e has
written concerning John Cogswell and his family: "They were the first of
the name to reach these shores; the lapse of two hundred and fifty years
has given to them a numerous posterity, some of whom in each generation
have lived in eventful periods, have risen to eminence, and fulfilled
distinguished service in the history of the country."

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[Illustration]

With these rich inheritances as her birthright, with parents who
enforced and strengthened in their children the principles that they
themselves had been taught, Alice Cogswell was born in the family home
of her parents, Daniel and Mary Davis Randall Cogswell, at Ipswich, on
January 5, 1845. She was one of seven children, three of whom died very
young, and of the seven only her sister Lucy survived her. The mother
died when Alice was only four. Until the time of the father's death,
when she was eighteen and her sister three years older, several
different housekeepers were in charge of the home, and yet it appears
that these two young girls very early and in a way most unusual for any
so young, not only gave life and charm to the house, but directed and
controlled all its activities to a great extent. A cousin who was very
dear to Alice writes to her son of his memory of those days in the quiet
country home at Ipswich, giving a charming picture that shows the spirit
that prompted all her life to its end. He says: "Every one in Ipswich
who remembers her would speak of her sweet, cheery and generous spirit.
One of the very earliest of my childhood recollections is a little
incident that occurred when I could not have been more than four or five
years old. One day my mother let me go all by myself to Uncle
Cogswell's to see Cousin Alice. Our homes were rather near together but
it was to me then a journey of large proportions. At dinner I can
remember that I sat next Cousin Alice in a chair with two big books to
make it high enough. After dinner we went into the garden and picked a
basket of pears which she gave me to take home. This little visit was
like many others that followed and it is typical of all that she has
done throughout a long and useful life. Though I was only a little
fellow, I have a strong impression of an energetic, influential family,
full of good deeds, and of a large house with well stocked cellars and
larders that seemed to exist chiefly for the benefit of neighbors and
friends. Lucy and Alice were b