The year was 1850. It was the year that a ceremony was held by the former pupils of the America Asylum in Hartford on September 26, 1850. On that day, Laurent Clerc and Thomas Gallaudet received from some of those whom they “had contributed to bring out of darkness into light”. “It was a token of respect and love, equally honorable and gratifying to both of the parties in the transaction.” The idea had originated with Thomas Brown of New Hampshire. He organized a committee to procure the necessary funds and in a short time they had raised $600 from the deaf and dumb themselves. It was decided that they would procure a massive silver pitcher for both men, each accompanied by an appropriate salver.
The exercises at the church commenced at 3 pm. Lewis Weld,
principal of the school and one of Laurent’s best men at his wedding gave an explanation of the design. The engravings on the pitcher included:
And on the salver:
The committee approached the school and asked if they would participate in a celebration and they hardly agreed. September 26th, “to be memorable henceforth as one of the “feast days” of the deaf-mutes of New England”. A public presentation was planned and the usual school exercises of the Asylum were suspended. The number of attendees was greater than anyone had imagined, over two-hundred (200). Every state in New England was represented.
Most of that morning, the graduates were in the school chapel where brief addresses were presented.
At 2:30 p.m. the participants formed a procession and proceeded to the Center Church in the following order:
Then Mr. Brown addressed the crowd.
Mr. Spofford, Orator of the Day, gave a very long speech of gratitude and history. The crowd was very happy when he concluded. Then George Loring of Boston, formerly a teacher at the school, presented Thomas Gallaudet his pitcher and his address followed. Mr. Gallaudet replied and thanked everyone for the gift. Then Mr. Loring presented Laurent with his pitcher and likewise gave an address.
Laurent replied:
"Dear Pupils and friends:This is the most pleasant day we have ever had: I do not speak of the state of the weather, but the day you have appointed to come and see us., after so long a separation from each other; and glad, indeed, are we to see you again. If we, your teachers, have done you any good, as you are pleased to say we have done, we are satisfied and ask nothing more: but you have chosen to present most valuable and valued gifts, both to MR. Gallaudet and myself, in memory of our having been the first to teach the deaf and dumb in America, and as testimony your gratitude for the instruction you have received.
I thank you for my part of this beautiful present; I accept it, not that I think it due from you to me; but on account of the pleasure it affords me to see that our exertions to render you better, have not been made in vain. In fact, what were you before your instruction? Without communication with other men, and consequently without any means of learning from them anything purely intellectual, never would you have been what you are now; nor would the existence of God, the spirituality of your souls, the certainty of another life, have been made known to you. The religion of Christ would have been for you, a material religion, a religion of sense and not of faith. You would have been able to say no prayers; you would have attended church with your friends without deriving any benefit whatsoever either from prayer-books or from sermons preached by clergymen. Stranger in mind and in heart to all the doctrines, to all the mysteries, to all the precepts of the gospel, you would have passed your whole lives in a kind of excommunication like that of the reprobate, shutting your eyes upon the continual miracles of divine mercy, and opening them only on justice.
Your unfortunate parents, deprived of the advantage of implanting in your souls what instruction has inculcated on your minds, would have lamented your birth. But instead of this, what a happy fate you have in exchange! And to whom are you indebted for it? Never, my dear friends, could we have thought of the deplorable destiny to which the misfortune of your deafness had condemned you, on your coming forth into being, without coming to join ourselves to those, who in 1815, laid the foundation of the first school for the deaf and dumb in this country. And who were those benevolent persons who first thought of you? They were the citizens of Hartford in general, and the Directors in particular, who were like fathers of yours. Therefore, to them all , under God, is your gratitude due, and great indeed it must be. Most of the Directors whom you have known, alas are gone. The few who still remain, and the new ones who have been
chosen to replace the departed are still your friends and the friends of all the other deaf and dumb who are now with us, and who are to come hereafter. Some, if not all of those noble Directors, are, I believe, among us in this church. If you please, we will rise and bow to them as a feeble mark of our gratitude towards them. Again, let us rise and bow to these ladies and gentlemen who, also, have been your earliest or latest friends.
Your gratitude is not the less due to the Governors and Legislatures of New England, who have supported, and still support you at the Asylum. If there be any of these benevolent individuals here present, and if I could point them out to you, I would also request you to rise and bow to them; but not being able to do so, let us give them three cheers by clapping our hands three times.
You also have another debt to pay; I mean that which you owe to certain citizens of the States of Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, who, also in the autumn of 1816, gave us handsome donations for your benefit. We have not yet done; there is still another debt due - it is that which you owe to the general government of the United States, for the grand of land it made us in 1819, 20, the proceeds of the sale of which enabled our kind Directors to purchase the lot and erect the building where the American Asylum is now in operation. Three more cheers by three more claps of your hands, therefore.
I shall not speak of the gratitude you also owe your teachers, guardians and matron; for I doubt not that you have already expressed it, either on leaving the Asylum or on seeing them again at a subsequent period.
I presume my dear friends, you would like to know how many deaf and dumb persons we have taught since the school commenced in the spring of 1817. Well, I will tell you. On examining our records a few days ago, I found the number to amount to 1066, (one thousand sixty-six) including those who are present at the institution, viz, 605 boys and 462 girls. The number is rather small in comparison with the number of the deaf and dumb in New England; but we have done as well as our means would allow. It is, however, gratifying to know that much has also been done elsewhere; for besides our own, there are now nine or ten other schools for these unfortunate beings in the United States, most of whose teachers have been qualified by us, and of course employ the same method of teaching and system of signs; so that wherever you may chance to go, and whomever you may happen to meet, you will not be strangers to each other.
How many of your fellow pupils have died since you departed, I cannot say exactly; I hope, nevertheless, the number is not great.
As far as I have been able to ascertain, upwards to one hundred have married, the greatest part among themselves, and the remainder have wives or husbands who can hear and speak. Thanks be to God, with a few exceptions, they all are blessed with children enjoying all their faculties, which will be a great consolation to them in their old age. The fact that a few of them have deaf and dumb children like themselves, must not be wondered at; we are not more privileged than other men; for we also are condemned to undergo some of the chastisements which divine Providence sees fit to inflict on us poor sinners.
You, young men, are all above twenty-one years old. You are freemen. You vote, and I know that many of you feel interested in political matters, and belong to one or the other of the two great parties which unfortunately divide our fellow citizens. I do not pretend to dictate to you on this subject, as I am persuaded that you act according to the dictates of your conscience and best judgment; allow me, however, to recommend to you to vote only for good men, for honest men, for men who love their country, their whole country.
But let me return to you, my dear friends, and repeat that I am very happy to see you once more. You are going to return to your homes soon. My best wishes for your health and temporal comforts accompany you, and my prayer is that when we must leave this world, we may all be ushered into another where our ears shall be unstopped and our mouths opened - where our happiness shall have no allow, shall fear no change and know no end.
Your old teacher and friend,
LAURENT CLERC
When Laurent stopped signing, the Chaplain for the Day, Mr. Job Turner, of Virginia gave a prayer in signs and the public exercises were concluded. In the early hours of the evening the participants returned to the school and socialized with guests and friends.
On Friday morning, September 27, 1850, at 9 a.m. the remaining participants assembled in the school chapel. Further addresses and sentiments were offered. Three were written by those honored and read to the congregation.
Mr. Clerc wrote:
“My we cherish with profound regard the scholar and philanthropist, by whose lucid and comprehensive mind the deaf of dumb are illuminated, enlightened and taught to reflect and communicate intelligently on the work of nature and of nature’s God.”
Gallaudet and Clerc wrote together: “Having jointly toiled in imparting to the deaf and dumb, their relative duties to society and to man, and their greater obligation to God; may these our benefactors, when called hence, enter the abode of bliss where all can unite in “everlasting praise.”
Some of the participants stayed over for the Saturday, September 28, 1850 chapel services and to get one last opportunity to visit with their friends. So ended the largest gathering of the Deaf in America up to that point in time.
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