Sages and Heroes of the American Revolution Part 28

Mr. Stone commenced his legislative duties with vigor and prosecuted them with zeal. He was at first trammelled by instructions from the Maryland a.s.sembly the members of which hoped for peace without recourse to arms. Increasing oppressions soon removed this injunction and enabled him to join in all measures calculated to promote the cause of Independence. When the millennial sun of LIBERTY rose upon the new world on the 4th of July 1776 Mr. Stone was at his post and became a subscribing witness to the dissolution of that unequal partnership where the labor had been performed by one party and the profits consumed by the other.

Mr. Stone retired from Congress in 1777. He had been a faithful laborer in the committee rooms--an influential member in the House. He had bestowed much time and thought upon the Articles of Confederation and felt bound to remain until they were perfected and adopted. That important work completed he left the national Council carrying with him the esteem of his co-workers in the cause of freedom, the approbation of a good conscience and the grat.i.tude of his const.i.tuents. In 1778 he was elected to the Maryland legislature and became an important and influential member. During that session the Articles of Confederation that he had aided in framing at the preceding Congress were submitted for consideration. At first they met with strong opposition. Better understanding them Mr. Stone was able to meet every objection and was largely instrumental in their adoption. In 1783 he again took his seat in Congress and fully sustained his high reputation for usefulness.

Devoted to the best interests of his country, free from political ambition, sincere in his profession of republican principles, frank in his intercourse, honest in his purposes--he was safely entrusted with every station he was called to fill. He was present when Washington resigned his commission and retired from the field of epic glory to the peaceful shades of Mount Vernon amidst the loud plaudits of admiring millions and the mingled tears of joy and grat.i.tude that stood like pearly dew-drops in the eyes of his countrymen and compatriots in arms.

The ensuing year Mr. Stone closed his labors in Congress and retired from the public arena. During the last session of his services he frequently presided and was esteemed highly as President _pro tempore_ by all the members for his ability, dignity and impartiality. As a further mark of esteem he was elected to the convention in 1787 that framed the Federal Const.i.tution but declined any further public service and did not attend. On the 5th of October the same year he was suddenly called from the judicial Bar of Port Tobacco, Maryland, to the Bar of the Judge of quick and dead to render an account of his stewardship. His decease was deeply lamented by his numerous friends, a grateful nation and millions of freemen.

Mr. Stone was cut off in the prime of life, in the midst of a brilliant career of usefulness with the prospect of future honors opening brightly before him. He lived long enough to be extensively useful and earned a rich fame--imperishable as the pages of history--lasting as human intelligence. From the moment he first took his place in society to the present--the tongue of slander or the breath of detraction have never attempted to cast a slur upon his reputation as a public man or private citizen. He was a rare model of discretion, propriety and usefulness--a true specimen of the Simon pure salt of the body politic, rendering efficient services to his country without noise or parade and without the towering talents of a Henry. Such men are above all price and can be relied upon in the hour of danger as safe sentinels to guard the best interests of our nation. We have more of the same sort who are living in retirement. Let the people break them in and bring them out that our UNION may be preserved.

GEORGE TAYLOR.

A purely republican government is enrapturing in theory. To reduce this beautiful theory to successful operation the body politic must be sound and healthful in all its parts. It must be wielded by enlightened rulers whose hearts are free from guile, whose judgments are strong and matured, whose characters are without reproach, whose conduct is always consistent, whose patriotism extinguishes all self, whose virtue lifts them above all temptation to digress from the most exalted honesty and rigid morality, whose minds are stored with useful knowledge--large experience and whose souls are imbued with wisdom from above.

In such a condition and in such hands this kind of government is calculated to bring out and elevate the intellectual powers of man, unfold to the mind correct and liberal principles, promote social order and general happiness by diffusing its radiant light, its refulgent rays, its benign influence to the remotest bounds of the human family.

In such a condition and in such hands it would become the solar fountain of mental improvement, the polar star of soaring genius, the brilliant galaxy of expanding science, the prolific field of religious enterprise, a shining light to benighted man. Its sunbeams of living light would warm into mellow life the ignorant, the oppressed, the forlorn. Its harmonious links would form a golden chain that would encircle earth and reach to heaven. It would be a messenger of peace inviting the weary pilgrims of bondage in every clime to a reposing asylum of peaceful, quiescent rest. This is the kind of government the Sages and Heroes of the American Revolution aimed to form and have perpetuated by posterity.

Among those who laid the foundation and commenced the superstructure of our growing Republic was George Taylor, born in Ireland in 1716. His father was a clergyman and gave him a good education. He then placed him with a physician under whose direction he commenced the study of medicine. Not fancying the idea of becoming a son of aesculapius he flew the course and without money or the knowledge of his friends entered as a redemptioner on board a vessel bound for Philadelphia. Soon after his arrival his pa.s.sage was paid by Mr. Savage of Durham, Bucks County, Pennsylvania, for which George bound himself as a common laborer for a term of years. This gentleman carried on iron works and appointed his new servant to the office of _filler_--his work being to throw coal into the furnace when in blast. His hands became cruelly blistered but being ambitious to gain the approbation of all around him he persevered without a complaint. Learning his situation his humane master entered into a conversation with him and was surprised to find him possessed of a good education and superior talents. He immediately promoted him to a clerkship in the counting house. He filled his station admirably and gained the esteem and friendship of all his new acquaintances. He endeavored to improve by everything he saw, heard and read. His reflecting and reasoning powers became rapidly developed. He made himself acquainted with the formula of business, the customs and laws of his adopted country and reduced to practice the theories he had acquired at school. To add to his importance in society Mr. Savage was removed by death and after the usual season of mourning had pa.s.sed, the widow Savage became Mrs. Taylor and Mr. Taylor came in possession of a large property and a valuable and influential wife. By persevering industry and good management he continued to add to the estate and in a few years purchased a tract of land on the bank of the Lehigh River in Northampton County upon which he built a splendid mansion and iron works, making it his place of residence. Not being prospered there he removed back to Durham. During his residence in Northampton County he became extensively and favorably known.

In 1764 he was elected to the provincial a.s.sembly and took a prominent part in its deliberations. He was endowed with a strong mind, clear perception and sound judgment. He had not been an idle spectator or careless observer of pa.s.sing events or of subjects discussed. He had examined the principles upon which various governments were predicated and became enraptured with the republican system. He had closely observed the increasing advances of British oppression. He had not imported a large share of love for the mother country. He was too patriotic to tamely submit to the English yoke. So fully had he gained the confidence of his fellow citizens that he was placed upon the important committee of grievances. He took a bold stand against the corruptions of the proprietary government and strongly advocated an alteration of the charter that peculation might be diminished and abuses corrected.

The ensuing year he was again elected to the a.s.sembly and was one of the committee that prepared instructions for the delegates to Congress that convened in New York in 1765 to adopt measures for the restoration and preservation of colonial rights. This doc.u.ment combined caution and respect with firmness of purpose and deliberation of action. It instructed the delegates to move within the orbit of const.i.tutional and chartered rights and to respectfully but clearly admonish the mother country and her advisers not to travel out of the same circle. Shortly after that the Stamp Act was repealed. Mr. Taylor was on the committee to prepare a congratulatory address to the king on the happy event. So ably did he discharge his public duties that he was uniformly placed upon several of the standing committees of great importance, a.s.signing to him an onerous portion of legislative duties. Upon the committee of grievances, a.s.sessment of taxes, judiciary, loans on bills of credit, navigation, to choose a printer of public laws, the name of George Taylor was generally found and often the first. He was a member of the a.s.sembly for six consecutive years. In 1768 he was upon a committee to prepare an address to the governor censuring him for a remissness of duty in not bringing to condign punishment certain offenders who had openly and barbarously murdered several Indians thereby provoking retaliation. It was respectful and manly but keen and cutting as a Damascus blade. It was a lucid exposition of political policy, sound law, equal justice and public duty. In 1775 Mr. Taylor was one of the committee of safety for Pennsylvania, then virtually the organ of government. The awful crisis had arrived when American blood was crying for vengeance. The revolutionary storm had commenced--the mountain waves of British wrath were rolling over the Colonies. Firmness, sound discretion and boldness of action were required. Mr. Taylor possessed and endeavoured to inspire these requisites in others. He was a faithful sentinel in the cause of freedom--not a blazing luminary but a reliable light. Although cautious he was not affected by the temporizing spirit that paralyzed many who desired Liberty but preferred that others should fight for it. He continued to exercise a salutary influence in the a.s.sembly until the summer of 1776 when he became a member of the Continental Congress and sanctioned the principles of freedom he had boldly advocated by his vote for and signature upon the Magna Charta of our Liberty. Although he did not tempt the giddy height of declamation Mr. Taylor knew where and when to speak, what to say and how to vote--the highest qualifications of a legislator.

In the spring of 1777 he retired from public life crowned with the honors of a devoted and ardent patriot, an industrious and useful legislator, an enlightened and valuable citizen, a worthy and honest man. On the 23d of February 1781 he closed his eyes upon terrestrial things, bid a last farewell to earth and its toils and bowed submissively to the king of terrors. He died at Easton, Pennsylvania, where he had but recently removed.

From this brief sketch of Mr. Taylor the reader may learn that without the luminous talents of a Lee, the towering intellect of a Jefferson or the profound researches of a Franklin, a man can be substantially useful and render important services to his country and the world. In the grand machinery of human society there is a place for every individual to occupy. Let all fulfil the design of their creation and exert their best energies to preserve our blood-bought LIBERTY and perpetuate our glorious UNION until TIME shall be merged in ETERNITY.

MATTHEW THORNTON.

The study of human nature is one of the highest importance but criminally neglected. Many who do undertake it begin at the wrong place.

They commence upon their neighbors instead of first exploring the avenues of their own nature and there learning the thousand springs that put their own machinery in motion. In no other school can we successfully acquire this branch of knowledge. Self examination is deplorably neglected. But few men know themselves and are sadly mistaken when they suppose they fully understand those around them. To a large portion of the human family man is a sealed book. But few parents study or understand the nature and disposition of their children. If asked to define them they would succeed no better than the unlettered red man would in expounding geology and botany. Both live in the midst of the subjects of investigation but only know them by sight. Upon the closest application we can only arrive at general rules by which to try others.

I deny the hackneyed doctrine that the minutiae of human nature is the same in every individual. It cannot be deduced from an examination of man mentally or physically. It cannot be shown from a.n.a.logy in the laws of nature. It cannot be proved by revelation but the reverse. Hence so few become masters of this intricate study. The error lies in looking at human nature as a ma.s.s. The man who does not understand geology may be shown every variety of rock selected and placed in layers before him and he can give you but one name for the whole--_rock_. The same with reference to the other departments in the kingdom of nature. So in the great machinery of society. Every observing person knows that what will impel _one_ man to do certain acts would not move _another_ one inch.

Apply a great principle that operates upon every man--say the law of self-preservation--its operation is not alike on different persons. On the field of battle I have noticed a striking difference in the effect upon different men. This was exemplified at the commencement and during the American Revolution. The machinery that was put in motion was composed of wheels from the smallest to the largest and springs of every elasticity. To rouse the people to a becoming sense of their injured rights and induce them to rise in the majesty of their might and vindicate them, was the first business of the ill.u.s.trious patriots who boldly achieved our Independence. To effect this all the varied forms of eloquence were necessary--the rushing torrent of logic that overwhelms--the keen sarcasm that withers and the mild and winning persuasion that loads.

The latter talent was the forte of Matthew Thornton born in Ireland in 1714 and came to this country with his father in 1717 who settled at Wisca.s.set in Maine. This son received a good academical education and was greatly admired for industry, correct deportment and blandness of manners. After completing his course at school he commenced the study of medicine with Dr. Grant of Leicester, Ma.s.s. He made rapid progress in the acquisition of that important department of science and gave great promise of future usefulness. When he finished his course he commenced practice in Londonderry, N. H. which was princ.i.p.ally settled by people from his native country. He soon acquired a lucrative business and the confidence of his numerous patrons. In the expedition against Cape Breton, then belonging to the French, he was appointed surgeon to the New Hampshire division of the army and performed his duty with great skill and credit.

He was an early and prominent advocate of American rights--a bold and uniform opposer of British usurpations. He had a great opportunity to disseminate liberal principles among the people and most effectually improved it. When the revolutionary storm burst upon the Colonies he had command of a regiment. He had filled various important offices which had made him widely and favorably known. His urbanity of manners, sincerity of purpose and uncommon powers of persuasion gave him great influence in private intercourse and public a.s.semblies.

He was President of the first convention of New Hampshire after the expulsion of kingly government. At the commencement of the Revolution the people of that province did not form into line with the patriots but Dr. Thornton and other kindred spirits soon brought them into the rank and file of opposition to the invading foe and banished from them all fugitive fear. In 1774 they sent delegates to Congress and came n.o.bly up to the work. In December of that year several members of the committee of safety in the town of Portsmouth entered the fort and carried off one hundred barrels of gun powder before the governor could rally crownites to prevent them. Great Britain had prohibited the exportation of this article to the Colonies.

Soon after the flight of Gov. Wentworth upon being apprised of the battle of Lexington, an address was prepared and published by a provincial committee over the signature of Matthew Thornton President.

To the young reader this may seem not important unless informed that it was evidence to convict him of high treason and consign him to the gallows had he fallen into the hands of the British. The address was written in strong and bold language. Sample--"You must all be sensible that the affairs of America have come to an affecting crisis. The horrors and distresses of a civil war which of late we only had in contemplation, we now find ourselves obliged to realize. Painful, beyond expression, have been those scenes of blood and devastation which the barbarous cruelties of British troops have placed before our eyes. Duty to G.o.d, to ourselves, to posterity--enforced by the cries of slaughtered innocents, have urged us to take up arms in our own defence. Such a day as this was never before known either to us or our fathers. We would therefore recommend to the Colony at large to cultivate that Christian union, harmony and tender affection which const.i.tute the only foundation upon which our invaluable privileges can rest with any security or our public measures be pursued with the least prospect of success."

On the 10th of January 1776, Dr. Thornton was appointed a judge of the Superior Court of New Hampshire. On the 12th of September of the same year he was elected to the Continental Congress and when he took his seat, affixed his name to the Declaration of Independence. It may be supposed by many that those who signed this instrument, so often referred to, were all present on the memorable 4th of July when it was adopted. This was not the case. Messrs. Franklin, Rush, Clymer, Wilson, Ross, Carroll, Taylor and others, as in the case of Dr. Thornton, were not members on that day. Finding the measure would probably be sanctioned by a majority, fear seized several members who resigned their seats and run for dear life. Let their names rest in oblivion. The name of Thomas McKean is not upon the printed records although he was present and signed the Declaration at the time of its adoption. Henry Wisner a member from Orange County, New York, was present and signed the original ma.n.u.script whose name has never been properly recognized. He was a highly respectable member and a fearless patriot. How these errors occurred cannot now be told.

Dr. Thornton ably discharged the important duties of his station until his services were required upon the Bench. On the 24th of December of the same year he was re-elected to Congress and served until the 23d of January following, when he took his final leave of the National Legislature highly esteemed by his colleagues, enjoying the approval of his const.i.tuents and the proud consciousness of having performed his duty toward his country and his G.o.d.

For six years he served on the Bench of the Superior Court and on that of Chief Justice of the Common Pleas, the combined duties rendering his services arduous. He filled these stations with dignity and impartiality. In 1779 he removed to Exeter and soon after purchased a farm upon the bank of the Merrimack river that he might enjoy that repose his advanced age required. But in this he was disappointed. He became a member of the General Court and served in the State Senate from that time up to 1785. On the 25th of January 1784 he was appointed a justice of the peace and quorum throughout the state, an important office under the original const.i.tution but abridged in jurisdiction by amendments in 1792. In 1785 he retired from the political arena but continued to afford salutary counsel on all important matters involving the public good. During the controversy between his state and Vermont relative to disputed territory, he wrote several letters to those in power urging conciliatory measures and unconditional submission to the decision of Congress. They were highly creditable to him as a writer and a discreet man. In public or private matters he was a peace maker.

Dr. Thornton was a large portly man over six feet in height, well proportioned with an expressive countenance lighted up with keen piercing black eyes. He was one of the most fascinating man of his time.

He was seldom known to smile but was cheerful, entertaining and instructive--in many respects similar to Dr. Franklin. His mind was stored with a rich variety of useful knowledge which rendered him an interesting companion. He sustained an unblemished private character and discharged all the social relations of life with faithfulness and fidelity. He was wisely opposed to sectarianism--belonged to no church but was devoutly pious, exemplifying primitive Christianity in all the beauty of practical development and apostolic simplicity. He was a regular attendant of public worship.

He was a kind husband, an affectionate father and a good neighbor. He was exact in collecting his dues and as exact in paying his creditors.

The poor he never pressed. If he found they were unable to pay he cancelled their account. He was kind, charitable and liberal.

He died at Newburyport, Ma.s.s. on the 24th of June 1803, whilst on a visit with his daughter. His remains were conveyed to New Hampshire and deposited near Thornton's Ferry on the bank of the Merrimack river where a neat marble slab rests over his dust with the following laconic and significant epitaph.

MATTHEW THORNTON, AN HONEST MAN.

JOSEPH B. VARNUM.

The man who despises labor and treats the working man as an inferior being--except on the eve of an election or time of war--should never be elevated to an office of honor or profit. Such men seem to forget that every article used is the result of labor. They do not realize that the working cla.s.ses are the original producers of the physical comforts they enjoy. I refer particularly to those who dig the soil, work our minerals, shape our timber--manufacture our fabrics and conduct our commerce--the bone and sinew of our country who have raised it to a scale of grandeur unparalleled in point of greatness in so short a time.

By the force of labor our lands, wilderness, minerals, rivers, lakes--all have been made the means of rapidly advancing the prosperity of our expanding nation. Labor is a dignity conferred on man by his Creator--a dignity that is highly appreciated by all sensible men.

Aristocracy depreciates it to make serfs and reduce its value.

Monopolists often undervalue it to increase their sordid gains by short allowance and poor pay. Demagogues look down upon it and aim to impress the working man with their a.s.sumed fict.i.tious superiority that they may obtain his vote by a little condescending familiarity just before election. Away with all this trash and much more that might be named.

Let the laborer a.s.sume his proper dignity--know and feel that without him our country would become a barren waste--our improvements moulder in ruins--our nation rush back to original chaos. All should be employed in some laudable manner. Idleness is not sanctioned by nature, ethics, theology--Pagan or Christian philosophy--by experience or common sense.

Man was made for action--n.o.ble and G.o.d-like action. Working men of America! on you depends the onward and upward course of these United States. On you rests the high responsibility of perpetuating our glorious Union. You have the votes--if you think, judge and act with intelligence and independence--all will be right. If you are made the abject tools of dishonest politicians--LIBERTY is lost--FREEDOM is gone.

The Sages and Heroes of the American Revolution were actively laborious.

Most of them were from the cla.s.ses above enumerated. Washington and Jefferson thought it a respectable healthful exercise to work on their plantations. Among those who did not despise labor and highly appreciated the working man--was Joseph B. Varnum, born in Dracut, Ma.s.sachusetts, in 1750. He was raised upon a farm and left his plough to do battle for his bleeding country. He had acquired a good English education--had studied men and things thoroughly--understood the rights of the Colonies and strongly felt the wrongs imposed upon them by mother Britain. He promptly rendered his best services to advance the cause of human rights. He became an active military man and filled various posts--up to Major General of militia. He was long conspicuous in the political field. He warmly approved of the Declaration of Independence and every measure calculated to advance the cause of Liberty and drive from our sh.o.r.es the last vestige of British power. He was also a zealous advocate for the adoption of the Federal Const.i.tution and a member of the Ma.s.sachusetts Convention that sanctioned it. "Federalist" was first applied to those who were warmly in favor of this sacred instrument--"Democrat" to the opposite party. Those who understand the doctrines of the various governments can comprehend the terms.

Gen. Varnum was repeatedly elected to the legislature of Ma.s.sachusetts.

He was long a member of the House of Representatives and Senate of the United States and speaker of the lower house at a time when the storm of party spirit increased to a tornado and threatened to dash the ship of state upon the rocks of dissolution. Under all circ.u.mstances he was calm, collected, impartial, just and independent. Nothing could induce him to swerve from the stern path of strict integrity. Party spirit had no charms or terrors for him. The good of his whole country he aimed to promote regardless of personal consequences. Beyond or short of that he had no favors to ask or grant. Would to G.o.d that all our public men were of the same stamp at the present day.

After filling the measure of his country's glory, Gen. Varnum retired from public life to his paternal mansion in Dracut to enjoy the refreshing comforts of domestic life. There he glided peacefully down the stream of time until the 11th of September 1821 when he was taken suddenly ill and became fully sensible he must enter upon the untried scenes of eternity in a few hours. He called his family around him--arranged his earthly concerns--directed that no military display should be made at his funeral--that it should be conducted without vain pomp--appointed his pall-bearers and slumbered in death. Not a stain rests on the fair escutcheon of his public or private character.

GEORGE WALTON.

In this enlightened age and in our free country, ignorance is a voluntary misfortune arising from idleness--the parent of want, vice and shame. Under the benevolent arrangements of the present day every child, youth, woman and man can have access to books and generally to schools.

At no former age of the world has the mantle of education been so widely spread. All who will may drink at the pure fountain of intelligence and walk in the light. They may obtain that knowledge which will lead them to the green pastures of virtue--the parent of earthly happiness and heavenly joys. By a proper improvement of time the plough boys of the field--the mill boys of the slashes and the apprentice boys of the shops may lay in a stock of useful information that will enable them to take a respectable stand by the side of those who know more of colleges but less of men and things. Instances of this kind have occurred and I trust will be rapidly increased. Youth and young men of America--in your own hands are the materials of future fame and usefulness. Neglect to properly improve them, oblivial obscurity or withering infamy will be your fate. You are the architects of your own fortunes. You will rise in the scale of respectability and importance just in proportion to the correct culture of your mental powers. Your immortal minds cannot be dormant. If you do not sow the seeds of wisdom noxious weeds will grow spontaneously and leave you to reap the whirlwind of keen regret and consuming anguish. Youth and young men of America--if you desire the perpetuity of that Liberty purchased by the blood and treasure of your ancestors--store your minds with useful knowledge. If you love a Republic more than monarchy, freedom more than slavery, religious liberty more than hierarchy--store your minds with useful knowledge.

Imitate the bright examples of those whose history is spread upon the pages of this book who raised themselves to usefulness, fame and glory by the force of their own exertions.

In the history of George Walton another striking instance of this kind is beautifully ill.u.s.trated. He was born in Frederic County, Virginia, in 1740. Without any school education he was apprenticed to a morose carpenter at an early age, who was too penurious to allow George a candle to read by although an unusually active and faithful boy.

Fortunately pine knots were plenty and free. By the light of these he prosecuted his studies during his boyhood and youth. He fulfilled his indentures to the letter. When manhood dawned upon him he was free in person and mind. He had acc.u.mulated a rich stock of useful knowledge to what purpose the sequel will show. This he had acquired alone by untiring industry during those hours of night when a large proportion of boys and youth are either reposing in the embrace of Morpheus or hastening on their ruin by a.s.sociating with corrupt and vicious companions--demonstrating most clearly that ignorance is a voluntary misfortune--that man is the architect of his own character.