Ipswich High School - Tiger Yearbook (Ipswich, MA)

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and gratitude by making the most of these opportunities ! NATHANIEL WARD AND HIS CONTRIBUTION TO THE MASSACHUSETTS OF TODAY Mary Brennan To understand Nathaniel Ward and to have a proper conception of what he contributed to the Ameri- ca of to-day we must observe him with his friends, watch him in his daily work, and glimpse his edu- cation and training. Says M. C. Tyler of Nathaniel Ward, “Perhaps no Englishman who came to Amer- ica brought with him more of the ripeness that is born not only of time and study but of distinguished early associations, extensive travel in foreign lands, and varied profes- sional experience at home.” Born in England, he graduated from Emmanuel College, Cambridge in 1613 and became a barrister in 1615. He practised law for some years but through his natural incli- nation and his friendship with Dav- id Pareus, a theologian of Heidel- berg, he entered the ministry at the age of forty and served as Rector of Standon, Massey, Essex for a short time. Very early in his career as a minister he evidenced those characteristics which later led to his excommunication from the church because he refused to conform to some of its practises. After his ex- pulsion he emigrated to America in 1634 and spent the first winter in Ipswich at the home of Governor Winthrop. The next year, having become minister of Ipswich, he built a home of his own located on the east side of the South Common, about opposite the Saltonstall resi- dence. For Nathaniel Ward the path of life was never an easy one, for his home training and education em- phasized the solid virtues which we have come to associate with the Pu- ritans. Unable to disassociate him- self from the rigorous rules of his upbringing, he condemned the “Book of Sports” and the practice of bowing at the name of “Jesus.” It was this condemnation which led to his excommunication in 1633. In reading the story of his times we find him constantly disapproving of the modes and manner of dress and constantly voicing that disapproval. We see in his refusal to conform to the common practices the evidence of his grim determination to follow the dictates of his conscience. Whether or not we agree with his actions, we must admire his tenacity of purpose in holding to his own honest opinion. Life was far from kind to Nathan- iel Ward and we see him laboring under many handicaps both mental and physical. It is no easy matter for a man of forty suddenly to change his life’s work, Yet trained for a lawyer, at forty he finally con- ceived the purpose of entering the ministry. However a short time af- terward he had to face the shame and hardships of excommunication. In another very short period his wife died and he found himself a lonely disillusioned man, faced with the necessity of raising and educat- ing two sons and a daughter. In bitter sorrowful loneliness, despair- ing of any asylum or field of useful- ness in England, in common with many of the Puritans of this time, he turned to the New World. His personal fi-iends wei e men of cul- tui ' e, refinement, and education. Among them may be numbered Sir Ei’ancis Bacon and the Aixhbishop 23

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in the three hundred years of its his- tory. And, fifty-six years ago Ips- wich did have one of the best high schools in Massachusetts. But that was fifty-six years ago. An unfor- tunate feature is that the people of Ipswich have never been wholly conscious of their responsibility to the youth of the town, feeling that the Manning Fund should take the place of legitimate taxes for the support of schools. Secondly, it does not set a very good example to the youth in the handling of sa- cred trusts. What should we have done if our high school had not been left to us by this man ? A fund to help further the edu- cation of worthy boys and girls af- ter graduation from high school was given by Roxanna Cowles. As she had been an instructor at Vassar College and a woman much inter- ested in education, she realized the value of a college education. In her will she left ten thousand dollars, called the Eunice Cowles fund, to be used to help Ipswich boys and girls of good character who had graduated from Manning High School with an average of at least 85% to continue their education. She provided that two hundred dol- lars might be given each year to each of two students who were deemed worthy of this aid. This is an excellent aid to any boy or girl ambitious to go to college and it should be an inspiration for any- one who enters high school desiring to further his education to do his school work faithfully. The Richard T. Crane, Jr. Fund is one from which all the school chil- dren and teachers in Ipswich re- ceive pleasure. Mr. Crane has giv- en a sum of money to be used each year for the purpose of giving a pic- nic at Crane’s Beach to the school children and teachers of the town. The first picnic was given on the occasion of his son’s birthday and one has been given regularly every year since. As a result anyone who goes to school in Ipswich can be as- sured of at least one picnic each year. We all realize his kindness in providing for this picnic and we all look forward to it each year as a day of enjoyment. Marianna Jones bequeathed a fund to the town of Ipswich for more general purposes. She did not specify any method of using it but left it for the town to use in any way it sees fit. The town accepted this sum of money and now draws the interest on it. If at any time the town should be in need, this en- dowment could be used if it were so voted. A fund given for a somewhat dif- ferent purpose was that given by Mrs. William G. Brown. She wished to prevent cruelty to dumb animals of which many people are guilty. Therefore, she left some money to be used to convict those on trial for cruelty to dumb animals. Although this may be a bequest for a purpose of which many people would never think, it certainly is a very humane bequest and one which can be used for a worthy cause. From all these funds, therefore, Ipswich has received as gifts a free public library, a high school, two other schools, the provision for a school picnic each year, the oppor- tunity for ambitious boys and girls to further their education, an amount of money for its own use, and the protection of dumb animals. Certainly, these are gifts which add much to the welfare of the town and give our citizens and future citizens many great opportunities. May they show their appreciation 22

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T sliei and also the famous theolo- -ian of Heidelbei ' , David Parens. TIow Nathaniel Ward must have re- veled in the intimate conversations nnd exchange of ideas that came fi’om his friendship with these bril- liant men ! TTow he must have miss- ed their fi-iendship after his emi -ra- tion: for hai‘d indeed was the life of a ramb) id« ' e scholar in the deoths of this ji ' reat wilderness. To add to his burden, after actiim as minister of Tnswich for only about three vears. his health broke down and he was called upon to e:ive up his chosen work of the min- istry. Undaunted bv this additional hardship, we find him turning- back to his early life, that of the work of a lawyer. As a matter of fact it is during this period rather than dur- ing his ministry that he accomplish- ed those things which most influ- ence the civilization of to-day. The hardships of his career mel- lov ' ed his point of view and his le- gal training and experience gave him the necessary equipment to sort out of a bewildering mass of con- flicting opinions a law or rule of con- duct by which the people of his time could guide their lives. His exper- ience as a minister won for him the respect and admiration of the church-going Puritans. All of these characteristics made him one of the outstanding leaders of his time and he was the most natural one to se- lect to bring order out of chaos and to set down a code of laws known as the “Body of liberties. This code served as a rule of conduct for the Puritans and practically all the laws are incorporated to-day in the laws of the Commonwealth of Mass- achusetts. No mean accomplish- ment was this codification of laws for from 1636 to 1641 several at- tempts had been made to draw up such a code as Nathaniel Ward fin- ally accomplished. I believe this codification of laws to be one of the outstanding contributions which he made to the America of to-day. We find many comments on the “Body of Liberties,” both by his contem- poraries and later important men. Speaking of the preamble Mr. M. W. F. Poole observes : “This sublime declaration standing at the head of the first code of laws in New Eng- land was the production of no com- mon intellect. It has the movement and the grace of a mind like John Milton’s or Algernon Sidney’s and its theory of government was far in advance of the age. A bold avowal of the rights of man and a plea for popular freedom, it con- tains the germs of the memorable Declaration of July 4, 1776.” Dr, Francis Grav remarks upon the or- iginality of the code: “Althongh it retains some stray traces of the times it is far in advance of them and in several respects in advance of the Common law of England at this date (1818). It shows that our ancestors instead of deducing their laws from the book of Moses, es- tablished at the outset a code of firm principles, which, taken as a whole, for wisdom, equity, and adaptation to the wants of their community, challenge a comparison with any similar production from the Magna Charta to the latest Bill of Rights that has been put forth in Europe or America.” Thus we see that Nathaniel Ward, the first of a long line of ministers in Ipswich, but more well known as the author of the “Body of Liberties” was without doubt re- sponsible for starting many of the reforms and establishing many of the virtues in the lives of our Ips- wich ancestors, which have been 24