Governors Academy - Milestone Yearbook (Byfield, MA)

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-' ,I . ' V , L , A , V . V 4 . 'I A 'fx' 4. I H 01 it R xr jg- x , Q 7 ., ,ni 1 ' . Xi r' I' tm., V : , ..'- 'Ta , 703 . , , .. -' ' ,- ' ' l 94,5 ci. V .. , , ,M - . - Ni . ...W ' , ' , f-I., . ' - - ..-, Samuel Phillips e-A Public Servant It is interesting and inspiring in these days, when we seem to meet graft and cor- ruption, selfishness and greed at every turn, to contemplate the lives of some of those men who shaped our nation and its institutions in the early days before an industrial age and a decline in the old Puritan virtues began to warp values and cheapen motives. A glance at the record of the Dummer family, or a study of the roster of this School during the regime of hir. Moody ' furnishes examples enough of those giants who were to spend their whole lives and energies in the public and national service. lf some of these men-King, Parsons, Sewall, Wentworth-had the public spirit to a remarkable degree, certainly none of them was more passionately devoted to the wel- fare of his fellows than Samuel Phillips of .-Xndover. He was at once a leader of great in- fiuence in Nlassachusetts politics during and after the Revolution, a business man who managed two stores, a saw mill and grist mill, and manufactured paper and powder, as well as the founder and benefactor of a great school. The year of the famous Stamp .-Xct, 1765, found Samuel Phillips, liisquire, taking his son, the only survivor of seven children, to Dummer School at Byfield, as it was the only institution ofits kind in the country and seemed to afford the best opportunity for a boy who had a natural taste for learning. Samuel Jr. was an ex- tremely frail youngster, and his weakness frequently interrupted his work. He wrote his mother in june ofhis first year, Mr, Moody. . .thinks that it is very nec- essary that I should have a horse here, considering my health, and the heat of the season. The exercise he derived from riding evidently helped him, and though he was never strong, he was able in later years to commute'i by horseback between Boston and .-Xndover. Despite his physical difficulties, he worked faithfully and graduated two years later to enter Harvard, not with his credits duly counted and accepted, but with a habit ofapplication and order, and with a high sense of moral feeling and love of learning. He was now fifteen. Before his graduation from Harvard in 1771 he had caught the spark of liberty, and when the time came for action, he became a patriotic leader first in Andover and then in ijjg at the Provincial Congress at YYatertown'. Samuel was later a member lr its ' ,i,ifas..Q fs. - 1 'fe f--fr' t-Q Q 1' :iss few .s 12

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3 1 ' -1. .514 hail '1 . ..-af-. Shortly after the death of his father, who was a merchant and loyalist of Boston, David was sent to Byfield to complete his education. Here in study hours he must have mumbled his Latin aloud with many who were destined to build the American Republic. But the British Empire called him, for the Ochterlonys were loyal, and with the outbreak of the Revolution young David set out for India. Not long after his arrival he became a Cadet. His steady rise from this rank to that of Major-General is testimony enough to his military ability. Latin at Byfield might not seem to us a fit training for lancing in Bengal,yet the discipline and logicof his work with Samuel Moody must have left its mark, for he was noted also for that sound judgment necessary for high command. ln 1805, in the capacity ofl.ieutenant- Colonel, he was so instrumental in the famous capture of Delhi that General l.ake expressed the greatest regret that he would have to leave him there as Resident. But in this ofiice his diplomatic qualifications were found to be no less remarkable than his military. His tact and understanding made him very successful in keeping the native princes loyal to their British conquerors and protectors, and in all this he was one of the few who rose from obscurity to eminence who passed unspoiled through the perilous trial of sudden prosperity and irresponsible power. After his campaign of 1816 in Nepal he distinguished himself in a war against the Mahratta tribes. Shortly after this he was again British Resident near Delhi. In the last year of his life, 1815, occurred a trying episode. Cpon the death ofthe Rajah in one of his provinces, a native prince threatened to usurp the throne il- legally. Sir David, considering this an insult to British authority, at once ordered military operations against him. The Governor-General back in Calcutta, l.ord Am- herst, looked at the matter differently. Because of the rainy season and his perilous position in Burma, the Governor was reluctant to approve Sir David's action. Orders were countermanded, but Ochterlony took the opportunity to tell his chief exactly what he thought of a timid policy. Although he had acted without authority, he felt that his experience should have been trusted and that it was ridiculous to put of-'fthe avenging of an insult because of the weather. Wisely, he submitted his resignation, and to his chagrin it was accepted. Two months later he died of a broken heart. The interest in this incident is not in the question as to whether his decision was more culpable than Amherst's doubt. The interest lies in the fact that, despite this episode, the Fast India Company was not indifferent to his merits. The citation issued on his death bears witness: The confidence which the government reposed in an individual gifted with such rare endowments was evinced by the high and responsible situations which he successively filled, and the duties of which he discharged with eminent ability and advantage to the public interest. As a demonstration of sorrow, Amherst ordered that minute guns, to the number of 68 lhis agej be fired this evening from the ram- parts of Ft. William. It is interesting to find that he was praised not only for his performance of duty, but also for his admirably vigorous intellect and consummate address. Shades of Master Moody's teaching! On a monument to him near Calcutta is the inscription: He was educated in Dummer Academy in the State of Massachusetts. I 'A is 4 . .ik ' II

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X-Q 'Wf- rvoe, A-. of the Massachusetts Constitutional Convention, a Justice in Essex County fhe was afterwards usually referred to as Judge J, and a State Senator. In 1775, when Washington had taken command of the Boston forces, we find a typical instance of Phillips' energy and generosity. From the very beginning the Colonists had been hampered by the scarcity of powder. General Israel Putnam had put the problem in a nutshell with his cry, Powder, powder, ye gods, give us pow- der! The first definite move to provide this necessity was made by Samuel Phillips, who decided to build a powder mill at his own expense. At once, on the approval of the local Congress, construction was begun at Andover, and while Samuel himself was helping with a pick and shovel, his former schoolmate at Byfield, liiliphalet Pearson, was feverishly taxing a necessarily crude knowledge of chemistry to de- velop a satisfactory reaction with his pans of sulphur and saltpeter. VVithin a few months the mill was supplying powder to the colonial forces. After the Revolution Judge Phillips continued his political career in the State Senate and in 1785 was chosen its President. In 1801 he was elected Lieutenant- Governor, but had served only a year before failing health caused his death. If we are amazed at his many-sided activities in both business and politics, we must not forget that his most enduring achievement was the founding of Phillips Academy. This is the more amazing not only because he was but twenty-six years old when his idea became a reality, but also because it took shape during the Revo- lution, when he was toiling with his many pressing business and political interests. A month or so after Washington had left his winter camp at Valley Forge in 1778, the Phillips School opened the doors of a joiner's shop to thirteen pupils. The money necessary was put up by Samuel's father and his uncle John, who was soon after to found Phillips Exeter Academy. Samuel, however, contributed more to the School than the idea and the energy, for in persuading his father to give a large sum of money he was cutting off his own inheritance. He also wrote himself its constitu- tion, which was so complete, so sound, and so flexible that to this day it has re- mained unchanged, the foundation of what is now a great national institution. Both Phillips and Pearson Chis first principalj must have developed their ideas on education early. Since both men were pupils of Mr. Moody, it has been claimed that Phillips Academy owes everything to Governor Dummer. This however, can hardly be defended. In the first place, Samuells home environment naturally con- tributed much more toward his character and his love of learning than did his two years with Master Moody. Then too, we are told that Phillips was not entirely in sympathy with his teacher's strictly classical course and with the democratic nature of the School. lfwe were to trace the influence of this School upon Phillips Academy, it would be found to come rather through Pearson, for it was he who dissuaded Samuel from changing the usual curriculum and the democratic entrance requirements in his School. The new academy at Andover thus had this School as its only model, but hardly owes its founding to it. At any rate, the name of Samuel Phillips, for his vision in this enterprise and his devotion to the public service, will remain one of the most respected in the annals ofGovernor Dummer Academy. L. . .,-.1-A ff, ... Y 1 13 ,J -,, Vig- L ,5-