HISTORY OF SULLIVAN, NEW HAMPSHIRE PT 3

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Local and Family Histories: New England, 1600-1900s

Oration.

Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen,--In the inscriptions of some of the Psalms are the words, "To bring to remembrance." We are assembled, to-day, from all parts of the country, from the Atlantic even to the Pacific coast, to "bring to remembrance," once more, some of the events which have occurred in this good town of Sullivan. We come to meet the friends of former days, to exchange friendly greetings, and to revive the memories of the past. The occasion will bring sadness as well as joy. It will be impossible to check the tears when we think of the ravages which death has made among our friends, and when we ride through the town and behold the deserted and decaying homes in which there was once so much of pleasure and comfort. But we cannot cause the wheels of time to move backward, we cannot reverse the laws of the universe, and we must submit with resignation to the decrees of an all-wise Providence.

Let us consider, to-day, for how many reasons we ought to be grateful to our Father in Heaven for the many blessings which he has vouchsafed to our native town, for the general prosperity which has attended the labors of our inhabitants, for the immunity from poverty and pauperism which has prevailed, for the general good character and sound morals of the citizens, for the high regard which has been usually paid to religion and religious institutions, and for the success which has attended the efforts of the sons and daughters of Sullivan in other places, and in their various callings and professions....

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At first, these settlements were in the corners of four different towns, Gilsum, Stoddard, Packersfield (now Nelson), and Keene. These towns were then so large that persons residing on the outskirts of either of them experienced inconvenience in reaching the center, to attend church or town meeting. Accordingly, so early as 1786, a petition was signed by various residents of the four towns named and presented to the General Court, praying for the formation of a new township, to be called Orange. This petition was signed August 22, 1786. The reasons for desiring the new town were that they had too much difficulty in attending church and in reaching the centers of their towns for business. The petitioners declare their belief that there will be no objection to the incorporation, unless it be from the Town of Gilsum, and they believe that such objections can be easily obviated. As a matter of fact, Gilsum did not object, so far as known, but Packersfield did. That town presented a remonstrance, clothed in quaint language, in which they declare that it "would be a means of removing the present center and frustrate our Design in Building a House for Public Worship and thro the Town into the uttermost confusion imaginable." The Legislature appointed a committee to examine the premises of which the chairman was Lemuel Holmes of Surry. Their report was probably favorable to the petitioners, for the new town was incorporated September 27, 1787, and called, not Orange, but Sullivan, in honor of His Excellency, John Sullivan, then President of New Hampshire. ...

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The citizens of the town were not quite satisfied with their original boundaries and petitioned the General Court for an elongation of the western line and a change of the southern. This prayer was granted by the General Court, (NOTICE HOW PETITIONS TO A COURT WERE REFERRED TO AS PRAYERS?)

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Another ancient officer, in this, as in all New England towns, was the tithing man. It was his duty to arrest Sabbath travellers, unless they were going to or from church, and to keep the boys from playing in the meeting-house and to wake up any who might be so unfortunate as to fall asleep during one of those old-fashioned, seemingly, interminably long sermons. In some towns, these tithing men were provided with staves which had brass upon one end and feathers upon the other. They used the brass end in hitting the sleeping men, and the feathers were used to brush the faces of sleeping women. At the town meeting, March 10, 1789, the town voted not to provide the tithing men with staves. At the same meeting, they displayed their good sense in refusing to provide stocks for criminals.

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In the administration of town affairs, honesty and fidelity have invariably characterized the conduct of officials. No cases of defalcation, fraud, and dishonesty have cast their blight upon the official management of the public business.

An important part of the history of any New England town is its ecclesiastical record. Sullivan had hardly become a town before its citizens began to consider their spiritual interests. In those days the church and state were in some measure united. It was the duty of the town to hire the preaching, and the citizens were taxed to support the gospel, as they were to support highways and public schools. In those days, very nearly all of the inhabitants were of the prevailing Trinitarian, Congregational type of thinking, and it was entirely agreeable to them to support the gospel in that manner. After a while the Baptists objected to being taxed for such a purpose. The Universalists also protested, as did eventually the Methodists and Unitarians. In course of time a law was enacted releasing from the ordinary church tax such as would contribute to the support of some other kind of preaching than the prevailing congregational type. We find on the Sullivan records quite a considerable list of those who were excused from the church tax because they had joined Baptist societies in adjoining towns, or the one which was formed later in this town. One was excused to join a Universalist society in Stoddard, and one or two to join some Methodist society. Still, the great majority of the voters were in full sympathy with the Congregational church.

So early as April 24, 1788, seven months after incorporation, the town voted "to hire six days' preaching." They voted to raise seven pounds and four shillings for such a purpose, and appointed James Locke, Roswell Hubbard, and Elijah Carter a committee to hire the preacher. They hired the Rev. Micah Lawrence, and afterwards paid James Rowe six shillings for giving him eight dinners and taking care of his horse. These earliest religious services were held in the barn of Mr. Rowe, on the hill, north of where we are.

March 26, 1789, the town voted to raise nine pounds for preaching, which was to include "board and expense of going after the priest, to be paid in the produce of the earth." They chose Josiah Seward, Joshua Osgood, and Jonathan Burnham a committee "to procure a priest."

September 20, 1789, the town voted to build a meeting-house.

October 22, they voted to make it thirty feet square, and to raise forty pounds to build it. A committee was chosen to procure a spot. At an adjourned meeting,

November 19, the committee reported that they could not agree upon a spot. The meeting was adjourned to

January 1, 1790, when it was voted to erect it upon the land which Mr. Rowe offered. It was on the hill to the north of us.

September 14, 1790, it was voted to build a tier of pews on the walls of the meeting-house and sell them at auction. When they were sold, they brought forty-four pounds and four shillings.

May 30, 1791, twelve more pounds were voted to finish the meeting-house. It was finally completed and the building Page 21 committee discharged,

May 13, 1792. Some portion of this first church building was allowed to stand many years after the next meeting-house was dedicated, in 1808, until finally it fell to the ground. The meeting-house having been built, the next proceeding in the natural order was the organization of a church.

October 17, 1792, an ecclesiastical council was convened in Sullivan, and the First Congregational Church of Sullivan was then organized.

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Having built a meeting-house, constituted a church. chosen officers, and appointed lecture days and days for the communion, their next care was the choice of a pastor. After hearing a few candidates, they decided to extend a call to the one whom they favored. In those days, the calling of a pastor was an act of very great solemnity, preceded by a service of fasting and prayer. At a church meeting, August 13, 1797, it was voted, "That the last Wednesday in August be set apart as a day of fasting and prayer by this church, in order to seek divine assistance in giving Mr. William Muzzy a call to settle in the gospel ministry in this town."

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Mr. Muzzy's ministry was upon the whole a happy and successful pastorate. He certainly left the town with the best and kindest wishes of all the citizens. He was faithful in the performance of duty, uniformly kind and courteous, genial and polite. He was dismissed, at his request, May 22, 1827. The town promised to give Mr. Muzzy $500.00, as a settlement, to be laid out in building a house for him, and to give him for an annual salary sixty-five pounds (and to add forty shillings per year until it amounted to seventy-five pounds) and thirty-five cords of wood. He was to have three Sabbaths a year to visit his friends. After his dismissal, Mr. Muzzy removed to Lexington, where he died, Page 23 April 16, 1835, aged 63. His wife was Anna Munroe. She was a daughter of the Wm. Munroe, who kept that tavern where the British soldiers stopped and ordered drinks, on their way to Lexington, on the morning of the memorable nineteenth of April, 1775.

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Beloved fellow-townsmen of the past, the present, and the future: I hope that the facts which I have so briefly stated have enabled you to realize that the little band who incorporated this town, one hundred years ago, laid a worthy and solid foundation. I hope I have shown that we have been true to our trusts. There is sadness today in the thought that so many of the old homes are gone; that so many more are only the shadow of what they were. Some feel that they must all, sooner or later perish, but I do not believe it. I believe that there is a brighter day coming for Sullivan. Many a town in this State which bid fair to go to ruin a few years ago is in prosperity today. Old residents are returning to their native towns and building fine homes or repairing old ones. City people of wealth are going back, even upon the distant and high, out-of-the-way hills, to build houses where they can obtain good views. This will sooner or later lead to a renewed life in Sullivan. There is no finer scenery anywhere. Whatever else may perish or go to ruin; these dear old hills, these noble views will remain. The works of God are enduring.

And something else will remain. That character which was conspicuous in our forefathers; their regard for truth and honor, which has given to this town so great a name for good morals and uprightness on the part of the citizens; these foundation-stones of character are enduring. The town meeting, the church, and the school are, as De Tocqueville declared, the corner stones of an American town. They have been pre-eminently so of Sullivan. The citizens have been intelligent and their town meetings have been miniature republics. Their churches have been honored and supported and there has been a prevailing spirit of religion and of religious life. The schools of Sullivan have been well-sustained and have sent out men who have honored the ministry, who have been eminent physicians, who have been distinguished at the bar, and who have honored the halls of Congress.