The Portland daily press., 1886-05-27
THE ooRHAm cELEsRAr,oN.
Rev. Elijah KelIogg's Historical Ora
ton.

eyant on this occasion to write history of
Gorham or to enter largely into details that
would trepass on the time Of others, but
rather to speak of the principles which actu-
laid the foundation, feared God endured
hardships, incurred the perils of all descrip-
tons and fought their way up to competence
and many of them to affluence and on
this spot where so large portion of my
childhood, youth and manhood was spent,
endeavor in the light of the past to make
such use of the characters of the brave and
good as to encourage to a worthy emulation
| those to whom we must soon resign the re-
sponsibility we now sustain; that religion
and patriotism may nor die with us in
our households, but become the, heri-
tage OF those who shall succeed us;
Early Impressions exert a vast influence ana
are with difficulty eradicated A coloring
| mixture poured upon ice may be removed
by removing the surface but mingle it with
the water and where is the power to take it
| away? What but the power OF early impress
sions is it that stirs the memory of those
days when the grass was greener, the sky
| brighter and life sweeter than 1t Will ever be
again; here are assembled so many old faces
and old friends who drank together out of
| the moss covered bucket at the Thatcher
| well, picked strawberries on Chadbourne's
common, caught trout in Weeks brook and
suffered castigation at the hands of Reuben
| Mason. The enquiry who are the persons
| whe laid the foundation and set up the social
fabric and brought their household goods
with them is of interest and value to u.s.
They were Puritans by descent and in spirit
| though American born and bred, with the
exception of one family of Scotch Presby-
terians who nevertheless found the society
and surroundings so congenial that they be-
came one in politics one in neighborly inter-
| course and one in worship, the Presbyterian
| elder becoming ruling elder at the Congre-
| gational church.
The inquiry may arise what was a Puri-
tan? The most satisfactory way | can
IN ynr fhaf int fnh
mean to apply it is by placing a live Puritan
| before you during the reign of Elizabeth of
England, that hot-headed queen, who said to
the bishop, proud prelate, you know what
are and if you do Lot Immediately comply
with my request, by God l will unfrock
you" and let him speak for himself.
MI Kellogg then quoted at length from
| speech from a member of the House
of Commons, in favor of free
speech and against the encroachment
| of the church, and in which he bitterly at
tackled the Queen, and then continued.
| Brothers and Friends: The men who cut
the first trees and planted the first corn in
| Massachusetts and on the shores of Casco
| Bay were men OF that stamp, and their blood
hows, In your veins today. Are not those
| principles enunciated three hundred years
| ago the same that you have drawn in with
| your mothers milk, and been taught at your
fathers knee? Is not the spirit of civil lib
| erty manifested by the sturdy old yeomen OF
|
| of 1776, who, on this SOIL with arms resisted
| British oppression?
| Eight hundred and forty Massachusetts
| men bore arms in King Philips war, which
| was a most terrible conflict. The expenses
bore very heavily upon them, and they were
| granted seven townships OF land in Maine
and New Hampshire, then part of Massa-
chusetts On the 9th of June, 1892, at 3
Common and divided their land. Narragan-
sett No. Z fell to the lot of John Gorham,
direct descendant of the Puritans-a direct
descendant from those who said, 1--WE are
well weaned from the delicate milk of the
mother country it is not with us as with
others whom small things can discourage
and make wish themselves at home again.
Nearly every town on Cape Cod contributed
one one or more to the early settlers Of Gorham.
formed their commonwealth upon the basis
of their religion They first built meeting
house,. and school house beside
it; They reserved certain portion
They took care in the first place that the
minister should be man of education and
then they provided for the education of the
people, otherwise the occupant of the pulpit
might as well have preached to red Indians
as learning would have been of no avail.
Now let us see in what spirit the persons
meditating settlement in Narragansett No.
met the requirements of the General Court,
for we read from its records that 1T is to be |
hoped and expected that no member of the
Commonwealth will suffer their children to |
grow up and not be able to read the word of |
God" When they met together they chose a |
moderator and clerk and prayed to God and
then voted that meeting house be built in |
said town SO feet long and 20 feet wide and |
that fifty shillings be assessed on the right to
build. Ii then adjourned for week and met |
again and voted that twenty rods square be |
cleared to build a meeting house on.
When SO pressed with hunger that they were
forced to boil and eat their seed corn resery-
ed for sowing, and boil and eat young beech |
leaves they employed and paid Harvard |
graduate to preach to them as they sat in the |
meeting house made of spruce logs upon
pine benches with their muskets across their |
knees. The great source OF their strength |
lay in their religion. The land was worthy |
of the struggle for it was good. All pro- |
gress comes from tying men down to piece
of land. So long as man wanders over the |
land he makes little or no progresse; he has |
few wants and they are easily satisfied; he |
sleeps; he builds no permanent structures;
he bestows littlellabor on his habitation. The
settlers OF Narragansett No. were tillers OF |
the soil; they came to create homes and |
found institutions and provide for those who |
should come after them. They came to stay. |
When Mr.. Phinney in 1876 cut on Fort Hill |
the first tree to clear the land for planting |
he by that act set in motion forces that lay |
at the foundation of all progress, and that |
were destined as they gathered strength to |
transform the spot into homes for men and |
women where barns should be filed with |
plenty.
Agricultural people are essentially war |
like people. The men who own the soil they |
till are the men that will defend it. Woe be- |
tide the nation of whom it may be said that |
other nations raise her bread. 1t does not |
become us to forget that the war in which /
we got our independence was fought by |
farmers. Our grandmothers spun the flax |
and wove the blankets which their husbands |
and sons required during the war. Every |
private house was factory and every wo- |
Mr.. Kellogg then related several anecdotes |
of Hugh Mcclellan and his son William, il |
Illustrating their powerful physical strength |
Capt. John Phinney made clearing at Mar |
ragansett. and at that time ali his money had |
been consumed by the purchase, and he had |
nothing but horse and a cow, scant cloth |
ing and scarcely any household utensils. He |
found a camp which parties had left who |
as well as he could, and in which he spent |
the winter, and the last of March he went to /
Portland for his family. When he returned |
the roof.of his camp had fallen in and had to |
be repaired again. There was an old stump |
in the middle of the camp which answered |
the purpose of table, and his wife Eliza |
beth told my father that the sweetest meal |
he ever tasted was eaten off that stump |
youngest child in her lap. William ten years |
old who was born in Ireland drove the cow |
and Hugh followed with pack on his back
and another child in his arms. About four |
o CLOCK Ill Lll6 dltcIuOOu dIllftu, COlu3
tired and hungry expecting to find shelter |
and rest, but they found the roof had fallen
in. They cleared the fireplace, spread some
hemlock boughs and blankets, covered his
wife and children with what bedclothes they |
had, and there they laid with no roof over |
them. The cow and horse they took inside
for fear that the wolves might devonr them;
Our ancestors the moment they had |
secured foothold here and increased to the
number Of eighteen families, cleared some
roads and subdued the land sufficiently to |
cut hay enough to keep small stock of cat
tie and escape the Of absolute want
trouble Their cattle were killed, their |
mills burnt up, and for pr fourteen s years at
of and the actual experience of Indian |
attacks For four years they were confined
to the garrison and for seven years more or
less so. Going out to plant and to sow,
working in squads, working while Others
kept guard, and placing boys back of stumps
who composed the settlement nine had
abandoned the farm on account OF the lndI-
ans. Capt. John Phinney, an excellent sol
der, Miles Standish of the colony, com.