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SKETCHES
OF
FIFTEEN MEMBERS
OF
WORCESTER FIRE SOCIETY,
ADDRESS BY HON. ISAAC DAVIS,
At the Quarterly Meeting, April, 1874.
The history of the Worcester Fire Society is intimatelyconnected with the history of Worcester, of Massachusetts,and the United States. Ten of its members have beenMayors of Worcester, three have been Governors of theState, three have been Speakers of the House of Representatives,and many have been Councillors, Senators and Representatives.Five have been judges of the Supreme JudicialCourt, five have been judges of the Superior Court or Courtof Common Pleas, ten have been Members of Congress, andmany have held office under the United States Government,and one has been a Foreign Minister.
This Fire Society, organized in 1793, was precisely likeone formed by Benjamin Franklin, in the city of Philadelphia,in 1735:—The number of members limited to thirty,the same equipments, the same rules and regulations. Noperson could be admitted under thirty years of age, andnone over sixty. The Fire Society in Philadelphia was inexistence when this was formed.
Governor Lincoln gave his reminiscences of the twenty-twooriginal members in 1862. Eight years after, in 1870,a member of this society gave a written account of the next[3]fifteen members. Both of these historic papers were publishedby this society. Subsequently Judge Thomas, in hisfascinating language, gave a graphic biography of the nextfifteen members, commencing with Governor Lincoln, andending with Edward D. Bangs. The object of the presenthistoric sketch is to give some account of the members fromEdward D. Bangs to the oldest living member, all of whomhave long since passed to the "spirit land." Among themwere distinguished scholars, statesmen, lawyers and physicians,and five of them were graduates of Dartmouth College.
SAMUEL JENNISON
Was no ordinary