells us , if we would attain the peace that brings enduring happiness , we must follow ' ” that Inward Light which lighteth the soul O f every man

born into the world . And not least Of all , both in its o u t ward form and inward adornment it places before this c o m

o f - - munity visions beauty which the humble , the well to do and the favorite of fortune may equally share and look upon with pride and a sense of personal ownership . It means vastly more than the mere addition of another to our many public buildings , for it Opens avenues to that higher culture which enlarges the mental and moral Vision a o f o f the people . As center historical record and study it speaks less to the understanding than to the nobler emo

tions of the heart . From its collections the earnest in quirer may learn to sympathize with the great and good of the

past , and to hate what is mean and base . In the anomalies

e o r e d m s of fortune to b fi t here , the student may feel the y t e r i e s o f his mortal existence ; and in the companionship o f the noble men and women who in past times laid the foun dations to the industrial and intellectual development of this town , shaped its destinies and have made it what it is , he j o N A T H A N S M I T H

71

c a n o f o u r find the secrets growth and prosperity . Here he

o f may learn those great souls in ages gone by , through whose fidelity to right and j ustice all that is best in our c i v iliz a t i n h a s o been attained , and thus escaping the littleness which clings to o u r common life will his spirit be attuned to ” ' a higher and nobler key . History , it has been said , is

o f o f a divine poem , which the story every nation is a canto , and Of every man a line . In these halls all who listen may hear its strains as they come echoing down through the centuries , mingled with the discords o f warring cannon and

. v dying men But the de out listener may still catch , above the j arring notes , a divine melody running through the song ,

which speaks of hope and happier days yet to come . ” In a government like ours , says President Eliot , the f i s happiness o the people the supreme e nd , and the ultimate aim of democracy is to increase to the highest possible de gree and for the greatest possible number the pleasurable sensations and Cheerful feelings which contribute to make life happy and to reduce the preventable evils to their low ” o f est terms . We have the favor and fortune many forms

f r o f industrial enterprise , and they are necessary o the social

- o f and economic well being the town . But to attain the

s e e higher life , and to this p eople as they really are and

t o o f ought be , we must look through the smoke and dust the community to centers which are intellectual and artis tic , to forces which discipline the mind and at the same

o f time cultivate the sense beauty , if we would see the love li n e s s and magnificence which is all about us . The material and intellectual conditions we have ; the historic and artistic

opportunities are n o w supplied through this gift . Let us n o t forget that beauty i s o n e o f the elements by which the

soul is sustained , and in its nature is associated with virtue i s and life . The enj oyment it gives refined and pure ; it is congenial with the noblest feelings , and in its nature is akin

o f to worship . It is accessible to all in all places and in all

’ o f v men s moods , and no feelings en y or j ealousy can detract T e b from the pleasure it gives . h culture y which the love 6 72 for it is developed is something additional to what is pro du c e d by the schools , however high their standards may be . It is more than the love of the best literature , whether

r ancient o modern , and the influence on mind and manners which flows therefrom . It is more than intellectual , that

o f s e e faculty being able to things as they really are . It is — it better than these is artistic , it is moral and Spiritual . In the language of Matthew Arnold , its aim is the harmonious expansion o f all the powers which make for the beauty and ” i t s worth Of human nature , It has for Obj ect the discipline

fo r o w n o f the mind , its sake , that it may perceive and s us tain these great ideals of duty and right which are essential to a complete development , and thus furnish additional security to the foundations of a democratic state . By such culture i s given the habit O f judging everything by an ideal standard , and the individual is thereby enabled to absorb new facts and new ideas and fit them into the growing sys tem of his thought . SO it organizes to the full the resources o f the human being and fashions him for the social and industrial world about him . It is precisely in a country like f this , which is full of new problems and di ficulties that must be faced and solved , where social and economic questions assume new and complex forms for which human experience has no exact parallel— it is precisely here in this republic

o r that this ideal of culture education , if such you call it , is most urgently required . The addition of an institution like this to the instructive forces o f any community is an event of the deepest s ign i fi

o f cance . None the less so is it to the future this town . H ere already exist those activities that bring to the p eople their means o f material existence . The schools open to our C h i ldr e n ‘ t h e Opportunity of intellectual growth which better

fits them to ma ke their way in the world . Our library spreads b efore the p eople the delights o f good literature ; and o ur public parks draw the faculties to the observance o f the loveliness o f the natural world in some of its most pleas ing manifestations . Through this Memorial is furnished 73

another avenue to that higher culture which is a step in f l advance o them all , and crowns them all . Here shal be

treasured the records of the p ast , those letters of instruction which the older generation transmits to the new for its guid

ance and direction , inciting the student to closer thinking

and to nobler living . And here , in cast and print , in etch

ing , photograph and painting , will be found the triumphs f of genius in the field o design , placing before the humbles t

o f citizen the highest ideals beauty and form , and opening

t o his eyes a wider vision of the charms , both in nature and

v . art , which hedge him in on e ery side By the knowledge thus coming to him will all his nobler p owers be harmoni o us l y expanded into an endless growth in wisdom and refine

ment , through which the human race fi nds its ideal . It will

h o w f reveal to him full o beauty the world is , and that all

those things which are truest and best , and which contribute the most to the highest human enj oyment , are all his own . As he contemplates this edifice and the collections here to

be gathered , his love for the domestic virtues will be

strengthened , his symp athies enlarged , and his whole life raised into a higher and purer a tmosphere .

In accepting this tru st , p ermit us to express the belief that y o u have builded more be n e fic e n t ly than y o u have yet

n dreamed . If o your p art it is an expression of filial devo tion and o f your love for a p eople whose rule o f action is

the beatitudes o f the gospel , to us it means all these and

o f vastly more . It is a fine example a generous public spirit which makes the happiness of others the supreme obj ect of

life . 'o u have placed the keystone in the arch of our edu i c a t o n a l system , and your gift will lead this people in to the cultivation of those higher faculties and emotions which

th e bring the truest satisfaction and contentment to heart . H appy is that p eople wh o have such Opportunities Spread

before them , without m oney and without price ; thrice blessed be he through whose m u n ific e n c e they come ' The

building will stand fo r generations , but will not outlast the b e n e fic e n t influence you have bestowed upon the present 74

and future o f this town . Truly you can say with the O ld

o f Roman poet , that to domestic love and blessings peace , ' I have built a monument more enduring than brass and

higher than the regal building of the pyramids , which neither

s the fierce torm nor the strong north wind , the serried years

o f c a n nor the flight time destroy . I need not say in this presence that this gift is fully a p pr e c i a t e d . The Opportunities it brings will widen and grow with the years ; and as its privileges are more keenly recog

e d s o n iz , will the gratitude of this p eople increase as time

fo r goes on . Its influence good , both directly and indirectly , will spread far beyond those now living . In future days , here may come the student Of the past , and sitting at the feet of the Muse Of History c a n read the magic scroll whereon s h e has written the story o f centuries gone by ; here may the naturalist learn the mysteries o f that law o f development o ut o f which present life has sprung ; and here may enter the lowliest toiler, and clasping hands with Phidias and

a n Angelo , with Rembrant and Corot , c converse with the masters Of art in all ages in a ve r y garden o f the gods .

r SEL EC TI ON Sunset . Va n D e Wa t e

'U ARTET .

At the close o f the dedicatory exercises the members of the Clinton Historical Society and invited guests returned t o the Holder Memorial Building . The response to the invitations that had been issued was most pleasing to Mr . Holder and the society . The national government w a s represented by the congressman o f the

f H o n . H o n . . o district , Charles Q Terrill Natick , and by

C . . Rockwood Hoar , M . , of Worcester Although the pres sure o f other du - e s prevented the presence o f Governor

e - o f Douglas , Lieut nant Governor Guild and Secretary State

Olin , yet they all sent their most hearty congratulations and

- best wishes to the society , and Attorney General Herbert

Parker brought in person the greetings of the commonwealth .

76 o f Lynn fo r valuable assistance given to its invitation c o m mi t t e e .

Edwin J . Holder , who was present with his wife , from o f Amesbury , belongs to a branch the Holder family only

t o o f distantly related the descendants Christopher Holder .

Professor Charles F . Holder of Pasadena , California , whose morning address gave such a vivid picture of the work

f o f f and su ferings the early Quakers , is a grandson o Aaron

. . J Lummus Holder mentioned above Dr oseph Holder , his father , was a practicing physician in Lynn , a noted surge on

c o - in the Civil War , a worker with Louis Agassiz , a volumi nous writer on natural history , an organizer and for many years curator o f the American Museum O f N atural His

s o n tory . Charles F . Holder , his only , having received his education at the United States N aval Academy and the

to schools preparatory therefor , has devoted his life litera

o f ture . H e has published The Life Charles Darwin , The

iz Life o f Louis Agass , The Corals and Jelly Fishes , The

- H olders o f Holderness , and a great many other well known

1 88 o f works . H e h a s been since 5 a resident Pasadena , ffi California , and has been o cially connected with many edu o c a t i o n a l institutions o f that state . T him the society is indebted for many favors in connection with the dedication . h i H e has also assured us that s library , which is very rich in books and original documents dealing with Quaker history

a s and in memorials of the Holder family , as well in works o n g natural history , will at some future time be iven to the

Clinton Historical Society .

o f Thi rty guests , some them , like the Dows , included in the list o f descendants of Christopher Holder , were present i from the Quaker meeting in Bolton . The aid g ven by

. k Adelaide E Wheeler , assistant cler Of this Q uaker meet

o f ing , in securing fo r us the pleasure such a representation from the meeting , was thankfully accepted by our society . These Quaker guests were bound like ourselves by strong ties of gratitude to Francis T . Holder , and were glad of an t oppor unity to do him honor . 7 7

The historical societies o f the state were represented by about a dozen guests , all o f whom felt we were blessed beyond compare in having such quarters provided for o ur organization . In o ur list o f guests we must n o t omit to mention J ohn

. s o H . Coyne , Esq , who has ably and so courteously man f aged for Mr . H older all legal a fairs connected with the gift ,

r r e w e o Emil G y , the architect , by whose creative power the

o r . building was designed , B ayard H Tyler , the artist , whose portraits of D avid , Ruth Bassett and Francis T . H older

, o r J o f adorn the walls eannette Peene , daughter a stepson o f Ava L . Peene , who delighted us all s o much by her music .

Several other personal friends o f Mr . Holder were present . Our o w n community w a s represented by members o f the

f i r i board of selectmen , by most of the members o the H s t o c a l s Society , and as many others whom they invited a per sonal guests . With the exception o f these members of the society and their personal guests , all were entertained at the exp ense of Mr . H older . There were also numerous representatives of the press

n who were present as guests . Long articles o the dedica

Wo r tion appeared in the B oston H erald , Boston Globe ,

e t e r c s Telegram and Lynn Item , while the Clinton Item and the Clinton Courant each devoted a large p ortion of a whole issue to it . The p eculiar fitness of the building for social functions was at once evident when the guests assembled . The palms

which crowned the core of the circular seats , the table in the center of the hall tastefully spread and decorated with

o f flowers , the animated throng gu ests , seemed to one look ing from the gallery above to be the very elements the building needed to make the picture o f the O ld colonial mansion complete . The bountiful luncheon which was provided by Caterer

f it c h bur . o E . M Reed F g was excellent in quality , and was served in a most pleasing manner . It was two O ’clock before the company could break away 78

from the j oys o f social intercourse to listen to the distin gui s h e d guests from abroad who had been asked to reply to

- toasts . It is a source of great regret that these after dinner

speeches cannot be given in full , but the providing of a

' st e nographer for the occasion was overlooked and as some o f the speakers declare themselves unable to recall their

words , it is deemed best that no attempt to r e produce them shall be made . President Smith introduced Wellington E .

Parkhurst as the toastmaster . The following i s a program o f the exercises

— Music Harvard Quartet .

— M u Toast Our Nation . Among the citizens of a s s a c h setts who have honored us with their presence today is the

A h a s representative in Congress from this district . s he

proved himself a successful champion of rural free delivery , an invitation is extended to him to freely deliver to this audience his national estimate of the relation which a tried

and historic faith bears to the welfare o f the community .

— C . o f . Response Hon . Charles Q . Tirrell , M . , Natick

Toast — The Heart of the Commonwealth ' ever beating

n in u ison with the highest ideas of a receding past , the loft iest sentiments o f a chivalrous present and the brightest

anticipations o f a loyal future . Among our guests today is

s o n o f a resident of Worcester , an honored an honored and

distinguished father . — C . . Response H on . Rockwood Hoar , M . , of Worcester

— Toast The Quakers of Massachusetts . A few years

ago , in legislative halls , a member from New Bedford

appeared , who rapidly rose in the estimate and esteem of all his associates ; he has since done responsible work in the Boston law court while his pen h a s performed faithful

service in the d e scription o f Quaker homes and principles .

We are glad to meet him at this festive board . — H Response o n . George Fox Tucker of Middleboro .

— Toast The Clinton Historical Society . As it is as ELL TO E P A R ' H U R S T W I N G N .

79 proper that o ur guests meet o ur society as that the society

f o should meet its guests , we o fer you a sample f the material o f which it is comp osed , and ask Secretary Ford to make remarks explanatory o f the work of the society .

— Response Andrew E . Ford .

— Music Harvard Quartet .

— Toast The Commonwealth o f Massachusetts . We have

o n c o m had the nation represented this occasion , and the mo n we a lt h is also present in the person o f one Of its most f t honored sons , a member o the state administra ion ; we have known o f him from his youth up ; we have watched him in his infantile years and as he was budding into man

o o r . hood , anxious whether he was t go up down But he w o n the confidence Of his town and state , and is a happy illustration Of what heredity and influential local environ ment can accomplish in a Worcester County climate .

—~ Response Attorney- General H erbert Parker of Lan caster .

— o f Music Violin Solo . J eannette Peene Yonkers , N ew f . o York , accompanied by Lunette E Holder Yonkers , New

York .

— f Toast To Francis T . Holder , the donor o the Holder

r Memo ial , the Clinton Historical Society responds its hearty greetings , its best wishes , and its most profound thanks , with the promise o f faithful guardianship o f the treasures which may be committed to its care by him and his family friends . — Response As Francis T . Holder in his modesty declined

o f , J . . , , , to reply ohn H Coyne , Esq Yonkers New York made response .

— Toast The Lynn Family Of H olders . Represented here by an honored member who , bearing the H older family name , has also done good work in the Lynn Historical

Society , and therefore is doubly welcome .

— o f Response William C . Holder Lynn . 8 0

Toast - The Fitchburg Historical Society— a n older o r ga n i z a t i o n to which we shall look fo r counsel as we j ourney

o r along in u common path of e ffort .

fi H . R e s o n s e . o f p A Goodrich , president the Fitchburg

Historical Society .

— . J Music Violin Solo eannette Peene , accompanied by

Lunette E . Holder .

The music gi ven by the Harvard Q uartet at the hall and

o f in the Memorial Building was a most excellent quality . It was a great good fortune that Miss J eannette Peene was v present and consented to favor us with iolin selections , from which all music lovers derived so much pleasure . The responses to the toasts were full of words Of c o n gratulation to the society a s the recipient o f such a noble o f o f gift , and words honor to the donor ; there were flashes o f wit which were well appreciated by the audience ; there were interesting bits o f historic truth and comparisons between the life o f the Olden time and that o f the present ; there was much earnest discussion concerning the doctrines and deeds of Quakers and Puritans , and the influence of these o n the life of today ; there was much exaltation o f the home as the foundation o f personal and national character ; there was a presentation of ideals and methods o f work o f historical societies and o f the good they might accomplish ; through it all ran the thought of which the memorial itself is the enduring illustration , that he who pays due honors to noble men and women of the past is giving to the future the highest inspiration t o worthy life .

f At the close o the exercises , carriages were provided for w o s o V all the guests , h desired to do , to isit the Metropolitan

o f Dam and other points interest in the town , and then the various members o f the p arty returned to their r e s p e c tive homes .

A letter from William C . Holder of Lynn contains the