Cohasset Town

Cohasset Town

FIRST PARISH IN COHASSET (Unitarian). Organized 1721. - Pastor, Rev. Joseph Osgood, settled Oct. 2G, 1842; Deacons, Newcomb Bates, Newcomb B. Tower; Clerk of Society, Daniel N. Tower; Clerk of Church, Joseph Osgood; Treasurer, Newcomb B. Tower; Parish Committer, John Q. A. Lothrop, Abraham II. Tower, Jr., Edward E. Tower. Number of members, 50. Supt. of Sunday School, Abraham II. Tower, Jr. 15 teachers, 68 scholars.

SECOND CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH (Trinitarian). Organized Oct., 1824. - Pastor, Rev. Moody A. Stevens, settled April 18, 1871; Deacons, Bela Bates, Philander Bates; Clerk of Society, John Bates; Clerk of Church and Treasurer, Philander Bates; Parish Committee, J uhn Wan-en Hates, Thomas Wilcutt, Robert Pratt. Number of members, 119. Supt. of Sunday School, Philander Bates. 1G teachers, 135 scholars.

BEE0HW00DS CHURCH, Cohasset, united with EVANGELICAL CONGREGATIONAL SOCIETY, of llingham. - Pastor, Rov. Edward C. Hood, settled Oct. 1, 1875;

Religious Societies

Clerk of Societ y , Jacob 0. Sanborn; Clerk of Church, Arthur W. Noyes, of Hingbam Centre; Treasurer, Tobias 0. Gardner; Parish Committee, Henry E. Spaulding, Isaac X. Damon, James M. Tileston. Number of members, 4G. Supt. of Sunday School, T"bias 0. Gardner. 12 teachers, 77 scholars. ST. ANTHONY'S CHURCH (Roman Catholic). Organized 1875. - Pastor, Rev. Peter J. Leddy, settled Aug. 1, 1876; Sexton, Joseph St. John. Number of members, 300. Supt. of Sunday School, Joseph St. John. 7 teachers, 60 scholars.

FIRST CHURCH (Unitarian). Organized 1C38. - Pastor, Rev. Seth C. Reach, settled Dec. 29, 1875; Deacons, Jonathan II. Cubb, Nathaniel Smith; Clerk of Society, Jonathan Cobb; Clerk of Church, Pastor; Treasurer of Society, Henry W. Richards; Treasurer of Church, Jonathan H. Cobb; Parish Committee, Alfred Ilewins, Nathaniel Smith, Sauford Carroll; Supt. of Sunday School, Geo. C. Stearns. 19 teachers, 100 scholars.

ALLIN EVANGELICAL SOCIETY. Originally part of First Church, but separated and established as a new church Feb., 1822. - Pastor, Rev. Charles M. Southgate, settled Dec. 10, 1S75; Deacons, Calvin Guild, Martin Draper, Theodore L. Brown; Clerk of Society, James 0. Yatman; Clerk of Church, Wyllys Van Wagenen; Parish Committee, Edward P. Eurgess, Nathaniel .Morse, Henry C. B'gelow; Treasurer, Chauncey C. Churchill. Number of members, 257. Supt. of Sunday School, Theodore L. Erown. 37 teachers, 315 scholars.*

THIRD PARISH (Unitarian), West DEDHAsr. Organized Jan. 1, 1736. - Pastor, Rev. Edward Crowninshield, sottled, Jan. 1, 1S73 ; Clerk of Society, John E. Whiting; Treasurer, Joseph Fisher; Parish Committee, John E. Whiting, Daniel W. Parker, Honry L. Pettee; Supt. of Sunday School, the Pastor; teachers in Sunday School, 8, with 45 scholars.

ST. PAUL'S EPISCOPAL CHURCH. Organized 1756. - Rector, Rev. Daniel Goodwin, settled Nov. 1, 1874; Assistant, Rev. William F. Cheney, in charge of Chapel of the Good Shepherd at Oakdale; Wardens, Ira Cleveland, Thomas L. Wakefield; Vestrymen, Rufus E. Dixon, Lewis H. Kingsbury, Silas D. Bacon, Frederick D. Ely, Richard Codman; Clerk of Vestry and Parish, John F. Wakefield; Treasurer, Thomas L. Wakefield. Number of communicants, 193. Supt. of Sunday School, the Rector. In Parish Sunday School, 14 teachers, 115 scholars. In Mission Sunday School, 12 teachers, 115 scholars.

FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH (West Dedham). Organized Nov. 23d, 1824. - Pastor, Rev. Samuel C. Chandler, settled Sept. 1, 1874; Deacons, AVillard Draper, James B. Baker; Clerk of Society, Ebenezer Gay; Clerk of Church, Nathaniel Noyes; Treasurer, John A. White; Parish Committee, Nathaniel Noyes, Charles Fuller, Greenwood Fuller. Number of members, 75. Supt. of Sunday School, Francis W. Draper. 12 teachers, 90 scholars.

EAST DED1IAM BAPTIST SOCIETY. Organized 1843. - Pastor, Rev. Charles H. Cole, settled, 1875; Deacons, James Newsome, George F. Shaw; Clerk and Treasurer of Society, James NewBoine; Clerk of Church, George F. Shaw; Parish Committee, James Newsome, S. M. Rugglcs. George Gudding. Number of members, 60. Supt. of Sunday School, Charles Lewis. 10 teachers, 100 scholars.

ST. MARY'S (Roman Catholic). Organized 1865. - Pastor, Rev. John P. Brennan; Rev. Dennis J. O'Donovan, Assistant. Number of members in the parish of Dedham and Norwood, 1,800. Supt. of Sunday School, Rev. 1). J. O'Donovan. 12 teachers* 200 scholars.

BALCH SOCIETY OF ISLINGTON (Trinitarian). Organized June, 1875. - Pastor, Rev. Charles B. Smith, settled Juno 1, 1874; Clerk and Treasurer, Alonzo B. Wentworth; Parish Committee, Sylvanus Ballou, N. E. Smith, John Dean; Supt. of Sunday School, the Pastor. 2 teachers, 40 scholars.

Hyde Park

Annual meeting, March 4 and 11, 177G. Moderator, Abdl Kent; Town Clerk, Thomas Lothrop; Selectmen and Assessors, Thomas Lothrop, Abel Kent, Ignatius Orcutt; Treasurer, Ignatius Orcutt; Committee of Correspondence, Inspection and Safety, Thomas Lincoln, Jonathan Beal, Jesse Stephenson, Lieut. Stephen Stodder, Jerom Stephenson, Lot Nichols, Thomas Brown, Daniel Tower, Daniel Nichols; School Committee, Aaron Pratt, Joseph Whitcomb, Hezekiah Hudson; Collector of Taxes, Aaron Pratt; Constables, Joseph Bates, Israel Whitcomb, Jr.; Wardens, Thomas Pratt, Lieut. Stodder; Tythingman, Ephraim Lincoln; Culler of Fish and Packer of Mackerel and Culler of Hoops and Staves, Micah Nichols; Surveyor of Highways, Job Turner, John Wilcutt, Obediah Lincoln, Isaac Burr.

Annual meeting, March 4 and 11, 1776. Moderator, Dea. Samuel Topliff; Town Clerk and Treasurer, Noah Clap; Selectmen and Assessors, Noah Clap, Dea. Samuel Topliff, Mr. John Minott, Capt. Ebenezer Withington, Mr. Bernard Capen; Constables, Philip Wellington, Samuel Holden; Collector of Taxes, Thomas Clap, Jr.; Committee of Correspondence, Inspection and Safety, John Minott, James Robinson, Abraham Wheeler; Auditors, Col. Samuel Pierce, Mr. Daniel Leeds; Tythingmen, Col. Ebenezer Clap, Joseph Clap; Survey -irs of the Ways, John Humphrey, Thomas Moscley, Capt. Oliver Billings, Capt. John Robinson, Col. Samuel Pierce, John Capen, Jr., Soth Sumner, Joseph Clap.

Source changes here: from History of Norfolk County, Massachusetts, with Biographical Sketches of Many of Its Pioneers and Prominent Men, by Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton) Ed, published 1884; 6,440 words in this source stream.

Cohasset Town

Pioneer History - Reference to Hingham - Heirs of the Sachem Chickatabut - Deed from the Indians, July 4, 1665 - The Pioneers: Beal, Cushing, James, Lincoln, Tower, Sutton» Bates, Kent, Nichols, Orcutt, Pratt, Stoddard - The First Settlement - Its Location - Derivation of Name of Town - Incorporation of Parish - Little Hingham - The Chureh - Petition for Incorporation of Town - Opposed by Hingham - Town Incorporated, April 26, 1770 - Early Votes concerning Schools - Votes concerning the Revolution - Cohasset's Representative at the Boston Tea-Party - Maj. James Stoddard - War of 1812 - Shipwrecks, ete.

Ir is a natural and praiseworthy feeling that leads the good men and women of New England to celebrate the day that marks the birth of each town, to repeat the names of their fathers, and to trace the steps by which each little independent community has risen from the poverty and weakness of former times to the wealth, prosperity, and comfort of the present. The town government is the foundation of the State; attendance on town-meeting and performance of town duties are precious training to the people ; and the New England youth who has wandered to the ends of the earth in search of fame or fortune looks forward to the day when he shall cast anchor near the old homestead, and hopes that, at last, his dust shall mingle with the dust of his kindred.

One hundred years ago your fathers met within these walls to receive the charter and to organize the town of Cohasset. The careful antiquarian may remind me that the word "district," instead of "town, was used in the act of the General Court, for the reason that Cohasset was still joined with But in performing municipal duties, and in bearing munici- shown herself to be every inch a town. And if any lingering doubts remain in your minds as to the style of your loved municipality, you will be glad to know that in 1786 it was enacted that all districts incorporated before 1777 should be, to all intents and purposes, towns.

1The following chapter was contributed by Hon. Thomas Russell, being an address delivered by him at the Centennial Anniversary of the town of Cohasset, May 7, 1870.

had been begun two years before by a few of Mr. | Hobart's townsmen from England. These earliest settlers bore the names of Hobart, Jacobs, Smith, and Cushing. Peter Hobart came, with his friends, from Hingham, in Norfolk County, and, like many of the early settlers, they gave to the new town the name of their old home. In his diary we read this record: "1635, June 8. - I, with my wife & 4 children came safely to New England June ye 8, 1635, forever prazed be the God of Heaven, my God & King." Mr. Hobart was a man of learning, of ability, and of zeal, - a good specimen of the strong men who, in poverty and | in danger, laid the foundations of the American Km- |

In the early annals of your parent town we find much to remind us of their hardships. We read of | bounties given for wolf-scalps ; of the meeting-house | surrounded by palisades as a protection against sudden attack; of John Jacob slain by Indians in his | wheat-field, in April, 1676; of five dwelling-houses | burned during King Philip's war. Such was the | welcome of your fathers to these shores. Such were the perils they gladly bore for their faith.

The horrors of King Philip's war have often been sketched. The flames that were kindled at Swanzey and Dartmouth rolled all over the land; the best blood of the youth was poured out in the meadows of Deerfield, by Turner's Falls, and in the swamps of Rhode Island. Wonderful was the devotion that, unaided and alone,

As an illustration of the sacrifices of our ancestors, | we read that the public debt of the neighboring colony of Plymouth far exceeded the whole amount of personal property in that colony. Well may the historian feel pride in recording the fact that this debt was paid, principal and interest, - paid just as it had been agreed to be paid. Our fathers never dreamed of repudiation. And this contract-keeping people found favor with a covenant-keeping God.

This flourishing town was greatly disturbed by the question of militia elections, and by a quarrel about This quarrel I pass by as more interesting to the people of the location of the second meeting-house. that day than to this generation. What interests us most is, that the meeting-house was finally built in 1681, and that it now stands, - the oldest church edi- | fice in the United States, containing beams that were in the first meeting-house, - fragrant with old memories. We love to believe that some of the earliest comers to Massachusetts Bay have worshiped this venerable structure, and to know that the firstborn of the Pilgrims may have sat within its wails.

Such thoughts bring us into the more immediate presence of our fathers. Well for usif we could act as in that presence and be animated by their spirit.

The militia excitement of 1644 and 1645 fills a large space in the annals of Massachusetts Bay, and for seven years disturbed the peace of Hingham. The origin of this trouble was the election of militia cap- once more dealt with by the court. And when, at a great wedding of a Hingham man, Mr. Hobart was invited to preach in Boston, he was forbidden by the magistrate, because, among other reasons, '"' he was a bold man, and would speak his mind." The people stood by their pastor, paid his fines, and held him always in higher esteem.

It is an honorable record for his many descendants to read of their ancestor, that, two hundred and twenty-five years ago, his views tended to pure democracy, and that, being a bold man, he would speak his mind. made helped to forward the day when a brave son of Hingham should receive the sword of Cornwallis at Yorktown, and to that greater day when another man of Hingham descent proclaimed that slavery in

We lose our patience as we read the story of this contest. We smile at the superstitious bigotry of Winthrop, who finds a Providential interposition when some Hingham men made light of the colony's fast, and, attempting to take a raft to Boston, were delayed a month by bad weather. But while we criticsie and smile, we should remember that Hobart and his friends were believed to threaten the powers of the rulers of the province, and that such threats imperiled the right of self-government. We know, also, that they were dreaded because they troubled the churches, and those who troubled the churches were believed to endanger souls. On both sides we find error, on both sides sincerity, - the great manly There have been men of gentler disposition than Peter Hobart, of more enlightened views than Governor Winthrop, of more refined taste, of more graceful speech than any of the Pilgrim Fathers ; but those men have no New England for their monument.

enemies of England. They sent six men to fight the Pequots in 1637. French, the Dutch, and the Spaniards. in the burial-place at Hingham are believed to be relics of the Dutch fort. and nine others perished in Sir William Phipps' ex-

Two Hingham men had been capwas put to death, and one of whom, Jeremiah Lincoln by name, escaped from captivity to lead an honorable and useful life. of this expedition, lived to a great age at Leicester, Mass. Capt. Joshua Barker was among those who served the in 1740. For these facts I am indebted to the careful researches of

These wars were a fit prep- The stories of the living and the memory of the dead kept alive a martial spirit in the hearts of the colonists, - even as the stories of "76 and the memories of 1812 prepared for the greater contest of our own day.

An interesting event in the annals of your parent town was the obtaining of a deed of its territory from the heirs of Chickatabut. living on the banks of the Neponset, ruled over a ereat part of what is now Plymouth and Norfolk Counties. He is supposed to have given permission to the first settlers to make Hingham their home. His sons, Wampatuck, Squmuck, and Ahahden, sion of meadow land was made among the proprieters at Conghasset. Not all of these proprietors, however, were residents of this territory. Hingham settlers here are said, by Rev. Mr. Flint, to have borne the familiar names of Beal, Cushing, James, Lincoln, Tower, and Sutton. joined the families of Bates, Kent, Nichols, Orcutt, Pratt, and Stoddard. The first settlement is reported to have been at Rocky Nook, and on the Jerusalem road. The name of your town is said by some to mean '"'a fishing promontory,' by others to mean "a and either name would apply to Cohasset Narrows, in Sandwich. Mr. Trumbull, the best living authority, Unfortunately, he cannot give the true meaning of the word. It ig enough that Cohasset now means a place where, for two hundred years, upright men have led honorable lives, and where an honest New England town has flourished for a century.

In 1714 Hingham was requested in vain to remit the school and ministerial taxes to this portion of the old town. quest, provided that Cohasset would settle an orthodox minister, and accept this settlement of the matter But the citizens of Cohasset voted that they could not do so cheerfully. In 1717 an act of the General Court was obtained creating a second parish in Hingham; and on July 14, 1718, the act was accepted at a meeting, over which Daniel Lin- The meeting was called for Cohasset, alias Little Hingham.

coln presided. This strange phrase is several times repeated. anything but honesty. Yet here it was applied to a community as honest as ever breathed.

In 1719 a fast was appointed for the third Thurs- Mr. Pierpont was called at this time, and Mr. Spear in the spring of 1721. But no one was settled until September of that year, when Nehemiah Hobart became pastor, General Court for liberty te apply taxes to schools, and in October, 1728, schools were established. In 1731 it was voted that the two arms of the district

In 1740 the church lost its able and beloved pastor, who was a worthy descendant of Peter Hobart. His place was not filled without long delay, nor with- One proposition was to pay £400, old tenor, as settlement, and

£350 as salary, corn and rye to be taken at 15s. in February, and beef at 10d. in November, with money John Fowle was for a short time the successor of Mr. Hobart, and age of sixty-six. him was a great event in Cohasset. Serving for one campaign as regimental chaplain in the Nova Scotia expedition, he never lost his military spirit, and his love of liberty made him a warm friend of independence. When the mild and conservative Mr. Gay come into Cohasset Harbor and try to burn the vessels, your minister replied, '' I would shoot them!' When, at a meeting in 1775, he had urged recruits to enlist, and an old man had taunted him with calling upon | others to do what he dared not do, he raised his staff | and threatened to cane the 'old Tory" who insulted | him. old elm in Hingham, was a powerful exhortation to fight for the liberties of America. on the Boston massacre was published. No one, then, had proclaimed that a clergyman should never exhort

In 1750 it was reported at a parish-meeting that the meeting-house had been completed at a cost of four thousand pounds. This was, of course, old tenor,

1747-48. This is the building in which we now are assembled, and for more than a hundred and twenty | years its walls have echoed the prayers and praises of | | the imagination of sportsmen.

In March, 1752, it was voted to petition Hingham and the General Court for the setting off of a new town. more especially when town-meetings became frequent, on account of the questions with the mother-country. But Hingham, while earnest for independence, could not see the importance of self-government to her subject province. Yet her opposition was, after all, a compliment. No wonder that the parent town was loth to part with so fair a territory and with so worthy a people.

Before leaving Hingham, let me refer to a vote in 1768, when impending trouble with England admonished the people to look well to their ways. A best men in the town, who in May reported resolves: "First, that we will, by all ways and means in our power, encourage and promote the practice of virtue and suppressing of vice and immorality, the latter of of licensed houses, so that there should only be six in the town, - three in the North Parish, two in the Kast, and one in the South. This passed in the

On March 23, 1767, it was voted by this precinct not to give up singing line by line, conservatism winning a victory over the radical youth of the church ; and in March, 1768, the porch was added to this house.

On May 7, 1770, the act of incorporation, which had been signed by Lieutenant-Governor Hutchinson on April 26th, was accepted at a meeting where Deacon Isaac Lincoln acted as moderator and Daniel Lincoln It was voted to ask that the style of " district" be changed to " town." as clerk. I have referred to the general act by which this was finally accomplished. In December, 1770, it was voted that each child bring one foot of wood to school, or 1s. 6d., and the assessors should charge each person that was '' behind."

"' deer-reeves"' tells of the time when the beech-woods were alive with game, as the mention of Turkey Hill, in running the bounds of the precinct in 1647, kindles But graver matters soon occupied the minds of men who could use fire- On March 7, 1774, it was voted to build a Already the little town was preparing to resist the British Emarms. closet in the meeting-house for ammunition.

pire, and the same walls that heard your fathers' prayers for deliverance and their resolves to resist oppression sheltered the ammunition which was to enforce these resolves, and to show that those prayers were honest.

town chose a com- Jesse Stephenson chairman of this committee. Thomas Lothrop was placed at the head of a committee to draft a paper to be signed by freebolders in approval of that association. the province tax to Henry Gardner, and to indem- This

On March 6, 1775, it was voted to pay the share of Cohasset for Deacon Lincoln's attendance on the Provincial Congress, and for Col. Benjamin Lincoln's attendance at the General Court at Salem. It was worth while to be united with Hingham in the choice of a representative, since thus you shared the credit of having such a patriot as your spokesman. Again, in November, 1775, your fathers joined with Hingham in sending Col. Lincoln to the Provincial Con- Thus, by being your town was honored in sending to the Legislature the able general who was destined to receive the surrender of Cornwallis, to sit in the United States Cabinet, to crush by his vigor the rebellion of Shay,

On April 28th it was voted to buy five hundred bushels of corn, one hundred pounds of gunpowder, and five hundred flints. On May 29th a Committee of Correspondence was chosen, of which Deacon Isaac Lothrop was chairman. Also a committee, of which Joseph Luther was the head, to call on Maj. Thomas Lothrop to 'see whether he will call the alarm-list In March honorable American. Congress should declare the united colonies independent of the kingdom of Great Britain, the town would support it with their Thus, when Congress made the to Connecticut. In December forty shillings were added to the pay. of volunteers to encourage them to march on the shortest notice. Subsequent additions were made to this sum, and a final addition was voted At a later date

Stoddard. Tradition tells, also, of an English brig bound for Boston with supplies for the British army becalmed off these shores, and taken by a boat manned by Cohasset men. Maj. Stoddard was the leading spirit on this occasion, and when one of the boat's crew pointed to the brig's artillery, and proposed to return, the major declared that there should be no going back. The defenses of the brig proved to be ''(Quaker guns," and she becamie an easy prize. Her cargo was rum, and if, as is reported, the town was for a few days a little more lively than usual, we must borrow the words of Burke, and " pardon something to the spirit of liberty."

You have heard his story of Washington ordering him to repair the wheel of a gun-carriage while on a forced march, of his request for permission to stop while mending it, and of the general's abrupt refusal. "Tt was the hardest thing I ever did," the old man

He fought at Bunker Hill, and when the ammunition of the Americans had failed and they were obliged to retreat, he was seen throwing stones at the well-armed British soldiers as they swarmed into the redoubt. defeat ; cast down, but not destroyed.

Such was the spirit of our fathers, firm in Well did Washington say, when he heard of the result, the retreat, the British victory, but heard also of the spirit of the people, well did he say, '' Thank God, America is free!" When a man is in earnest for the right, whether he stands on a lost battle field in Charlestown, Mass., or beneath a gallows in Charlestown, Va., he knows that failure is only the prelude of success, and that death will at last be swallowed up in victory.

During the war, in 1780, the Constitution of this State was adopted, with its bill of rights, containing the words " All men are created free and equal." These words are often misquoted as occurring in the Declaration of Independence, but the slaveholder who wrote that instrument did not and could not use the

Cohasset was trodden by master and slave. But after the adoption of the State Constitution, a fellow-townsman of your fathers by birth, Levi Lincoln, trying the cause of a man held as a slave in Worcester County, procured a decision that broke the shackles of every bondman in Massachusetts. Mr. Lincoln, who was born in Hingham, rose to great eminence at the bar, was chosen to Congress, was appointed attorneygeneral, held the office of Lieutenant-Governor in this State, and declined appointment as judge of the Supreme Court of the United States. But his greatest | honor was that he pleaded the cause of the oppressed, and won a victory for freedom.

The war of 1812 found the men of Cohasset ready to stand by the flag, although they were not attached to the administration, and although the town had suf- | fered greatly from the embargo. They forgot that they were Democrats or Federalists, and only remembered that they were Americans. A Committee of Safety was chosen, a coast-guard of seventy-five was formed, and a committee was sent to ask arms and |

Lieutenant-Governor | Cobb (in the absence of Governor Strong) refused the request, and recommended the hoisting of a white flag. The men of Cohasset disdained the timid counsels of the executive, and finally procured muskets and a field-piece. The executive of to-day would give | no such prudent advice in any similar peril. Govy- | ernor and Lieutenant-Governor alike would counsel the use of no flag except their country's flag - and that nailed to the mast.

In June, 1814, a British man-of-war having sent a flotilla of barges to burn the shipping of Scituate, sailed for Cohasset on a like errand. Capt. Peter Lothrop, roused by a messenger from Scituate, leaped from his bed, and, without hat or coat, mounting a horse without a saddle, rode through the village and roused the slumbering inhabitants. Marching to White-Head, the militia and other citizens threw up an earthwork, pastor and people working together, and when, on Sunday morning, the British appeared, they found a redoubt held by what appeared to be a formidable force. The enemy withdrew; the fleet of twenty-seven vessels was carried to Gulf River and | scuttled. The militia of Hingham and Weymouth, with the artillery of Abington, Hanover, and Scituate, | marched to Cohasset, and for three months White |

The diary of Josiah Willcutt tells of the fishingschooner '' Nancy," captured in September, 1814, two of her crew being set ashore at Plymouth, and the others carried to Halifax jail. In April, 1815, Ezekiel Wallace returned, bringing news that Isaiah Lincoln had died in prison.

Tradition tells of a brave son of Cohasset who could not bear to see the English fleet insulting our shores. Alone he embarked in his ducking-boat, declaring that he would have one shot at the enemy. He fired his shot with effect, but was taken prisoner, and died in Halifax jail. I have inquired in vain for his name, but I cannot give up my faith in the story of the British fleet assailed by a punt.

To us it seems strange that through this contest the shores of this State were invested by the enemy, - Nantucket flying a flag of truce, Provincetown Harbor occupied by a hostile fleet, and Boston closely blockaded. This can never happen again. of the country forbids it. Our mail-clad ships would forbid it. And, better far, the spirit of the people would guard the shores from foreign insult. There may be different opinions as to the efficiency of our navy as compared with England's, but there can be no doubt about the sailors who would man our

Your good town early responded to the call of-the country. In May, 1861, most liberal provision was made for the pay of volunteers and the support of their families. Similar votes were passed as need And under the folds of a noble flag, given by a patriotic citizen, the sons of Cohasset met, from time to time, to enlist for the defense of the Union and Liberty of which that flag is the emblem.

One of your fellow-citizens, Oliver E. Simpson by name, fell in the first great battle at Bull Run. The names of your other martyrs are known to you all - Arnold, Bates, Litchfield, Lincoln, Manuel, Nimms, Riply, Shays, Treat, Thayer. William Bates had the mournful honor of giving two of his sons to his

You are all proud of Gen. Zealous B. Tower, | In the morning hardy sailors rescued them with great first in his class at West Point, afterwards for a time hazard, losing one boat upon the rocks, and humane

Such men are the glory of their homes and the | humanity of the people of Cohasset; and when, years after, Mr. Hubbard, a citizen of Boston, was

And of such victories this rugged coast has often been the scene. For when the gales have hurled the Atlantic waves upon Cohasset rocks, and when some vessel has become a wreck, there have never been wanting men who were ready to risk their lives to save the forlorn strangers, and every house has been ready to become a home for the rescued mariner.

England a host of men ready to brave death in the hope of saving life. men who, if to-morrow morning should bring a storm and a wreck, would man the lifeboat and welcome the shipwrecked sailor. If I must ever be subject to marine disaster (which is not wholly improbable), let

Grandest of all the scenes of nature is a winter storm upon a rocky coast. But grander far to see, as I saw once, as you have often seen, the will of man triumphant over the strife of the elements. stranded vessel lies hopeless on the shoal. Her master is lashed to the bulwarks; the freezing sleet has numbed his limbs; every wave dashes over him. All the billows of despair have gone over his soul. Then a man of the sea leaps into his cockle-shell of a boat, sends a token to his children, who may be orphans at night, and guides his frail canoe among the rocks. Now the waves have swallowed him up, but strength and skill prevail; he reaches the ship; he bears the almost lifeless sailor in safety from the parting fragments of the wreck. Time would fail me if I sought to recall all the marine disasters which this spot has witnessed. Let

This was the reception of men who, fearing that they were about to fall into the hands of savages, had cut the gilded buttons from their coats, lest they should tempt the barbarous people to crime.

Capt. Clien and his men had received when wrecked at Cohasset, near the port of Boston. Thus was America honored in distant lands; the humanity of your fathers was repaid toa stranger, and the nations of the world were brought nearer to each other. Rey. Mr. Shaw was among those who were conspicuous for their humanity. The names of Doane and Tower were not wanting on the roll of honor. The proceeds of one of the gold medals were most ap- first church - appropriately, for when the men of Cohasset rescued and fed and clothed and sheltered the poor wayfarers cast upon these shores, they bestowed their gifts on Him who is commemorated by the communion service :

In October, 1849, the British brig "St. John," with immigrants from Galway, struck on the Sea Ledges, a little to the west of the Minot, and immediately went to pieces. More than a hundred of her passendrowned. Others were rescued by the humane exertions and heroic daring of the men of Cohasset; and every house was open to welcome those who were thus snatched from the grave. I Let me name some of those who, in our own day, sustained Studley, Snow, Lawrence, Hardwick, Lothrop, 'Tower - these I have not were prominent in their efforts to save. Their modesty will thank me, as the modesty of all would have thanked me if all the names had been withheld.

One affecting incident of the wreck must be familiar to you all. Mr. Lothrop watched a little package that floated in the surf, and grasping it, found, to his The mother had wrapped up her child with careful hands, and committed her to a little ark upon the water's edge, and prayed that | Heaven would save the infant's life. And this child, | also, was received into princely hands. But a | mother's care and the stranger's daring would have | been in vain, had it not been decreed by Him who holds the waters in the hollow of His hand that this - child should live and not die.

Another child was brought in this vessel by her | aunt to meet the mother who had come to America before. When the mother sought her infant, she found her resting with her head upon the shoulder of her aunt, but the child and the woman alike were dead. The heart-broken mother only survived for - three days.

In striking contrast with the heroism and kindness of your people, was the heartlessness of the captain of the "St. John," who, with the crew, left his vessel in a boat only half filled, and who, in his cruel cowardice, | neglected to inform the crew of a life-boat that his wrecked vessel was filled with perishing men and women.

and his officers going down at their posts, unwilling | to desert the sinking flag, saw the captain of the " Bom- | bay" leaving the ship whose sides he had crushed, hurrying away as fast as wind and steam could carry him, trembling all over with cruel fear lest in the bottom of his vessel there might be some plank as rotten as his own heart.

On Jan. 19, 1857, the brigantine " New Empire" was wrecked at Little White-Head.. The floating ice Peter Follen, procuring two cylinders from the Humane House, placed them between his knees, and took a line to the ship, casting in his lot with the shipwrecked men that he might save them all.

Of course the standard jokes about wreckers are related of the inhabitants of these shores. Of one it is said, especially, that when asked what his luck had_ been for the season, he answered, "I got a good deal | of stuff and put it in the barn, but they do steal so the second time, that sometimes I almost wish there never would be another wreck." |

A wuch better authenticated story is that of the | Swedish brig wrecked on Minot's Ledge, December, | 1836; her two decks washing ashore upon Beach Is- | land, three miles distant, her precious cargo strewn all | along the shores upon the bottom of the sea. Ninety per cent. of that cargo was recovered; every bar of | iron was delivered to the owners, the count answering -

In 1798 the last slave ship that sailed from Boston was driven upon the bar at the mouth of your harbor, and so her criminal voyage came to a fortunate end.

Since the erection of Minot Light these disasters are almost unknown in this spot. The whole country recollects the destruction of the first light in April, 1851. <A long storm had strewn the shores of New England with shipwrecked vessels. A former gale had shattered one of the iron pillars that upheld the structure. And when the morning light of April 18th broke through the storm, the anxious eyes that looked seaward could see no vestige of the lighthouse. Two men perished in its downfall. The present structure Had it been erected in ancient times, it would have added one to the wonders of the world.

As it stands now, firm and erect amid the raging sea, it is not only a noble triumph of human skill, but the fittest emblem of a true man constant for the right against a gainsaying world. Such a symbol might have been borne upon the coatof-arms of Peter Hobart in 1645, or, in 1829, upon the spotless shield of William Lloyd Garrison.

But it is not in scenes of war or of wreck that the You love Cohasset, because here for generations an industrious, intelligent, and contented people have found a happy home.

Here, as among all your neighbors of the South Shore, hard work, " plain living, high thinking," with peace and freedom, have been the habitual life of the people. Your fathers turned early from the hard and scanty soil to reap their richest harvests The exportation of lumber to the West Indies has ceased. No more fortunes can be made by selling fish at famine prices in the Atlantic and Mediterranean ports of France and the Peninsula. But still, like your fathers, you draw wealth frem the ocean, and with it the more precious treasures of vigor, energy, and enterprise. Nor is agriculture neg- Labor and skill make Your pleasant beaches tempt and refresh the wearied fugitives from the cares and toils of the city. The growth of Cohasset in wealth has been used as an argument to stimulate Well may they desire to share those facilities, when they read that your valuation has increased from three hundred and six thousand dollars in 1840, to nearly one million eight hundred thousand dollars to-day. Your care of schools increases with your wealth, increasing the town appropriation in twenty-five years

Three younger churches have grown up around this venerable mother. The last not only bears a pleasant name - ' the Beechwood Church'' - but its origin carries us back to Puritan days, for it was founded after forty days of prayer by an earnest woman. And while this takes our thoughts back to old times, the first contribution for this church reminds us of a story that can never grow old. For the first gift set apart for its treasury was the smallest coin that ever issued from our mint.

And who and what are the men that are the product of your institutions? You may well boast of Benjamin Pratt, who was born March 13, 1710-11, in a house on what is now called South Main Street. A gifted writer in prose and verse, an eloquent and successful lawyer, he was appointed to the high place of chief justice of New York, and died in 1763, too early to share in the contest for independence, although he heard the argument of James Otis against writs of assistance, and declined a retainer on each side of that great argument. He had collected materials for a history of New England; and those who love to read her story have reason to lament that he In his youth a fall from a tree made Benjamin Pratt a cripple for life, and this was the reason that he gave up his chosen occupation as a blacksmith and became a lawyer. example of Yankee thrift. Accident ruins the young

The true glory of this, as of other New England towns, is found, not in the conspicuous few, but in the honorable and useful lives of the many. And if a stranger desired to see a community who live in the fear of God and the love of their fellow-men; who mind their own business, and yet make the cause of the poor and ignorant their business ; whose best men render every precious service to their town without money and without price; a community from which truths which lay undeveloped in the creed of those fathers ; '' Catholic for all the truth of God: Protestant against every error of man;" if a visitor sought such a community, I would take him to a village on the '' South Shore" and tell him to seek no farther.

and successors. The first trustees were Henry J. Turner, Daniel T. Lothrop, Job Cushing, Francis L. Bates, Lot Bates, Zenas Stoddard, Thomas Smith, Levi N. Bates, James C. Doane, Abraham H. Tower, Nichols Tower, and Solomon J. Beal.

The names of the presidents from the incorporation to the present time are Paul Pratt, Abraham H. Tower, and Martin Lincoln; Secretaries, Thomas M. Smith, Newcomb Bates, Jr., and Levi N. Bates; Treasurer, Levi N. Bates.

Paul Pratt served as president three years, and was succeeded by Abraham H. Tower, who was continued in the office for a period of twenty-five years, when, declining a re-election on the ground of his advanced age and long services, Martin Lincoln was chosen, and has been annually re-elected to the present time.

secretaries of the board of trustees, viz. : Zenas Stod- : dard, Levi N. Bates, Martin Lincoln, and Newcomb | Bates, the latter being the present secretary. |

The board of investment during the first year con- | sisted of the president and treasurer,and Abraham H. Tower, Daniel T. Lothrop, and Thomas Smith. The present board consists of Martin Lincoln, presi- | dent ; Capt. J. Warren Bates, vice-president; J. Q. | A. Lothrop, and Louis N. Lincoln.

clerk; Abraham H. Tower, Jr., treasurer; J. Q. A. Lothrop, Louis N. Lincoln, Philander Bates, selectmen; George W. Merritt, of Scituate, representative.

1877. - J. Q. A. Lothrop, moderator; Newcomb B. Tower, town clerk; Abraham H. Tower, Jr., treasurer; J. Q. A. Lothrop, Louis N. Lincoln, Philander Bates, selectmen; Amos W. Merritt, of Scituate, representative.

1878. - J. Q. A. Lothrop, moderator; Newcomb B. Tower, town clerk; Abraham H. Tower, Jr., treasurer; J. Q. A. Lothrop, Philander Bates, Caleb F. Nichols, selectmen ; William C. Litchfield, of South Scituate, representative.

1880. - J. Q. A. Lothrop, moderator; Neweomb B. Tower, town clerk; Abraham H. Tower, Jr., treasurer; J. Q. A. Lothrop, Philander Bates, Caleb F. Nichols, selectmen; Thomas F. Bailey, of Scituate, representative.

clerk; Abraham H. Tower, Jr., treasurer; J. Q. A. Lothrop, Philander Bates, Caleb F. Nichols, selectmen; Alpheus Thomas, of South Scituate, representative.

Job Cushing, capt., engaged May 16th. Nath. Nichols, Ist lieut., engaged May 16th. Josiah Oakes, 2d lieut., engaged May 16th. Eleazer James, sergt., engaged May 18th. Gideon Howard, sergt., engaged June Ist. Isaac Burr, sergt., engaged May 16th. Peter Nichols, sergt., engaged May 16th. Abraham Tower, corp., engaged May 22d. Adna Bates, corp., engaged May 22d. James Bates, corp., engaged May 22d. Bela Nichols, corp., engaged May 22d. Levi Tower, drummer, engaged May ISth.

William Stoddard, fifer, engaged May 17th. Elisha Bates, engaged May 22d. Jonathan Bates, engaged May 22d. Josiah Bates, engaged May 23d. Zealous Bates, engaged May 16th. Ephraim Battles, engaged May 16th. Jared Battles, engaged May 16th. Joshua Beal, engaged June Ist.

Amos Brown, engaged May 16th. Calvin Cushing, engaged May 22d. Obed Dunbar, engaged May 23d. George Humphrey, engaged May 16th. Benj. Jacobs, engaged May 16th. Jared Joy, engaged May 16th. Melzer Joy, engaged May 20th.

John Kilby, engaged May 16th. Richard Kilby, engaged May 16th. John Kilby, Jr., engaged May 16th. Galen Lincoln, engaged May 16th. Jerome Lincoln, engaged May 16th. Charles Luneand, engaged May 17th. Joseph Neal, engaged May 25th. Caleb Nichols, engaged May 16th. Daniel Nichols, engaged June Ist. Ebenezer Orcutt, engaged May 17th. Ephraim Orcutt, engaged May 16th. Luke Orcutt, engaged May 27th. Haugh Oakes, engaged May 16th. Joshua Oakes, engaged May 16th. Samuel Oakes, engaged May 16th. Caleb Pratt, engaged May 18th. Oliver Prichard, engaged May 18th. Richard Prichard, engaged May 16th. Elisha Stephenson, engaged June Ist. Luke Stephenson, engaged May 16th. Joseph Sutton, engaged May 25th. Joseph Souther, engaged May 24th. James Stoddard, engaged May 17th. Benjamin Stutson, engaged May 23d. Reuben Thorn, engaged May 16th. Jesse Tower, engaged May 24th. Tsaac Tower, engaged May 16th. James Worrick, engaged May 23d. John Whitcom, engaged May 23d. Gershom Wheelwright, engaged May 16th. Benjamin Woodward, engaged May 16th.

War of the Rebellion - Cohasset respouded promptly to the call for men and money to put down the Rebellion, and in less than two weeks from the opening gun at Sumter, May Ist, a '"' mass meeting" of her citizens was held. At this meeting it was voted that the payment of ten and fifteen dollars per month to each volunteer be limited to six months,

July 21st the town voted a bounty of one hundred August 12th it was voted to continue it, and August 21st a bounty of one hundred and fifty dollars was voted.