Reminiscences of Sixty Years in Public Affairs, Vol. 1 | Page 9

who was there at
work. We lodged that night at the house of Madam Coffin. She was
then already old in my sight. She seemed pleased with my father's visit,
and the impression left upon my mind is that we were entertained with
marked consideration. My father had managed her farm for about five
years from 1809 to 1814, when he volunteered for service in the army,
and for ninety days he was on the island then known as Fort Warren.
The next morning we reached Boston and stationed our wagon at the
northwest corner of Quincy Market, where we sold our poultry. During
the day my father had occasion to go to the store of Joseph Mead, at the
corner of Lyman Place, and I was left in charge of the wagon. I had the
fortune to sell some of the poultry. My father thought that the proceeds
in money did not equal the decrease in stock, and so it proved--for the
next Sunday morning when I dressed for meeting I found a two dollar
bill in my trousers' pocket.
That night we spent with Captain Hyde, at Newton Corner. During the

first year of my father's married life he had carried on a farm on the
opposite side of the highway, and it was from Captain Hyde that he
obtained his knowledge of budding and grafting, and some knowledge
of the art of gardening. They always continued friends; Captain Hyde
came to my father's, in after years, and supplied our farm with the best
varieties of cherry, peach and apple trees.
The day following we went to Brighton where my father purchased the
remnant of a drove of cattle that had been driven from the State of
Maine--twenty-four in number. Of these nine were oxen and the rest
were young animals between two and four years of age, and all were
bought for the sum of two hundred and fifty dollars. My father was
then the overseer of the almshouse, and the purchase was primarily for
that establishment, but some of the animals were sold to the neighbors.
The result of the purchase was to me a short experience as a drover.
As I recollect the experiences of my life on my father's farm, there were
many amusements and relaxations mingled with the hardships. In the
winter the house was cold, with only open fires for warming rooms. We
had, however, an abundance of wood, and in the evenings a supply of
cider, apples and nuts for ourselves and for the neighbors. There were
always one or two poor families in the neighborhood who enjoyed the
moderate comforts of our house. I recall one man, who after a visit
would stop at the pile of wood, near the house, and carry a backload to
his home. My father often saw the stealing, but the culprit never knew
from any word or act that he had been discovered or suspected.
The ponds and brooks in the vicinity gave us a chance for fishing, and
there was some shooting, especially of pigeons in the autumn. The oak
forests had not then fallen, and the pigeons were abundant in
September and until there were heavy night frosts, when they would
leave for milder regions. For several years my father baited pigeons,
and caught them in a net. To do this we were in the bough-house by
daylight. A wicked advantage was taken by soaking the grain in
anise-seed cordial, which made the birds noisy and active, thus
attracting other pigeons to the stand. The device of taking pigeons in a
net and wringing their necks is a brutal business, as is all slaughtering

of animals.
From 1820 to 1830 religious controversies were violent and universal.
No one of the towns in Massachusetts was free from them. Under the
colonial system each town was a religious corporation as well as a
political one. There was one church and one meetinghouse in each
town, and the parochial expenses were paid from the municipal
revenues. In 1780 when the constitution was adopted, some progress
had been made, but by the Third Article of the Bill of Rights, every
citizen was required to be a member of some religious society. As a
result, new societies were formed, and in many instances there were so
organized and managed as to avoid expenses. About the same time
attacks were made upon the Third Article of the Bill of Rights, and
after an excited controversy covering many years, the constitution was
changed in that respect, by an amendment in the nature of a substitute,
which was adopted by the people at an election held in the month of
November, 1833. By that amendment each citizen was authorized to
file a certificate of non-membership with the clerk of the society of