256 



Mo7iday, May 12, 1856. 



Evening meeting. The President, Hon. D, A. White, in the 

 chair. 



After reading records, list of donations and correspondence 

 since the last meeting, the President occupied the hour with a 

 lecture upon certain matters of record and history, which he 

 deemed important, pertaining to the Fathers of Salem and 

 the First Church. A brief sketch only will be presented here. 



Judge W., referring to a remark of the late Mr. Adams, the 

 ^"old man eloquent." in his Address on the New England 

 Confederacy, before the Massachusetts Historical Society, that 

 it was one of their pre-eminent duties to preserve the good 

 name of our forefathers, observed that it became our more 

 especial duty to protect that of the fathers of Salem from all 

 injurious representations as we ever might with the broad 

 shield of truth. With such views he had explored some of our 

 ancient church records and other historical documents as faith- 

 fully as he could, and now brought the results of his humble 

 labor, octogenarian labor — and to be appreciated accordingly. 

 Yet he could truly say that it had been a labor of love from his 

 grateful veneration of our forefathers — a veneration that had 

 grown upon him as he more nearly approached the world where 

 they are. It was a trite remark, because so obvious and just, 

 that no people on earth owed more to their ancestors than the 

 people of New England ; and Salem, perhaps, of all New Eng- 

 land, was the most deeply indebted. Here they had exerted, 

 in a signal manner, their wisdom and energy in planting the 

 seeds of freedom, piety, and learning, the fruits of which we 

 so richly enjoyed. We were bound to study their principles 

 and institutions, and to preserve them unimpaired. 



The main purpose of the lecture was to correct certain 

 errors contained in two recent publications in relation to the 



