Centennial Ode - From the 1895 Lycoming Centennial

A Centennial Ode, By Charles K. Geddes

At  the  conclusion  of  Mr.  Munson's  oration,  President Beeber  introduced  Charles  K.  Geddes,  Esq.,  who  read the  following: 

CENTENNIAL    ODE. 

When  the  years  of  our  Union  were  seven, 

With  Liberty  still  in  her  'teens, 

And  our  ruler,  by  favor  of  heaven. 

Was  the  chief  by  whose  matchless  means 

Independence  was  won  for  our  nation: 

In  seventeen  ninety  and  five, 

Pennsylvania   gave   birth,    with   elation, 

To  a  child  predestined  to  thrive. 

And  she  called  this  young  damsel,   "Lycoming," 

Prom  her  creek  with  an  Indian  name; 

And  she  gave  her  a  dowry  becoming 

The  child  of  so  wealthy  a  dame. 

For  the  land  she  bestowed  on  her  daughter 

Was  ten  thousand  square  miles  at  least, 

With  abundance  of  wood  and  of  water, 

And  of  food  both  for  man  and  beast. 

In  its  bosom,  for  ages  preparing, 

Lay  treasures  for  quarry  and  mine; 

While  its  valleys  and  mountains   were  bearing 

Rich  harvests  of  hardwood  and  pine: 

Through  the  midst  flowed  the  broad  Susquehanna, 

Bringing-  gifts  from  a  thousand  brooks 

That  rejoiced  in  each  sunlit  savanna, 

Or  wept  in  the  shadowy  nooks. 

But  this  .princely  domain  was  deficient 

In  tenants  its  wealth  to  unfold; 

And  a  few  river  hamlets  sufficient 

To  serve  all  its  people  twice-told. 

There  they  dwelt  in  log  cabins,  erected 

In  clearings  their  axes  had  made; 

And  they  thought  themselves  amply  protected 

Here  and  there  by  a  rude  stockade. 

All  about  them  the  forest  extended: — 

A  wilderness,   pathless,   immense, 

Where  the  lights  and  the  shadows  were  blended, 

In  solitudes  sombre  and  dense. 

From   these   solitudes,   fearfully   haunted 

By  cunning  and  merciless  foes, 

Issued  shapes  whose  fierce  mien  might  have  daunted 

E'en  the  boldest  at  evening's  close. 

There  the  panther  was  stealthily  prowling, 

To  spring  on  his  victim  at  sight; 

And  the  wolf,  with  demoniac  howling, 

Oft  startled  the  silence  of  night: 

There  the  savage  in  ambush  lay  waiting, 

More  cruel  than  either  in  wrath, 

With  a  blood-thirst  that  never  knew  sating, 

While  the  pale-face  lived  in  his  path. 

But  the  settlers,  though  few,  were  stout-hearted, 

Nor  by  fears  nor  hardships  dismayed: 

They  had  counted  the  cost  ere  they  started 

To  conquer  the  land  they  surveyed; 

And,   though  sorely  beset,  yet  undaunted, 

They  fought,  and  they  vanquished  their  foes; 

And  they  cleared,  and  they  built,  and  they  planted, 

Till  the  deserts  bloomed  as  the  rose. 

Now  the  herds  unmolested  are  feeding 

Where  the  panther  once  lurked  by  day; 

And  the  flocks  sleep  secure  and  unheeding, 

Where  the  wolf  then  hunted  his  prey: 

Where  the  log  cabin  stood,  stands  the  mansion: 

The  church  has  displaced  the  stockade; 

And  the  school,  by  the  force  of  expansion, 

Has  demolished   the  ambuscade. 

Where  the  savage  his  war-whoop  was  yelling, 

Now  the  steam-driven  train  is  heard, 

As  it  roars  through  the  valleys,  excelling 

The  speed  of  the  terrified  bird: 

Where  the  forests,   the  sunlight  impeding, 

Turned  the  day  into  partial  night; 

Now  the  night,  turned  to  day,  is  receding 

In  the  glare  of  electric  light. 

In  the  halls  of  our  state  legislation, 

And    in   its  executive  chair; 

In  affairs  of  the  state  and  the  nation, 

Lycoming  has  had  her  full  share: 

In   religion,   in  law,  and  in  science, 

Her  children  have  acted  their  part, 

And  won  honor  by  steadfast  appliance 

Of  means  to  their  ends  with  the  heart. 

When  our  land  was  in  imminent  danger, 

And  the  air  was  ringing  with  strife, 

And  her  children,  instead  of  the  stranger, 

Were  the  foes  that  menaced  her  life; 

Then  arose  in  their  might  to  befriend  her, 

The  loyal,  the  brave,  and  the  true; 

And  they  swore  with  their  lives  to  defend  her 

Prom  all  that  rebellion  could  do: 

That  the  country  our  fathers  had  wrested 

From  a  tyrant's  control  for  us, 

And  the  freedom  their  children  had  tested, 

Must  never  be  hazarded   thus: 

That  our  Union  should  never  be  broken 

By  secession  of  North  or  South: 

Let  the  mandate,  if  need  be,  be  spoken 

By   the  cannon's   thundering  mouth. 

Then  from  prairie,  and  mountain,  and  valley, 

'Freemen   answered    their   country's   call, 

And  in  millions  they  hastened  to  rally 

To  her  rescue  from  treason's  thrall. 

Then  they  poured  out  their  blood  and  their  treasure, 

And  their  prayers,  and  their  bitter  tears, 

Till  they  filled  to  the  brim  the  full  measure 

Of  the  slave's  unpaid  scores  of  years. 

In.  the  midst  of  the  armies  contending 

For   Freedom's   or   Slavery's   bound, 

With  their  life-blood  our  Union  defending, 

The  sons  of  Lycoming  were  found. 

And  we  won;  and  our  soldiers  returning 

Brought  the  joy  they  had  fought  to  gain: 

While,  for  those  who  came  not,  there  was  mourning: — 

And  our  joy  was  mingled  with  pain. 

But  war's  dark  clouds  had  their  silver  lining, 

Which  we  saw  as  they  rolled  away, 

And  the  Sun  of  Reunion,  full  shining, 

Blest  us  all  with  a  brighter  day: 

And  the  world  saw  that  glory  amazing 

Gild  our  purified  flag  and  shield: 

Every   stripe   distinct: — every   star   blazing: — 

Not  a  slave  to  darken  the  field. 

Then  our  country  soon  felt   the  revival 

Of  business   from   pressure  relieved; 

And  in  peace,  as  in  war,  had  no  rival, 

When  peace  her  successes  achieved. 

And  Lycoming,  fresh  vigor  acquiring, 

Pressed  forward  with  quickening  pace, 

And,  though  still  to  more  honors  aspiring, 

Already  has  won  a  high  place. 

What  a  wondrous  advance  in  the  county 

Has  been  wrought  in  a  hundred  years, 

Though  she  gave  of  her  mother's  rich  bounty 

To  aid   younger   sisters'    careers. 

And,  although  to  eighteen  she  has  deeded 

Their  estates,  in  whole  or  in  part, 

At  the  close,  she  has  largely  exceeded 

Her  people  and  wealth  at  the  start. 

From  the  forests,  by  help  of  our  river, 

We  brought  logs  to  our  busy  mills; 

And,  by  skillful  and  patient  endeavor, 

Reaped  the  harvests  grown  on  our  hills. 

Then  our  progress  was  rapid,  but  healthy, 

Beyond  the  most  fanciful  dream, 

And  our  city  and  county  grew  wealthy, 

By  means  of  our  bountiful  stream. 

Flow  on  proudly,   thou  bright  Susquehanna! 

No  inferior  rank  is  thine; 

For,  with  mountain,  and  vale,  and  savanna, 

  Thou  might'st  vie  with  the  far-famed  Rhine. 

It  is  true  that  no  castles  are  crowning 

Thy  hills  with  their  battlements  gray: 

O'er  thy  waters  no  ruins  are  frowning 

That   tell   of  baronial  sway: 

Yet  thy  banks  with  traditions  are  teeming 

Of  a  race  that  no  thraldom  knew: 

Like  thy  waves  from  their  campfires'  faint  gleaming, 

They  have  passed  into  darkness   too. 

But  for  more  than  these  legends  we  love  thee, 

Though  thrilling  they  ever  must  be, 

For  'tis  still  freedom's  sky  that's  above  thee; 

Thy  shores  still  the  homes  of  the  free. 

Thou  hast  been,  to  our  city  and  county, 

A  generous  friend   in   the  past: 

Thou  enrichest  us  still  with  thy  bounty, 

And  wilt,  if  we're  wise,  to  the  last: 

Yet,  when  angry,  if  aught  dare  oppose  thee, 

Thou  laughest  resistance  to  scorn; 

For,  though  old  as  the  hills  that  enclose  thee, 

Thou  gainest  fresh  strength  every  morn. 

'Mid  the  wilds  of  the  cloud-loving  mountain 

Thy  birthday  is  daily  reviewed: 

At  thy  source  is  the  youth-giving  fountain, 

Where  thine  is  each  moment  renewed. 

Here's  a  health  to  thee,  beautiful  river, 

In  a  draught  from,  Helicon's  streams: 

May  thy  shores  grow  in  beauty  forever, 

Till  they're  fairer  than  Love's  first  dreams. 

And  let  mountain,  and  valley,  and  river, 

And  man,  join  in  anthems  of  praise 

To  the  God  of  our  fathers,    the  Giver 

Of  all  that  has  prospered  our  ways. 

"He  has  made  and  preserved  us  a  nation;" 

And  His  goodness  has  made  us  great: 

May  He  guard,   to  the  last  generation, 

Our  Country,  our  County,   our  State. "

—CHARLES    K.    GEDDES. 

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Charles King Geddes

1834-1908

Charles King Geddes was of Scotch-Irish descent. His great great-grandfather, James Geddes, with his wife, and three sons, Paul, William and Samuel, emigrated from County Antrim, Ireland, to Pennsylvania, in 1752. William afterward settled in Cumberland County and was the father of seven children. John, his second son, born in 1766, studied medicine, and practiced at Newville, Cumberland County, until his death in 1740. He married Elizabeth Peebles, daughter of Captain William Peebles of the Revolutionary army, who was killed in the battle of Long Island in 1776. They had nine children. John Peebles Geddes, their third child, born in 1799, studied medicine and practiced with his father until his death, in 1837. In 1825, he married Catherine Irwin Maclay, daughter of Hon. William Maclay, of Fannettsburg, Franklin County, Pennsylvania. William Maclay’s father, John Maclay, was born in County Antrim, Ireland, May 10, 1734, just fourteen days before his father, Charles Maclay, with his wife and infant son, sailed for Pennsylvania. They settled first in Chester County, removing in 1741 to what is now Lurgen Township, Franklin County. John Maclay was an ardent patriot during the Revolution and was a delegate to the Provincial Conference which met June 18, 1776, in Carpenter’s Hall, in Philadelphia. He afterwards served three terms in the Pennsylvania legislature. His brothers, William and Samuel, were identified with the history of the West Branch Valley during its early days, and both were afterwards United States Senators from this state. John Maclay had nine children, William, the fifth child, was born in 1765 and settled in Fannettsburg. He served two terms in the house, and one term in the senate in Pennsylvania, and also two terms in Congress. He was then appointed President Judge of Franklin County. He had twelve children. Catherine, his fifth child, born 1799, married Dr. John Peebles Geddes, in 1825. She died in Williamsport, December 22, 1873. They had six children.

Charles King Geddes, their fifth child, was born in Newville, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, October 2, 1834. His father, dying in 1837 left him, with his brothers and sisters, to the care of the widowed mother. But she was of sturdy Scotch-Irish stock, and though of slender means, determined to give her children a good education. In 1844 she removed to Chambersburg, where Charles attended the academy. In September 1849, he entered the sophomore class of Jefferson College, at Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, where he was graduated August 4, 1852. He then engaged in teaching. He taught at Pittsburgh; was principal of Millwood Academy, at Shady Gap, Pennsylvania; also of the public schools of New London, Missouri, and Kittanning, Pennsylvania, and of the preparatory department of Jefferson College, where he received his M. A. degree. In 1857 he studied law with James H. Hopkins, of Pittsburgh, and was admitted to the Allegheny County bar, September 5, 1858. His health failing, he resumed teaching. He taught in Virginia for one year; was principal of Mount Lebanon Academy, near Pittsburgh; at McNair’s Academy, Summitt, Mississippi, and New Orleans, Louisiana; and in St. Thomas Hall Military Institute, Holly Springs, Mississippi. While at the latter place the Civil War broke out, and two months later he succeeded in returning home.

In October 1861, he took charge of the academy at Williamsburg, Blair county, Pennsylvania, and in April 1862, he became principal of the Savannah Male and Female Academy, at Savannah, Ashland County, Ohio. On June 28, 1864, he resigned this position and on September 26, 1864, he located in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. November 22, 1864 he was admitted to the Lycoming County bar and thereafter practiced his profession here.

Mr. Geddes married, on January 28, 1874, Sarah, eldest daughter of Henry Sproul, of Williamsport, formerly of Pittsburgh. She died February 9, 1891, leaving two children, Margaret, born 1876, and John Maclay, born in 1881. In religion Mr. Geddes, like all of his ancestors for the last 200 years, was a Presbyterian of the old school. In politics he was a Democrat, but never held any public office. He died June 2, 1908.