The Portland daily press., 1895-11-23

frontier missionary must have been an
uncomfortable citizen and was very gent
ly dealt with.
Mr.. Samuel A. Drake of Boston, being
called upon by the president, respond
ed briefly. Mr.. Drake called attention to
the very good reasons why Germans and
Russians do not speak i'll of their SOW
ereIgns. He would have Americans up
hold the policy and institutions of their
own country. DR.. Burrage would have
more careful criticism of the sources
OF history than the readers of the paper
had evinced. DR.. Dalton spoke good
word for the character of Mr.. Bailey and
expressed the hope that Mr.. Allen would
carry out his purpose of writing new
life of the frontier missionary, but stout
ly protested againstIthe defamation o. the
Massachusetts, Puritans.
He explained the reason why bright
writer wrote dull sermons. Zeal and
earnestness were not the fashion in the
Church of England in the 18th century.
Attention was called to the gratitude,
frequently expressed today, by the
Church of England to the Puritans for
the liberty they secured for all religions.
4 DR.. Dalton olosedsswith an eloquent tri-
butte to New England which won an en-
thusiastic burst of applause.
Mr. J. H. Drummond very earnestly
disclaimed the idea of persecution and
stated facts in connection with the history
of the Scotch Irish Presbyterians to prove
his position.
Rev. Robert Clutch, the pioneer minister
of the Kennebeo, was the title of an able
and thoughtful paper by Rev. Henry o.
Thayer of Gray. The earliest records of
Robert Clutch show that he was farmer
where his name appears in the church
register. In 1860 there is a record of the
payment to the Indian sagamores for
800 acres on the Western side of the Ken
nebec upon a part of which now stands
the city of Bath. The site of his home
is not known with certainty, although
tradition points to two, as possible. In
his public relations he was evidently a
leader among his fellows, a trustworthy
and honest citizen, the first signer of the
Kings order.
He was drowned in the summer of
1867. In the law suit which followed
the sale of his lands, the fact of his
ministerial service in "Long Reach, :"
was brought out His little church
stood unscathed through the three In
dian wars. OF his standing as a minister
we know very little
His surroundings would indicate that
he was affiliated with the Congregation
al church. The priyations of the pioneers
of Maine, were pathetically evinced by
the inventory of household furn iture,
chiefly noticeable for what it lacked.
The history of the settlement of New
Gloucester, Cumberland county, was
presented by Mr.. John w. Penney of
Mechanic Falls. New Gloucester, Maine
is the direct desoendent of Gloucester,
Mass, and that of Gloucester, England. .
| Sixty men were given charter by
| the General Court of the Massachusetts,
| Bay Colony to found this goodly Maine
town on the back side of North Var
mouth The titles affixed and prefixed
| to their names, indicate that they were
men of note. Tuesday, November 2, 1868
| the records were rem owed to New Glou-
cester, the proprietors' meeting was held
in the block house. The first proprie-
tors meeting was held in 1887 in Glou-
cester. Fortunate in natural beauty and
richness Lof soil the resolute new settlers
set to work with will, built church,
school house, dwellings and road IL
miles long ana 10 feet wide. John Millet
cut the way, which while 1t ruined him
financially is today an enduring monu-
ment to his faithfulhess and ability as a
road maker. being the principal thorough
fare between New Gloucester and Var
mouth.
Stories of Pastors Foxcroft and Stinch-
field, Col. Isaac Parsons and others of
the early leaders, detailed account of
their struggles. triumphs and oelebra-
tions, was listened to with great atten-
tion.
| copy of the records of the town from
l73o-lSO7 and piece OF tho Block House.
EVENING SESSION.
At the evening session DR.. II. S. Bur-
rage, vice president of the society, presid-
ed and introduced the essayist of the eve
ming, Mr.. Natha Goold of Portland,
who gave a full and extremely entertain
| ing account of Col. Edmu nd Phiney's IS
regiment, the first one sent out of Cum
berland county in the War of the Revo-
luton. MI. Goold briefly reviewed the
stirringstimes antedating the firing of
the fshot hear d round the world, ''and
drew vivid word picture of the mus
tering in of Col. Phiney's regiment En-
tering active servicesju after the Battle
of Bunker Hill, it was their fortune to
participate in the events of time filled
withSanxiety and alarm, although it did
not happen to them to be engaged in
any great. decisive battle. Extracts were
read from diaries kept by the soldiers
and preserved by their descendants
Tattnrs of Gaorpa WASHINGTON and