The daily morning journal and courier., 1896-06-18

II NAAA h'NRNNAA " NAAN ! Nl lAdll Y SAkk4tl D, but holding certain ideas which did not | agree with those Of his neighbOrs, ho concluded to move to new location, from similar motives to those which led John Davenport to leave New Ha- ven and go to Boston after the union of the New Haven colony with the Con- ncctlcut colony at Hartford. All of the | accounts and records of Rev. William Blackstone show him to have been a religious man, with literary tastes, of correct industrious, thrifty habits, kind and nhilanthrupiu feelings, living for several years on Boston Neck, and de- monsTating the ability of the white
 man to live in peace with only Indians for his ncighbors, While living in
 Rhode Island he frequently went to | Providence to preach the gospel, and
 was highly esteemed by all the settlers of that colony.
 In July, 1859, he married a widow named Sarah Stevenson, and by her he had one son, John Blackstone. The inventory of his estate after his death | describes him as having house and | orchard, 26O acres of land, interests in | the Providence meadows, and a library | of 1S6 volumes of different languages. | A river of Rhode Island and a town in | Massachusetts were named Blackstone | in his honor.
 His only son, John, married in 1892, | and about 1713 moved to the town of Branford, where he took up his resi- | dence on lands southeast of the center
 of the town, and bounded southerly on | the sea.
 The son of this John Blackstone was born in 1899, and died in Branford Jan
 uary 8, l7S5, aged nearly eighty-six His son, John Blackstone, was born in Branford in 1731, and died August 10, 1876, aged eighty-fVe. The son of this last John Blackstone Timothy Black stone, was born in Branford in 1776 and | died in 1S49 at the age of eighty-three. | This Timothy Blackstone was the fath- | CT of Hon. James Blackstone, who was | born in Brapford, in the old homestead
 of his father and grandfather, in 1793. Here were five generations of the | Blackstones living and dying upon the
 old family farm in Branford. All of | them seem to have possessed many of | the traits of their first ancestor in this | country. They were noted for their
 force of character, industry, modesty | and marked executive ability. James | Blackstone, like his ancestors, was 1 farmer. At the age of twenty he was | elected a captain in the Connecticut militia, and as such commanded his | company for several months while ser
 wing as coast guard on Long Island sound during the war of 1S12-15. He | held at one time or another during his l 1bco1 of la | town, such as assessor and first select | man. Before the separation of North | Branford in 1881 the township of Bran
 ford, as one of the original towns, was | entitled to two representatives in the | general assembly, and on several occa- | sions Captain James Blackstone If | Branford and Captain Jonathan Rose | of North Branford were the representa- | tives of the town at Hartford and New | Haven. In 1S42 James Blackstone rep resented the Sixth district in the state | senate. In politics he was Federal l ist, a Whig and a republican. His ad 1 vice and counsel were sought by peo- | pie, not only of his own town, but of
 neighboring towns, when occasions 1 arose concerning the settlement of es- | tates or other matters where the optn- | ion and advice of a man of marked | good judgment were needed The first time I ever saw Captain James Black stone he was pointed out to me by a i resident of the town as he was driving 1 past the old public square, with the re- mark, That is Captain James Black l stone. When he rises in a town meet | ing and says, MT. Moderator. in my
 humble opinion it is better for this town 1 that a certain course be taken the eX~ | pression of his opinion always prevails
 with the majority of the voters in the
 meeting, so great is the confidence the
 people of the town have in his judg-
 ment" His character and remarkable 1 ability can be easily read by any stu 1 dent of physiOgnomy who will look at | the admirable life-size portrait of him,
 now placed in this building. If his | tastes had led him to a larger place for the exercise of his ability no field would : have been so large that he would not have been a leader among men. | Yet here he chose to dwell, perform | ing his part well through the whole of | his long life. I never knew man to whom the description of the good old | farmer Israel in Dr. Hollands dramatic | poem of "Bitter Sweet so well ap- | plies:
 Here dweHs the good old farmer, Is | rael,
 In his ancestral home--a Puritan
 Who reads his Bible daily, loves his | God,
 And lives serenely in the faith of Christ
 For three score years and ten his life has run
 1 Through varied scenes of happiness and woe;
 | But, constant through the wide vicissi l tude.
 He has confessed the giver of his joys, | And kissed the hand that took them; and whene'er
 1 Bereavement has oppressed his soul with grief,
 | Or sharp misfortune stung his heart with pain.
 He has bowed down in childish faith, and said.
 l Thy will, o God-thy will be done, not | mine'"
 The donor of this library was the youngest son of James Blackstone. To many of you his history and life are well known. He left the east more than | forty years ago to pursue his chosen profession. He married in 1868 Miss ]