TH E LIB RARY

The Ontario Institute

Studies in Educatio n

n o Canada Toro t , L I B R A R Y T H E O N T A R IO IN S TIT U T E FO R S T UDIE S IN E D U C A TION TY M C N D A TO R TO . A A

MAY 1 1968

, " 04 t f. 0 a"

A H I STO R Y

D UM M E R A C A D E M Y

B E I N "

TH E C E NT E N NIAL DISC OUR SE

D E L I "E R E D B Y

N E H E M I A H C L E A " E L A N D

On st 12th 186 3 Augu ,

T O" E T H E R W I T H

A N A CC O UNT OF TH E PR O CE E D

I N" S I N C O M M E M O R A TI O N OF

TH E 15 0TH A N N I " ER SA R Y OF

TH E SC H OO L

M A N E W B UR YPOR T , SS. TH E H E R A L D PR ESS

19 14:

C ONTE NTS

H I ST ORY OF D UM M ER A C AD EMY The Dummer Family Richard Dummer Jeremy Dummer William Dummer Katharine Dummer The Mansion House Th f m e " ill of Gov . Dum er The Moo dy Family Samuel Moody Appointed M aster Incorporation of Dum‘mer Academy Re signation and Death of Mas ter Moody Moody as a Teacher and Disciplinari an Theophilus Parsons and Rufus King e c Pearson , Webb r, Smith , Pres ott Och terlon Samuel Phillips , Sir David y Edward Preble

Isaac Smith , Preceptor

Re miniscence of . Smith Re signation of Smith k Parker Cleaveland , James Jac son a i Benj m n Allen , Preceptor Benj amin Apthorp Gould George B arrel"Emerson

Abiel Abbott , Preceptor n President Hale , Judge Ten ey o Samuel Adams , Precept r - Nehemiah Cleaveland , Preceptor

Society of the Sons of Dummer, Founded Proj ect of an A—gricultural Department Re organi z ation English Department s Phineas Nichol , Principal

Frederic A . Adams , Principal D Henry urant , Principal " I C ON TE N T S.

4 Ariel Chute , Principal 3 c sh aw 43 Marshall , Principal

. 44 John S Parsons , Principal The Three Feo e es 44 The Fifteen Charter Trustees 45 Truste es Elected Before 18 40 47 Conclusion 56 D E F F H N N I " SA Y T H E ON E H U N R D I TIET A ER R . 59 Anniversary Dinner 6 1 Introduction 6 3 n t 6 5 An ual Mee ing of the Society of Sons of Dummer . Preliminary Exercises 6 5 The Exercises in Commemoration of the l 50th Anniversary 6 7 M r 6 . John Hamilton Morse 7 P i o fcsso r James Hardy Ropes 6 8 M aste r Ingham 6 9 E x o . 4 Governor John D . Long, the Orat r of the Day 7 After Dinner Speeches 8 4

. 8 4 Hon Alden P . White , Toastmaster

N . 8 5 Mr . Joseph Dummer m 8 . 7 Mr . Fred M A brose 8 9 Mr John W . Perkins 9 1 Mr . Henry H . Edes 9 2 Dr . Harlan Amen H o n . 9 6 . John D Long Th e Samuel Sternes Scholarship 9 7 The Dummer Ode 9 7 A P P EN DI " 9 9 9 9 Trustees 100

I UU M M E R . L K ADY A T H ARINE D U MMER

I ‘ I U US E .

2 H STORY U E R E I OF D MM ACAD MY .

youth , on the very spot where some of its happiest hours were passed . I n I Our e the brief review which propose , r spects are s n s first due to the illu trious fou der . You are , I suppo e , generally awar e that the Dummers of Newbury are coeval n with the tow . The parish of Bishopstoke near Southampton w as the English home of the pioneers . From that place R C H A R D 16 32 f I DUMMER came in , and a ter a soj ourn of four n years in Roxbury and Boston , joined the fou ders of this

. S P H new settlement His brother , TE EN , came from Engl and ’ 16 38 e to Newbury in , but returned , aft r ten years trial , k D ummer ta ing all his family. Though no American s can to trace their origin Stephen , there is abundant cause to thank him for the child whom he gave in marriage to H ENRY S W ’ E ALL . This wedded pair, after a few years stay abroad , o e returned to Newbury , to become the progenit rs of a rac n u surpassed in the commonwealth . Of wh at other woman among the Pilgrims can it be said that four of her immed iate descend ants attained to seats on the highest bench of j udicature , and that three of these held the place of chief ce — j usti not to mention others of the family, who were only less distingui shed " N o r was this all that JANE DUMMER did — for her coun try and mankind for in the sixt h degree of s direct de cent from her , we have the renowned and delightful author of Hiawath a and Evangelin e.

The elder brother , Richard , was , from the beginning,

th e a - a man of mark ; by far largest l nd holder here , and , probably, the richest man in the Province . The first mill in h t e o r . t wn was built by him on a fall , still tu ned to use He ff was prominent in church a airs, and a magistrate of the so Colony . In the controversy regarding discipline , which th e long agitated the first Parish of Newbury , and which enti re civil and ecclesi astical power was unable to quell , he e an d took part against the minist rs , Parker and Noyes , was one of the t wo Ruling Elders electe d to manage th e afl airs

. e of the church In tha t great r controversy , when a strong s s minded woman first appeared on the Mas achusett stage , an d shook the young colony to its base , he sided with Harry

" w . ane , and not ith John Winthrop But Winthrop carried h — h t e day Dummer was left out of t e mag istracy , and had gun and sword taken from him under the disa rming act . I rejoi ce to add that he did not wait long for his revenge . A R CH RD DU E R 3 I A MM .

few years later, Winthrop , by the dishonesty of his English

. was to the steward , became poor An appeal made generosity s of the colonist , and in the subscription which followed , ’ ‘ Richard D ummer s name led all the It is pleasant to know that this is the very ground on which the patriarch lived ; that here he m ade his fi rs t clearing in the woods ; that here was the site of the earliest

o - Dummer h me , and that it was his plough share which first the turned up to sun and air, the virgin soil of our school r a fa m . Conjointly with Saltonst ll , Sewall , and others, he m th e was a ong first to import cattle , horses and sheep into t the new colony, and it is on record that the herds hus introduced were pastured on an extensive tract set apart for s B fi eld the purpo e , round the falls where the y Factory now e the u stands . From this useful ent rprise , and from fr it W n trees hich he broug ht over, the you g community here must

a . have derived large advant ge One delicious apple which he , ' u t perhaps , introd ced , and which is found only here , s ill be ars the Dummer name . The large black mulberry before e the Mansion House so familiar —to you all , may have b en planted by him . The oldest apple trees on the farm undoubt edl e y dat back to his day .

- Of his five sons Jeremiah became a silver smith , and — , settled in Boston a man of substance and respectability in his day , but chiefly to be remembered as the father of Jeremy J Y U M M E and William . The name of EREM D R , as the able l a s and faithfu ag ent of Mass chu etts in England , is familiar to every reader of our colonial annals . But it is not so gen erally known that he was one of the most remarkable men - t New England had then produced that , af er graduating i n l at Harvard , w th a reputation for scholarship u eq ua ed U there , he won similar distinction at the great niversity of — e ro fes Leyden in Holland that , relinquishing the sacr d p sion for which he had been trained under Mather and Wits ius c , with the highest prospe ts of eminence and useful

‘ b t e D mme v e h w a i 6 40. r es s t h 5 00 o t i g T is s n 1 o l an c n r u d , u r a

‘ " i s o n 1 00 H is e e o s i ty s ys Sa v axg e i s a b o v e p i s e . H c £ , g n r . a , all ra

r n y b o ve t h h o e t a x o f h i s t o , e q t ib ut i o i s fi ft p er c e n t . a e w l wn and ual t o hal t t h e b e n e v o l e nc e o f t h e wh o l e me t ro p o li s ; y e t h e had b e e n a d s uff e r e r un d e r t h e mi s t ak e n v i e w s o f W in t h r o p a n d o t h e r s o un

e i r l g i o n i s t s . 4 H STOR D U E R A D I Y OF MM A C E MY .

ness , he devoted himself with equal success to the study of — j urisprudence and of politics ; that, for many years , he shone as a publicist , courtier, wit , and mingled on terms of intimacy with that brilliant circle of scholars , authors , and M zecenas es s , who gave to the reign of "ueen Anne its highe t ’ distinction , as England s Augustan age . As the confidential — m leni otenti agent of his native province , her a bassador p p — f ary near the Court of St . James , as the e ficient defender of her chartered rights at a time when those rights were in — n o da ger, as an enlightened steady, c nsistent friend of his , — own country , at all times and everywhere , the name of Jeremy Dummer must ever hold an exal ted place on the roll s of Massachu etts worthies .

You will pardon me , surely , for having dwelt a moment on the memory of this illustrious man . He was own brother m to to the founder of this Acade y, and this old ancestral o spot, the future companion of Swift, Addis n , and Pope, of o d manv an . Marlb rough , Craggs , St John , doubtless made o a visit in his scho l and college days . W D 16 7 ILLIAM UMMER was born in Boston in the year 7 . c Of his early life and education , no particulars are on re ord , ff so far as I am aware . Whatever advantages were a orded m by the Boston Gra mar School , "and those were by no means

t . inconsiderable", he undoub edly enjoyed The first mention s m made of him represent him as living at Ply outh , England , and acting as Commissioner for his native colony . While n thus occupied , he received from Gover ment the appointment u s of Lieu tenant Gove rnor of Massach sett . This honor he fl owed , we are told , to the kind in uence of the excellent Sir

William Ashurst . H o w long he had been resident in Eng e l and does no t appear . On the rec ipt of his commission he

1 16 . came home . This was in 7 The time of his return , to take an active part in the politics an d government of his

c o n e . native provin e , was of high excitement His father in- "O" O J OSE P I I D UD Y s law , ERN R LE , had j u t retired from

r a . office , after an uneasy administration of fou teen ye rs That spirit of pa rty which sprang up in Massachusetts with the r e and advent of the new cha ter , had b en getting more

' t e the more i rascible and j ealous . Con emporan ously with mm a S SH U s return of Du er , c me out AMUEL TE as the succes or a n of Dudley . Born of dissenting p rents , and ominally, at

. e least , a puritan in his religious views , Gov Shut was not WI L L DUM E R IAM M . 5

i unwelcome in the Colony . But he was also a m litary man u th e k having learned nder great Du e of Marlborough , that s the first duty of a soldier is to obey orders . His instruction from the Crown requi red that he shoul d insist upon a fixed i annual salary . To this the sturdy colon sts obj ected . It th e would make Governor quite too independent . There were other causes of disagreement springing mainly from

financial questions and legislation on the currency . The rn fi rm— s A n Gove or was the Hou e was obstinate . fter battli g n i it for seven years, duri g wh ch he had not gained an inch of discomfite d ground , the Colonel stepped , one day, on board a small vessel and sailed away for England, without so much - an as saying good bye to y body . He thought, probably , that e th e m his personal repres ntations to Govern ent at home , would lead , at once , to more stringent measures ; that the recusants would be brought to terms , and the way opened —if for his own triumphant return . Those exp ectations such — H UT E he had were doomed to disappointment . Colonel S , though nominally Governor for six years longer, never came back . Such were the circumstances under which William Dummer was called to act as Chief Magistrate of the Colony of Massachusetts Bay. It is needless to say that it was a difficult and delicate position to which he thus succeeded . , — His alliance with the powerful but unpopul ar Dudleys his e — kn friendly intimacy with Gov . Shut —and his ac owledged e sentiments of loyalty to the thron were not l—ikely, as e t in matt rs hen stood the colony, to create a pre possession in hi s favor . On the other hand , he had the advantage of being a New England man , of tried ability and of the purest e character . That he succeeded—wh re his immediate pre rs s deces so had so signally failed , securing the almo t univer sal approval and esteem of a pe ople keenly jealous in regard i to their rights and libert es , yet without forfeiting the favor n — u of the Crow , is proof eno gh that his talents were of a c high order, and that he la ked neither j udgment nor I t on , prudence . If, however , he got without quarrelling t was not always for want of provoca ion . The House still s — kept tight hold of the Provincial purse string but, for tun atel n a . y, the Gover or had purse of his own He nega tived a n ru , s contrary to his i st ctions , an act of the General an d was as Court, for issuing bills of credit, it modified so 6 H STORY DU E R A C DE Y I OF MM A M .

. ff to remove the obj ection Minor cases of o ensive action, s e e involving no great principle or seriou cons quenc , he n j udiciously left un oticed . But when the House attempte d to usurp executive po wer to say who should an d who should and not command the troops and fortresses , to make its own —" " disposition of forces in the field the lieut. gov . "I quote i " now from Hutch nson" by a message let the hous e know "

that the king had appointed him general of the forces, and w o ff e that he only had the power to dra them , and add d that he expected all messages from the house should be e to h r prop rly addressed him , ot e wise he should pay no " regard to them . The house saw their mistake and sent a request to Mr . Dummer that they might have leave to with

. the f draw the resolve Happy governor, whether o men or k n e " boys, who nows j ust when to strike , and whe to forb ar But our Governor had something more to do than merely to soothe or to control those. fractious representatives . e y An Indian war, instigat d , perhaps , b—ut certainl prolonged and aggravated by French intrigue , had for a long time s r h . as distres ed the no thern colonies Who not read , till his r these a a m s mas hea t ached , t les of s vage a bu h , onslaught, al l sacre, burning, and capture , which kept the border settlements in constant alarm , and which have left their crimson trace on so many pag es of our co lonial history " At ri e e utra es no pe od , p rhaps , were thes p g more frequent , or ’ more appalling than during the first three years of D ummer s e administration . Contemporary writ rs praise the skill and energy with which this war was carried on by the Gov

e rnment . . I shall allude to a single instance only It is y j ust one hundred and thirt nine years ago this very day, s b since a small force of le s than two hundred men , sent y th e th e N o rrid wocks Governor Dummer against tribe of g . t r t he ook by su prise , thei r little settlement on the bank of , — Kennebe ck at that time dee p in the un tamed wilderness n w n o a comparatively old town , and for more tha forty years th e pea ceful res idence of our distinguished friend and

u M R J S C T Y. alumn s , . U TI E ENNE The circumstance which e gave to this vic tory its chief importanc at the time , and its e t t th e h enduring int rest as a mat er of his ory , was deat of t hat accomplished scholar , that devoted missionary , that able so t cunning , Jesuit , who had long held hose Indians

H is . subjec t to his bidding . unquestioned virtues and his W L L A U E R I I M D MM . 7 m unti —ely fate have thrown a roman tic charm around his n ame yet who can doubt that the fall of Father Rale was an event highl y conducive to humanity and peac e "

the 172 5 - 6 e was In winter of , a treaty of p ace agree d os the m upon in B ton , and in sum er following , that treaty a f was ratified at Falmouth , in set con erence with the Penoh

c n s. e a e a a e the N orrid s ot India At the sam pl c , year l t r, g weeks e o r and other tribes , lat ly h stile, went th ough the same s proce s . Many Indians attended , with their respective

. n sachems and spokesmen O the other side were "ov.

Dummer, Gov . Wentworth of New Hampshire, Maj . a o Mascarene, representing the Governor of Nov Sc tia, a ’ hi s th e R e maj ority of Majesty s Council, and several of p resentatives ; the entire proceeding being conducte d with a c e goo d degree of civic and military eremony. I have look d through the narrative of these two conventions as drawn up e rm e and publish d in pamphlet fo at the time , with the minut ’ i —and details of each day s transact ons , did time allow, I u e r wo ld fain att mpt—to place before you mental eye, a tableau of the scene that circle of polished, Christian gen tl emen a i , and that group of p inted warriors, w th all the n parapher alia of citizen and of savage, as they met so long ago in amicable council on the comparatively wild shore of s a — r u the that beautiful archipelago . Suffice it to y th o g h r n entire proceeding, the dignity and moderation, the fi m ess , kindn a es sand s g acity of the chief actor , are strikingly dis e n was played . The j udicious treaty then an d ther co cluded , s re the foundation of a pe ace with the Indian tribe , which mained un broken more than twenty years . 1 28 W B U w s In 7 , ILLIAM RNET a transferred from the chief magistracy of New York and New Jersey to that of i l ' i a s . arr va n Massachu etts His , the summer of th t year,

m . relieved Mr . Dum er from the cares of Office We may well

imagine that during the next twelve months , he looked with mingled amu sement an d compassion , on the chang e which f — no ollowed the ship of state , longer guided by his clear s eye and ste ady hand , but tos ing and rolling in a troubled ’ —a sea . H—ere was a great Bishop s son— pupil of Sir Isaac Newt o—n a man of deep erud—ition o f m any ac—complish ments o f commanding person o f gentle temper o f win — i s — ning manners travelled , w tty, and sagaciou , but who with all that did not know to manage the men of M as s achu 8 H STOR D U E R A CA DE I Y OF MM MY .

. e 1729 . setts His sudden death in Sept mber, , called Mr m . a th e Dum er ag ain to the curule chair Six months l ter , by an d arrival of Governor Belcher, by the appointment of n another person as Lieut . Gover or , he was enabled to retire r wholly from public life . He lived thi ty nine years longer .

But we can follow him no farther . The record of that mild ‘ all its e u decline , with p aceful , seful , honored days is on ’ l s an d n . u high o y there For ,

e E n o ug h t h at g o o d n es s fi ll ed t h e s p ac e b etw en . IPro ved b h e e d f e ee y t n s o b in g t o h av e b n .

Scanty as our materials are , there is enough to show that the characte r of William Dummer was one of un common — symmetry . We discover no shining quality of mind no

- prominent, out cropping vir—tue . But we do discern abilities equal to every emergency a j ud ment always calm and — — g solid gre at fi rmnes s strict integrity and warm bo nevo e lence . He may, or may not have poss ssed those military capabilities which under favoring circmn stances make a — , , , hero but in civil affairs and governmental administration , e a t he undoubt dly showed , to a remark ble exten , that rare r combination of qualities , which , as exhibited on a broade to m stage , the world has since learned ad ire in George a W shington . o His provision for the establishment of this scho l , whether considered in reference to the time or the couse

uences act . q of the , entitles him to perpetual praise The e fact that other schools of later dat , have gone far ahead of it— — " the fact , even "alas not impossible "that , like the — Tu rnpike which runs by its side it ma y hereafter fall into e t comparative disuse and decay can never oblit ra e , and ought not to obscure the merits of him who laid , upon this ground , the first foundation of its kind in America . fi rm an d Gov . Dummer was a man of religious faith ,

- h of the most exemplary life . From t e stri ct creed and sound w u u morals in hich he was bro ght p, he never swerved te happier , in this respect , than his renowned and gif d t bro her, whose principles and practice were sadly warped ro fl at d B linbr k by his intimacy with the p g e and infi el o o e . t he t a a With second Pember on , his ch plain at C stle William , w — i and after ards his neighbor in Boston w th the poetic,

D U E C E Y 10 H IST ORY OF MM R A AD M . that her most distinguishing traits were benevol ence and

m I n s 1752 . piety . Mrs . Du mer died Bo ton , in th e Besides the soil , the rocks , and a few of the trees, o nly Ob ects here which have the slightest smack of antiquity j — are 111 a n , the old clock the Ac demy, these ancie t portraits , e and the Mansion House itself . The precis date of the h as cr structure is not known . Tradition always as ibed its th erection to e Lieut . Governor, and there is every prob s ability in its favor . It is not very likely that thi event ’ D ummer s 1714 was preceded Mr . marriag e in , nor that is delayed long after his return . My belief is that it dates back 20 a a m s 17 . as far, at lea t , as Th t is a monstrous nachronis — l which som—ebody has put up over the door a chronologica fal sehoo d which should be painted o ut as soon as possible . No stranger can see it there and not suppose it to be the date of the house . N a In his history of ewbury, our indef tigable Alumnus , a o 1716 Joshua Coffin , informs us th t in Oct ber, , Governor m was met Shute , being on his way to Ports outh , by the

o . Newbury tr op , and by them escorted to the house of Lieut " . m an Gov Du mer, where he passed the night d was finely "

e . in ent rtained Whether it were in this house, or the house

. e which preceded it, that Gov Shut and President Leverett fhere slept that night, can be no doubt that the means of e ent rtainment were ample and elegant .

Gov . Dummer did not live here . I mean to s ay t hat this

s . o was was not his hou e With a go d house in Boston , he not e te in B field very likely to sp nd his win rs y . Built evidently

u was . for s mmer use , all the wood on the farm "and it well wooded then"could not make the house comfortable in the c d old season . I speak from knowle ge . I never recall my all first winter there, without a shiver . That we did not z th e free e up solid , I still regard in light of a miraculous preservation .

But here , undoubtedly the family spent their s ummers .

’ Th e re was no Saratoga or Newport then for the rich and s fa hionable . Those who had country seats went to them a —and those who were less f vored stayed at home in town , e xcept when they were so fortunate—as to get a private . o u invitation In his own quiet mansion , his own verdant d —M r f . o ut O and shady groun s Dummer, whether in or c w — the office, ould al ays find retirement and repose, and A N S ON H OUSE 1 1 THE M I . c are of his fine farm was probably no more than he needed w a in the y of occupation and excite ment . Th at old Mansion o e to House has done go d servic the school , though it would a e t ec h ve b en incomparably bet er, in point of onomy and s utility, to have replaced it eventy five years ago, by a more s commod ious structure . But the as ociations which constitute its i i m a r h ghest cla m on our ad ir tion and rega d, lie a good way back of the period when Moody lived there with his e noisy boys . They belong to the tim w—hen it was the summer home of gentle wisdom and rare virtue the seat of open and — a y a e c refined hospit lit plac of onvivial , social , and ’ . " intellectual enj oyment , seldom equalled The isitors um s n Register, or Record of Guests , at the D mer Hou e , duri g a 18 th r the first h lf of the centu y, if such a record were kept,

not to . o twith st anidn t has come down us N g his deficiency, I venture to enumerate a few of the distinguished persons s who were wont to sit and chat in tho e wainscoted parlors , to sleep in the tapestried chambers , to drive, to ride , to walk s n over the e roads and through these grou ds , in the mild mm o - s su er days and the m on lit evening , considerably more a o than a hundred years g . mi e Here then ght be se n the venerable Joseph Dudley, e a s late Chief Magistrat of the Province, f ther of the hostes , son of that staunch Puritan Governor, who helped Winthrop and Endicott and Bradstreet and Bellingham to lay the dee p — an d broad found ation of the Colony himself a man of large c and varied experience, learned , able , a complished , and ’ — D ummer s e A U L A t courtly and Madam gift d brother P , Justice—a n torney General for awhile, then Chief profou d so theologian , and yet eminent in science that the Royal — So icety of London made him one of their fellows an d his —a a accomplished brother, William Dudley, strong, brilli nt, — — eloquent man who had been a warrior and a Judge for y e man years Speaker of the Hous , and then long and emi nentl s n e y u eful as a member of the Cou cil . Her sometimes his SE W A L L s a came kinsfolk the , gre t luminaries of the Bar h er T n and the Bench and brave cousin , Edward y g , of the n British Navy, high in ra k and honor, not to mention others m more remote of the same aristocratic na e . And did not M ’ rs . D ummer s n sister Mary, who lived dow by the Merri mae a te a , often drive up , of an afternoon , and t ke at the ns " n Ma ion House And did not her husba d , old Captain 1 2 H STORY OF DU E R C DE I MM A A MY .

the a Joseph Atkins , whose youth had been spent in n val e t i l service of England , t ll many a long s ory n the sma l

t - a - fi ht s and sit ing room , of gr nd sea g with the French , how t y " he took Gibraltar And then , there were the Powells, the D umme rs th e M o o de s s , y , the Bradstreet , the Denisons , the W the illards , the Savages and others , more or t a less rela ed , but pleas nt, worthy people , who must have been Old oc casional visitors at the Dummer Mansion , during the

first thirty or forty years of its existence . Have I not adduced enough to awaken some interest in " th e venerable structure Ought it not t o be preserved with " pious care Would it not. be a shame if such a hous e shoul d be given over to squalor and neglect " If such groun ds should be surrendered to the dominion of bushes and burdocks " m t o 176 1 William Du mer died on the enth of Oct ber , ,

8 4 . b being years old His will , made seven years efore , was approved soon afterwards . By this instrument he set apart his dwelling hou se and farm in Newbur y for the establish ment of a grammar school to stand forever on the farm. The u property was given in tr st to Messrs . Foxcroft and C u i ha ncey of Boston , and to Mr . Nathan el Dummer of

r - Newbu y , and to their heirs and assigns forever , the rents and profits to be employed in erecting a school house and in Th e a t was support of a master . ppoin ment of this officer

to five B field - entrusted a Committee of y free holders , to be th e chosen annually at regular parish meeting , and who were n to act in conj unction with the minister for the time bei g . Th e master . once elected , was in for life , unless on the ‘ ground of incompetency or immorality, the Overseers of a r H vard College should see fit to remove him . The ability to read English well was the simple condition of admission t to he school . co nfo rmit th e u t In v to the will , Tr s ees put up , during he 6 t 17 2 . m year , a small school building It was in the hu ble s t and th e yle on moderate scale w—hich characte rized the u a - country school ho ses of that day square , one story t r n o t t h a struc u e , much mo re . I hink , t an twenty feet on d nearl h e th m si e , and stood v on t site of e present acade ic edifice . u t B vfi l in At the ann al mee ing of e d parish March ,

1 76 2 tt - , the commi ee of five free holders w as undoubtedly s h h r t e f . cho en , t ough ecord O that meeting is lost The Com OOD FA L THE M Y MI Y . 13 mittee n u y . fou d , probably , no diffic lt in making a selection S U D Y Their choice fell upon AM EL MOO , then master of the a gr mmar school in York . This remarkable man belonged to a family that might well be called remarkable . W the m ILLIAM , im igrant ancestor , was one of the first th e o n settlers near mouth of the Parker . Here lived his s S AMUEL , some of whose descendants have be en distinguished . SH U A Another son , JO , of Portsmouth and Boston , was a —a u christian minister of the noblest type , mild , nbigoted , — e heroic Puritan , who resist d on the Piscataqua the tyranny C ranfield an d rw of , who afte ards in Boston , during that reign of terror, the witchcraft delusion , did all he could to

z . C A L E B stem the torrent of superstitious fren y , third son of the pioneer, was a freeman and representative of New in bury, who showed his mettle opposition to the usurpations it os . o of Andr , and was imprisoned for This patriot c nfessor was the great grandfather of Master M oo dy . His grand t S U D Y u wh o fa her, AM EL MOO , was that sing lar man , for half l K a century served and ru ed the first parish of YOR , and who N E w E " D was so famous through all N LAN , for his exalted piety, his implicit faith , and his intense oddity . Nor was ‘ ’ Faithful Moody more of a phenomenon in those days of an d SE P H eccentricity wonder, than his son JO , known ‘ ’ t n A N D KE R C H I E E DY hroughout the cou try as H MOO . You have heard the story . After graduation at Harvard , he — w — settled in York became to n clerk , Register of Deeds — County Jud e and performed every duty acceptably and g ‘ U 111100111111011 well . nfortunately for him he had an gift of ’ — - prayer ; his father in consequence over persuaded him to — , , go into the pulpit and got him settled in Upper York . From

- - that ill j udged step and ill starred hour, his mind began to u s a a grow n ettled , and miserable hallucination , like th t

w . which tormented the poet Co p er, took possession of his soul

and - From this time he seldom appeared in public , never e n without that myst rious bandan a drawn before his face , from which he derived his sobriquet . This amiable mono maniac was the father of our Preceptor . This glance at the family tree shows that it was no common current that ran an d i n in his veins , accounts , some measure , both for what was healthy and what was morbid in his cerebral organi z a

. e a in 1746 o tion Aft r he gr duated at Cambridge , he t ok 14 H ISTORY OF DUMME R AC ADE MY .

charge of the York grammar school , which he raised to a a high degree of celebrity . Though this was only c it e public town s hool , its reputation was such that attract d scholars from other places . Many who rose to usefulness and

h th . honor passed t rough e plastic hands of Mr Moody, during the 16 or 17 years that he taught in York . I shall only allude to Joseph Willard , who owed to Mr . Moody the idea e and the possibility of Obtaining a lib ral education , and who ’ d a n laid , under Moo y s c reful training, the fou dations of that a bility and learning , which made him the best Greek scholar of his day , and qualified him to preside over the first seat of h learning in t e country . I have alluded to the first day of r e the school . It opened be comingly with devotional se vic s and sermon by the Rev . Mr . Parsons . Twenty eight schol ars e t were in attendance . Among th m was the la e venerable ninetv Dea . Benj amin Colman , who lived to be more than

the . years old , and was probably then sole survivor No document or record remains to show the terms and s condition under which Mr . Moody took the charge . Still y we know very nearl what they must have been . He had the Mansion House to live in , and might turn it to profitable account by boarding some of the boys . He had also all that he could get from a large and valuable farm . He was per mitte d c e , mo—reover , to colle t from his pupils a moderat fee at tuition least such was his practice . Being unmarried , r he brought hither from Newburyport , his b other Joseph , who had been more observant of the primal duty . Joseph e — took charge of the Mansion Hous , boarded the Master

— ' boarded the boys , and carried on the farm . It was a very convenient arrangement. Joseph seems to have been Steward , Demo a Major , and outside man ger general . Samuel had , y e literall , no care besid his school . This soon filled up . For o 70 8 0 a go d many years , there were from to boys in the

20 2 5 the . school , and from to boarders in Mansion House H o w the Master contrived to pack them in his diminutive s o - a a cho l room , and how the Steward m n ged to lodge and to feed them in a buil ding which would now seem crowded with a a are t h lf th t number , problems which I shall not a tempt to s o C lve . ertainl y no such concentration of j uvenile humanity w d be oul tolerated now . I " n should not forget th at there were causes for th is na y a a extraordi ry prosperit , besides the bility and f me of the MASTER MOODY . 15

Master . For more than a score of years , it was the only institution of the kind , and had , therefore , the whole field t o itself . With advantages of education much inferior to i fl those which it actually afforded , scholars m ght have ocked

e c . to the school , sinc they ould go no where else This we can readily concede without abating a j et from the great merits t o of Maste r Moody . Those merits were of a character make themselves known and appreci ated anyw here and at any m be time . If boys did sometimes come to Du mer School cause it held at that time a monopoly in the educational line , they remained be cause they found there all which they coul d desire .

For nineteen years Mr . Moody literally conducted the r e i school in eve y resp ct . The Trustees under the w ll did m nothing, and had nothing to do . The Parish Com ittee was annually chosen but their office was little more than a — , sinecure ; and the Overseers of the College were never called upon to consider the delicate question of senile in

e . compet nce But , although matters thus far had worked o o l well , it was bec ming evident that they c u d not always go s e C te ex er on thu . To what ext nt the Parish ommit e could i cise the visitator al and the supervisory power, was not made clear by the Will , and had been a question of much doubt

an . d discussion in the parish . Mr Moody himself was

l . getting old , and cou d not hold out much longer To aecom li l sh . p fu ly the benevolent intentions of Mr Dummer, a good — e deal more was ne ded than he had provided for more ,

i . perhaps , than it had been in his power to prov de for And th e hence the act of incorporation . The petition came from

. . c a Rev Dr Chaun ey, at th t time the only survivor of the s three original Trustees . You will readily excu e me from c a i re iting the ct of 178 2 . Its ma n feature is the creation of a Board of Trustees "fifteen in number"who have the con t th e trol of the proper y, the appointment of teachers , and

o . management of the scho l Mr . Moody was retained as e o Mast r by the pr visions of the act , which secured to him his office under the original tenure . From this time we have a written record of all official ce i pro edings . There is , however , no ev dence of any imme

- a s diate or important change in the char cter of the in titution , f e or in the general conduct of its a fairs . The nam had , e ind ed , been altered from the plain , honest, sensible title of U HISTORY OF D MMER ACADEMY .

i Dummer School to the far more ambit ous and, far less " " a t o appropriate style of Dummer Ac demy, and that s r ng, ‘ ’ old word , Master , which is still thought good enough for the

President of a College in Oxford and Cambridge , was con ‘ ’ n verted into the tamer desig ation of Preceptor . The te o Trus es t ok charge of the property, fixed the tuition , and

. an e leased the farm But Joseph was still tenant d st ward , though required to be more car eful how he cut o ff the wood .

the, Here , for some years longer, was the same school , same ’ master , but no longer what they had been . Mr . Moody s declining usefulness was due not to advancing age alone .

His hereditary tendencies were beginning to appear . That nervous energy which had carried him triumphantly through ne o un so many years of successful toil , w rose often int o natural excitement , which was sure to be foll wed by idio s vncras ies unnatural depression . Those marked which fl had long been elements of power and in uence , put on , at o nl s m length , a morbid type , and could be regarded y as y p nfi nes toms o f intellect disordered . His u t s to remain had become generally evident , a good while before any one found 178 9 a . cour ge to suggest it to the incumbent In October, ,

. t Mr Moody addressed a note o the Board , proposing to ’ e iration resign at the gp of his brother s lease , if that lease

t . s could be renewed for ano her year The Trustee , in reply , the accepted resignation in form as tendered , but advised that it should be made immediate , as an act due to the master, t o n . t o the school , and to the public His final resig ation , take M rch 1 9 0 2 5 th a 7 t . effect on the of , , was sent in soon af er o e t n Mr . Mo dy survived his r irement from the school ear l et y six years . He was y strong in body, and rode much on d horseback around the country, calling on frien s and former s pupils ; his large heart still be ating with benevolen t impul e ,

his - and over active brain full of grand , impracticable c a an d s hemes for the adv ncement of education , the d c e benefit of mankind . His eath , which o curred at Exet r in "JS December , was a fitting close to so remarkable life it came w i t h n o fi e t h o b s o f i r y r p a n . N o c o l d g ra d a t io n s o f d eca y ;

s y as h h but in tantl , e was walking t e room , discoursing s t an d vo lubl x ' earne ly in Latin . Our knowledge of this celebrated man is wholly

MASTER MOODY . 17

r l t aditional . Except in the gratefu memory of his pupils , he left no record or memorial of his scholarship and skill . B ut what better testimonial can any teacher have or desire " e e Some of those men I onc knew , and often have I listen d ‘ ’ with ear attent to their narratives and descriptions of school h days . The theme on whic theyso fondly dwelt, was scarcely l es s interesting to me , and I have since regretted that I neglecte d at th e time to pen the conversation down . But the m s o ff- a mental image made up years ago fro tho e h nd , frag s mentary sketches , is still distinct , and mu t supply the lack r of a more authentic portraitu e . — A large an d somewhat coars e—exterior motions which had more of vigor than of grace that eas y po wer of com " " mand which marks some men as if born to rul e - that n liveli ess of feeling, thought, manner, and speech , which o e an c h m r , perhaps , than other quality ommends man ood — y to boyhood a professional zeal bordering on enthusiasm the zeal which gives to its pos sessors a facul ty and an i—n fluence that minds more evenly balanced rarely attain a r r n a stu dy will , pe severi g energy , gre t earnestness , and

e - c a th e evident sinc rity such , I con eive to h ve been promi n e r o d ne t charact ristics of Maste M o y, as he appeared in his es b t days . I have no re ason to think that his scholarship extended e em an d a ov r a wide range of subjects . To math atics n tural s m e a cience , to com on arithmetic, ev n , he m de no pretension , s and these branche , when taught here , were never taught by h i m. c He read the French language wi th ease and a curacy, so r far as the sense was conce ned , though it may be doubted

W e n a . h ther his pronunciatio— conformed to Parisi—n usag e It was in Latin and "reek e specially the former that his r s s trength as a scholar an d teache mainly lay. To the e he gave his undivided attention an d his whole soul . He was no

t Person . Ben ley, or , or Heyne He never wrote , I am con fident a , a sentence of verb l criticism , or a line of classical annotation . There is no reason to suppose that he had read many of the ancient authors—still less that he was in the h h abit of gratifying a cultivated taste by excursions in t e r flowery fields of Greek and Roman literatu e . To fit his beys for Col lege and to fit them well , was his ambition and t pride , and hough a majority of his pupils stopped short of the t college course, still he believed , that even for them here 8 Y U 1 HI STOR OF D MMER ACADEMY .

a i c was no other discipline of equ l value . His acquantan e s t o i with the te xt books nece sary this end was m nute , h s i s thoroug h an d remarkably exact . Within t e e lim t he was no always and everywhere at home . So far , at least, question s ntax o r s d of interpretation , of y , . of pro o y , ever found him unprepared . These habits of accuracy, of readiness , and of n i fresh ess , he kept up by constant exercise and unrem tted — s—I application . One fact incredible as it seem had from authentic sources . He was in the habit of studying the " e . French and Latin dictionari s , in regul ar course from A to The promptness and exactness for which he was so remarkable , were the qualities which he required in his pupils , and which he labored , not in vain , to create . Of his

n e . peculiar methods and applia c s , a few only are remembered His views of order in a school - room differed from th os e which

. e usually prevail Silenc , there , he thought, was more dis t tracting than noise . Accordingly, he not only permit ed , z but encouraged his scholars to study audibly . The bu z of n s sixty or seventy boys loudly con ing their variou tasks , not th e only filled room , but could be heard at some distance - s from the house . New comers unu ed to the practice were r t distu bed at first , but soon fell in wi h the current, and liked it well . This confused murmur made the recitation of e and th e class s remarks of teachers inaudible to rest , and thus t an favored abs raction d attention . But surely under the cover of such a hubbub , there mus t have been a deal of an talk d play among the boys . This was my thought when

a . o o . S I he rd the story , and it may be yours But I mist k o ’ was s te quick the ma ter s ear, that, no mat r how intently c nl ul o cupied himself , he seldom failed to detect the u awf — — tone the surreptitious interlude while his equally quick f eye and hand soo n arres ted the unlucky o fender . I h ave no reason to think that his discipilne was un iform or always j udicious . Wayward and impulsive , he sometimes

n . at failed to co trol himself But youth can appreci e , and no t n l u wi lingly forgiv—es , even the passionate outbreaks of an e r hon st, kindly , whole souled inst uctor . For the indolent s t and viciou he h ad a large and diversified list of penal ies , c —o n not some of which were amusing to the lo kers , if always i to the culpr ts . He woul d sometimes relax the reins of

i y , i g i s k i author t allow n h s sch—olars to clo e their boo s , wh le he to ld some diverting sto ry afte r which there would be a 19 MASTER MOODY .

— a saturnalian license of the tongue , the m ster himself, r transfo med for the moment into a laughing, rollicking boy . fin er—a r And then , a single tap of his g single glance f om ‘ ’ e an d his alt red eye , would quell the uproar, put order, duty , reverence , again upon the throne . Though he lived long before the days of gymn astic a o t app ratus and instruction , he lo ked carefully af er the amusements , the health , and the safety of his boys . In the matter of bathing hi s regul ations were strict and peculiar . n The time a d the place were fixed by him . The st ate of the was c r tide arefully obse ved , and if the favorable moment n happe ed to come in the midst of school hours—, he suspended a an d t se r work for while , sent the boys out to ba he impo tant in his view was the salubrious immersion . For greater s a fety he divided the school into two bands . The smaller lads and me re novices in swimming went by themselves to — — the Little River a comparatively shallow stream while

‘ all who c oul d be trusted in deeper water ran off in the op s a e t po it dir c ion and plunged into the broader estuary . We have it on abundant testimony that with the ex cep B fi eld a as an tion of his closing years at y , his entire c reer

- instructor was pre eminently successful . He could not , as indeed , transmute lead to gold, nor was he so foolish to attempt it. But he well knew how to mould and make the mos t of the intellectual material which came into his hand . The te st of his ability is found in the un usually large pro portion of his pupils who rose to distinction and useful ness l i a l . in the walks of life The vivid , the ineffaceable mpres sion which—he made on every mind that came un der his e - direction , vinced as it was by life long expressions of — e admiration and gratitude , is an vidence of worth , that nothing can impeach . s During the earlier period of my re i dence here, I was honored one day with a call from that truly great man , H o JEREM I A MA SON . The conversation so n turned upon a — o M ster Moody, his peculiar meth ds and wonderful power a o as an educ to r of boys . Many questi ns were put to me ‘

u o n . . more , I am sure , than I co ld satisfact rily a swer Mr Mas on told me that he had known several of the able and eminent men , who had been trained here , and that he had often heard them talk in glowing and grateful te rms of their c e centric but admirable instructor . H e instanced , especially, 20 U Y HI STORY OF D MMER ACADEM .

f K r in Mr . Ru us ing , with whom he had se ved as Senator s e a Washington , as one from who e lips he had repeat dly he rd the praises of Master Moody . Whatever were his merits or

l s . a his pecu iaritie , added Mr M son , the teacher, whom such K an d men as Parsons an d ing so esteemed so remembered , must have had abilities an d excellence of no ordin ary char k e . t act r The j us ness of this inference must , I thin , be evident to all . The great N ew Hampshire j urist was far from being the only man who has felt curious to know in what art or ’ e charm l ay the secret of Mast r Mood—y s wonderful success . The inqui ry is one of moment to all but especially interest ing to every member of th at respectable guild to which he

" e belonged , and which his exampl has done so much to dignify

. o and adorn For the purp ses of such an investigation , how ul the n pleasant it wo d be if we —could put upon sta d , Presi dents Willard and Webber Professors Eliphalet Pearson , —or t — D avid Tappan , and John Smith , , bet er still Chief K Justice Parsons an d Senator ing . Their te stimony on this point would certainly be ins truct ive . But let us l oo k i at the question with such lights as we have . The v ew which I h ave been accustomed to take may be state d briefl y as follows .

He had , to begin with , certain qualities of intellect, r a s hea t , and temperament, which made it compar tively ea y ul for him either to curb or to stim ate the youthful mind . s c His knowledge , if not very extensive , was po itive , pre ise , ’ and at his fingers ends . During his first twenty years as was M A ST E Master of Dummer School , he R to all intents and

. U r be purposes ncontrolled by outside directo s , devised all recedure i his own modes of p , and carr ed them into effect t without help and wi hout inte rferen ce . N o mistaken—notions of parents or of —Trustees co mpelled him to promise much less to undertake the absurd task of carrying young boys through the whole circle of the sciences . He had the goo d sense to see that in the earlier stages of education - if not — , indeed , in every stage manner and quality are infinitely r u more impo tant than variety and quality . Fort nate ly he was in a pos ition to give practical efficiency to his theoretic convictions . At that age when by the happy constitution of s our nature , words are mo t readily caught and most tena i l c ous y retained ; when th e memory is in advan ce of th e