Champlain valley many to fill positions of responsibility in the
state and nation, of whom only the following few need be mentioned,
viz., Loyal L. Smith the philanthropist, Hon. John H. Converse,
President of the Baldwin Locomotive Works, Thomas Waterman Wood,
President of the National Academy of Design in 1891, Hon. Stephen
A. Walker, at one time Commissioner of the Board of Education of
the State of New York, Hon. Darwin P. Kingsley, President of the
New York Life Insurance Company, the late Dr. Abel Mix Phelps, the
orthopedic surgeon, Henry H. Vail, publisher of school books, Samuel
Sheldon, expert in electric science, Charles F. Longworth, expert in
food products, Augustus Torrey, chief engineer of M. C. R. R., Rt.
Rev. Bishop Edgar P. Wadhams of Ogdensburg, Rev. Byron Sunderland
of Washington, D. C., the late Rev. Constans Liberty Goodell, D. D.
of St. Louis, Mo., Rev. George F. Herrick, D. D., author of many
Biblical works, located in Constantinople, Rev. George F. Hunting,
D. D., President of Alma College, author of many papers and poems,
Rev. George B. Spalding, President William Nelson Ferrin of Pacific
University, Prof. Warren H. Landon, the late Prof. Walter E. Howard,
Prof. John Dewey of Columbia University, Prof. Davis R. Dewey of
Boston, Prof. Frank E. Woodruff of Bowdoin College, the Hon. Edwin
Ferry Johnson, civil engineer and educator, James R. Chapman, General
Manager of the Metropolitan District Electric Traction Company of
London, England, Charles A. Catlin, expert in chemistry, and others.
Among the prominent educators of the Champlain valley have been
Presidents James Marsh, Joseph Torrey and Matthew H. Buckham, all
of the University of Vermont; Presidents Benjamin Larabee, Ezra
Brainerd and John M. Thomas, all of Middlebury College, Captain
John Alden Patridge, and Presidents Allen Danvers Brown and Charles
Horace Spooner, all of Norwich University. These were and are
representatives of the higher culture of its educational institutions.
There have also been many noted and learned professors, filling their
respective chairs in these educational institutions since their
foundation, with distinction. These institutions have maintained
educational standards so high that they have exerted a marked
influence on the culture and refinement of people residing in and
outside of the valley. Other educational institutions have also made
their influence felt on students coming from the Champlain valley,
as well as on their graduates returning to it, thereby contributing
materially to the intellectual uplift of the people of the territory.
All this is evidenced by the large number of liberally educated men
and women who have gone forth to fill civic, technical, professional,
political and other positions with marked ability, in various parts
of the country.
Representatives of the Champlain valley are found in the Army, the
Navy and in all departments of the national Government, as well as in
the various state governments. They will also be found in the learned
professions, in commercial, technical, engineering, mechanical and
electrical pursuits, and are thus spreading abroad the professional,
technical and general information, which they have received in the
institutions of the Champlain valley and in the institutions outside
of the Champlain valley, which they attended.
If space permitted, it might be of interest to submit a bibliography
of the works of the authors, who have at various times lived in the
Champlain valley. A few only need be cited to show their character
and scope.
In addition to his services as a civilian and a Major-General of the
State Militia, Ira Allen wrote the “National and Political History of
the State of Vermont,” and many state papers, wherein were treated
matters in controversy between the State of New York and the people
under the New Hampshire grants.
The state papers of Governor George Clinton of New York, and
Governor Thomas Chittenden of Vermont, in relation to matters in
dispute between New York and Vermont, and the correspondence between
Nathaniel Chipman and Alexander Hamilton in relation to the boundary
dispute, and the speech of Alexander Hamilton before a committee of
the Assembly in relation to the same matter, and the controversy as
to the boundary line between the two states, and other matters of
interest to both commonwealths, form a most important chapter in the
early history of the two states, and are contained in the Documentary
History of New York and the publications of the Vermont Historical
Society.
As an evidence of the intellectual and moral culture of the people
of the Champlain valley, attention is called to the writings of
James Marsh, President of the University of Vermont, including his
Preliminary Essay to Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s “Aids to Reflection.”
Dr. Joseph Torrey, President of the University of Vermont, read an
important paper on “The Discovery and Occupation of Lake Champlain,”
before the Vermont Historical Society, on October 16, 1860, and he
also wrote a work, which had an extensive sale, known as “A Theory
of Fine Art,” but he is widely known as the translator of Neander’s
“General History of the Christian Religion and Church.”
The works of George P. Marsh, for many years United States Minister
to Turkey and Italy, include “Lectures on the English Language,”
published in 1861, “The Origin and History of the English Language,”
published in 1862, “The Earth as Modified by Human Action,” published
in 1874, some of which were standard treatises.
Judge Edmund Hatch Bennett was the author of an edition of the works
of Judge Joseph Story and also of an hundred volumes of law reports.
Rev. William G. T. Shedd, lecturer at the University of Vermont, was
a prolific writer on historical, philosophical and literary subjects,
and his works became standard authorities on the subjects treated.
Thomas Jefferson Conant of Middlebury, born at Brandon, Vt., and a
graduate of Middlebury College, was the author of various Biblical
works, and a member of the American Bible Revision Committee.
Rev. John B. Wentworth, D. D., was the author of “The Logic of
Introspection,” and “The Philosophy of Methodism.”
Rev. George N. Boardman, graduate of Middlebury College, was the
author of the “History of New England Theology.”
Samuel Ward Boardman, of Middlebury College, was the author of
“Arbitration” and other works.
Rev. Charles Marsh Mead, a graduate of Middlebury College, was the
author of several works, and a member of the American Bible Revision
Committee.
Prof. John E. Goodrich, D. D., of the University of Vermont, is the
author of several historical papers, including a volume entitled
“Vermont Revolutionary Rolls,” and parts of the Standard Dictionary
and other publications.
Col. George Grenville Benedict of Burlington, President of the
Vermont Historical Society, was the author of “Vermont in the Civil
War” in two volumes, and “Vermont at Gettysburg,” and “Army Life in
Virginia.”
Prof. George H. Perkins of the University of Vermont is the author
of several works and reports on the Geology of Vermont and the
archaeology of the Lake Champlain region.
Prof. Brainard Kellogg, formerly of Middlebury College, is the author
of several school and college text books.
A recent work is “Three Centuries in Champlain Valley,” by Mrs.
George Fuller Tuttle of Plattsburgh, Regent of Saranac Chapter,
Daughters of American Revolution.
Several works have heretofore been cited in this report relating to
the history of Lake Champlain, by persons residing in the valley
and deeply interested in its history. All these will be carefully
examined by students and writers of the events occurring in the
Champlain valley.
Among the poets of the valley is John G. Saxe, born at Highgate, Vt.,
June 2, 1816, a graduate of Middlebury College in 1839. It has been
said of him that he was second only to Dr. Holmes as a humorist.
Lucretia Maria Davidson of Plattsburgh, a promising poetess, died at
an early age, in 1825.
For many years Julia Ward Howe, born in New York, resided in Rutland
county, and wrote poetry. Her principal poem is the “Battle Hymn of
the Republic.”
Rev. Orville G. Wheeler, born at Charlotte, Vt., resided in Grand
Isle county, and wrote poems occasionally, the principal one of which
is his Semi-Centennial Poem of the University of Vermont, read in
1854.
Daniel L. Cady, L.H.D., a graduate of the University of Vermont in
the class of 1886, was the poet at the Tercentenary Exercises at
Plattsburgh, and his poem entitled “Champlain and Lake Champlain” is
an Epic of the Champlain valley.
Prof. Davis R. Dewey is the author of a work and several papers on
Economics and kindred subjects, and has done much in that field of
political science.
Prof. John Dewey is the author of one or more works on Psychology,
and is one of the leading authorities in this country on
philosophical subjects.
Rev. George F. Wright, D. D., born in Whitehall, is the author of
many works, including the annual publications known as “Records of
the Past.” He is also the author of “Logic of Christian Evidences,”
and works on geological and archæological subjects.
Rev. Joseph Cook, born at Ticonderoga in 1838, after pursuing his
studies in American and German universities, delivered several
courses of lectures in Boston, New York and elsewhere, on current
topics and on such subjects as “Transcendentalism,” “Orthodoxy,”
etc., with such clearness and force as to arouse deep interest in
them, notwithstanding their abstruseness. His lectures were published
in book form and widely read. His noted “Centennial Address” at
Ticonderoga on July 25, 1864, is a valuable contribution to the
history of Lake Champlain, in which he took a deep interest. In
some respects he was one of the best informed living writers on the
subject at the time of his death.
The Hon. Lucius E. Chittenden, born in Williston, Vt., May 24, 1824,
who became Register of the United States Treasury under President
Lincoln, collected a valuable library relating to the history
of Lake Champlain, and delivered the annual address before the
Vermont Historical Society on October 8, 1872, on the “Capture of
Ticonderoga.” He is also the author of “Recollections of President
Lincoln and his Administration,” and other works.
Henry W. Hill, President of the Buffalo Historical Society, a
native of Isle La Motte, Vt., one of the first points visited
by Samuel Champlain in the valley, is the author of “Waterways
and Canal Construction in New York State,” of “The Development
of Constitutional Law in the State of New York,” the framer of
several constitutional provisions of New York, a contributor to the
Bibliophile edition of the works of Horace, the author of several
articles in encyclopaedias and the compiler and editor of the Reports
of the New York Lake Champlain Tercentenary Commission.
Hon. Robert Roberts of Burlington, Vermont, is the author of the
valuable Digest of the Vermont Reports.
Charles W. Baker is the author of “Monopolies and the People” and
editor of the _Engineering News_, New York City.
Moses Nelson Baker is the author of books, papers and numerous
articles on engineering, sanitation, and economic subjects, and
associate editor of the _Engineering News_, New York City.
Kirby Flower Smith, Ph.D., a native of Rutland county, Vermont, a
graduate of the University of Vermont in 1884, is the Dean of the
Latin Faculty of Johns Hopkins University and is the author of
several articles, books and papers on various phases of the Latin
language and the literature of the Romans. He is one of the leading
authorities of America in this domain of classical literature.
Henry Norman Hudson of Cornwall, Vt., a graduate of Middlebury
college, was one of the principal Shakspearian scholars in the United
States at the time of his death in 1886.
One of the more recent contributors to the literature of the
Champlain region was the late Robert O. Bascom of Fort Edward.
A bibliography of his papers may be found in the New York State
Historical Association Publications, vol. 10, p. 301.
Frederick B. Richards, Secretary of the New York State Historical
Association, Hon. James A. Holden, State Historian, Victor Hugo
Paltsits, former State Historian, Dr. George F. Bixby, Dr. William
A. E. Cummings, President of the Ticonderoga Historical Society,
and others, have contributed valuable papers in recent years on
different phases of the History of Lake Champlain, some of which have
been included in the publications of the New York State Historical
Association.
James Buckham, son of President Matthew H. Buckham, the essayist and
poet, whose writings possess a charm and purity of diction not unlike
those of Matthew Arnold.
Prof. James R. Wheeler, Ph.D., of Columbia University, one of the
leading authorities in this country on the Greek language, archæology
and art.
Bert Hodge Hill, Ph.D., of Bristol, Vt., is Director of American
School of Classical Studies at Athens, Greece.
Rev. Earl M. Wilbur, a graduate of the University of Vermont, is Dean
of the Pacific Unitarian School at Berkeley, Cal.
These are a few of the native authors and writers of the Champlain
valley, and the list might be extended, if space permitted.
Others might be cited, but the foregoing will suffice to show the
trend of thought in the Champlain valley and that it has been quite
as productive of men of noble culture as any other part of the
country. This may have been lost sight of in the attention given
to its more spectacular and thrilling military and naval history.
But for a century past, the amenities of peace and the fruition of
high ideals have accelerated its intellectual and moral uplift and
contributed to that general culture which has long prevailed in the
Champlain valley.
Its residents are for the most part well-trained, thoughtful,
cultured people. They thoroughly appreciated the Tercentenary
exercises, as well as the dedicatory ceremonies. The social as well
as the atmospheric conditions there are wholesome and invigorating,
consequently it is fast becoming the resort during the summer months
of the people from the metropolis and other cities, seeking rest and
recreation under conditions that are healthful and inspiring. The
Tercentenary celebration brought its advantages to the attention of a
large portion of our population, who may find in the Champlain valley
such resorts as they need for health and pleasure.
[Illustration: NEW YORK COMMISSIONERS
HENRY W. HILL
WALTER C. WITHERBEE
H. WALLACE KNAPP
JAMES J. FRAWLEY
JAMES A. FOLEY]
[Illustration: NEW YORK COMMISSIONERS
JOHN B. RILEY
LOUIS C. LAFONTAINE
HOWLAND PELL
JOHN H. BOOTH
JAMES SHEA
WILLIAM R. WEAVER]
V. CONCLUSION OF THE WORK OF THE NEW YORK LAKE CHAMPLAIN TERCENTENARY
COMMISSION
The work of the Commission was done largely through committees
after a presentation and consideration of such problems as arose
under instructions adopted at formal sessions of the Commission
from time to time with reference to the conduct of the celebration
and the construction of memorials. The Commission held upwards of
thirty-seven formal sessions and the results may be seen in the work
accomplished. From the first it was the purpose of the Commission to
organize and carry to a successful conclusion such a celebration as
would be in keeping with the dignity of the state and true to the
historical events to be commemorated. The members of the Commission
fully appreciate their limitations in undertaking to present in
outline the history of the Champlain valley in the form necessarily
pursued in the Tercentenary Celebration, which President Taft
humorously characterized as a “traveling show,” but there was no
other way suggested or that occurred to members of the Commission,
whereby that could be done and any adequate presentation of the
tragic events following the discovery of the lake could be made, than
that adopted by the Commission.
Though there may not have been given “the substance,” the members
trust that they may not have failed to so present its essentials
as to enable many to behold something of what Professor William
M. Sloane denominates “the vision of history,” as unfolded in the
Champlain valley.
ACTIVITIES OF THE TERCENTENARY COMMISSIONERS
The multifarious duties, devolving upon the members of Lake Champlain
Tercentenary Commission during the period of five years of its
existence, and involving activities of a wide range and great detail,
may never be fully appreciated nor even fully understood. The members
of the Commission were business and professional men actively
engaged, but they were so deeply interested in the celebration, that
they left nothing undone to ensure its success. Senator James J.
Frawley was chairman of the Finance Committee of the Senate from
1911 and also a member of another State Commission, Senator James
A. Foley, who was a member of Preliminary Champlain Commission,
took a deep interest in the project from its inception, Senator H.
Wallace Knapp, chairman, Hon. Walter C. Witherbee, treasurer, Hon.
Howland Pell, whose family has done much to restore Ft. Ticonderoga,
Hon. Louis C. Lafontaine, Judges John B. Riley and John H. Booth
and Hon. James Shea, and Hon. William R. Weaver, all freely gave
their services and as much of their time as they were able to the
Tercentenary celebration.
At the final meeting of the New York Lake Champlain Tercentenary
Commission a resolution was adopted expressing the appreciation
of its members to its secretary, Henry W. Hill, for his long and
unrequited services in preparing the comprehensive, historical and
scholarly First and Final Reports of the Commission, which possess
a literary finish and a perfection in every detail worthy the
commemorative Tercentenary celebration and the bi-state, national and
international functions involved.
In presenting their Final Report to the Legislature, the Tercentenary
Commissioners avail themselves of this opportunity to make it
a matter of record that they have had the support and active
co-operation of the several Governors and successive Legislatures of
the state in office during the life of the Commission in carrying
to a successful conclusion the celebration and in the construction
and dedication of the two permanent memorials to Samuel Champlain,
the first white man to set foot on the soil of what is now within
the confines of the state. The Government of the United States
invited and, out of an appropriation made by it for that purpose,
entertained the foreign guests. The state of Vermont contributed
its proportionate share of the general expenses and of the cost of
the joint memorial at Crown Point forts. The state of New York paid
its proportionate share of the general expenses and of the cost of
the joint memorial at Crown Point forts and the entire cost of the
Champlain memorial at Plattsburgh and the Commission has turned a
small balance back into the State Treasury, as will appear from the
Financial Statement in the Appendix of this Final Report.
Appendix
I. REPORT OF HOUSE COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS
Sixtieth Congress, Second Session. House of Representatives. Report
No. 2169
TERCENTENARY CELEBRATION OF DISCOVERY OF LAKE CHAMPLAIN
February 15, 1909—Referred to the House Calendar and ordered to be
printed.
Mr. Foster, of Vermont, from the Committee on Foreign Affairs,
submitted the following report.
[To accompany H. J. Res. 257.]
The committee on Foreign Affairs, to whom was referred House
joint resolution 257, submit the following report [taken from the
joint memorial presented to Congress by the New York and Vermont
Tercentenary Commissions in January 1909.]
In the month of November, 1906, a joint resolution for the
appointment of a commission for the celebration of the three
hundredth anniversary of the discovery of Lake Champlain was adopted
by the senate and house of representatives of the State of Vermont,
containing the recital that—
Whereas, The discovery of Lake Champlain was an event in history
fully as important as many others that have been recognized by
various states as well as by the National Government; and
Whereas, The three hundredth anniversary of such discovery will
occur on July 4, 1909, it is hereby
_Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives_, That this
event should be observed in a fitting manner and bring about an
observance commensurate with its importance, there is hereby
provided a commission consisting of the governor, who shall be
chairman ex-officio, and six other members to be appointed by
the governor before January 1, 1907, one of whom shall act as
secretary. Said commission is hereby empowered to adopt such
measures as in its judgment may be reasonable or necessary to
bring about the fitting observance of such event. And as the
interests of the State of New York and of the Dominion of Canada
are allied with those of Vermont in such observance, it is hereby
recommended that said commission confer with the proper authorities
of New York and Canada to ascertain what action they or either of
them will take with Vermont in making the observance of this event
successful and a credit to all, and that the commission report the
result of such efforts, together with its recommendations, to the
general assembly of 1908—
which resolution was approved by Governor Fletcher D. Proctor on
November 15, 1906; and thereafter Governor Proctor appointed as
members of such commission Walter E. Howard, of Middlebury; Horace
W. Bailey, of Newbury; R. W. McCuen, of Vergennes; Lynn M. Hays, of
Essex Junction; Walter H. Crockett, of St. Albans; M. D. McMahon,
of Burlington; and thereafter, on April 15, 1907, on motion of
Senator Henry W. Hill, of Buffalo, the senate of the State of New
York adopted the following resolution, which was concurred in by the
assembly on April 16, 1907:
WHEREAS the discovery of Lake Champlain by Samuel
Champlain on July 4, 1609, antedates the discovery by the whites of
any other portion of the territory now comprising the State of New
York, and was an event worthy of commemoration in the annals of the
State and nation; and
WHEREAS the State of Vermont in 1906 appointed a
commission, consisting of the governor of that State and six other
commissioners, to confer with commissioners to be appointed on the
part of New York and the Dominion of Canada, to ascertain what
action, if any, ought to be taken by such States and the Dominion
of Canada for the observance of such tercentenary: Therefore
_Resolved (if the Assembly concur)_, That a commission consisting
of the governor, who shall be chairman ex-officio, two citizens to
be designated by him, the lieutenant-governor, the speaker of the
assembly, two senators to be designated by the lieutenant-governor,
and two members of the assembly to be designated by the speaker, be
appointed to represent the State of New York at such conference,
with power to enter into negotiations with the commissioners
representing the State of Vermont and those representing the
Dominion of Canada for the observance of such tercentenary, and
that such commission report the results of their negotiations,
together with the recommendations thereon, to the legislature of
1908.
The New York commission appointed under the foregoing resolution
consisted of Governor Charles E. Hughes, Lieutenant-Governor Lewis
Stuyvesant Chanler, Senators Henry W. Hill, John C. R. Taylor, and
Assemblyman James W. Wadsworth, jr., speaker of the assembly, Alonson
T. Dominy, James A. Foley, and Frank S. Witherbee and John H. Booth.
That commission, together with the Vermont commission, during the
summer of 1907 made a tour of Lake Champlain, held several joint
and separate meetings, and the New York commission formulated its
report and transmitted it to the New York legislature of 1908, a copy
of which is annexed hereto, in the conclusion of which report they
recommend as follows:
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE ANNIVERSARY OF 1909.
Your commission respectfully submit the foregoing report to the
consideration of the legislature of New York. The anniversary
which we desire shall be suitably observed has great significance.
Important as it is to the student of history, it makes a wider
and stronger appeal to that large body of our citizens whose
forefathers fought in the wars of the Champlain region or were
among the pioneers who transformed it from the wilderness.
But chief of all the considerations which we urge upon your
attention is the international character of the proposed
celebration. The history of the Champlain Valley belongs to the
history of three great nations, whose cordial relations we believe
will be promoted by the suitable observance of this significant
date.
RECOMMENDATION.