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THE
GRANITE MONTHLY
A New Hampshire Magazine
DEVOTED TO
HISTORY, BIOGRAPHY, LITERATURE,
AND STATE PROGRESS
VOLUME XXVII
CONCORD, N. H.
PUBLISHED BY THE GRANITE MONTHLY COMPANY
1899
N
9^42
G759
v,2 7
Published, 1899
By the Granite Monthly Company
Concord, N. H.
Printed, I/lustratcd, ami Electrotyped by
Rum/ord Printiug Company (Riiin/ord Press^
Concord, New Hampshire, U. S. A.
The Granite Monthly.
CONTENTS OF VOLUME XXVH.
yuly — December, i8gg.
A Blue and White Bowl (poem), Laura Garland Carr
Admiral Dewey [poem), George Bancroft Griffith
Admiral Dewey Welcomed to Norwich, Col. Henry O. Kent
A Leaf from New Hampshire's Unwritten History, Carrie M. Nay
Among the Sandwich Mountains, Rev. George L. Mason .
A Night's Adventure, Bert P. Doe ......
Annett, Albert, The Making of a Town. Being Some Account of the
tlement. and Growth of the Town of Jaffrey
A Pioneer Family, C. F. Burge
A Sire of the Olden Time (poem), Clara B. Heath .
Austin, Marion L.. Retrospection (poem) .....
A Verse (poem), Adelaide Cilley Waldron
Baker, Alfred E., Come to the '-Old Home V^kkv.''' (poe//i)
Ballou, Hosea, Rev. S. H. McCollester, D. D
Boscawen's Historic Sites, The Marking of, John C. Pearson
Boyd, Merrill. In the Year of Our Lord 1900
Brown, H. W., M. Sc, Stoss and Lee : or, A Chapter on Glaciers
Brush, Frederick, Storm on the New En(;land Coast (poem) .
Burge, C. F., A Pioneer Family ......
Burke, Doris L., Ricketty Ann's Contribution
Carr, C. E., New Hampshire Sends Greeting To-day (poem) .
Note the Good (poem) .......
Carr, Laura Garland, A Blue and White Bowl (poem)
On a Hillside (poem) .......
Carter, Rev. N. F., New Hampshire Home Week Greetin(;s (poem)
Clark, Adelbert, Mount Washington ......
Set
274
PAOB
I 10
248
3CO
219
267
67
288
382
46
106
360
137
26
-» - ->
JD-
273
288
I 12
220
J3
I 10
154
291
{&*d^0
IV
CONTENTS.
Colby, Frederick Myron, Our Banner (poem)
To THE Sphinx ......
Come to the "Old Home \<I-^^\^"' (poem), Alfred K
CoNTOOCOOK River (poem), Edna Dean Proctor .
Comerford, Ethel F.. The Snowfall (poem)
Corning, Hon. Charles R., Governor Rollins .
Darling, Alice O., Going to Market (poem)
Dewey, Ad.miral (poem), George Bancroft Griffith
Dewev, Admiral, Welcomed to Norwich, Col. Henry O. Kent
Doe, Bert P., A Night's Adventure .
Dyer, Josiah B , New Hampshire Industrie.s — Ouarrvin(; and Stone-Cutting 207
Baker
Eastman, Hon. Samuel C, Hon. John Hav — A Summer Sojourner
Edna Dean Proctor, Harlan C. Pearson .
Ela, James H., The Elas in New Hampshire .
Exeter of To-dav, The. Edwin W. Forrest
P'irst Religious Service in Concord, Josepli B. Walker
Forrest, Edwin W., The Exeter of To-dav
Going to Market (poem), Alice O. Darling
Griffith, George Bancroft, Admiral Dewey (poem)
Home (poem) ......
Welcome Home (poem) ....
Hay, Hon. John — A Summer Sojourner, Hon. Samuel C. Eastman
Hadley, E. D., Vindication of the Army of West Virginia (or
Corps), at the Battle of Cedar Creek, Oct. ig, 1864
Harlan, Laura, Home Again with Cupid
Miss Campbell's Christmas
Heath, Clara B., A Sire of the Olden Time (poem)
Home (poetn), George Bancroft Griffith .
Home Again with Cupid, Laura Harlan
HosEA Ballou, Rev. S. H. McCollester, D. D. .
In the Home of his Ancestors with Whittier, Caroline C. Lamprey
In the Year of Our Lord 1900, Merrill Boyd ....
Eighth
Shea
287
249
106
176
345
121
30
248
300
106
Jaffrev. The Making of a Town. Being Some Account of the Settle-
ment and Growth of the Town of Jaffrey, Albert Annett
Jenks, Edward A., Old Home Week — Newi'ORt, N. H. (poem) .
Kent, Col. Henry O., Admu^al Dewey Welcomed to Norwich
Little. A Pioneer Family, C. F. Burge ....
Lord, C. C, Those Who Have Come Home To-ni(;ht (poem)
Mason, Rev. George L., Among the Sandwich Mountains
McCollester, Rev. S. H., D. D., Hosea Ballou .
McMiller, J. Walton, On Rockingham Electrics
Miss Campbell's Christmas, Laura Harlan
Monadnock in October (poem), Edna Dean Proctor .
41
132
303
183
309
183
30
248
130
153
41
280
147
378
382
130
147
360
141
26
67
163
300
288
249
267
360
323
378
178
CONTENTS.
V
Morrison', Hon. Leonard Allison, Franklin Worcester
Mount Washington, Adelbert Clark .......
Mrs. Pettigrew's Venture, Willametta A. Preston ....
Nay, Carrie M., A Leaf from New Hampshire's Unwritten History
New Hampshire Home Week Greetings (poem) Rev. N. F. Carter .
New Hampshire Industries — Quarrying and
New Hampshire Necrology
Abbott, George .
Ashley, Walter O. .
Barnard, George W.
Beattie, Thomas C. .
Berry, Rev. Augustus
Bowman, Alonzo
Clark, Rev. George Faber
Clement. Dr. Allen B.
CoLBURN, William W.
Cutting, Freeman
Davis, Hon. Walter S.
DiNSMORE, Hon. Thomas
Eaton, Rev. G. F.
FuRBER, Rev. Daniel L., D. D.
Gilbert, Dr. John H.
Hatch, Albert A.
Hill, Daniel E.
Hobart, J. Bryon
HoRNE, Rev. John R., Jr.
Huntington, Hon. Newton
Jenks, Dr. Thomas L.
Knapp, Hon. William D.
Langdon, Miss Fanny E.
Mason, David
Moore, Geo. W.
Paige, David S. .
Pearson, Clarence Henry
Pearson, John H.
Perkins, Commodore George H
PiLLSBURY, Hon. Charles A.
Pray, Dr. M. W.
Rowell, Maj. Edward T.
Sinclair, John G.
Sherburne, George M.
SOULE, H. D.
Stewart, Walter H.
Stilson, Daniel C.
Thurston, Rev. James
True, Bradley .
Veazey, Hon. Harry Lawrence
Weeks, Hon. James W.
Whittier, Josiah H. .
Stone-Cutting, Josiah B. Dyer
63, 117, 179, 251, 3
3
291
^i
219
154
207
6, 383
319
319
320
318
317
317
179
319
318
318
385
386
253
385
117
180
319
179
318
118
384
386
320
64
118
64
253
316
384
251
118
180
63
179
117
386
179
252
^54
251
^53
VI
CONTENTS.
New Hampshire Necrology (Contmned):
WiGGix, Samuel Adams ........
Williams, Gen. Charles ........
Wood, Rev. John .........
Wright, George J. .
New Hampshire Sends Greeting To-dav (poem), C. E. Can- .
New Hampshire's Share in a Great Enterprise, Edward N. Pearson
Note the (jOOD [poem), C E. Carr .......
Old Home Week — Newport, N. H. (poem) Edward A. Jenks
On a Hillside (poem). Laura Garland Carr ......
On Rockingham Electrics, J. Walton McMiller ....
Our Banner (poetn), Frederick Myron Colby .....
Pearson, Edward N., New Hampshire's Share in a Great Enterprise
Pearson, Harlan C, Edna Dean Proctor .....
Pearson, John C, The Marking of Boscawen's Historic Sites
Preston, Willametta A., Mrs. Pettigrew's Venture
Proctor, Edna Dean, Harlan C. Pearson .
Proctor, Edna Dean, Contoocook River (poem) .
MONADNOCK IN OCTOBER (poevi) .
The Hills are Home (poem)
Quarrying and Stone-Cutting, Josiah B. Dyer
Ouint, Katherine Mordantt, The Birthplace of Whittier's Mother
Retrospection (poem), Marion L. Austin ....
Ricketty Ann's Contribution, Doris L. Burke .
Robinson, Hon. Henry, Birthplace of Governor Rollins
Rockingham Electrics, On, J. Walton McMiller
Rollins, Birthplace of Governor, Hon. Henry Robinson
Rollins, Governor, Hon. Charles R. Corning
Sanborn, Dr. Charles Henry, of Hampton Falls, F. B. Sanborn .
Sanborn, F. B., Dr. Charles Henry Sanborn of Hampton Falls .
The Smiths and Walkers of Peterborough, Exeter, and Springfield
Sandwich Mountains, Among the. Rev. George L. Mason
Shea, Caroline C. Lamprey, In the Home of his Ancestors with Whittier
Smith, Clarence Milton, The Angler's Joys (poem) ....
Storm on the New England Coast (poem), Frederick Brush
Stoss and Lee : or, A Chapter on Glaciers, H. W. Brown, M. Sc.
Swaine, C. Jennie, The E.xpected Guest (poem) ....
The Angler's Joys (poetn), Clarence Milton Smith ....
The Birthplace of Whittier's Mother, Katherine Mordantt Quint
The E.xpected Guest (poem), C. Jennie Swaine .....
The Elas in New Hampshire, James H. Ela .....
The E.xeter of To-day. Edwin W. Forrest .....
The Food Habits of the Owls, Clarence Moores Weed .
The Hills are Home (poem), Edna Dean Proctor ....
The House of the First Minister, J. B. Walker ....
74,
ii8
383
64
179
220
47
351
163
376
323
287
47
132
137
31
132
176
178
131
207
257
46
1 12
127
323
127
121
35
223
267
141
266
352
359
266
257
359
183
347
131
166
CONTENTS.
VI 1
The Making of a Town. Being Some Account of the Settlement and
Growth of the Town of Jaffrev, Albert Annett
The Marking of Boscawen's Historic Sites, John C. Pearson
The Old New England Hills (poem), D. H. Walker ....
The Smiths and Walkers of Peterborough, Exeter, and Springfield
F. B. Sanborn ..........
The Snowfall (poetn), Ethel F. Comerford ......
The Warblers and Vireos in their Economic Relations, Clarence Moores
Weed
Those Who Have Come Home To-night (poejii), C. C. Lord
To the Sphinx (poem), Fred Myron Colby ......
Waldron, Adelaide Cilley, A Verse (poem) .......
Walker, D. H., The Old New England Hills (poem) ....
Walker, Joseph B., First Religious Service in Concord
The House of the First Minister .......
Walker, Rev. Timothy. The House of the First Minister, J. B. Walker
Weed, Clarence Moores, The Food Habits of the Owls ....
The Warblers and Vireos in their Economic Relations
Welcome Home (poem), George Bancroft Griffith .....
Whittier, In the Home of his Ancestors with, Caroline C. Lamprey Shea
Whittier's Mother, The Birthplace of, Katherine Mordantt Quint
Worcester, Franklin. Hon. Leonard Allison Morrison ....
67
302
223
345
157
249.
249
Vindication of the Army of West Virginia (or Eighth Corps), at the
Battle of Cedar Creek, Oct. 19, 1864, E. D. Hadley . . . 280
139
302
309
166
166
347
157
153-
141
^57
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Tne GraniTC Aortmm.
Vol. XXVIL
JULY, 1899.
No. I.
HON. LEONARD ALIvISON MORRISON.
By Franklin Worcester.
ACING
a
northeast snow
storm
in
the inclement
mouth
of
March, I jour-
neyed
to
Canobie Lake,
am, to
call
upon a friend.
whose acquaintance I made in the
New Hampshire senate of iSSy-'Sg.
When I took him by the hand I saw
by the twinkle of his eye, expressive
of mirth and the finest sensibilities,
that although the physique might be
impaired the virility of the mind re-
mained intact.
The senate of 18S7 contained sev-
eral men of distinct individuality and
force of character. Among those
who have gone, let us hope to a high-
er and better life, is the staunch and
undaunted Langdon, and the enter-
prising and philanthropic Richards.
Of those who survive, I shall confine
myself to my friend, Leonard Allison
Morrison, who was able to furnish
me the desired data.
On an island, romantic and wind-
swept by every ocean breeze, lying
upon the northwest coast of Scotland
and separated from the mainland by
a strip of most turbulent waters a
few miles in width, is the earliest
and first known home of the Morri-
sons. In the Island of Lewis, in the
district of Ness, near the Butt of
Lewis, they have, from time im-
memorial, had their home.
Black, in his charming story of
"Sheila; a Princess of Thule," has
made this ibland forever famous,
and has thrown around the heaving
waters, which smite its rocky coasts,
a never-dying charm.
The late Capt. F. W. L. Thomas,
of the royal navy and vice-president
of the Society of Antiquaries of Scot-
land, for years a resident of the local-
ity, and perfectly familiar with all
parts, with the language, the people
and their traditions and history, has
given a graphic account of the family
in his " Traditions of the Morrisons,"
the substance of which has been in-
corporated by the subject of this
sketch in his " History of the Mori-
son or Morrison Family."
In the passing years many branches
of the Morrisons passed over to the
mainland of Scotland, and from there
spread to all parts of the world.
HON. LEONARD ALLISON MORRISON.
John Morison, a sturdy Scotchman,
removed from Scotland to the county
of L^ondonderry, Ireland, previous to
1688, and he and his family were of
the number of Scotch Protestants,
who, during the celebrated Siege of
Londonderry, 1 688-' 89, were driven
beneath the walls of the city, and
eventually admitted within the walls,
when, with the other defenders, they
endured the horrors of starvation.
In 1720, or a little later, he re-
moved to Londonderry, N. H., with
his last wife, Janet Steele, and their
young children, where he died in
1736. His sons, Charter James
Morison (2) and Charter John Mori-
son (2), had preceded him in 17 19.
This John Morison ( i ) , who died in
1736, was the ancestor of Leonard
Allison Morrison, through Charter
James Morison (2), and his wife
Mary Wallace, his son Lieut. Samuel
Morison (3), a soldier in the French
War, and his wife, Martha Allison ;
their son, Dea. Samuel Morison (4),
a soldier of the Revolution, and his
wife, Mrs. Margaret (Dinsmoor) Ar-
mour, of Windham. Their son was
Jeremiah Morrison (5), who mar-
ried Eleanor Reed Kimball, the
parents of Leonard Allison Morrison
(6). In the veins of the latter the
blood of Scot and Puritan flows
equally commingled. On his father's
side his descent is purely Scotch, he
being related with the Arwins, Orrs,
Cochrans, Wallaces, Steeles, Dins-
moors, Allisons, McKeens. On his
mother's side he is of purely English
descent, being related to the Puritan
families of Massachusetts, — the Kim-
balls, Scotts, Hazeltines, Days, Ha-
zens, Andrews, Harrimans, Reeds,
Tafts, Parks ; the latter three fami-
lies of Mendon or Uxbridge, Mass.
He was reared in a conscientious
Christian home. It was a home
where, each morning, the family was
gathered together, the chapter from
Holy Writ was read, and prayer
ascended from the family altar.
Thrice, each day, as the family
gathered at the social meal was the
Divine blessing implored. Each
Sabbath as it came around, so regu-
larly was the family found in its ac-
customed place in the sanctuary and
in the Sabbath school, unless pre-
vented by illness or some serious
matter. It was in one of those strict,
conscientious, religious homes, which,
a generation or more ago so numer-
ously abounded on these hillsides and
in these valleys of New Hampshire,
and which constituted the strength
and bulwark of the Granite state,
that lessons of love, of truth, of jus-
tice, of right, of hatred, of wrong, and
injustice were installed into his mind
in his youth and became a part of
his being.
Those early lessons have not been
forgotten or ignored. He admires
courage. He is quick to applaud
the right and resent the wrong. He
could easily stand for what he be-
lieved to be right, even if he stood
alone. He has never been afraid of
defeat or of being in the minority,
and some of his successes have been
what he has espoused, a forlorn hope,
and won success from apparent de-
feat. Firm and constant in his
friendships and mental makeup, he
clings to a friend or a cause to which
he is committed with great tenacity.
He abandons neither till absolutely
obliged to do it by the logic of
events. The cares of life came upon
him early.
Before his sixteenth year, by the
HOME OF LEONARD ALLISON MORRISON
HON. LEONARD ALLISON MORRISON.
feeble health of his father, the care
of the farm and responsibility for its
management fell largely upon him.
His two elder brothers, Christopher
Merrill Morrison and Edward Pay-
son Morrison, those buds of promise,
who had prepared for college, were
taken ill with consumption and
passed away in the brightness of
their youthful promise. A little
later his loved father joined them, and
he was deprived of his wise counsel.
His mother, sister, and himself now
comprised the reduced family circle,
and before his twentieth year, the
homestead, which had been owned
by the family for a century and a
score of years, became his by inheri-
tance, and which he still retains. In
1866, his mother joined those who
had passed over the river. His sis-
ter, Margaret Elizabeth Morrison,
soon after married Mr. Horace Park,
and has always lived in Belfast, Me.
He was educated in the public
schools of his native town of Wind-
ham, at the academy of Gowanda,
Catteraugus county. New York, and
at the seminary at Northfield, now
Tilton. His strong desire was for a
collegiate course and a professional
life, but untoward circumstances pre-
vented the fulfilment of the dreams
and fond ambitions of his youth.
He occupies and owns the ancestral
acres at Windham. Always has he
taken a deep and abiding interest in
the public affairs and prosperity of
his town. He believes that fair play
is the fairest of all fair mottoes, that
a man should follow closely and
strictly the leadings of his conscience
and his ideas of right in public and
in private life.
He was a selectman in iSyi-'ja,
and in those years was a trustee and
aided in the establishment of the
Nesmith Free Public library. There
were four trustees who labored with
him. They were Rev. Joseph Ean-
mon, James Cochran, Hiram S. Re}^-
nolds, and William D. Cochran.
The books were selected, placed in
the library, and when ready, the
library was formally opened by a
dedication. Hon. John C. Park, of
Boston, Mass., made a ver)^ able ad-
dress. Mr. Morrison, whose heart
was in it, evinced it by an address
delivered on that occasion.
A little later a library catalogue
was prepared and distributed to the
citizens, and he was one who aided
in its preparation. The library now
exceeds 3,200 volumes.
Before the establishment of that
library, for many years he availed
himself of the use of books from a
fine circulating library in lyawrence,
Mass., and from them derived great
profit and delight. Thus unknown
to others or himself, he was prepar-
ing for that important work that he
has done.
Up to 1877 he lived the life of a
farmer besides being engaged in the
wood and lumber business, but he
had dreams of something different,
of public life and foreign travel.
The year mentioned was marked by
circumstances, slight in themselves,
which became the beginning of a
new life. "A pebble in the stream-
let sent, has turned the course of
many a river." He has always been
a lover of literature. In that year
he was chosen to edit a local paper,
known as TIic Windham Chiviiide,
which he did. It was a small affair,
but it opened up a correspondence,
and was the commencement of the
literary work of his after life. It
HON. LEONARD ALLISON MORRISON.
led also, indirectly, to his two some-
what extended tours of European
travel and the accompanying works
of travel. Another slight and sin-
gular circumstance will be here re-
corded to show how simple an event
may affect one's after life.
The massive gates of circumstance
Are turned upon the smallest hinge,
And thus some seeming pettiest chance
Oft gives life its after tinge.
He has always taken a deep and
abiding interest in political events
and in the decision of public ques-
tions. In the year mentioned he
was a delegate to a political conven-
tion, and accidentally was placed on
the committee of credentials. He was
an unknown man in a political circle,
but did not long remain so. He be-
longed to no clique, and advocated
what he believed to be right. The
committee had been in session but a
short time when he found himself in
a sharp and earnest contest. Two
sets of delegates appeared from a
section of the largest municipality of
the district. Only one set were, of
course, entitled to seats in the con-
vention, and he espoused with ardor
the cause of those whom he believed
were justly entitled to their seats.
The chairman of the committee, who
was from that place, had the decid-
ing vote, and decided against Mr.
Morrison, but said to him quietly,
" You are right, but, in order to
smooth things over locally, I shall
have to vote against you."
During the progress of the conven-
tion, the ones who had most sharply
made the contest with him, and who
had supposed he had belonged to a
clique, came to him saying they had
found out his position, commended
his action, and hoped they would
meet him again next year. They
did meet the next year. These men
were now his warm friends, and
through their influence and of others
whom he met, he was made presi-
dent of the convention. Upon tak-
ing the chair he made a speech, of
which a copy w^as requested by the
editor of the local paper, which ap-
peared with proceedings of the con-
vention, and was sent broadcast over
that section of the state. The con-
test of the committee in 1877 led to
the presidency of the convention of
1878 ; the speech and its publication,
which brought him before the peo-
ple, led to the train of events which
landed him in the state senate and
gave him whatever political promi-
nence he has attained.
For fifteen years he presided in the
annual town-meetings. The duties
of a presiding officer came easily, and
there was a charm for him in public
speaking. For nearly thirty years
he has been justice of the peace ;
was an enumerator of the Tenth
United States census in 1880, one
of the auditors of Rockingham
county in i886-'87. He has al-
ways been a Republican in politics,
and was a member of the Republi-
can State Central committee in 1881-
'82. In 1884 he was elected a mem-
ber of the house to serve from 1885-
'87. In his legislative and other
contests he arranges carefully his
line of action. He studies men and
his opponents, and looks ahead to
see what will probably be their line
of attack or defense, and makes his
preparations to meet their attack or
make his own. He is an uncomfort-
able antagonist for he never knows
when he is defeated, and never ac-
knowledges a defeat. He may have
8
HON. LEONARD ALLISON MORRISON.
a temporary set-back, but he is after
his opponents again at the first
chance. This has been repeatedly-
shown in his public and legislative
experience.
During the session of the legisla-
ture of 1885, when he was a member
of the house, a leading opposition
paper {Manchester Union) aptly said
"Mr. Morrison of Windham is a
man of positive convictions. Ample
study, research, and travel have
ripened his thought and sharply
outlined his opinions. Like all men
of his class, he is liable to run coun-
ter to popular sentiment, but he is
honest to the core, and he serves the
state well in his general capacity and
as chairman of the committee on edu-
cation."
He was a new member in that ses-
sion, but he was somewhat known,
and he was appointed chairman of
the committee on education, an hon-
orable position for a new member.
In the debates he participated when
he had views which he thought
should be expressed, but never for
the sake of talking. At one time,
several bills, some of which he had
introduced, and others in which he
was interested, w^ere before the house.
Gen. Oilman Marston of Exeter was
a member. He was a blunt, brusque
man of unquestioned honesty, but
one who had many admirers and
friends. One day he met the subject
of this sketch on the street, and with
that peculiar gesture with his index
finger, which he often used when
addressing the speaker, he said,
' ' You have several bills before the
house, haven't you?" "Yes."
Then the general enumerated them,
one by one, and exclaimed with an
adjective in his expression, more
forcible and expressive than pious or
polite, "You'll be lucky if you get
any one of them through ! " and off he
went. Mr. Morrison was vejy lucky.
A very important bill of the ses-
sion was the bill establishing the
"Town District of Schools." It was
introduced by a member of the com-
mittee on education and referred to
that committee. The chairman was
strongly in favor of the bill, as were
the best educators and the most in-
telligent and best read men in the
state. But it was a great innovation
on the school customs and laws of
the state, made a most radical change
in them and was greatly ahead of
public sentiment. School affairs
were in a bad condition. Radical
measures were a necessity. This
was w^ell known to its advocates.
It was thoroughly discussed in pub-
lic hearings in the state house, and
before the committee, and a day and
hour at length assigned for its con-
sideration in the house. The chair-
man of the committee was greatly
interested in its success and carefully
prepared a plan for its progress in
the house.
When the appointed hour arrived
the galleries were packed, the judges
of the supreme court, the senate, and
distinguished men of the state filled
seats by the speaker, and the ro-
tunda in front of the speaker's chair.
Upon the calling of the house to
order, as chairman of the committee
on education having the bill in
charge, he called the bill from the
table and opened the debate with
a carefully prepared and forcible
speech, pleading its merits and urg-
ing the passage of the bill. Others
fell into line, the leading members
urged its passage, and those who
HON. LEONARD ALLISON MORRISON.
were not often participants spoke in
its favor, and there was no lull in the
proceedings. There was a great in-
terest and about 6 p. m. the roll was
called and the bill passed by about a
two-thirds vote.
It subsequently passed the senate,
received the signature of the gover-
nor and became the law of the state.
It was probably the most important
step for the educational interests of
the state for half a century.
The transition period was unpleas-
ant, as all such periods are. It made
something of a commotion in the
state and his course upon this ques-
tion and for the valued policy insur-
ance law cost him some votes when
he was a candidate and was elected
senator two years later.
In 1886 he was elected state sena-
tor from the Londonderry district,
No. 20, to serve from June, 1SS7, to
June, 1889. In the senate he was
made chairman of the committee on
education and served on the com-
mittee on engrossed bills, on agricul-
ture, on state prison, and industrial
school. In that body, as elsewhere,
his course was direct and outspoken
upon public questions.
The Hazen bill (railroad bill) was
the most important bill of the session.
It was kept dallying along nearly
through the session, and hearing
after hearing took place before the
committee. At last it passed both
branches of the legislature by nearly
a two-thirds vote. Then it came
before Governor Sawj^er, who vetoed
it. The excitement was intense.
Mr. Morrison voted in favor of the
bill and thought the governor had
no valid excuse for his veto.
The adulteration of foods is one of
the most obnoxious evils of the day.
The adulteration of the one article of
lard, it was claimed, was robbing the
people of New Hampshire of half a
million of dollars a year beside giv-
ing the consumer a spurious article
when he bought a pure article. A
bill was introduced to prevent the
sale of the adulterated article for a
pure article. If a person wanted
"compound lard" let it be marked
as "compound lard," and bought
and sold as such, and a package
marked as "pure" compel the seller
to have it " pure." To this bill Mr.
Morrison gave his earnest support by
speech and vote. It was one of the
most warmly contested bills of the
session. The agents of the Chicago
manufacturers of spurious lard were
there in force lobbying for its defeat.
After a stubborn contest it failed to
pass.
Later in the session, Mr. Morrison,
fearless of defeat, and with character-
istic directness, introduced substan-
tially the same bill in the senate, but
in a new form.
The former conflict had been so
sharp and stubborn that it was a
matter of surprise to the senate that
the bill was reintroduced in its new
form. A senator sitting near him
said, "Senator Morrison, I am sur-
prised that a man who has as much
sense as j^ou have, shouldn't have
more sense than to reintroduce that
bill, for you will certainly be de-
feated."
Morrison quietly replied, "De-
feat doesn't frighten me. I have
been defeated before and then came
out ahead at last."
This statement was prophetic of
the issue. The bill was just, and
after a sharp contest it passed both
branches of the legislature. In the
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X
HON. LEONARD ALLISON MORRISON.
II
senate Mr. Morrison made a speech
in its support. It was terse, direct,
and strong in its denunciation of the
great commercial fraud which un-
scrupulous manufacturers were per-
petrating on the public. It attracted
some attention, was published iu two
or more publications, and some six
thousand copies were scattered in all
parts of the land. He had led a for-
lorn hope and was successful.
In a review of the session and of
the senators, a leading paper of the
state thus spoke of him (the Man-
chester Mirror): "The scholar of
the senate was Morrison of the lyon-
donderry district, and with his schol-
arship he had good sense and a per-
sistency in what he believed to be
right, which made him a valuable
and successful senator. The rescue
and passage of the famous lard bill
was his work, and it was a feat few
would have undertaken, and no one
else could have performed, and his
earnest defense of the school bill,
which, as chairman of the education
committee in the house, he piloted to
the statute book in 1885, had much
to do with the defeat of all attempts
to defeat it this year."
While he has always been strongly
interested from early years in public
questions, yet he has been equally
attached to literature and history.
He loved history and the writings of
the world's best authors afforded
him the keenest delight. The well
rounded and flowing periods of
Macaulay and the beautiful senti-
ments of the poets have a great
charm for him. For years he was
more of a reader than writer. Thus,
unknown to himself or others, he
was preparing himself for the impor-
tant work which he has done and is
doing. It is a field of labor into
which he had not long dreamed of
entering, but was drawn into it by
chance, or more properly by Provi-
dence, and for twenty years his life
has been earnestly devoted to histori-
cal research, travel, and elucidation
of these brilliant themes ; and has
prepared and had published works of
value in these lines in quantity and
quality, perhaps second to none in
the state.
' ' The Morison or Morrison Fami-
ly; " " History of Windham in New
Hampshire ; " " Rambles in Europe :
In Ireland, Scotland, England, Bel-
gium, Germany and France, with
Historical Facts Relating to Scotch-
American Families," gathered in
Scotland, and in the north of Ire-
land ; "Among the Scotch- Irish ; a
Tour in Seven Countries;" "His-
tory and Proceedings of the Celebra-
tion of the One Hundred and Fiftieth
Anniversary of the Incorporation of
the Settlement of Windham in New
Hampshire," held June 9, 1892;
" Supplement to the History of Wind-
ham in New Hampshire," 1892;
" Eineage and Biographies of the
Norris Families," from 1640 to 1892 ;
" The History of the AHson or Alli-
sons in Europe and America," A. D.
1136 to 1893; "The History of the
Sinclair Family in F^urope and
America," for eleven hundred years,
to 1896; "History of the Kimball
P'amily in America from i634-'97,
and of its Ancestors, the Kemballs
or Kemboldes of England," in two
volumes, and 1,290 pages, by Leonard
Allison Morrison and Stephen Pas-
chall Sharpies; "Poems of Robert
Dinsmoor," " the rustic bard," com-
piled and edited with foot-notes ;
"Dedication Exercises of the Arm-
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HON. LEONARD ALLISON MORRISON.
13
strong Buildiug for Nesmith I^ibrar}',
Windham, N. H.," January 4, 1899.
Early in life he commenced writ-
ing for the press, and has been a con-
tributor since 1S61. In 187S he be-
gan his literary life in sober earnest
by commencing his " History of the
Morisou or Morrison Family," pub-
lished in December, 1880. Eleven
hundred volumes were issued, and
copies soon found their way into the
college libraries and larger public
libraries and into all parts of the
United States, Canada, Great Brit-
ain and Australia. It was well re-
ceived and the edition was quickly
exhausted.
It takes a person of a rare com-
bination of intellectual and other
solid qualities to make an interest-
ing and successful family historian,
or a traveler, and author of books of
travels. He must have literary
ability, patience to search for months
or years to find a missing link or
prove a fact ; unbounded persistence,
with the exactness necessary to col-
lect and put in shape the facts that
such a history should contain. As a
traveler he must have a trained,
quick eye to see, a disciplined mind
to appreciate, a retentive memory to
hold, a power of description and a
grace of diction to portray, to make
things real and interesting to his
readers. He must take them into
his confidence, make them his com-
panions in his wanderings by land
and by sea. How far our subject
has succeeded, let his success testif3^
as will the voice of the press.
The Literary World, in reviewing
it, "The Morrison History," July 2,
1 88 1, said " It has secured a perma-
nent place in the historical literature
of the country. A very creditable
volume it is, well planned, well pre-
pared, well illustrated, and well
printed and bound. Its early his-
tory is unusually rich in tradition,
and some of the stories of the heredi-
tary judges of Lewis, given in the
opening pages, are diverting. We
commend them to romancers in
search of material for out-of-the-way
places."
"The New England Historical
and Genealogical Register," April i,
1 88 1, in its review said, "It is in-
tended to present all that the author
could obtain by the most assiduous
research and correspondence concern-
ing the genealogy of the various
branches of the Morrisons in this
country and also concerning their
Scotch ancestry. The larger part of
the book is devoted to the posterity
of the Scotch- Irish settlers of the
name at Londonderry, of whom there
were several. Their descendants
have done honor to the sturdy race
from which they descended. The
work is a model of industry and is
arranged in a clear and intelligible
manner, besides having excellent in-
dexes."
The volume represents a vast
amount of careful labor well be-
stowed and judicially performed. In
its preparation the author traveled
more than 2,000 miles and wrote
over 2,500 letters. No possible chan-
nel remained unexplored.
This was his first book, upon
which he had spent three years of
toil. Without taking any rest or va-
cation he commenced the " History
of Windham in New Hampshire,"
his native town.
The aged people were few who
knew the early history of the town ;
tradition was fast dying out and he
14
HON. LEONARD ALLISON MORRISON.
felt that no time was to be lost. For
three years he gave this work his un-
remitting attention and the work was
published at the close of 1883, a
book of 872 pages and 60 pages of
illustrations.
In a review of it Oliver Stebbins,
in the " New England Historical and
Genealogical Register," says, "This
is an exceedingly interesting and
elaborate history of another one of
the little group of New Hampshire
towns of which Londonderry was the
parent settlement, and which owed
their origin to the efforts of those
grand and sturdy old Presbyterian
Covenanters who emigrated from Ire-
land and Scotland at the beginning
of the last century ; — those brave,
self-sacrificing patriots whom no
sufferings could subdue, no threats
could terrify, no bribery could tempt,
nor persecution cause to waver in
their devotion to their simple faith."
The reviewer confesses that he
never can read the account of the
heroic defense of the town of Lon-
donderry, in Ireland, with its little
garrison of seven thousand men
against the whole Catholic force of
James II, supported by an army sent
by lyouis XIV of France which has
been so graphically described in the
histories of the New Hampshire
towns of Londonderry, Antrim, and
Windham, without feelings of in-
tense enthusiasm, although he him-
self comes from Puritan stock.
The title of Mr. Morrison's book
indicates in some measure the labor
bestowed upon and the interest taken
in the subject. On nearly every
page there is evidence of patient and
painstaking research and unremitting
toil.
The Literary World in its review
August 13, 1883, thus speaks of the
" History of Windham," stating that
two thirds of the book was " devoted
to a history of Windham families,
famil}^ b}^ family, of whom about 200
are included, arranged in alphabeti-
cal order. These family histories
contain an immense store of genea-
logical material, the collection of
which must have required an inex-
haustible industry and patience."
It was reviewed by numerous
papers in a commendatory manner,
well received by the public, and the
edition was quickly exhausted.
In 1882 he wrote a condensed his-
tory of Windham for the " History
of Rockingham and Strafford Coun-
ties." In recognition of his services
to family and local history, Dart-
mouth college, in 1882, conferred
upon him the honorary degree of
Master of Arts.
Mr. Morrison has not only been a
student and writer of history, but has
been something of a traveler. He
has traveled much in this countrj^
and Canada and has spent two sum-
mers in Europe.
The summer of 1884 was spent in
Europe in travel and historical re-
search. Some time was spent in the
Scotch settlements in the north of
Ireland. Those localities were vis-
ited from which came many of the
first settlers of Londonderry and
other towns in New Hampshire, and
which were made forever sacred by
their heroism, sufferings, and sacri-
fices. The old historic city of Lon-
donderry, in the defense of which his
ancestors participated, was visited
and became familiar ground. He
visited the noted cathedral in which
Episcopalians and Presbyterians wor-
shiped during the siege of 1 688-' 89,
HON. LEONARD ALLISON MORRISON.
15
though at different hours in the day.
A most interesting episode came to
him in connection with it. The
writings of Mrs. Cecil F. Alexander
were familiar to him. Some of her
poems he could repeat from memory.
But of her as a person or of her life
historj' he knew nothing. Her
poem, "There is a green hill, far
away, far away," and her "Burial
of Moses," "By Nebo's Lonely
Mountain," are familiar to the Eng-
lish speaking race, and her religious
hj^mns are sung every Sabbath in
multitudes of American churches.
Wishing to consult the ancient
records of the cathedral which were
in the charge of the lyord Bishop Al-
exander, he called at the palace to
obtain permission of the bishop.
Then he learned that the gifted poet,
Mrs. Cecil F. Alexander, was the
wife of the distinguished bishop and
was then in England. He ascer-
tained the singular fact, that he had
crossed the ocean and by accident
had entered the house and seen
something of the home life and sur-
roundings of the soulful poet, one of
the sweetest singers of the English
tongue.
" My Lord " was a charming man,
a poet, too, able and eloquent, simple
as a child. One who would readily
lead captive the hearts of men. He
is now the head of the Episcopal
church in Ireland. He readily
granted access to the records, and
for three days Mr. Morrison was in
the private study of the Dean of
Derry consulting them. He was the
guest and was much indebted for
courtesies to Hon. Arthur Eivermore
from New Hampshire, the American
consul, and his attractive wife.
He consulted libraries in different
parts of the kingdom and made the
acquaintance of interesting people.
Some time was spent in Dublin in
that vast repository of the valuable
records of Ireland, "The Four
Courts."
The historic libraries of London-
derry and Belfast gave him valuable
information. He traveled from the
South to the North, from the East to
the West of that land of greenness
and of beauty ; he visited her famous
lakes, cities, and world - renowned
causeway, and was delighted with it
all, save the poverty, wretchedness,
and misery of many of her people.
On leaving Ireland, the temporary
home of his ancestors, he thus speaks
in his " Rambles in Europe," etc.,
"As we steamed out of the harbor
(of Larne) I glanced back upon the
retreating laud upon which Nature
had poured out her riches and her
charms so lavishly. Farewell sweet,
beautiful Ireland ! Farewell your
high mountains, your green hills,
your lovely valleys, and sweet flow-
ing rivers ! I bid 3'ou all adieu.
" My desires to be in Scotland, the
fatherland, were too strong to be
longer repressed. I longed to gaze
upon her historic mountains, to
breathe her bracing air, and to press
my feet upon her soil. As the boat
speeded upon her way out of the sil-
very sea rose the bold outlines of the
Scottish coast. As the shades of
evening fell, bolder and more dis-
tinct came the high headlands, when
night brooded over the silent moun-
tains. I was in the home of my
forefathers. Thus I passed into
vScotland."
Scotland has been the home of a
great and intellectual people. It is a
wonderful thing to have claims upon
i6
HON. LEONARD ALLISON MORRISON.
a nationality whose traditions and
memories have been glorious. Scot-
laud had strong attractions to him.
There was magnetism in her moun-
tains, charms in her turbulent waters.
Weeks were passed amid historic
and famous scenes. The country
was traversed in many directions
from the English border to the wind-
swept shores of the Island of lyCvvis,
and the bleak shores of the North
Sea with its chill winds and beating
for a journey among the Western
Islands, around which William Black,
by his facile pen, has thrown such a
fascination. As he passed out of the
harbor of Oban, on the retreating
shores, as lofty sentinels stood the
mountain peaks of Ben Nevis and
Glencoe. Without stopping at the
island of Mull, skirting the island of
Skye, he reached the far north .shore
of the Island of lyewis and entered
the harbor of Stornoway, the chief
The Druidical Stones at Callernish.
billows. The land of Burns was
visited, and in Ayr he made the
acquaintance of Miss Beggs, a niece
of the poet, a lady with black hair,
keen black eyes, and a strong, intel-
lectual face, and very pleasing were
her expressed memories of her fa-
mous uncle. Mr. Morrison became
familiar with famous places on the
Clyde, and Glasgow, the classic city
of Edinburgh and Sterling, and
passing through the Highlands he
reached Oban on the Western coast.
He took the steamer Claymore
cit3^ The city had wonderful at-
tractions for our tourists. In the
words of Whittier in the poem of
Abram Morrison,
" From gray Lewis over sea
Bore his sons their family tree.
" Of wild tales of feud and fight
Witch and troll and second sight,
Whispered still when Stornoway
IvOoks across its stormy bay.
Still the home of Morrisons."
It has been the home of the Mor-
risons for many centuries.
Hardly had he reached his hotel
HON. LEONARD ALLISON MORRISON.
17
before Norman Morisou, the post-
master of the city, was announced
and gave him the warmest welcome
to Stornowa3^
This island William Black has
made famous by his Sheila, a prin-
cess of Thule. He visited the
Druidical stones at Callernish, of
much celebrity and great antiquity,
and other places of historic interest,
crossed the stormy Minch and from
Inverness passed through the Cale-
donian canal and its chain of lakes
to Glasgow, a journey of unrivaled
beauty. He ascended Ben lyom-
mond, passed over the Scottish lakes,
through the Pass of Glencoe, that
"Vale of Weeping." After vi-siting
Sterling, Edinburgh, Peebles, he
passed to the "Debatable Land,"
near the English border, where lived
the clans of Little, Johnson, Chis-
holm. Maxwells, and others. He
was in the old home for many cen-
turies of the Armstrongs, or from
1235, the home of that redoubta-
ble border chief, " Gilnockie " Arm-
strong, and saw in a museum his
great and might}- sword. Some
American branches of the name
claim descent from him.^ He vis-
ited the English lakes and the de-
lightful country at Keswick, Amble-
side, Windemere, and all the sec-
tions made sacred forever as the
residence of Mrs. Hemans, the sweet,
sad poetess, of Wordsworth, Harriet
Martineau, Coleridge, and Southej'.
In 1887, as a result of his travels
and investigations, were published
his " Rambles in Europe, in Ireland,
Scotland, England, Belgium, Ger-
many, Switzerland, and France.
With historical facts relating to
' George Washington Armstrong, Esq., of Brook-
line, Mass., claims descent from "Gilnockie."
xxvii— 2
Scotch-American families gathered
in Scotland and the north of Ire-
land." Two thousand four hundred
copies were printed. This was an
octavo volume of 351 pages with
illustrations. It was well received
and had many reviews.
The Exeter Ncics- Letter says,
"His style is direct and forcible
with frequent passages showing a
poetic appreciation of the beautiful
in nature and the romantic in his-
tory. The weird wilderness of the
far Northland, the glories of the
Castle Rhine and the ice-bound Alps,
the artificial richness of Paris and
Brussels, are all brought before us
in vivid description."
One seldom tires of foreign travel-
ing who has a taste in that direction.
In 1889 Mr. Morrison made his sec-
ond visit to Europe, traveling exten-
sively in Ireland, Scotland, Wales,
England, France, Switzerland, and
Ital}'. He was in Londonderry,
Ireland, and one bright, sunny Sab-
bath he perambulated the walls of
the ancient part of the city. In
writing of this he said, "It was a
singular and thrilling coincidence for
me to remember as I gazed on the
streets, the cathedral, the walls, the
River Foyle, and the hills beyond
that at that very July day and hour,
just two hundred years before, my
ancestors and relations, with their
friends and kindred, were wdthin the
city in the direst extremity, enduring
the horrors of starvation ; that they
walked those streets ; looked forth
with famished eyes upon the same
cathedral, the same walls, the same
river, and surrounding hills, and
were waiting with unspeakable long-
ing for succor to come, which came
at last."
i8
HON. LEONARD ALLISON MORRISON.
He made interesting discoveries
relating to the Scotch in Ireland,
which are recorded in his succeed-
ing volume relating to his trav-
els.
While in Scotland, he went to the
far Northland of Caithness to Thurso
and Wick. The heather was in full
bloom and covered the hillsides wnth
a beautiful purple. For long dis-
tances the mountains w^ere bare ex-
cept as covered by this mantle of
beauty. It was a treeless country.
This city, Thurso, was the birth-
place of Gen. Arthur St. Clair, one
of our generals in the Revolution.
There is the fine old castle of Neb-
ster, built about 1660, and situated at
the mouth of a river and amid groves
planted by human hands. That, and
its vast estate of sixty thousand
acres, is owned by Sir J. L,. Toll-
mache Sinclair. He and his fathers
before him, for generations, have
been members , of parliament. It
is the country seat of the family.
There General Grant was royally
entertained when visiting Thurso.
It was a pleasure to Mr. Morrison
to meet the Sinclair family at lunch
one day as their guest. Among
those he met were Maj. Clarence G.
Sinclair, Archdeacon Rev. William
Sinclair, chaplain to the queen and
vicar of St. Stephen's church, West-
minster, I^ondon, and ladies of col-
lateral lines of the family. All parts
of the castle were shown him by Rev.
Mr. Sinclair, Family portraits of
members of the family for 250 years
hung from the walls. Trophies of
the chase were there, while old
armor, guns and weapons of defense
were everywhere apparent. From
the top of the castle there was a won-
derful view. In the distance over
the turbulent w^aters he saw the
mountains of the Orkney islands.
While a guest at the hospitable
home at Wick of George Miller
Sutherland, F. S. A., he was shown
by his host an autograph letter of
the late Cardinal Newman, dated
August 21, 1887, in which he said
that while at sea June 16, 1833, he
wrote the h3'nin which all the world
admires, "Lead Kindly Light. "
In describing the country of Caith-
ness, Scotland, Mr. Morrison speaks
of it in his "Among the Scotch-Irish ;
and Through the Seven Countries : "
" Caithness, as a whole, is treeless
and one's eye will sweep over tracts
bounded only by the horizon where
hardly a tree will greet the vision.
" I have passed in the autumn from
the depths of Canada, through Ver-
mont and New Hampshire, when the
great stretches of mountains, hill,
valley, and plain, covered with hard-
wood growths, were ablaze with au-
tumnal glory ; where the leaves of
every tree presented all varieties of
color and were tinted with every form
of beauty, and the eyes feasted on a
scene of rapturous loveliness beyond
the skill of the writer to portray in
words or painter to place upon endur-
ing canvas.
"In Caithness was another and dif-
ferent scene of beauty, not the golden
tinted leaves on millions of forest
trees but the purple loveliness of vast
tracts of moorlands, where plain, val-
ley, hillside, and mountain slope was
in the glory of a purple robe, more
beautiful than any woven by weav-
er's loom for monarch's apparel. It
was the purple of the full blooming
heather, worth a journey across the
Atlantic to behold."
Leaving the enjoyments of the far
HON. LEONARD ALLISON MORRISON.
19
uorthlaud, he passed southwest
through the entire length of Scot-
land, England, to the sunny slopes of
Normandy, France, visiting many
places made famous by William the
Conqueror; the Paris exposition,
thence to the glories of the Alp-land,
Switzerland, and to classic Italy, over
its lovely lakes and its famous cities
of Milan, Venice, Florence, Rome,
Naples, and the long buried city of
Pompeii. Of that this sketch is too
meagre to speak.
While in London some time was
spent in the British museum and lis-
tening to debates in parliament. On
his return to the United States he
w^rote "Among the Scotch-Irish;
and Through Seven Countries," a
book of mingled description, and
published in 1S91. It is a com-
panion to "Rambles in Europe,"
etc. It was well received and called
forth favorable reviews. One says,
' ' The tour described extended from
Caithness, Scotland, on the north, to
Rome, Naples, and Pompeii on the
south. The reader catches glimpses
of tantalizing brevity of noble cathe-
drals, battle memorials and world-
famous structures, of fertile land-
scapes, hills clothed in purple
heather, ice-bound summits, and
azure lakes. He is permitted to
linger fondly at times on historic
spots hallowed by memories of some
of the world's greatest acts of genius
and of courage. Everything is
described as seen by a true Yankee's
shrewd, independent, observant eyes,
but seen also with a deep apprecia-
tion of the picturesque in nature and
of the noble in human achievement."
After this book was issued, his pen
did not rest. At one time he had
portions of five different works in
manuscript. In 1S92, he issued
"The History and Proceedings of
the One Hundred and Fiftieth An-
niversary of the Incorporation of
Windham in New Hampshire, held
June 9, 1892," which was published
by the committee of the town.
Those who took part in the exer-
cises, of which he was president and
gave an address of welcome, were
Rev. Augustus Berry and Rev. B. E.
Blanchard. Between 1,500 and 1,800
people shared in the festivities of that
occasion.
A very able historical address was
given by Hon. James Dinsmoor, of
Sterling, 111., who was a native of
the town. Among the other ad-
dresses were one by Gov. Hiram A,
Tuttle, Evarts Cutler, Esq., Rev.
Samuel Morrison, Hon. George Wil-
son, William C. Harris, Esq., Rev.
William E. Westervelt, William H.
Anderson, Esq., Rev. Warren R.
Cochrane, D. D., Hon. James W.
Patterson, Hon. Albert E. Pillsbury„
Hon. Frederick T. Greenhalge, af-
terwards governor of Massachusetts^
and Hon. J. G. Crawford.
The speaking was excellent. A
very nice poem was read from Mrs,
M. M. P. Dinsmoor. The vocal
music was furnished by the " Wind-
ham Glee Club," a club which had
retained its honored name and or-
ganization for thirty- six years. The
instrumental music was finely ren-
dered by a band from Haverhill,
Mass. It was an honored day and
one to be remembered with pride by
all those present.
In the same year was issued his
' ' Lineage and Biographies of the
Norris Family, i640-'92." Of this
the " New England Historical and
Genealogical Register" of July, 1873,
20
HON. LEONARD ALLISON MORRISON.
says, "It is a well compiled and
handsomely printed book.
The author has had much experi-
ence in writing books on local and
family history. He has given us in
the book before us a very full record
of the descendants of the Hampton
(N. H.) emigrant. The book is well
printed, and illustrated with numer-
ous portraits. It is well indexed."
In 1893 he completed and had
printed the "History of the Alison
or Allison Family in Europe and
America." It is the record of a
strong and intellectual Scotch family.
Some of its branches came direct
from Scotland, while others passed
to Ireland, and came from there to
the United States. Some of its mem-
bers were martj-rs for the Solemn
League and Covenant in Scotland.
Others continued the struggle for reli-
gious liberty in Ireland, while still
others crossed the ocean and main-
tained the successful famil}- struggle
on American soil."
A review (November 23, 1S93, the
Statesmaii) says, "Mr. Morrison has
done his work with abilit}- and fidel-
it}'. He has studied diligently and
written intelligently. Travel and
research made the foundation of a
strong structure, which is a credit to
the builder, and the family in whose
name it stands. A great deal of the
world's most important history had
been epitomized within the three
hundred odd pages of the volume,
and there is much beyond the genea-
logical records to interest and in-
struct. In arrangement the work is
a model of clearness, and its infor-
mation is available for the hasty ex-
amination or the leisurely study.
Twenty-five illustrated pages lend
attractiveness to the volume, which
is clearly printed, handsomely and
durably bound in cloth."
Other families claimed the atten-
tion of Mr. Morrison's historic pen.
The vSinclair, St. Clair, famil^^ an
old ai:d illustrious one in Europe,
with prominent and able offshoots in
American soil. After long and dili-
gent research it was w^ritten, and
issued from the press in 1S96. It is
a book called the " History of the
Sinclair Family in Europe and
America for Eleven Hundred Years,"
a book of 516 pages of printed mat-
ter with 63 pages of illustrations.
It includes many branches of this
widespread patronymic. Many
prominent personages of the name
in Great Britain are mentioned, into
whose libraries it has gone. It was
reviewed by the " New England His-
torical and Genealogical Register."^
A very lengthy article appeared in
the NortJicrn Ensign, Wick, Scot-
land, July 28, 1896, by Thomas Sin-
clair, M. A., of Torqua}', England,
author of "The Siuclairs of Eng-
land." In the opening sentence he
says, "A practised hand at historical
genealogy for man)^ years, Mr. Mor-
rison's latest work is a monumental
book about the lineage which he has
this time chosen to treat." John
Sinkler (name spelled phonetically)
of Hampton and Exeter, New Hamp-
shire, in 1658, and his descendants of
ten generations, are given for 260
years, which includes the well-known
representativ^es of the state of the
past and present, and many others
in Scotland and over the land. Gen.
Arthur St. Clair, who was a promi-
1 Roland William Saint-Clair, of Auklaud, New-
Zealand, author o( " The Saint-Clairs of the Isles,"
procured this work, and by the permission of Mr.
Morrison took and incorporated seveutj'-five pages
of his work in " The Saint-Clairs of the Isles," his
work being all of the surname of Sinclair.
HON. LEONARD ALLISON MORRISON.
21
nent actor iu the Revolution, and
his asceudauts and descendants, is
another prominent branch, whose
genealogy and history are fully given.
"The History of the Morison or
Morrison Family" was finished by
Mr. Morrison in i8So, which gave the
record of his father's family for gen-
erations. He then determined to
write "The History of the Kimball
Family," in memory of his mother,
who was Kimball before marriage.
This was upon his mind, and he
had been gathering information ever
since. When in England, by search-
ing the public records, he discovered,
located, and visited the home parish
of the Kimballs in the parish of Rat-
tlesden, county of Suffolk, England,
which his ancestor, Richard K^-m-
ball, left in 1634. The work was a
stupendous one. It was seventeen
years from its commencement to its
completion. During its progress, he
discovered that Prof. Stephen P.
Sharpies of Cambridge, Mass., was
also engaged on the same historical
subject. Thinking that better re-
sults could be secured by working
together, they formed a literary and
business partnership upon it, and
brought the work to a completion in
1897, and issued a "Supplement"
in 1898. The history is a large book
of 1,290 printed pages, with 54 pages
of illustrations, and 1,000 copies
were printed.
The next venture of Mr. Morrison
was a second edition of the poems of
Robert Dinsmoor of Windham, self
styled the "Rustic Bard." He was
a brother of the elder Gov. Samuel
Dinsmoor of New Hampshire. An
edition of his poems, many of them
written in Lowland Scotch dialect,
which was understood and spoken
for more than a hundred years by
the descendants of the early Scotch-
blooded settlers, from Scotland and
Ireland. Many of his poems had
never been printed. Mr. Morrison
carefully examined them all, rear-
ranged, compiled, edited, and printed
all of worth, with a large number of
explanatory notes, and published it
in 1898. Copies went to all parts of
the country, and some found their
way across the water to the old sod
and native heath of the family.
This literary and historical work
has completely absolved his mind
and he has engaged in it with great
enthusiasm and delight.
He was elected a life member of
the New Hampshire Historical so-
ciety in 1893 ; is a member of " The
Scotch-Irish Society of America,"
and was elected vice-president for
New Hampshire in 1894, and re-
elected in 1895 and 1896. He is an
attendant and a contributor to the
support of the Presbyterian church.
He has never assumed the hymeneal
vows.
The last book (a small one) was
" Dedication Exercises of Armstrong
Building, for Nesmith Library,
Windham, New Hampshire, Jan-
uary 4, 1S99." His connection with
it shall be told in his own words.
" I consider it an honor that I was
permitted to take so active a part in
the library's establishment, one of
the three institutions of the town
which will endure.
"Life has dealt kindly with me,
that I could help and could state the
way the 'Armstrong Memorial Build-
ing ' was hastened to completion ;
and at the dedication exercise held
January 4, 1899, that I could occupy
the position, when the library en-
GEORGE WASHINGTON ARMSTRONG.
Giver of the ''Armstrong Memorial Biiiidiiig,'" of IVitui/iam, iVeiv Hamfs/iire.
HON. LEONARD ALLISON MORRISON.
tered its career of greater usefulness
than ever before. Then after the
* Dedicator}' Exercises ' a sum of
money was put into my hands, by
one of the good friends of the library,
which I invested in books. All this
was a heartfelt joy and a great de-
light.
"Col. Thomas Nesmith having by
will left three thousand dollars to the
town of Windham, N. H., for the
establishment of a library, the town,
having at a legal town meeting duly
accepted that gift, took the initiatory
steps for the establishment of the
library in April, 1871.
" The first instalment of books was
purchased on May 9, 187 1. The
books were placed in an anteroom
prepared for the purpose in the up-
per town hall. The library in-
creased and another apartment had
also to be used. Things w^ere in
this unfortunate condition when the
incipient steps were taken which led
to the erection of the 'Armstrong
Building' for the Nesmith library,
which were in this wise :
"Knowing that George Washing-
ton Armstrong liked to read such
works as the reports of the New
Hampshire library commissioners, as
those interesting ones gave an ac-
count of each library in the state, of
which an account could be given, —
their size, their prosperity, kind of
building possessed, and whether they
were a gilt or otherwise, — and hav-
ing received the third biennial re-
port, I procured another copy and
forwarded it to him. There were
descriptions and illustrations of li-
brary buildings, many of them the
gifts of public-spirited citizens, show-
ing how the resources of wealth had
been consecrated to the public good ;
and a suggestion was made that it
would be a fitting opportunity for him
to give a memorial library building
for the Nesmith library in Windham,
the old home of his ancestors.
"The idea was new to him; it
had not entered his mind ; and,
when writing me soon afterwards, he
asked me what I meant. I replied,
June 24, 1897 : ' When I sent you
the report, with the buildings of
various libraries, I meant what I
said. — that it would be a very fine
and fitting thing for you, a descend-
ant of some of our early settlers, to
give it a library building in memorj-
of your fathers ; ' and the matter was
dropped. Nothing further was said
on the subject till he visited me on
the afternoon of May 2, 1898, when,
in the course of conversation, he
broached the subject of the erection
of a Nesmith library building for the
town.
"I had supposed the subject had
been dismissed from his mind ; but
he had been thinking about it, and
the more he thought the more he
was impressed with the plan to do it,
in very loving memory of his ances-
tors. He said — much to my sur-
prise and joy — that he had concluded
to do it.
' ' When it was announced that a
building for the Nesmith library was
to be built, a sense of thankfulness
for the kindness of the donor per-
vaded all hearts. A town meeting
was called to meet June 25, 1898,
and they voted to accept the gift of
Mr. Armstrong,
"He had wisely decided to build
of field stone a solid, substantial
structure, and William Weare Dins-
moor, of Boston, Mass., was selected
as architect."
24
HON. LEONARD ALLISON MORRISON.
^iM^'^^if^mMMMWi^mM^mm^mwmm^sMsm.i.
«l-„i, lA.i i,.UAUiU»AMJj^
..IPBSS'iti.,
MIZSMITH LIBKAUY-
CnOUGl VVASlillCGlOK AnWi;lJU»»!C «i LUlOOJCLlKL. l!iAi;i;/iOl!UM 1 "J*.
;U 1 t:! t-) V I , I 1 1 I. U; , J (i I'
( ) (U; /. J,!' .'.i 1 1! <>(; t.:i'(;l;l!-0K.
The Bronze Tablet.
The building was finished. In the
Memorial room is a bronze tablet
bearing this inscription in burnished
letters :
NESMITH LIBRARY.
This building is a gift to the town of Wind-
ham, New Hampshire, from George Washing-
ton Armstrong, of Brookline, Massachusetts,
MDCCCXCVIII, in memory of his paternal
ancestors, residents of Windham, and descend-
ants of Gilnockie Armstrong, the famous bor-
der chieftain of Cannobie, Scotland, some of
whose family emigrated to the north of Ireland
in the seventeenth, and to this country in the
eighteenth century. Presented at the sugges-
tion of Leonard Allison Morrison, of Windham.
Rev. James Pethick Harper, Pastor; John
Edwin Cochran, Town Clerk ; Augustus Leroy
Barker, George Henry Clark, Joseph Wilson
Dinsmoor, Selectmen; — Trustees of Nesmith
Library. William Wear Dinsmoor, Architect,
of Boston, Mass.
On the walls are three large,
well-chosen pictures, masterpieces of
ancient architecture, pleasing and in-
.structive ; they are the Coliseum at
Rome, the Acropolis at Athens, and
the Forum at Rome.
In this same room, at one side of
the arch, is a large, fine picture of
George Washington Armstrong.
PROGRAMME.
Prayer, by Rev. James Pethick Harper.
Speech, by President Leonard Allison Morri-
son.
Introduction of Hon. Albert E. Pillsbury.
Address, by Hon. Albert E. Pillsbury.
Introduction of William HenryAnderson, Esq.
Speech, by William Henry Anderson, Esq.
Remarks by Rev. Augustus Berry.
Presentation of keys, by George Washington
Armstrong, Esq., to Rev. James Pethick Harper.
Reception of the keys, by Rev. James Pethick
Harper.
Remarks, by William Calvin Harris, Esq.,
and reading of resolutions of thanks to George
Washington Armstrong.
Vote on resolutions.
Presentation of beautifully engrossed resolu-
tions to George Washington Armstrong.
" America," sung by the audience.
Exercises closed with the benediction, by
Rev. Augustus Berry.
HON. LEONARD ALLISON MORRISON.
25
SPEECH BY THE PRESIDENT, LEON-
ARD ALLISON MORRISON.
"Fellow-citizens: We will dedi-
cate this beautiful building to-day.
This is the first time the town has
ever had a public library building
presented to it in its 180 years of
living history. You have a house,
from cemented cellar to painted roof,
from stern to stern, which is dry,
and the most thorough that can be
built.
' ' You have some of the best mate-
rial in existence, that with which the
rich erect costly mansions in our
cities. It is so firm, so compact, so
substantial, so durable, its strong,
rugged wall will be as lasting as the
solid ledge on w^hich it stands.
"The work is done; it is well
done, and not done too soon. One
of the most pleasing thoughts of this
happy moment is that it is an his-
toric act. It is an act that has the
immutable stamp of an earthly im-
mortality upon it. We, with all our
hands have wrought, and all our
hearts have loved, must pass away;
but this building and this library, we
hope, will not pass away. Other
hands will tend it ; other feet will
press the gravelly road to reach this
favored spot ; other persons will read
and consult the volumes of this
librar5^ This library complements
the common school, and leads to
higher education and broader cul-
ture.
" It will preserve, in loving re-
membrance, him whose kindly
thought placed it here in memory
of his fathers. He speaks with the
silent eloquence of deeds.
"To his ancestors it is dedicated.
' For them each evening hath its shining star,
And every Sabbath day its golden sun.'
" We think of them and all their
rugged lives have earned for us.
"Mr. George Washington Arm-
strong has presented us this build-
ing. It is tasteful ; it is strong ; it
is beautiful. We tend our thanks
for his munificent gift.
"Mr. William W. Dinsmoor, the
able architect, has watched over
every detail from start to finish.
Nothing has escaped his notice. It
is all there ; and he has our most
profound thanks.
"The President, I^adies, and Gen-
tlemen : We have one here to-daj^
not a son of old Windham, but a
sort of grandson, whose mother,
Elizabeth Dinsmoor, was a native,
and before her marriage a resident,
of this town. I have the satisfaction
of introducing the ex-attorney-gen-
eral of Massachusetts, Hon. Albert
E. Pillsbury of Boston, Mass., who
will now address you."
It is well to say that the dedica-
tory exercises were all that could be
desired.
The homes of men show somewhat
of their tastes and desires. The resi-
dence of Mr. Morrison at " Stornoway "
is no exception. His home is a hospit-
able one. The walls about the high-
ways have been relaid, the fields
have been freed from stone, and the
abundant acres are rich with grass.
In 1876 he celebrated the centennial
by setting out one hundred shade
trees, lining the road in three
directions with them. Twenty-three
years have passed away, and these
have become large and stately, and
furnish to all abundant shade.
IN THE YEAR OF OUR EORD 1900.
By Merrill Boyd.
E appeared strangely hand-
some as he stood there be-
side the great oak mantel.
His clearly cut features had a
look of iron determination, uncom-
mon in so young a man. Men said
of Kenneth Stanley, presidential can-
didate, that he had all the tenacity
of a bulldog. They erred in their
metaphor. His was a grasp of steel
within a glove of silk. He never
flinched. He never mistook. He
resembled fate in his directness and
inexorableness. A friend never flat-
tered, an enemy never deceived, him.
The day had been one of triumph,
for he had received official informa-
tion of his mission to lead a great
political party to victory or defeat.
Eater he had been closeted with the
party leaders. The broad lines of
part}^ polit}^ had been formed. All
seemed of good omen for the cam-
paign. The contest was to be sharp
and brilliant, and upon the young
leader, to a large degree, w^ould lie
the burden of the assault. Yet the
soul of Kenneth Stanley was thril-
ling with impatience at the very
thought of the affray, for upon it he
had. staked his whole future.
As the evening came on he had
strolled alone beside the great sea,
rejoicing in its power. The dark,
gray cliffs of the Atlantic towered
majestically. A night-hawk swooped
down with its weird cry. Sternly
and. remorselessly the great waves
beat against the opposing rocks.
The salt spray dashed about him.
In the distance a bell buoy rose and
fell, rose and fell. And in some
strange fashion it had comforted him
as he turned homeward.
Now he stood alone in his diml^^
lighted .stud}^ leaning heavily against
the mantel, and, for the first time
in years, thinking of his childhood
days. Once more he was a boy, play-
ing gleefully near the great sea, and
beside him was Kitty, brown-handed,
brown-eyed little lassie, the com-
panion of so many youthful joys and
sorrows. Again there was the old
home, fragrant with Eastern roses,
and the starlit presence of a mother's
love.
The years glided by, happy, jo}--
ous years for the most part, and he
must leave for the old college whose
very name had to him the ring of
sincere and noble manhood. Boy
that he was, a shrinking terror seized
him at the thought of the new world.
Then his college life began, and will
he ever forget that ? After a cursory
inspection he judged it to be all
jollity and good fellowship. He was
young, you see, so he quickly fell
into the habit himself. All traces of
sadness in his home life were care-
fully hidden. Even the choking
loneliness for that home was stifled.
Why ? Simply to meet the tradition
IN THE YEAR OF OUR LORD igoo.
27
that college is a place of uninter-
rupted pleasure. In about two 3'ears
the boy passed through his period
of doubt and unbelief. All the old
moorings seemed slipping away. He
yearned for his peaceful thoughts of
former days, yet he concealed his
tormenting unrest with a smiling
face. The time drew near when he
must leave the old college. Once,
twice, 3'ea, thrice, the hand of
God removed members of his class,
and his heart was weary within him.
But custom demanded good cheer,
and so he obeyed.
On a bright June night the
Seniors, his class, gathered for the
last time around the fence to sing
the old songs. And, though his
eyes were dim, and a lump icould riso.
in his throat, he remained outwardly
composed. A half hour later, he
entered his room, lighted only by the
moon, in time to hear a stifled sob-
bing. On the window seat lay his
room-mate, the jolliest, most reckless
member of the class, crying as if his
heart would break. The boy, a boy
no longer, stole softly to his side, and
heard, like a revelation, the story of
another life that had been apparently
joyous, while inwardly bearing a
lonely sorrow. And two souls at
least thought it no disgrace that the
pain of 3'ears should find expression
in burning tears of sympathy.
His new life in the world began.
He worked with a splendid enthu-
siasm. He kept straight at the
mark of his ambition. A single op-
portunity was the crucial test of his
success, and he met it well. In a
great amphitheatre was gathered a
vast audience of workmen whose
faces were sullen with despair. Ken-
neth Stanley rose to address them.
At first he spoke calmly, but it was
the quiet before a mighty storm.
Soon his flashing eyes betokened his
intense earnestness. Tow^ering like
a giant, with massive form and dark-
ening brow, he hurled forth his de-
nunciation of their employers' con-
duct. His words resembled, not the
rushing river, but the thunder of a
cataract. Then his voice sank al-
most to a whisper. Simply, mourn-
fully, he wailed for their shattered
hopes. Again, in a lofty burst of
pathos, he upheld their honor and
integrity, but pleaded for peace. The
faces of that audience were bathed in
tears of sympathy.
The victory was brilliant, instant.
From one end of the land to the
other accounts of the matchless elo-
quence of the young orator were
trumpeted. The great army of labor
greeted him as their champion. His
political associates recognized their
opportunity, and, in a convention
of tremendous excitement, gave him
an overwhelming nomination to the
presidency.
So to the young leader there
comes a procession of faces once
dear, now lost, and an undefined
longing for the days that are no
more. To every brave soul once in
life comes a consciousness of its own
terrible solitariness. Such a moment,
even in the hour of triumph, had
come to Stanle}^ with a dull sense
of pain that agonized. He realized
dimly that something was lacking in
his life perhaps never to be acquired,
yet he must face his duty.
Suddenly he was conscious of a
presence. Some one had entered
unannounced. He turned quickl}'
toward the caller. Men had said of
Stanley that he could judge a man's
28
IN THE YEAR OF OUR LORD igoo.
dress and soul at one glance. Yet
here was a sharp contradiction, for
Stanley, as he gazed at the man's
form before him, not for a moment
thought of dress or soul. The eyes
of the stranger were so familiar.
Where had he seen them ? They
were curiously like those of his
mother in their gentle light. He felt
that he would never tire of gazing
at them. But courtesy demanded
action.
" Please be seated," he said. The
stranger gave a simple motion of
refusal.
" I have known you before," ven-
tured Stanley.
" Yes," was the answer in soft but
startlingly clear tones, "you have
known me."
"And my life is known to you? "
"Yes, I know it."
Stanley was struck by the direct-
ness of the reply. It was plainly
asserted that his entire history was
known by a stranger, yet there came
to the young leader no thought of
contradiction. Somehow it seemed
the most natural thing in the world
that the stranger should know all.
Then Stanley did, what for him
was a remarkable thing. He asked
a direct question concerning man's
opinion of himself. Did it arise from
the feeling of desolation upon him ?
God knows. Our duty is but to
record the fact.
"And has my life been a success ? "
For a moment there was silence.
Then came the reply.
"As men reckon success, yes. As
God, no."
A great wave of self pity came
over Stanley's soul. Somewhere he
had read, with contempt, that men
in battle had often been known to
confess to the hilts of their swords.
Now he realized their feeling. He
felt that he could pour forth his
whole heart to this quiet visitor. In
quick, impetuous tones he began :
* ' Once I would have said the
same. I have had my ideals, but
they are changed. My dearest
friend and I discussed for days the
meaning and purpose of life. Con-
fident of my position, I even dared
to descend from the rugged heights
of my own belief, and to stoop to
the dark valley of my friend. With
glowing words I painted the joy and
nobility of life. I employed phil-
osophy and poetr}^ and religion to
attack his position. But I was not
wise enough or good enough to let
my claims rest there. My arguments
took on something of the nature of
the lower level. I even went further.
I dared to confront and to attempt
to refute the brilliant arraj^ of doubt-
ers and agnostics. Suddenly a great
darkness fell across my mental vision.
I tried to force it from me. In vain.
I, myself, no longer believed. I
doubted."
" I know," said the stranger, softly,
"I know." Somehow the words
gave comfort to Stanlej^'s wounded
soul. He went on more quietly :
"And so I have lived on, fighting
and doubting. Was it wrong to
change my ideals ? Did I not mis-
take my duty ? Is not an ideal
merely a lighthouse to show the
way, but never to be reached. Many
there are who strive toward it that
they may weep out all memory of
toil and agony. And yet though
they seek for it, and strain their eyes
for it, and sob for it, they never at-
tain unto it. Often, in the distance,
they see it, and, for a moment the
IN THE YEAR OF OUR LORD igoo.
wail dies out of their voices, but it
eludes them with increasing pain."
Stanley was gazing imploringly at
the stranger now.
The reply came in the same,
steady tones. "There is something
higher in life than to follow one's
own leading, though that aim be
high. To lower one's ideals is a
most pitiful failure, for then some-
thing has gone out of the life never
to be regained."
Stanley had moved a step toward
the speaker, and was listening as to
his own condemnation. He felt that
the clear eyes before him were read-
ing his very soul.
" But, oh ! " he cried, "how shall
I know the true ? ' '
"The true will live," was the
answer in tones of such authority
that Stanley believed. Others might
suggest. This stranger knew.
Like a vivid flash Stanley remem-
bered his proposed campaign, how
that he was to appeal to the lower
passions of the poor to attack the
more affluent classes. Yet he never
thought of telling that to the
stranger, feeling that it was all
known. A straight line of care ap-
peared across the candidate's brow.
Leaning heavily against the mantel,
he spoke slowl}^ as though weighing
every word, j^et dimly conscious that
any excuse he might give would be
in vain.
" The poor are oppressed and there
is no one to comfort them. They
pass through hunger and endless toil
and sorrow, yet they see no hope.
They are cheated with lying words,
but no one says, ' Restore.' Justice
is perverted and there is no avenger.
Are not they justified in cursing
their rulers and their God ? "
Once Stanley had seen a mother,
with dumb agonv in her streamine
eyes, bend for the last time over her
child upon whose white brow had
fallen the kiss of the angel. And
at this moment the pain exhibited
in the stranger's face recalled the
sight, only the pain seemed more
terrible.
"True," was the answer, "there
is no one to minister to their bodies,
but there is one who observes ; there
is a comforter to their souls. Yet
are you not a ruler of them, and are
you not bringing a message of
despair? And, although your mes-
sage is true do you not seek your
own profit without thought for the
souls of the poor ? "
Stanley was speechless. His throat
seemed parched. Even in those few
minutes he seemed to have aged.
Again the clear tones went on :
"Bear a message to the people,
whether they will hear or refuse to
hear. Tell them that before man's
laws, or commands, or wishes, is the
voice of God. If a man is just and
has oppressed none, is a giver of
bread to the hungry and walks in
God's judgments, he shall surely
live. But if he has ground down the
needy, feeds not the poor, and fol-
lows not God's precepts, he shall die..
Say that a nation may wax strong
in wealth, and fleets, and standing
among the peoples of the earth, but,
if it forgets God it shall die, for as
is a man so is a nation. Beyond the
love of home, or kindred, or countrv
is the love of God, and the love of
man is the love of God."
" The message is old ! " cried Stan-
ley. His voice was strained and
wearied. " It has been told to men
for thousands of years, and they have
30
GOING TO MARKET.
uot heeded it. They will not heed it
now."
"Truly, trul}', the message is old,"
came the reply, "but right is right
through all ages. So is sorrow aud
sin and death and duty. Then carry
the message. Let God care for the
resuk."
Stanley buried his face in his
hands. A minute later he looked
up with an expression of patient en-
durance that was pathetic. And lo !
his visitor departed, leaving as it
were a terrible void. For a moment
Stanley hesitated. Then he turned
resolutely to his desk and wrote hur-
riedly but with masterly power.
A day later the letter of acceptance
of Kenneth Stanley, presidential can-
didate, was telegraphed into every
nook of this great country. It con-
tained no mention of man's greed or
man's wrongs, but only a call like a
trumpet note to the people to remem-
ber duty and God. And men said
that day throughout the nation that
the message was like unto that of a
prophet of old.
GOING TO MARKET.
By Alice O. Da)- ling.
I hied me to the market with
A basket full of sighs ;
The sweetest, saddest, loveliest things,
And cried, " Who buys ! Who buys ! "
Only one old dyspeptic bought,
And I went bankrupt on the lot.
A bigger basket full of laughs
I carried into town,
A basket piled and rounded up
Yet light as thistle down.
I 'm blessed, for all the jolly rout,
If I can tell what 'twas about.
L,o, men of every trade and tongue.
Of every clime and lot,
The scholar and the ditch-digger.
The fool and wise man bought.
I built a palace with the gold
For which these jolly laughs were sold.
MRS. PETTIGREW'S VENTURE.
Bv Willaiiietia A. Preston.
il |^^S»^ JUMPING gold mine!
A two- acre frog ranch !
Why didn't he call it a
frog pond and done with
it? Millions in it ! I do n't believe
it, there now."
Squire Pettigrew was reading aloud
the headlines of his weekly paper, in-
terspersing them with remarks of his
own. It was the only way, he main-
tained, of getting the news in a nut-
shell, and what did anybody want of
more ?
" What was all that about, Simon ? "
inquired Mrs. Pettigrew, bringing in
a dish of apples. The Squire prided
himself upon having one tree of ap-
ples that would keep their flavor until
midsummer.
"Why, it's nothing but a frog
pond. Some fool thinks he is going
to make his fortune rai.sing frogs.
He don't know, twice. There is as
much sense in raising a lot of hedge-
hogs."
" But if folks wanted them and was
willing to pay for them ? ' ' persisted
Mrs. Pettigrew.
"That's all you women know,"
exclaimed the Squire, taking an ap-
ple from the dish and stalking to the
door.
Mrs. Pettigrew waited until her
husband was out of hearing, then she
took up the paper and read the arti-
cle in question. An idea had oc-
curred to her. Was not this the
golden opportunity for which she
had looked so long and vainly ?
Sqviire Pettigrew was what is called
a " near man," not a miser. He be-
lieved in living well and keeping up
a good appearance, but the old ad-
age of a penny saved being a penny
earned, was the keynote of his life.
Mrs. Pettigrew often sighed for a
chance to do a little earning rather
than so much saving. Jessie, her
eldest daughter, a bright, pretty girl
of sixteen, wanted to go to the acad-
emy at the village, but her father
would not consent. A district school
was good enough for him and it must
answer for his children. But the
mother wanted her daughter to have
the best that could be obtained. She
had lain awake many a night trying
to contrive some way of earning or
saving the first term's tuition. For
if Jessie could have but one term she
might then be able to teach and so
pay her own way. But saving had
been carried to the point of an exact
science in the Pettigrew household.
The poultry clothed the family, the
butter paid the grocery bill. Every
dollar from the fruits and vegetables
had its part to play in the economy of
the home. But if the frog pond
could only be made a source of profit
instead of annoyance. Many and
many a time had she wished the
earth would open and swallow it up.
Now it seemed to her excited fancy
what the paper had called it, a jump-
ing gold mine. Frogs ! There must
be hundreds if not thousands of them,
to judge from their unearthly croak-
MRS. PETTIGREW'S VENTURE.
ing. Slie could not sleep for planning
when and how she would put her
scheme into effect.
After the dinner work was done,
next day, Mrs. Pettigrew, impatient
of further dela}', harnessed old Doll
and drove to Hingham and straight
up to the front door of the new hotel,
then filled with city boarders. Ty-
ing her horse to a convenient post,
she took from the back of the wagon
a covered pail containing a dozen
struggling frogs and marched up the
front steps, apparently undaunted by
the number of people staring at her.
"I want to see the proprietor,"
she said firmly, yet wishing the earth
would open and hide her from sight,
as the frogs began their music.
" He has gone to the city, Madam.
Is there anything I can do to serve
you ? ' ' inquired an elderly gentle-
man perceiving her embarrassment.
" Why, I heard that the folks out
here was in a taking for frogs,
though what they want of the slip-
pery critters is beyent me, so, as
we 've got the biggest frog pond in
Chelton county, I brought some over.
I thought it was a good time to rid
the pond of the pesky things."
The gentleman shook his head re-
provingly at his companions, who
were convulsed with laughter, then
turning to Mrs. Pettigrew, whose face
was growing painfully red,
" Come around to the other side of
the house," he said, taking the pail
from her hand and leading the way
to the side porch. " I think we will
not be interrupted here. Now tell
me all about it."
Again Mrs. Pettigrew repeated her
story of frogs to spare, and lifting
the cover of the pail showed what
she considered fine specimens.
The gentleman managed with diffi-
cult}' to conceal his amusement.
'■ I do not suppose they could use
them here," he remarked kindly.
'• We like the sort of things you eat,
berries, eggs, cream, but there are
people who consider frog's legs a
great treat."
■'How can I find them?" asked
Mrs. Pettigrew eagerly. "You see
this is the only thing on the farm I
can call my own. If I sell eggs or
chickens, or fruit, the Squire is sure
to call me to account for every penny.
My Jessie, as good a girl as ever
lived, wants to go to the academy.
Then she could teach and help edu-
cate the 3'ounger ones. The Squire
says the district school was good
enough for him and it must do for
his children, and he with money at
interest. But I mean to circumvent
him yet if I can only make that old
frog pond do its share."
" But you say nobod}^ wants them ? "
she added, as an afterthought.
" I don't think we could use them
here, but I am going to the city to-
night. If you like to leave these
with me, I will see what I can do. I
will let you hear from me in a day or
two. My name is L,orimer, Charles
Ivorimer."
"Judge lyorimer," exclaimed Mrs.
Pettigrew, almost aghast at her au-
dacity, as she recognized the name
of the great man the Squire was con-
stantly quoting. She could only ac-
cept his offer with murmured thanks
and get home as quickly as she could.
On the evening of the third day,
however, Judge Lorimer called. The
Squire felt highly honored. He did
not know he had his wife and the
frog pond to thank for the interview.
They had a pleasant social evening
MRS. PETTIGREW'S VENTURE.
33
with no thought or word of business,
but just as he was taking his leave,
the judge handed Mrs. Pettigrew a
letter.
As soon as she was at liberty she
took it to her room and opened it.
There was the pay for her first frogs
and an order for all she could send
with explicit directions for packing
and shipping.
Thereafter her leisure hours were
spent in depleting the pond of its
best inhabitants, while the even-
ings were devoted to social life, such
as she had never enjoyed. The
Judge became a frequent caller, and
with him frequently came one and
another of the ladies from the hotel.
The Judge gave his invitations with
care, but his friends were not slow^ to
recognize Mrs. Pettigrew's worth,
and to appreciate the Squire's pecu-
liarities.
Judge Lorimer finally convinced
Squire Pettigrew that times had pro-
gressed since his youth, and that to-
day education stood hand in hand
with nione}^ as a power in the world.
That it was, in fact, the surest in-
vestment that could be made.
It was with a very shamefaced
manner, as if caught doing some for-
bidden act, that the Squire handed
Jessie enough to pay her expenses
for a year. And his manner was not
much more self assured next morn-
ing when he told Bennie to harness
Doll and carry his sister to school.
"You might as well take your
books and see if you can learn any-
thing," he added gruffly, "there
wont be time enough to amount to
anything on the farm before its time
to go for her."
" But I expected to walk. Father,"
said Jessie, not knowing how to take
this new departure.
"Do you s'pose I want you com-
ing home all tired out ? No, I want
you to study as if your life depended
on what you learn, no half way
works, remember. And when you
get home, there '11 be enough to do,
there always has been," and again
the Squire took refuge in his sanc-
tum, the barn.
xxvii— 3
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Concord, N. H., 1846.
DR. CHARIvES HENRY SANBORN OF HAMPTON FALLS.
By F. B. Sanborn.
EW HAMPSHIRE lias had
its full share of eminent
physicians and surgeons, and
the Sanborn family, origi-
nally of New Hampshire, but now
dispersed throughout the United
States and Canada, has furnished
many of this profession. More than
forty doctors are named among the
2,200 Sanborns included in Victor
Sanborn's genealogy of the family,
lately published ; but Dr. Sanborn
of Hampton Falls was the first of
his immediate line to take up the
medical profession, which he prac-
tised, in his native region chiefly,
for forty-three years, after graduating
at the Harvard Medical school in
1856. Among his thirty-two class-
mates there, mostly younger than
himself, were Dr. C. E. Briggs of
St. Louis, Dr. Alfred Hosmer of
Watertown, Mass., Dr. Ezra Par-
menter of Cambridge, Dr. F. A.
Sawyer, Dr. Robert Ware, and Dr.
James C. White of Boston, with
others who rose to distinction. More
than half of this class are now dead,
the latest decease being that of Dr.
Sanborn, on the i6th of May, at his
residence in Hampton Falls, where
he spent the greater part of his long-
life. He was born there, October 9,
1 82 1, in the old house built by his
grandfather's grandfather in 1743,
and on the farm where all his ances-
tors had lived for nearly two hun-
dred and twenty years. His own
farm of thirty acres was part of the
original Sanborn estate, coming into
his hands by purchase, after it had
been in other ownership for a cen-
tury ; but his father's farm was
handed down by inheritance from
DR. CHARLES HENRY SANBORN.
37
generation to generation, from its
original settlement, about 1675.
On this farm Dr. Sanborn was
brought up, and became skilful in
its labors of all kinds,— planting,
sowing, haying, threshing with the
ancient flail, harvesting, wood-cut-
ting, plowing, and the care of ani-
mals of all sorts. His father being
an orchardist, and having originated
a new variety of apple, the " Red
Russet," at one time Charles be-
came a book agent, to sell the fruit-
book which described this among
other apples ; but the adventure did
not please him, and he returned to
the farm, — working there, or for
some other farmer, in summer, and
teaching school in winter at Kensing-
ton, Kittery, and elsewhere. He had
qualified himself by private study for
better teaching than was then usual
in the common schools, and it was
from him that I acquired, about 1841,
when I was ten and Charles twenty,
the rudiments of L,atin and of
French, to which, half a dozen years
later, he added German, which also
he taught me, — for up to 1850
neither of us had ever attended any
but the connnon school, and that
only for some thirty weeks in the
year. But the farm labors were not
severe, allowing us mucli leisure for
shooting, fishing, swimming, chess-
and card-playing, and most of all, for
reading and private study, to which
we were both addicted from child-
hood. Charles was also a good
mathematician and draughtsman,
and skilful at mechanics, which I
could never master; although, still
under his instruction, I learned to
make women's shoes for the lyynn
manufacturers, and, with the pro-
ceeds of the only box I ever com-
pleted, paid the cost of a walking
trip to the White Mountains in Sep-
tember, 1850. At that time, and
for several years before and after,
Charles worked at that industry for
a portion of the year ; it kept him
near home, where he usuall)' pre-
ferred to be, and gave him money
for books, newspapers, and such
political expenses as he might in-
cur; for he was an active politician,
on the anti-slavery side, from 1845
for a dozen years, and had a hand in
the check and final overthrow of the
old-line Democracy, which ruled
New Hampshire for thirty years,
and in which both he and I were
brought up.
Charles Sanborn left the party of
his father and grandfather (for some
account of whom see the Granite
MoNTHi^Y of October, 1S98) in com-
pany with John P. Hale, then in
congress, Amos Tuck, Porter Cram,
and other leaders of the Democrats
in Rockingham and Strafford, in the
winter of 1844- '45. He was then
but two and- twenty, but he had
studied politics for years, and was
an energetic ally of the older men
who, in 1846, carried the state
against Franklin Pierce, Moses
Norris (our mother's first cousin),
Charles Gordon Atherton, and the
other sachems of the pro-slavery
Democracy in New Hampshire. His
friend, George Oilman Fogg, editor
of the Independent Democrat, which
had been started in Concord in 1845
to aid in the political revolt, being
chosen secretary of state in June,
1846, Charles Sanborn was appointed
by him assistant secretary, and com-
bined work in the state house with
a share of the editorial tasks at the
Democrat office. He resided in Con-
38
DR. CHARLES HENRY SANBORN.
cord for a good part of the year,
and there sat for this earliest por-
trait of him, which well represents
him at the age of twenty-five. Al-
though but thirteen years old when
the party division took place, in
1845, I followed my brother into the
new party, and became a faithful
reader, and afterwards a contributor,
of the Independent Democrat, — my
first contribution being a version of
Buerger's "Wild Huntsman" from
the German, which was printed there
in 1849, before I was eighteen.
Charles remained active in the anti-
slavery party for more than ten
years, and twice represented Hamp-
ton Falls in the legislature ; he also
acquired the then new art of pho-
nography, and at times reported
the legislative proceedings, speeches,
etc., for the Concord or Boston
dailies. He was one of the few
members of the house who thwarted
the Democratic plans for leaving
Mr. Hale out of the United States
senate, and helped re-elect him the
next year.
By this time, i853-'54, Charles had
decided to study medicine and began
to prepare himself for the medical
lectures in Boston, where, at gradua-
tion, in 1856, his unusual age (34),
and his wide reading and experience
of life gave him some advantages
and made up for the lack of an
earlier systematic course of instruc-
tion. Although no college alumnus,
he was a better scholar than most
graduates are, and his habits of ob-
servation, of reporting, and of writ-
ing served him well.
His medical knowledge, however,
which became very extensive, was
mainly acquired during his long
practice in those towns where he had
tilled the land, taught school, drilled
the militia, — for he became a lieuten-
ant, like his first American ancestor,
John Samborne of Hampton, — can-
vassed for elections, and performed
all the functions of a young citi-
zen. He knew every household for
miles around, and was on familiar
terms with all. Nor could he, after
trying Washington, Kansas, and
Massachusetts, feel himself so much
at ease anywhere as where his ances-
tors had lived for more than two cen-
turies. He therefore settled down to
the comparatively humble practice of
a country doctor, combining with it
the care of his small farm, and as
much business in the probate court
and elsewhere for his neighbors and
patients as they asked him to do.
He had already held most of the
town ofhces successively, and when
the Civil War came on he was able to
render much service to the town and
its soldiers, either professionally or
in the management of its war busi-
ness. His visits to the Virginia
camps, in the heat of summer and
the inclemency of winter, injured his
own health permanently, so that for
the last thirty years he had been an
invalid, and for the years beyond
threescore and ten, he was more ill
than most of his patients. Yet he
continued to care for them, and made
his last visit, five miles away, but
three days before his own death, of
heart failure.
Dr. Sanborn was that rather un-
usual character, a man of rare talents
and quick sensibility without ambi-
tion. He ever reminded me of that
saying of Oceanus to Prometheus in
the Greek drama, — "Always thou
wert more wise for others' sake than
for thine own." His plan of life in-
DR. CHARLES HENRY SANBORN.
39
volved much care aud service for
those about him, and little for him-
self. This, to be sure, is the charac-
ter of the good physician, and it was
this turn of mind, perhaps,, that drew
him into that philanthropic profes-
sion, after severe disappointments in
early life had removed those personal
objects for which the many strive.
Those experiences gave the grave
cast to his handsome features which
appears in his earliest portrait, and
is hardly deepened by age and illness
in the latest, which shows him sitting
in his parlor, after the death of his
wife and his two elder children, oc-
cupied with reading, except as he
paused long enough to allow his
daughter's friend to take this like-
ness. Yet he was hardly ever mel-
ancholy in the common scope of that
word ; a fund of humor had been
given him on which he drew for
those amusing thoughts which he
could clothe in the most mirth-pro-
voking words, either of prose or
verse. He wrote well and much,
though seldom with a view to wide
publication, and when not playfully,
with a severe emphasis that ex-
hibited the exacting nature of his
ethics. His affections were deep
and tender, — if wounded, they some-
times made him unjust, but never
toward those who needed his practi-
cal aid. His way of life laid most of
those who knew him under some ob-
ligation to him — few more than the
writer of this imperfect sketch. But
he seldom made claim to any return,
dealing in his practice and in all the
affairs of life so that no member of
his little community has been more
missed at death, or more kindly re-
membered. He married, in 1862,
and of his three children but one.
Miss Anne lycavitt Sanborn, survives
him.
<^^,
HON. JCHN HAY.
I
M
The Fells."
HON. JOHN HAY— A SUMMER SOJOURNER.
B^y Hon. Saiiniel C. Eastman.
EW HAMPSHIRE has had
and deserved the reputation
of being a good state to be
born in. The rugged Gran-
ite hills have not always furnished so
alluring fields for young ambition as
the larger cities and the more fertile
and more populous states, so that the
additional comment has often been
made that it is also a good state to
emigrate from. Whether this is true
or not, New Hampshire is justly
proud of her sons who have left their
native state in early youth and made
a name for themselves on new soil
and amid new surroundings.
New Hampshire has other attrac-
tions. It is a good state to come to
for those whose permanent homes are
elsewhere. From St. Eouis, from
Chicago, from Washington, from
New York, from Boston, the tired
toilers of the ' ' busy haunts of men ' '
seek recreation and comfort in their
summer homes under the shadow of
Monadnock, on the shores of Winni-
pesaukee and Sunapee, in the White
Mountains, and on the shores of the
Atlantic, at Rye and Hampton. We
gladly welcome all such guests and
rejoice in their welfare and renown
and claim them as, at least, half citi-
zens of the Granite state.
Among them is Col. John Hay.
Though he has a house in Washing-
ton, and a home in Cleveland, where
42
HON. JOHN HAY— A SUMMER SOJOURNER.
lie keeps his legal residence, it is on
the shores of Lake Sunapee in New-
bury that he lives for a part of the
year as a matter of choice and not of
business. He is the owner of an ex-
tensive domain, to which he has re-
cently made additions, on one of the
most beautiful of the sloping shores of
the lake. To the beauty with which
it is endowed by Nature, he has added
increased attractions by the roads and
paths, which have been laid out un-
der his supervision, until there is not
a more attractive spot in the whole of
New Hampshire.
It is now several years since he
built his commodious and elegant
villa in the colonial style, to which
additions have been made from time
to time. Since then there has been
no summer in which this home of his
choice has not been occupied by him-
self or his family for at least some
portion of the time. His wife and
daughters are as fond of the locality
as he is.
John Hay was born in Indiana, in
1838. He received his early educa-
tion in that state, but entered Brown
university in an advanced class in
1855, at which time one of his prede-
cessors in the office of secretary of
state, Hon. Richard Olney, was also
a student in the senior class. It is
not recorded that they then and there
talked over the future and discussed
their course of conduct while con-
ducting the affairs of the nation in
the most important office of the coun-
try, except that of president. In
college, John Hay was soon distin-
guished for many of the qualities
which have made him prominent in
the world. Naturally the scholastic
View of Sunapee Mountain, from the, Porch of "The Fells.
HON. JOHN HAY— A SUMMER SOJOURNER.
43
view from "The Fells," looking East.
life brought his literary gifts more
prominently to the front than those
which have enabled him so success-
fully to perform the public duties
which have since fallen to his lot.
As an essayist and speaker, he
speedily took the first rank, while as
a comrade and associate, he was uni-
versally popular, in spite of the fact
that he entered a class where ties
were already formed.
He was the poet on class day and
his first verses possess the character-
istics which made his alma mater
call on him to commemorate the one
hundredth anniversary of its founda-
tion. The closing lines are,
As we go forth, the smiling world before us
Shouts to our youth the old inspiring tune,
The same blue sky of God is bending o'er us,
The green earth sparkles in the joy of June.
Where 'er afar the beck of fate shall call us,
'Mid winter's boreal chill or summer's blaze,
Fond memory's chain of flowers shall still en-
thrall us.
Wreathed by the spirits of those vanished
days.
Our hearts shall bear them safe through life's
commotion,
Their fading gleam shall light us to our
graves,
As in the shell, the memories of ocean
Murmur forever of the sounding waves.
After graduation. Colonel Hay
studied law in Springfield, III., and
was admitted to the bar in 1861. He
came to Washington at the inaugura-
tion of President Ivincoln and was
with him as assistant secretary until
his death, except when, as his adju-
tant and aide-de-camp, he was in the
field with General Hunter and Gen-
eral Gilmore.
After the war was ended. Colonel
Ha)' entered upon his career as a
diplomatist, being secretary of lega-
tion to France in 1865, and then, in
44
HON. JOHN HAY— A SUMMER SOJOURNER.
terms of about two years in each, to
Austro-Hungary and Spain. It was
during his term in the latter country,
in 1869 and 1870, that he wrote his
" Castilian Days," which at once es-
tablished his reputation as an author
of the first rank.
He returned home to become an
editorial writer on the New York
In 1897, he was appointed ambas-
sador extraordinary and minister
plenipotentiary to Great Britain,
from which ofhce he was recalled, in
1898, to be appointed to his present
ofhce of secretary of state.
It will be seen that he has filled
his of^cial positions for about two
5'ears each. We may hope that this
View from "The Fells," looking West.
7'iibiinc, being editor-in-chief for five
months. After five years' service in
this capacity, he removed to Cleve-
land and while there took an active
part in the presidential campaign.
In 1879, he again resumed his
diplomatic labors as assistant secre-
tary of state, retiring in 1881, when
he represented the United States at
the International Sanitary congress
at Washington, of which he was
president.
sequence will now be broken and
that no such limit will be placed
upon his remaining in his present
position, the duties of which he dis-
charges with such signal ability.
Besides fulfilling all of his public
duties, in connection with John G.
Nicolay, Colonel Hay found time to
write the history of the " I^ife and
Times of Abraham Lincoln," one of
the most valuable contributions yet
made to the history of the Civil War.
HON. JOHN HAY— A SUMMER SOJOURNER.
45
It is a most comprehensive work, re-
quiring great labor and careful re-
search, and also one for which the
two authors were eminently fitted by
their official and personal relations to
our great president.
Aside from this labor of love, his
single volume of prose is matched by
a single volume of poems. Is there
a fatality about the number two in
his life ? The volume of poems, pub-
lished in 1890, contains his dialect
poems, "Jim Bludso," " Little
Breeches," and the others, which at
once established his reputation at
home and abroad, and his poems of
travel, of incident, narrative, and
emotion, and translations. They
make one wonder why his muse is
silent. Or is it that he has his
drawer full, laid aside for nine years
to fulfil the rule of Horace and to
appear later ? I^et us hope that the
cares of state will not be so great as
to divert him from the duty which.
as author and poet, he owes to his
fellow-countrymen and the world.
While Mr. Hay has essayed with
success the lighter vein of the hum-
orous as well as the poetry of love,
affection, and sentiment, he has, like
all his predecessors, also adopted the
form of the sonnet. We cannot do
better than to end this brief sketch
by quoting,
TO w. H. s.
Esse qnani I'ideii.
The knightly legend of thy shield betrays
The moral of thy life ; a forecast wise,
And that large honor that deceit defies,
Inspired thy fathers in the elder days,
Who decked thy scutcheon with that stnrdj*
phrase,
To be ratlter than seem. As eve's red skies
Surpass the morning's rosy prophecies,
Thy life to that proud boast its answer pays.
Scorning thy faith and purpose to defend,
The ever-mutable multitude at last
Will hail the power they did not compre-
hend, —
Thy fame will broaden through the centuries ;
As, storm and billowy tumult overpast,
The moon rules calml}' o'er the conquered
seas.
^Memories sweet to the heart abound
}
In the fading life of this pale wild rose.
Memories that speak of £k joy profound,
More radiant and grand than the suns reposel
I mind me yet where this pin(i rose swayed
Laughingly nodding to you arid to me,
Sweet rose, it knew not that|its mandates obeyed
Determined its death in ourjruture to be. ^
iitter sweet, when the l^^artjij^
Andxiouds areiowcring and lire is too lon^,
Thiwose,]^hose power ahi^rt was made glad.
Gives the highlight touch to a past love song.
^j)
^oirittn L' Justin,
»ISE
By Edivard N. Pearson.
KW HAMPSHIRE'S share
iu many great enterprises
has been so important that
her history could not well be
written without trespassing upon the
annals of other states and other lauds,
to whose prosperity New Hampshire
born men and women have contri-
buted largely. In science, letters,
and the arts, in business, theology,
and statesmanship, in the ordeals of
battle, and in the pursuits of peace.
New Hampshire has contributed
more than her share of the leaders of
the nation. It is not, therefore, with
the intention of heralding some new
achievement that this present record
of New Hampshire prominence is
made, because it is not new for New
Hampshire men to have had to do
with the greatest enterprises of their
kind, but it is done because it is
noteworthy that three of the most im-
portant positions in an enterprise
calling for executive ability of the
very highest order, should be filled
by three men of New Hampshire
birth.
The Boston Terminal Company
has built, owns, and operates the
largest, most costly, and most com-
plete railroad terminal in the world,
and the chairman of the trustees,
Charles P. Clark, its manager, John
C. Sanborn, and its treasurer, Charles
F. Conn, were born in New Hamp-
shire, two of the three were educated
at her beloved Dartmouth, and all of
them cherish the deepest affection
for the state of their nativity. The
positions are held by them by no for-
tune of birth, and for no reason other
than that in all the great field from
which choice of men to plan and per-
fect and control such a vast under-
taking could be made, they were the
best equipped by ability and experi-
ence for the work to be done.
Chairman Clark stands in the very
front rank of the world's great rail-
road men, and New Hampshire
proudly claims him as a son. His
ancestry represents much of success
in the professional and business life
of two centuries of New England's
history, and it is interesting to trace
the line from Hugh Clark, the Eng-
lish emigrant of the first half of the
seventeenth century, through eight
generations, to the subject of this
sketch.
Hugh Clark (i) was born in 1613,
emigrated to America, and was liv-
ing in Watertown, Mass., in 1641 ; he
died in Roxbury, Mass., July 20,
1693. His son, Uriah (2), born
Jime 5, 1644; married in October,
1764, Joanna Holbrook of Braintree ;
died July 26, 1721, and was buried
in the old graveyard near Mount
Charles P. Clark.
A GREAT ENTERPRISE.
49
Waiting Room.
Auburn. His son, Peter (3), was
born March 12, 1693, and married
Deborah Hobart of Braintree. Upon
his tombstone in the old cemetery at
Danvers, Mass., may be read the fol-
lowing inscription :
Here lie entombed the Remains of The Revd.
Peter Clark
For almost 51 years the Painful, Laborious and
Faithful Pastor of the first Church in this
town.
He was a Great Divine, well established in the
orthodox Doctrines of the Gospel.
His writings on man}- important subjects will
Transmit his name with Honour to Posterity.
An accomplished Christian : well e.xperiened
in all the Graces of the Divine L,ife.
The most exemplary Patience, Humility, and
Meekness were illustratively Displayed in his
character as a Christian.
He was born March 12, 1693. Graduated at
Haivard College in Cambridge in 1712. Or-
dained Pastor of the first church in this Town
June 5, 1717.
He lived much esteemed and respected by
men of learning and Piety and after a long life
spent in the service of Religion, He died
much lamented on June 10, 176S.
.Ft.\tis 76.
xxvii — 1
His son, Peter (4), was born Oc-
tober I, 1720; graduated at Harvard
in 1739; married October 22, 1741,
Anna Porter of Danvers, Mass., and
died in Braintree, November 13,
1747. His son, Peter (5), was born
February 4, 1743 ; married October
20, 1763, Hannah Hpes of Braintree,
and removed to Dyndeborough, Janu-
ary 23, 1775. He enlisted in the
Continental Army in 1775, and was
commissioned captain of the Ninth
New Hampshire regiment. At the
Battle of Bennington he commanded
a company of sixty men and dis-
played great bravery, being the sec-
ond man to scale the British breast-
works. Captain Clark also partici-
pated in the defeat of Burgoyne at
Saratoga in 1777. He sat in the
New Hampshire legislature for many
successive terms and was deacon of
the Congregational church from 1783
%-
John C. Sanborn.
A GREAT ENTERPRISE.
51
Women's Waiting Roonn.
until his death, October 14, 1826,
aged 83 years.
Captain Clark's son, Peter (5), was
born September 27, 1764 ; married in
July, 17S3, Elizabeth Punchard of
Salem, and died in I^yndeborougli,
February 3, 1851. His son, Peter
(6), married Jane Aiken in 1809;
lived in Francestovvn, Nashua, and
Boston ; was distinguished for his
enterprise and public spirit, especially
in connection with the railroad in-
terests of New England, and died
December 25, 1853. His son, Peter
(7), was born April 29, iSio ; gradu-
ated from Dartmouth college in 1829,
and studied law at Yale. He mar-
ried. May 28, 1834, Susan, daughter
of Nathan and Phebe (Walker) Eord
of Kennebunkport, Me., and resided
in Nashua until his death. May 29,
1 84 1. He was a prominent citizen
of Nashua, and at the time of his
death was chairman of the board of
selectmen of Nashua, and treasurer
of the Concord railroad.
His son, Charles Peter Clark (8),
the head of the Boston Terminal
Company, was born in Nashua, Au-
gust II, 1836, and was educated at
Dartmouth college, class of 1856.
On October 21, 1S57, he married
Caroline, daughter of Samuel and
Elizabeth Spring Tyler. During the
War of the Rebellion Mr. Clark
served with distinction in the United
States navy. He entered in Septem-
ber, 1862, as acting ensign ; served
in the West Indies and East Gulf
blockading squadrons ; was twice
promoted, and was honorably dis-
missed in December, 1865, as acting
volunteer lieutenant commanding,
having commanded the ironclads.
Charles F. Conn.
A GREAT ENTERPRISE.
53
Carondclct and Bcii/on, of the Missis-
sippi squadron.
After the war, Mr. Clark was in
business in St. L,ouis for a short time,
and then became a partner in the
Boston firm of Dana Bros., who were
engaged in the West Indies trade in
sugar and molasses. In 1S71, he
began his railroad career, becoming
a trustee of the Berdel mortgage
of the Boston, Hartford & E^rie ;
istration the corporation has become
one of the largest and strongest of its
kind in the country. A natural se-
quence of its vastly increased busi-
ness was the construction of the new
Terminal, in the conception and crea-
tion of which President Clark was
the leading spirit.
John C. Sanborn, manager, was
born in Northfield, September 13,
1842, son of Dr. Samuel Roby and
Train Shed, looking in.
from 1873 to 1879, he was vice-
president and general manager of
the New York & New England ;
from 1 88 1 to 1883, second vice-presi-
dent of the New York, New Haven
& Hartford; from 1883 to 1886, again
with the New York & New England,
as its president, and in 1887 became
president of the New York, New
Haven & Hartford, a position which
he has filled to the present time with
brilliant success. Under his admin-
Clarissa Thayer Sanborn. His edu-
cational advantages were limited to
the common schools and Hollis insti-
tute, South Braintree, Mass. The
foundations for a successful career
were laid in the few years which
were spent in the schoolroom, and no
better example of a self-educated man
can be pointed out than is Manager
Sanborn. While a lad of only six-
teen, in 1858, the first step of a rail-
road career which has led to one of
George B. Francis, Resident Engineer.
A GREAT ENTERPRISE.
55
Tram Shed, looking out.
the most importaut positions in the
New England states, was taken.
The Old Colony railroad, in whose
employ so many men of New Hamp-
shire birth have made their reputa-
tions, was the avenue toward his suc-
cess, and his service with that com-
pany was continuous and faithful as
station employe, brakeman, baggage-
master, conductor, Boston station-
master, transportation-master, and
general train master until the lease
of the road, in 1S93, to the New
York, New Haven & Hartford. On
the latter date Mr. Sanborn was
made superintendent of the Ply-
mouth division, a position from which
he was taken when the greatest
honor of his career was bestowed
upon him, — his selection as manager
of the Boston Terminal Company.
In the last-named position Mr. San-
born visited the great terminals in
Europe in quest of information which
might be useful in the construction
and management of Boston's mag-
nificent station, which was to be
made the largest and finest in the
world.
Mr. Sanborn served his country
bravely as a soldier in the Union
army during the War of the Rebel-
lion. In the first regiment which
Massachusetts sent to the front, the
Fourth, we find him enrolled as a
corporal in Co. C, and later a lieu-
tenant in Co. B, Forty-third Tiger
regiment, taking part in all its num-
erous engagements, and remaining
with it until its term of service had
expired. Eater on he was commis-
sioned a captain of volunteers by
Governor Andrew. Mr. Sanborn is
a fine specimen of rugged manhood,
56
A GREAT ENTERPRISE.
and the honors which his own faith-
ful efforts have won for him rest
easily upon hira. Mr. Sanborn
numbers warm friends by the thou-
sands, but his success in life brings
satisfaction to many more who know
him only by reputation, but who ad-
mire the qualities which have been
conspicuous in the highly honorable
career of this self-made man.
prising if the contrary were true.
Charles F. Conn was born in Con-
cord, Nov. 1 1, 1865, and fitted for col-
lege in that city, graduating from
Dartmouth in the class of 1887.
During his college course he devoted
some of his vacations to learning
the practical side of railroading, and
when his education was obtained it
was not surprising that a good posi-
Midway, looking East.
Charles F. Conn, treasurer of the
company, bears a name which is
known and respected by New Hamp-
shire people at home and abroad.
His father, Dr. Granville P. Conn, is
recognized as one of the leaders of
the medical profession, not only of
New Hampshire but of the United
States. Perhaps Dr. Conn's emi-
nence as a railroad surgeon had
nothing to do with the son's choice
of a career, but it would not be sur-
tion was awaiting him in a Boston
transportation office. Promotion was
gained rapidly, and in 1892 he was
honored with the responsible posi-
tion of auditor of the Old Colony
Steamboat Company. His selection
as treasurer of the Terminal Com-
pany was the logical outcome of his
success in a position which had
brought him into association with
the gentlemen who were to make a
choice of the best man for the place.
A GREAT ENTERPRISE.
57
Mr. Conn has amply demonstrated
his capability for his new position,
and the great financial interests en-
trusted to him are managed in a
manner which displays rare natural
ability, aided by experience in posi-
tions where his thorough training,
quick perception, and sound judg-
ment have been potent factors in
winning success.
west bank of Fort Point channel, is
an admirable one for many reasons,
and as one approaches the building
from any direction its proportions are
impressive.
Opposite the end of Federal street
is the main entrance and central
architectural feature of the station.
The building extends from the
entrance south along Atlantic ave-
Wlidway, looking West.
THE STATION.
It is not our purpose here to at-
tempt a minute description of Bos-
ton's magnificent railway terminal.
The illustrations which accompany
this article, show, better than words
can tell, the magnitude, the con-
venience, and the beauty of the great
structure. The location, at the junc-
tion of Summer and Federal streets
with Atlantic avenue, and on the
nue 792 feet, and east on Summer
street 672 feet. The central portion
is a large five-story building, of
which the first story is given to sta-
tion uses, and the upper four stories
are used as offices.
Of the central, curved portion, 228
feet in length, two stories form a
strong base, in which are three great
entrance arches, and the upper three
stories are treated as a colonnade.
The columns are four and one half
58
A GREAT ENTERPRISE.
Train Shed, showing Bumpers.
feet in diameter, and forty-two feet
high. Above the colonnade the en-
tablature and parapet, broken by the
small projecting pediment, carry the
facade to a height of 105 feet from
the sidewalk. Above all, and at the
centre, is that necessity to railroad
stations, the clock, with a dial 12
feet in diameter. The top of the
clock case bears an eagle wnth wings
partly spread. Across the wings the
eagle measures eight feet. Over
each of the two piers which mark
the entrance is a flagstaff, 60 feet in
height.
All of the curved portion is built of
Stony Creek granite, and nearly all
the remaining front is of this stone,
but on each side of the colonnade the
granite is relieved by large, dark buff
mottled bricks. On the central por-
tion the granite is pointed and cut.
but the remaining ashlar is rock
faced, laid in regular courses.
The total length of the five-story
front is 875 feet ; of the two-story
building along Atlantic avenue, 356
feet ; of the two-story building on
Summer street, 234 feet ; on Dor-
chester avenue, the building con-
tinues 725 feet, two stories high.
The total length of the front on three
streets is 2,190 feet.
Along Atlantic avenue, the first
story is the outward baggage room,
with doors all along the street, pro-
tected by an iron and glass awn-
ing, wide enough to shelter bag-
gage teams as well. On the Sum-
mer street front the waiting-room
is marked by large arched window
openings, and beyond is the main
exit, a wide thoroughfare at the end
of the waiting-room. Beyoud the
A GREAT ENTERPRISE.
59
main exit the building is but two
stories high. At the corner of Sum-
mer street and Dorchester avenue is
the carriage concourse. Beyond the
carriage way, on Dorchester avenue,
is the long room for inward baggage.
In front of the entrance, in the
centre of the sidewalk island, is a
monumental granite lamp- post, 43
feet high, with several arc lights.
The entrance itself is a thorough-
fare 92 feet wide, lined with polished
Stony Creek granite. Four great
columns of polished Milford granite,
three feet and four inches in diame-
ter, support the ofhce floors above.
The ceiling is of white enameled
bricks, with girders incased in white
marble.
The end of the train house is
termed the midway. Opening from
the midway at the right is the par-
cel room ; next, the entrance from
Atlantic avenue, which is also the
entrance to the stair and elevator
hall to the offices above ; and along-
side the train shed is the outward
baggage room, 562 feet long and 26
feet wide. At the left are lavatories,
telegraph and telephone offices ; a
ticket office, with 1 1 sales windows
toward the midway and 16 openings
on the opposite side into the waiting-
room.
The waiting-room is convenient to
trains, of ample dimensions, 225 feet
long, 65 feet wide, 28}^ feet high,
and out of the line of traffic. The
floor is of marble mosaic. The walls
have a high dado of enameled bricks,
and a polished granite base — above
the dado the walls are of plaster.
There are three great doorways of
polished Milford granite, and two
verde antique marble drinking foun-
tains. The room has a rich modeled
stucco coffered ceiling, with beams
four feet deep, and carries well the
Signal Bridges in Yard, with Power-House in the Background.
6o
A GREAT ENTERPRISE.
Train Shed, from Yard, January
399.
electric light fixtures, which are in
excellent keeping with the ceiling,
and give to the room an adequate
diffused and unobtrusive light.
At one corner of the waiting-room
is the entrance to the women's room.
This room is 34 feet by 44 feet, most
comfortably furnished with rocking
chairs, easy chairs, lounges, and
tables, and for the children, cribs
and cradles.
At the eastern end of the waiting-
room is the passage to Summer street
from the midwa}', the main exit from
the train house. On the opposite
side of the exit, and also facing the
midway, is the lunch-room, 67 feet
by 73 feet, with marble mosaic floor,
and wainscoted with enameled bricks.
Beyond, and at the corner of the
lunch-room, is a stair and elevator
hall to the dining-room, on the second
floor. The east side of the train
shed is flanked by the room for in-
ward baggage, 507 feet long and 26
feet wide.
The building above the first story
is used for offices and employes.
Conductors and trainmen have rooms
in the Dorchester avenue wing, and
the remainder of the second story is
occupied by the Boston Terminal
Company. The entire third story is
occupied by the Boston & Albany
Railroad, and the fourth and fifth
stories are occupied by the New
York, New Haven & Hartford Rail-
road.
The first plans made contemplated
only a single floor for train service,
but after arranging as well as possi-
ble for the various controlling fea-
tures, making numerous studies for
the exclusion of baggage trucks from
the passenger platforms, and devel-
oping several ways of expeditiously
handling electric cars, it was found that
such unusual features tended to use
up space, and attention was directed
to the possibility of divorcing the sub-
urban, or short distance service, from
the long distance service, and plac-
ing the former at a different level,
thus doubling the room for tracks.
A GREAT ENTERPRISE.
6i
7ram Shed, from Yard, July I, 1899.
on certain areas. This was found to
be feasible, and the great suburban
traffic which the station must handle
was provided for in an immense base-
ment story, with platform room for
25,000 people.
lyoop tracks, two in number, con-
nect with the main tracks at points
about one half mile from the station,
and enter the station at one side of
the steam tracks, and at a grade
about 17 feet beneath them. As
they enter, thej^ spread, so that
there is a large platform between the
tracks. This central platform lies
immediately below the midway on
the main floor, and is connected with
it and with the main waiting-room
by stairs. It is designed to be the
loading platform, and is the right
platform for all trains. The unload-
ing is designed to be done on the
outside platforms. The capacity of
the two loop tracks is sufficient to
allow the sending out of a train a
minute, or 2,000 trains in and out
each day of 18 hours.
Some conception of the details
which have to be attended to, both
in planning, building, and managing
such a structure, may be gained
from the following statistics :
Total area of terminal land, about
35 acres ; total area covered by build-
ing, about 13 acres ; maximum length
of main station, 850 feet ; maximum
width of main station, 725 feet ; aver-
age length of main station, 765 feet ;
average width of main station, 662
feet; area of main station, 506,430
square feet ; area of awnings, outside
of buildings, 46,000 square feet ;
height of main station from sidewalk
to top of eagle, 135 feet; length of
express buildings, 712 feet; width of
express buildings, 50 feet ; length of
power buildings, 569 feet ; width of
power buildings, 40 feet ; total length
of buildings on street front, 3,300
feet ; length of train shed proper,
602 feet ; width of train shed proper,
570 feet ; height of train shed over
all, 112 feet ; area of midway, 60,000
square feet ; area of connecting roofs,
62
A GREAT ENTERPRISE.
17,500 square feet ; length of waiting
room, 225 feet ; width of waiting
room, 65 feet; height of waiting
room, 28j4 feet ; total length of
tracks, about 15 miles ; total num-
ber of tracks entering the station, 32 ;
of these, 28 are on main floor, and
four in the shape of two loop tracks,
on lower floor ; length of tracks
under roof, four miles ; number of
tracks through throat in yard, 8 for
main floor, 4 for lower floor; total
cars that can be set against platforms
on lower floor, loop station tracks,
60, all under roof ; seating capacity
for these cars, 28,104 people; capaci-
ty of express yard against platforms,
26 express cars, and 12 mail cars;
total capacity of mail and express
yard, 116 cars; capacit}^ of other
yard tracks, 93 cars; total of 613
cars.
In connection with the station,
there are 235 arc lights, enclosed
^1
weight of rail, 2,800 tons ; number
of double slip switches, 37 ; number
of switches, 252 ; number of frogs,
283 ; number of semaphore signals,
150; number of signal lamps, 200;
number of levers in tower No. i, 143 ;
number of levers in tower No. 2, 11 ;
number of signal bridges, 9 ; total
number of trains to use new station
when fully opened, 737 per day ;
number of 65-foot passenger cars
that can be set against platforms on
main floor of station, 344, 252 under
roof ; number of 40-foot passenger
pattern ; 6,000 incandescent lights,
1,200 of which are in the main wait-
ing room ; 25 electric elevators, 209
water closets, 138 urinals, 118 set
bowls, 5 shower baths, 106 fire sup-
ply outlets, 14 water metres, 29 stor-
age vaults, 43 toilet rooms, 215 office
rooms, 1,000 window shades, 200,000
pounds sash weights, 120 connections
for supplying gas to cars, 36 ticket
windows, 95 baggage- room doors, 69
express building doors, 10 steam
boilers, 4 electric generators, 9 com-
pressors, 45 electric motors, 20 heat-
NEW HAMPSHIRE NECROLOGY.
63
iug and ventilating fans, 25 steam about 200 acres of painting, reduced
engines, and i traveling crane. to single coat.
The material used to complete The inscriptions cai'ved in the
the work approximates : forty-three granite wall of the entrance give this
thousand spruce piles, 15,100,000 information:
common brick, 487,000 medium
brick, 846,000 enameled brick, 74,000
cubic 3'ards concrete, 32,000 cubic
yards stone masonry, 30,000,000
pounds steel, equal to about 1,200
car-loads ; 200,000 cubic feet of cut
stone for building, or 500 car-loads ;
75,000 barrels Portland cement,
20,000 barrels Rosendale cement,
8,000 barrels coal tar pitch, 6,500
barrels prepared asphalt, 850,000
pounds tarred paper, 450,000 pounds
sheet copper for roof trimmings,
5,000,000 feet yellow pine timber,
16,000 pounds solder, 10 acres of
gravel roofing, 150,000 square feet
wire glass, 40,000 pounds of putty to
set the same. There are 56,000
square yards water-proofing and
Note.— The illustrations for this article are made from photographs by W. H. Weller, of Boston
MDCCCXCVII.
This building' erected by
The Boston Terminal Company
Composed of
The Boston & Albany Kailroad Company,
The New England Railroad Company,
Boston & Providence Railroad Corporation,
Old Colony Railroad Company,
The New York, New Haven & Hartford Rail-
road Company.
MDCCCXCVII.
Josiali Ouincy,
Mayor of Boston.
The Boston Terminal Company.
Samuel Hoar, Royal Chapin Taft,
Charles Peter Clark,
Charles I.oughead Covering,
P'rancis Lee Higginson,
Trustees.
George B. Francis,
Resident Rngineer.
Norcross Brothers, Builders.
Shepley, Rutan & Coolidge,
Architects.
',„^M i
JOHN G. SINCLAIR.
John G. Sinclair, a time-honored resident of ISethlehem, died at his simmier
home, June 27, after a brief illness. He was born in Barnstead, March 25, 1826.
After following a country merchant's life for several years he prepared for college
at Newbury, Vt., institution, but owing to business ambition gave up the college
idea and soon attained an enviable business reputation.
Mr. Sinclair represented the town in the state legislature six different terms,
and was elected senator one term, and once was Democratic nominee for United
States senator. In 1866, '67, and '68 he was Democratic candidate for governor,
and was chairman of the state delegation in the National Democratic convention
in x868. He was the father of Col. Charles A. Sinclair, who died in April.
64 JV£IV HAMPSHIRE NECROLOGY.
REV. JOHN WOOD.
Rev. John Wood, a prominent Congregational clergyman, died at Fitchburg,
Mass., July 7, aged nearly 90 years. He was a native of Alstead, a graduate of
Kimball Union academy, Amherst college, class of '36, and of the East Windsor
Theological institute. He was ordained at Langdon, in 1840, where he was pas-
tor nine years. After pastorates at Townsend, Vt., and Wolfeborough he became
agent of the American Tract society of Boston, and later filled a similar position
in New York city. He removed to Fitchburg in 1879, where he has since re-
sided. He was married twice and leaves a widow and daughter.
DAVID S. PAIGE.
David S. Paige died at his home in New York city of a complication of
troubles, at the age of 85 years. Mr. Paige was born in Hopkinton in June,
1814, his mother being a daughter of Capt. William Stinson of Dunbarton. He
had the limited opportunities for education common in those days, and at an
early age he went to Boston, and after his father's death located in New York,
where his habits of thrift and enterprise stood to a good purpose. He entered on
a hotel career in West street, where later he built and managed Paige's hotel, op-
posite where important steamship lines landed passengers and cargoes. His wife
was an English lady of means, who well seconded his efforts. Two daughters
and several grandchildren survive.
Mr. Paige was a popular man, member of the New York legislature, and for
many years a member of the school board of the city. He never forgot his native
town and state, and his frequent visits, until hindered by failing health, were
enjoyed by him very much. A sister, Mrs. Harriet Huntress, of Concord, is the
only family survivor. Mr. Paige was a grand representative of that Scotch-Irish
people, whose force of character, strong and self-reliant traits, have ever been so
conspicuous and successful, traits that always win.
DAVID MASON.
David Mason, a native and life-long resident of Bristol, died at his home in
that town on June 26. He lacked but a day of being 79 years of age. In early
life he was pilot in the river gang engaged in rafting lumber and spars down the
Merrimack to Lowell, making that trip annually for seventeen years.
In 1852, in company with Capt. G. W. Dow, he began the manufacture of
strawboard, and since 1855 he had devoted his entire attention to the wood pulp
and white paper business, in which, in company with B. F. Perkins, of Bristol,
under the firm name of Mason, Perkins &: Co., he was extensively engaged in that
town. The company controlled the Newfound Lake Power company's stock of
Bristol, which has one of the best water privileges in the state. He was also one
of the heaviest stockholders in the Bristol Aqueduct company, and a member of
the Bristol Savings bank, and was identified with other business enterprises.
Mr. Mason was an uncompromising Republican, had held the office of select-
man, and for three terms represented the town of Bristol in the legislature. He
leaves a wife, Elvira (Gurdy) Mason, and only a short time ago buried his only
daughter. He leaves other near relatives.
Mr. Mason was a member of the Methodist church, and he had at all times
been untiring in his efforts to further the interests of Bristol, and was held in high
esteem as one of its solid and substantial business men, who have contributed so
much to its present prosperity and success. He was a member of the Masonic
order.
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Vol. XXVII.
AUGUST, 1899.
No. 2.
THE MAKING OF A TOWN.
BEING SOME ACCOUNT OF THE SETTLEMENT AND GROWTH OF THE TOWN
OF JAFFREY.
By Albert Annett.
HE earliest recorded history
of the region about Monad-
nock has to do with savage
forays upon the frontier of
Massachusetts in the old French and
Indian wars. For more than a cen-
tury after this isolated peak on the
northwestern horizon appeared to the
view of the incoming white race, the
wilderness upon which it looked
down remained unbroken for miles
around.
It seems to have been a landmark
to '^the migrator}^ tribes, known far
and wide, and it served to steer their
course from the Connecticut to the
Merrimack and to the ponds that lay
between. It was a mountain fast-
ness, to which the frontier settle-
ments in Massachusetts looked with
apprehension and alarm. It was no
groundless fear that retarded the
progress of settlement, for all those
old; frontier towns to the south of
Monadnock have their record of In-
dian war and alarm, of houses and
crops destroyed and families carried
away captive.
In the year 1706 a company of
rangers from the old town of Groton
went up to Monadnock bent upon
the gentle pastime of hunting for
Indian scalps. When the sun was
an hour high they made their camp
for the night, and like experienced
woodsmen they sent out scouts to re-
connoitre and guard against sur-
prise. Meanwhile those in the camp
drummed with their hatchets on the
trees to guide the outposts and pre-
vent their becoming lost in the gath-
ering darkness.
The scouts had not proceeded far
before they discovered signs of the
enemy that filled them with alarm.
Near a brook two of them found
tracks which one declared to have
been made by Indian dogs, the other
said that they were the tracks of a
she wolf and her whelps.
The drumming on the trees be-
came alarming, and they were sure
68
JAFFREY.
that they heard it answered from an-
other camp. They became fright-
ened and made their way back to
their company. Other scouts came
in in equal alarm. They declared
that they had seen the P'rench and
Indians in great force, a thousand in
number. The commander ordered
the company to fall back from their
position. The awfulness of their
situation in the unbroken woods be-
relate, not four men were found to
risk their lives for the good fame of
Groton that day. On his return
home the commander was tried by
court martial for his disorderly re-
treat, and by that means an account
of one of the many expeditions into
the wilderness about Monadnock has
been preserved.^
A few 5^ears later a bounty equiva-
lent to about forty pounds sterling
Mam Street,
neath the shadow of the dark moun-
tain was sufficient to fill the imagina-
tions of even these brave men with
dread. A panic ensued ; the officers
made some attempt to halt the flee-
ing men but their calls were un-
heeded, and none were swift enough
to overtake them in their stampede.
A few of the bravest stuck to their
position. Lrieutenant Tarbell was
the hero of the occasion. He threw
his hat on the ground and declared
that with four men he would face the
entire force of the foe, but, sad to
was offered by the governments of
New Hampshire and Massachusetts
for Indian scalps, and under the
stimulus of this beneficent act rang-
ing parties were organized to scour
the woods of New Hampshire. A
letter written by the governor of Con-
necticut at the time states that it was
the purpose of the friendly Indians of
Connecticut to look for scalps in the
country around Monadnock. What
luck attended them is not known.
But another long-continued obsta-
' Grotoii in the Indian wars.
JAFFREY.
69
cle to the occupation of the lands
about Monadnock is to be found in
the interminable controversies over
questions of civil jurisdiction and
title to the land.
The grant of the province of
Massachusetts Bay extended "three
miles to the northward of the Merri-
mack river and of any and every
part thereof." But the course of
the river was then supposed to be
When the northerly bend of the
Merrimack was made known, and
the boundaries described in the
grants were found to be impossible
lines, the province of New Hamp-
shire, contending for the intent of its
grant, claimed a westerly course,
leaving the river at the place where
it turns to the north, and extending
from that point across the Connecti-
cut to the state of New York.
Jaffrey Centre Street.
from west to east, and in the year
1629, when the province of New
Hampshire was granted to John
Mason, a merchant of London, his
territory was bounded by the Mer-
rimack river for a distance of sixt}'
miles and the course was described
as westerly to "His Majesty's other
possessions" (New York). Subse-
quent grants or patents were issued,
many of which were also based upon
an imperfect knowledge of the ge-
ography of the country and they
served to make the confusion worse.
Massachusetts on the other hand,
holding more nearly to the letter of
the grant, claimed all the territory
between the Merrimack and Connecti-
cut rivers as far north as ' ' where
the rivers of Pemigewasset and Win-
nipiseogee meet," and to fortify her
claim by occupation she granted
townships in this disputed territory
to her volunteer soldiery who had
participated in the expedition under
Sir William Phipps, in 1690, against
the French in Quebec.
Among these Massachusetts grants
JAFFREY.
71
was a township of irregular shape,
described as "lying to the south-
west of the Grand Monadnock."
This township, which comprised a
large part of what is now Rindge and
Sharon, together with a portion of
the southeastern part of Jaffrey, was
granted in 1736 to the veteran sol-
diers of Rowley, and was known as
Rowley Canada.'
Peterborough was granted three
years later to a company, most of
whom were residents of old Concord,
Mass. They were allowed their
choice of the vast unallotted lands to
the north, and selected a tract six
miles square lying " east of the great
Monadnock hill," that for one hun-
dred years had bounded their hori-
zen in the northeast. This township
also included a portion of the present
town of Jaffrey. Other townships
were granted in the disputed terri-
tory by the legislative acts of Mas-
sachusetts but they were remote
from the locality considered in this
sketch.
Finally the present division line
between New Hampshire and Massa-
chusetts was established by a royal
decree in 1741, and five years later,
the Masonian patent having been re-
vived and confirmed, all the vast
tract granted to John Mason more
than a century before became by
purchase the propert}^ of a company
of gentlemen of wealth and influ-
ence, thereafter known as the Ma-
sonian proprietors, most of whom
were residents of Portsmouth, in
New Hampshire. With a view of
avoiding litigation and the ill will of
the people, the new proprietors gen-
erally quit-claimed their interest in
the townships already settled and
'History of Riudge.
devoted their attention to the unim-
proved portions of their estate.
Col. Joseph Blanchard, one of the
Masonian proprietors who was se-
lected to portion out the new terri-
tory into townships and to act as
agent of the association in this enter-
prise, was a masterful character and
few men have left their mark in such
enduring lines upon the w'orld. In
the year 1755 he commanded the
New Hampshire regiment in the
campaign against Crown Point, and
though the object of the expedition
was not attained, yet his regiment
did valiant service and gained last-
ing fame in severe conflicts with the
French and Indians at Fort Edward
and in the vicinity of Lake George.
In this famous regiment was a com-
pany commanded by Capt. Peter
Powers of Hollis, one of the pro-
prietors of Jaffrey, and also a com-
pany of the celebrated Roger's Rang-
ers, having as a lieutenant young
John Stark, destined to undying
fame as the hero of Bunkei Hill and
Bennington. With such rugged ele-
ments of civilization, Joseph Blan-
chard was a master spirit, and as a
maker of geographical divisions he
moved with the same elemental force.
From the west line of the old Pet-
erborough township he had a clear
field, and we may imagine that it was
while standing on some hillside near
the Peterborough line and peering
out over the tree-tops toward Monad-
nock, waiting silently in the west,
that his thought foreshadowed the
towns that now fill the valley. What
was the distance across to the great
Monadnock hill ? To include that
in the new townships would depre-
ciate their value. How much room
had he to the north and south ? Dis-
JAFFREY.
tances were estimated, and the letter
has been preserved wherein he re-
ported to the proprietors that he was
about to la}' out three townships of
like dimensions, five miles from north
to south, and seven miles from east
to west.
The space proved too small for the
towns he had in mind, but he was a
mighty man as has been said, and
to gain room he shouldered the old
Massachusetts township of Peterbor-
ough, with all its inhabitants and
proprietors buzzing like hornets in
his ears, three fourths of a mile to
the east, carrying it on to the side of
the East mountain ; the old township
of Rowley Canada was sent where
Tyre had gone, and the triplet towns
of Rindge, Jaffrey, and Dublin made
their first appearance upon the map
of the world. It seems to have been
his intention in transplanting the old
township of Peterborough to gain
space for his new towns in the more
desirable land of the valley, but still
there was not room and as, with all
his mightiness, he could not budge
the great Mouadnock hill, the town-
ships of Jaffrey and Dublin were
perforce laid over the top of it, with
all its waste land, making them
nearly two miles to the west of a
right line with their sister town of
Rindge.
These new townships, with others
afterward granted, were designated
as the Monadnock townships, and
Jaffrey received the name of Middle
Monadnock, Monadnock No. 2, or
sometimes Middletowu. F'rom this
point we deal with the middle town-
ship alone. Here was raw mate-
rial for the town maker, — thirty-
five square miles of primeval forest
broken only by the mountain sum-
mit and here and there by the gleam
of a woodland lake. From a spring
on the mountain side a stream
trickled down and wound its way
through the woods till it met another
from a high basin in the hills to the
south, and together they formed the
Contoocook with its sites for future
mills. But the unoccupied wilder-
ness could yield no returns to the
proprietors ; to make townships of
their real estate and thereby enhance
its value, they must have in each
geographical division the entire out-
fit of a town, selectmen, tythingraen,
husbandmen, housewrights, mill-
wrights, and many handicraftsmen
more ; but above all, a meeting-house
and settled minister, and to supply
these lacking elements, in 1749, they
granted the township to Jonathan
Hubbard of lyunenburg, and thirty-
nine others most of whom were resi-
Cutter s Hotel
JAFFREY.
73
dents of Dunstable (now Nashua
and Mollis.)
But the new proprietors had no
notion of performing the rough work
of pioneers. They, too, were pro-
moters and speculators, and the
names of many of them are found
in connection with the development
It had been specified in their grant
that three shares, or rights, should
be appropriated for public purposes,
' ' one for the first settled minister in
said township, one for the support of
the ministry," and "one for the
school there forever." And for the
profit of the original proprietors.
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Summer Boarding-house of Mrs. Lawrence, Jaffrey Centre.
of other towns. The first meeting of
this syndicate, called "The Proprie-
tors of Monadnock Township, No.
2," was held at the house of Joseph
French in Dunstable, early in 1750,
At this meeting Capt. Peter Powers
was entrusted with the work of sur-
veying the township, and Jacob Law-
rence and William Spaukling were
appointed a committee to lay out a
road from No. 2 (Wilton) through
Peterborough Slip (Temple and
Sharon) to the new township. In
the following summer, in order that
the township might be divided in
severalty among the proprietors, it
was divided into lots of approxi-
mately one hundred acres each, three
of which constituted a settler's right.
eighteen shares drawn by lot were
reserved to them and "Aquited from
all duty and charge Until improved
by the Owner." It was required of
the new proprietors, " provided there
be no Indian war," that within four
years from the date of the grant forty
of the shares " Be entered upon and
three Acres of Dand at least Cleared
Enclosed and fited for Mowing or
Tillage, and that within the term
of six Months then Next Coming,
there be on each of said forty Shares,
a House Built, the Room Sixteen
feet square at the least, fitted and
furnished for comfortable dwelling
therein and Some Person Resident
therein and Continue Inhabitancy
and Residence there for three years
74
JAFI^REY.
theu Next Coming, with the addi-
tional Improvement as aforesaid of
two Acres Each Year for each Set-
tler." It was furthermore required
that within the period of six years,
" a Good Convenient Meeting House
be Built in said Township as near
the Center of the Town as may be
traces of the road that they laid
out may still be found. In the
bottom of a mill pond at Squantum,
that has been flowed for more than
one hundred and twenty-five years,
traces of an old road have been
found, and from that place it may
be followed along the east side of the
East Jaffrey, Main Street.
with Convenience and Ten Acres of
I^and Reserved for Publick Uses."
"All White Pine trees fit for Masting
His Majesty's Royal Navey Growing
on said Track of Land ' ' were also
reserved to his majesty and his
heirs and successors forever ; but
there was a family quarrel in after
years that involved this portion of
the estate, and some of these old
hereditaments of the king, charred
by the fire that cleared the settler's
farm, yet lie in long, moss-covered
mounds in the sapling woods.
No record of the work of the road
builders can be found, and it is
probable that no survey of their
route was ever made. They proba-
bly followed the old trail, and many
Garfield hill, and again on the north
side of the turnpike at the place
formerly owned by James Newell in
Sharon. Here the location of the
road is made unmistakable b}^ a well
and traces of the dwelling place of
Joel Adams, the first settler, ten or
fifteen rods north of the present road.
Then after passing the ' ' old Blood
place " the road crosses the ridge be-
tween the mountains over bare ledge,
a short distance south of the present
road to Temple through Spofford
Gap. Very few stones were removed
from the track, and it must have re-
quired not only endurance, but skill,
to bring over this rough trail teams
loaded with household goods. The
supposition that this was the loca-
lAFFREY.
75
tion of the first road is further sup-
ported by the statement in the His-
tory of Jaffrey that in 1752, the year
following the laying out of the road,
a settlement of short duration was
made by eight persons in the south-
eastern part of the town.
But following the grant of the town
came ten years of war and alarm,
and, in spite of their best endeavors,
it was not until the year of 1758 that
a permanent settlement was made,
lyasting peace was finally assured
by the surrender of the French in
Canada in 1760, and a mania for
occupying new lands seemed to take
possession of the inhabitants of the
older towns.
The pioneers of Jaffrey were de-
signed for the business. lyike the
first settlers of Peterborough, most
of them were descendants of the
Scotch Presbyterians who came to
America from the north of Ireland.
These people settled in Maine, New
Hampshire, Massachusetts, Pennsyl-
v^ania, and North Carolina, and wdth
their sturdy strength in clearing
away the woods, and the fighting
blood that they furnished for the
Revolutionar}^ struggle, they were a
godsend to the new world.
One company of these emigrants
settled in Lunenburg in Massachu-
setts, another obtained a grant in
New Hampshire, and founded the
?*
Long Pond.
Long Pond.
town of Londonderry, and from these
two sources came most of the pio-
neers of Peterborough and Jaffrey.
Many interesting anecdotes of these
people are told in the History of Peter-
borough. They were shrewd and
industrious, but according to all ac-
counts they drank prodigious quanti-
ties of rum, and their frequent merry-
makings were never dull whatever
their other shortcomings may have
been. No hasty conclusions should,
however, be drawn from their drink-
ing habits and rough ways. Those
were remnants of old heathendom
that even their strong religious prin-
ciples had not had time to overcome.
They were on the upward road and it
was admitted even by their Puritan
neighbors of Massachusetts that " they
held as fast to their /Z;^/ of doctrine
as to their pint of rum." That they
did not practice all the austerities of
the Puritans led to a misunderstand-
ing of their character and purpose.
They brought with them an indom-
itable love of freedom, hardihood and
mental acuteness, and withal, a relig-
ious zeal differing more in outward
manifestations than in spirit from that
of the Puritans. P'ollowing quickly
upon their devotions they found a
time to sing and a time to dance, and
these diversions served to lighten the
76
JAFFREY.
hardships of the wilderness. The
vigor of the race has extended
through many generations and many
successful Americans trace with pride
their descent from a Scotch-Irish an-
cestry.
The first permanent settler in town,
according to his own statement, was
John Grout. He came first from Lun-
enburg but had lived for a time in
Rindge. He settled on the town right
drawn by Joseph Emerson on the low-
land at the foot of the Squantum hill,
as early as 1758. But the place did
not suit him. It was cold and frosty
and unsuited to cultivation ; and ac-
cordingly with thrifty eye he looked
about him in the forest, where he
appeared to be monarch of all he sur-
veyed, and found the old clearing
that Moses Stickney had made before
the Indians drove him away five years
before. This was south of Gilmore
pond, probably on the farm now
owned by Henry Chamberlain. Here
Grout set to work and according to
his later report to the proprietors en-
dured "hardships too many to be
here set forth."
The Grouts were a famous family,
even before John o' Groat gave his
»:'*
name to the northern extremity of
Scotland, and perhaps no more gifted
family was ever connected with the
history of Jaffrey. John Grout was
a lawyer and a man of classical ed-
ucation, such as we should hardly
expect to find doing the rough
work of a pioneer. He was also,
unfortunately, a litigious character
and was often at odds with his neigh-
bors. He was given to writing peti-
tions for favors to the proprietors, and
these papers are remarkable for skill
of composition, as well as notable ex-
amples of correct spelling in those
times when the phonetic method so
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Village Elm.
generally prevailed. There is plainly
an unwritten chapter in the life of this
man and something like peevishness
discernible in his writings may indicate
that some thwarted ambition or failure
made him, with his education and
undoubted abilities, a dweller in the
woods. His abilities were inherited
in good measure by his thirteen chil-
dren, but it may be doubted if the old-
er ones ever lived with him here not-
withstanding his frequent mention of
his large family in his petitions to the
proprietors. He died in the year 1771,
and tradition says that he was buried
where the town house now stands, a
fitting monument to the first settler
of the town. The oldest son of the
lAFFREY.
77
East Jaffrey, from the South.
family, Major Hilkiah, settled at
Hinsdale, New Hampshire, and a
sketch of his life reads like romance.
In 1755 he was attacked by the In-
dians and his companion was killed
while he escaped by his strength and
fleetness of foot. His young wife,
and three small children, were taken
captive and sold to the French in
Montreal. In three years she was
ransomed but was compelled to leave
her children behind. Hilkiah, the
eldest, never returned and afterwards
it appeared that he had been adopted
by the Indians. It is said that he
took the name of Peter Westfall and
passed his life with the Cattaraugus
Indians, who made him their chief,
and that he was progenitor of the dis-
tinguished family of Westfalls in the
state of New York. Of the other
.sons, John Grout, Jr., was a success-
ful lawyer in Montreal, Elijah was a
commissary in the Continental army,
and a justice of the peace when that
title was a distinguished dignity.
Joel, also, was an officer in the Amer-
ican army and a leader in the political
affairs of his state, and Jonathan, the
most widely celebrated of the family,
was a lawyer of great ability, an
officer in the Revolution, and a mem-
ber of congress under the administra-
tion of Washington. He is said to
have been a very handsome man and
a friend of the leading spirits of his
time. Jehosaphat was a leading cit-
izen of Keene and sheriff of the
county, and Solomon, the only one
who remained in Jaffrey, serv^ed as
selectman and was prominent in town
affairs.
But the marked characteristics of
the family were not least strikingly
displayed in Abigail, the youngest
daughter. She became the wife of
Col. Nathan Hale of Rindge, who
commanded a regiment in the patriot
army and died a prisoner of war in-
side the British lines on Long Island.
On the death of her husband, the
management of his large estate de-
volved upon her, and she proved her-
self a capable woman of affairs. She
was a woman of overflowing kind-
ness of heart, but of strong and
78
JAFFREY.
assertive character and unyielding
when her convictions of right were at
stake. The new Declaration of Inde-
pendence she applied unerringly to
her individual rights, and she was
perhaps the original woman's rights
agitator in America. She held that
taxation without representation was
tyranny, and rather than pay taxes
which she regarded as unjustly as-
sessed she spent a winter in jail.
For the first three years of his resi-
dence here, according to Grout's
by on the farm that Dana S. Jaquith
now owns. Alexander McNeal settled
near the centre of the town, and al-
most before a road was built we find
him keeping an inn. According
to the early records he was prom-
inent in public affairs but his rep-
utation is clouded by a vote of the
town in 1779, " that Alexander Mc-
Neal should not keep tavern." His
name does not again appear and it
is probable that this reflection upon
the character of his. establishment
East Jaffrey, from the Baptist Church.
report, he and his family w^ere the
only inhabitants of the town, and if
this be true then 1755 must be ac-
cepted as the date of his arrival, for
in 1758 John Davidson from Dondon-
derry had come, and day after day,
through the stillness of the woods
Grout must have heard to the north-
east the crash of falling trees.
Soon after, Matthew Wright from
the same place made a clearing where
the farm of Charles W. Fasset now
is, within a mile of Grout's door.
Francis Wright, his son, settled near
so offended him that he left town.
William Mitchell, another Scot,
settled on the farm now of William
McCormack. James Nichols, John
Swan and Thomas Walker, George
Wallace and Robert Weir were
among the first to arrive. William
Turner settled on the Baldwin place,
still owned by his descendants.
Northeast of the centre of the town-
ship, three more Turners, Solomon,
Joseph, and Thomas, were among
the first to fell the trees in those
parts.
JAFFREY.
79
Four Caldwells came to towu. It
is supposed that they also were from
Londonderry but they had lived for a
time in Peterborough, where one of
them taught school. John Borland,
first a farmer and afterward a miller,
made a clearing near the place that
W. E. Nutting now ow^ns. William
Smiley became a neighbor of Grout
on the shore of Gilmore pond. Hugh
Dunlap's land joined Grout's on the
west. Near by was Joseph Hodge
who gave to Hodge pond its name.
Main Street, Showing Library and Banl<.
He it was who killed a catamount
when he came on a prospecting trip
to the township. Where Eleazer W.
Heath now lives, John Gilmore made
a cabin. This was the most thickly
settled part of the town. In the ex-
treme southeast, near Grout's former
settlement, Ephraim Hunt from old
Concord built a mill, and Daniel
Davis cleared a farm. In the south-
west, on the farm last occupied by
Seth D. Ballon, John Harper, who
afterward won fame as a soldier,
built himself a home. At the centre
of the town, on the Eucius A. Cutter
farm, lived Roger Gilmore, a typical
good townsman. From morning till
night the sound of the ax was heard
and the smoke from the burning
" choppings " darkened the sun.
Matthew Wright, one of those who
came from Londonderry to Jaffrey,
is said to have been a man of unusual
ability, but a preacher of infidel doc-
trines and a corrupter of youth. It
is related that on his death-bed he
called his son Francis to his side and
told him "to tak the big jug and
gang down to New Ipswich and get
it filled with rum, and when I am
buried give the poor divils all the
rum they want." It is fair to say
that the " History of Jaffrey" tells a
story of another sort, to the effect
that a neighbor once stopped at
Wright's house to escape a shower,
and was detained for the night.
While there the family knelt as was
their custom for the evening prayer,
and wdien on rising the old man
noticed that his neighbor had not
knelt with the rest, he was filled
with righteous indignation. " Ye 're
A Shady Road.
no better than a Papist," said he,
" an' did it not rain so hard I 'd turn
ye out of my house this very night." .
The first story is, however, circum-
stantially told, and collateral evidence
of its truth is given which makes it
seem likely that the story from the
Jaffrey history has straj'ed from its
relation to some more worthy man.
We shall, perhaps, not be far wrong
in giving it a general application to
the character of the first settlers of
the town.
In 1769, John Grout and Roger
8o
JAFFREY.
Gilmore made a report to the pro-
prietors upon the condition of the
settlement. There appears to have
been at this time not far from thirty
settlers, nearly all of them the Scotch-
Irish pioneers. They had borne the
brunt of the battle with the wilder-
ness, but they seem to have been
not so well suited to the amenities of
organized society, and, as the popu-
lation increased, many of them sold
their rights to new-comers from Mas-
sachusetts and followed, the receding
tionary fame, had also been a resi-
dent of this town.
With the assistance of these men
a petition was prepared to the gov-
ernor and council, asking for such
corporate privileges as had been
accorded to other towns in the prov-
ince. They employed Enoch Hale
as their agent, and their petition,
which was dated 1773, recites, " That
the Said Township is now setled with
more than forty Families, And many
more that have begun Settlements
'^n;i.-^
^^^1.,
'*i1^"J
East Jaffrey, from Mower's Hill. Peterborough and Temple Mountains in the Distance.
frontier. Those that remained, the
Gilmores, Turners, Davidsons,
Hodges, Harpers, Smileys, and
Wrights, became prominent in the
affairs of the town. But with the
growth of population, the inhabi-
tants began to feel the need of
some established form of govern-
ment. Capt. Jonathan Stanley, who
had borne a prominent part in the
settlement of the town of Rindge,
had lately brought to the sister town-
ship his help as an organizing force.
For a year or two his son-in-law, Col.
Enoch Hale, afterward of Revolu-
that they will shortly remove on,
That they are destitute of the legal
Privileges & Franchises of Corporate
Towns, whereby they suffer many
Inconveniences for Want of Town
Officers, and especially at this Time,
when they are taxed for the Support
of the Government, but cannot le-
gally assess or collect the same, and
are also unable to warn out any Poor,
idle Vagrants, That too frequently
force themselves into New Towns,
to the manifest Injury of such Towns
in particular, & the province in Gen-
eral."
[AFFREY.
Si
The petition of the inhabitants was
favorably received and on the 17th
day of August, 1773, a charter was
duly granted by John Went worth,
captain-general, governor, and com-
mander-in-chief in and over His
Majesty's province of New Hamp-
shire, and as it happened that George
Jaffrey, one of the Masonian proprie-
tors, was a member of the governor's
council at that time, the name of the
township was changed in his honor
from Mouadnock No. 2, or Middle-
town, to Jaffrey.
The first town-meeting alter the
incorporation was held for the elec-
tion of town officers at the house
of Francis Wright, innholder, on the
farm at present owned by Dana S.
Jaquith. At this meeting, Capt.
Jonathan Stanley, William Smiley,
and Phineas Spaulding were chosen
selectmen, and Roger Gilmore, tytli-
ing man. A second meeting was
held during the same month "and
Eighty Pounds was voted to be ex-
pended on the roads and Six Pounds
Lawful Money" to support the gos-
pel in said town.
If the amounts seem dispropor-
tionate, it must be remembered that
roads were at least a means to grace
aud must of necessity receive first
consideration. The close relation
Residence of Will J. Mower.
A Glimpse of Thorndii<e.
xxvii— 6
existing between the two appropria-
tions is shown by a vote of the town
in 1779, providing a new road "for
Abram Bailey to get to meetting."
It is not to be supposed in this case
that Abram Bailey's spiritual con-
dition was such as to be a matter of
town concern, for he was an active
man in the service of the church ,
but, rather, that in asking for this
means of communication, this truly
good man had placed above all
material considerations the advan-
tage of attendance on public worship.
The town system of government
seems to have been spontaneously
evolved from the needs and charac-
ter of the people of New England.
It was a system that allowed every
man his say ; any other would have
been intolerable to them. The old
Scotch-Irish pioneers delighted in
town-meeting, with its opportunities
for eloquence and wrangling, as they
did in a religious disputation or a
free fight. They were men of good
reasoning powers and no subject was
so weighty that they feared to tackle
82
lAFFREY.
*.-»T*^
Mountain House.
it. Both the .state and federal con-
stitutions they critically dissected in
town-meeting, and finding provisions
ihat they feared might become op-
]:)ressive in each of these instruments,
they were at first rejected by vote of
the town. In those days the people
ruled aud a common practice in town-
meeting was to choose a committee
to instruct the representative to the
general court, the instructions being
first submitted to the town for ap-
proval. In 1 78 1, when a conven-
tion was called to organize a system
of government for the state, William
Smiley was chosen to represent the
opinions of the town of Jaffrey, and,
apparently reposing unlimited con-
fidence in his powers, they "Voted
to instruct the Man chosen not to
have a governor." The name had
unpleasant associations and was of-
fensive to their ears. The man
chosen seems to have been equal to
the demands imposed upon him, and,
as will be remembered, the title of
the chief magistrate of New Hamp-
shire was for many years, not gov-
ernor, but president. In the years
immediately following the incorpora-
tion of the town came the Revolution-
ary struggle. Those were stirring
times and not less than five town-
meetings were sometimes held in a
single year. The machinery of gov-
ernment that in times of peace had
run with friction and clatter settled
down smoothly to work under the
added load of these troubled j^ears.
On the essential questions of the day
there was no difference of opinion.
They took turns in the exercise of
authority as well as in service in the
field.
Residence of A. A. Spofford.
JAFFREY.
83
In the year 1774, they chose a com-
mittee ' ' to draw a covenant to be
signed by all those who stand to
maintain the Priveleges of our char-
ter." This action is worthy of notice
as having been taken more than two
years before the famous Association
Test was generally adopted in sur-
rounding towns. A copy of this cov-
enant is not. on record, but there is
no evidence that there was a single
Tory in the town of Jaffrey during
the Revolutionary struggle.
At a convention held at Keene in
1774, certain recommendations had
been made to the towns, the exact
nature of which is not known, but it
Residence of Hon. Peter Upton.
is supposed to have been in harmony
with the advice of this convention
that the town in 1775 voted unani-
mously "to visit Mr. Williams of
Keene," which action Hon. Joel
Parker in his centennial address at
Jaffrey styled " an extraordinary
civility." Mr. Williams was a Tory
and it can hardly be supposed that
the townspeople would have gone so
far afield in their missionary zeal if
they had found similar duties nearer
home.
The forms used in warning town-
meetings are significant of the feel-
ing of the times. For a meeting held
early in the year 1775 the constable
was required in the usual form, "In
His Majesty's Name to notify and
Warn all the Freeholders and Inhabi-
tants." In August of the same year,
following Bunker Hill and lyCxing-
tpn, but nearly a year before the
Declaration of Independence, "His
Majesty's Name" was conspicuous
by its absence. In 1777 the form
appropriately became, " In the Name
of the Freemen of this State." In
1778 this thrilling summons was sent
forth, " In the Name of the Freemen
of the United States of America,
Greeting." In 1779 the highest
reach of their aspirations was ex-
pressed in their warrant, "In the
Name of the Government and people
of the United States of America."
All the New England towns founded
prior to the Revolution have an inspir-
ing record in that strife, and Jaffrey,
though having only three hundred
and fifty-one inhabitants at the out-
break of hostilities, is entitled to hon-
orable mention with the rest. A
stock of powder, lead, and flints was
early provided and the town-meetings
were much concerned with measures
for the protection of their privileges.
The alarm from Lexington reached
84
lAFFREY.
Residence of ' Leonard F. Sawyer.
the town too late to call out the will-
ing volunteers, but Jaffrey with its
small population, is credited in the
state records with eleven men in the
battle of Bunker Hill. Most of these
were members of the company of Capt.
Philip Thomas of Riudge, of which
John Harper of Jaffrey was first lieu-
tenant. Harper lived far back among
the hills (the Ballou farm, near resi-
dence of George A. Underwood) but
when the alarm of I^exington aroused
the people to arms,, no conscript officer
was required to look him up. He
seems like Job's war horse to have
snuffed the battle afar off. He started
at once for the scene of the conflict
and on the twenty-third of April we
find him with the company named
and honored with the second position
in command. He was with his com-
pany at the battle of Bunker Hill,
and history records that he lost his
hat on that fateful day. It was a
mishap that might suggest undue
haste in quitting the place, but we
are not permitted to entertain any
unfavorable suspicions, for a military
board of appraisal adjudged it an hon-
orable loss and fixed his remuneration
at twelve shillings which w^ould indi-
cate that the hat was his best. Other
Jaffrey soldiers who were awarded
compensation for loss were Dudley
Grifiin for a coat and shirt and Jacob
Pierce for a more complete outfit,
consisting of a " coat, a shag great
coat, and pack." Benjamin Dole,
the wolf hunter, is credited with the
loss of the company's bread, from
which it may be inferred that he was
commissary and had paid out money
of his own for supplies that were des-
troyed. An explanation of most of
these losses may be found in a letter
of Captain Thomas which shows that
Residence of Lewis W. Davis.
his company before the battle was
quarteied in some of the houses of
Charlestown, and it is probable that
these supplies were lost in the burn-
ing of the town. Seventy-three sol-
diers from the town of Jaffrey served
in the Continental army, and though
the term of actual service was in
many instances short, yet the num-
ber indicates something of the sacrifice
and patriotic spirit of the inhabitants.
A curious incident of the times is
found in the action of a town-meet-
ing called in 1775, " To see if the
Town will Purchiss a stock of Salt for
the prisint year. Whereas Capt.
Coffeen has sent down his security to
Purchis the Salt and the town may
have it if they think Proper." For
the further consideration of the meet-
ing it was proposed, "To see how
they will defray the Charges of bring-
JAFFREY.
85
ing up the Salt if Purchased and
think on a Proper way to divid it that
each one maj' have his proper share
of said Salt." This prudent move of
Captain Coffeen, and others, met with
the approval of the town and it was
" Voted to Bye a town stock of Salt
this year."
But the maintenance of the army
created an incredible drain upon the
resources of the people, and many a
poor family saw their dearest posses-
sions sacrificed to satisfy the demands
o<f the tax-gatherer. In 1781, "700
hard Dollars or 700 bushels of Rye "
was voted "to Purchis the town's
quota of Beaf for the army." A large
contribution of New England rum
was also levied on the town and in
answer to an inquiry from the select-
men as to how it should be provided.
Residence of Dr. O. H. Bradley.
the freemen in town-meeting assem-
bled vouchsafed the laconic reply,
"that the selectmen should purchis
the rum the Best way they can or Git
a man to Do it."
If there is an3-thing suggestive of
modern methods in this action of the
town, it may be said that the old vote
has never been repealed and may
still be construed by some as a gen-
eral regulation upon the subject.
Following the incorporation of the
town the number of inhabitants was
largely increased by immigration
from Massachusetts. The new arri-
vals were men of enterprise and
possessed in an eminent degree the
New England genius for govern-
ment. There were among them law-
yers and men of education in other
professions. The records of the town
became more regular and formal, and
during many years they might ser^'e
as models of neatness and accuracy.
Among the settlers from Massachu-
setts of honorable record was Phineas
Spaulding. He had heard of the
rich lands about Mouadnock, and
with all his worldly goods loaded
into an ox cart, he came to town
about the year 1772 and settled in
the old school district. No. 5. At
the first town-meeting he was chosen
selectman and mah}'^ honors were
conferred upon him during the suc-
ceeding years. His son, Levi
Spaulding, became a celebrated mis-
sionary to India and lived a life of
rare devotion and usefulness. A de-
scendant of Phineas Spaulding in the
third generation, Hon. Oliver E-
Spaulding, born in Jaffrej' near the
old homestead, at present holds the
important position of first assistant
secretary of the treasury of the United
States.
Residence of Juiius E. Prescott.
86
fAFFREY.
Up the River, East Jaffrey.
At about the same date to the old
school district, No. i (M. A. & B. G.
Wilson farm), came Benjamin Pres-
cott, with an ax in his hand and a
bag of beans on his back. He was a
born leader of men, and in his new
field he cut a wide swath. He was a
magistrate, legislator, deacon, colo-
nel of militia, farmer, tavern keeper,
turnpike director and contractor, and
out of these varied employments he
accumulated a large fortune for his
time.
During the first years of his resi-
dence in town he lived in a log house,
and when, in 1775, he raised his two-
story frame house, a company of sol-
diers from Riudge on their way to
Boston stopped and helped with the
work, and George Carlton, one of
their number, was, a few days later,
killed in the battle of Bunker Hill.
In the year 1774, to the same part
of the town, came John Eaton, a man
fit to rank with the minister in solid
worth to the community. He suc-
ceeded Ephraim Hunt in the owner-
ship of the first mill at Squantum,
and, without doubt, he immediately
became the handy man of the town.
An old account book or journal kept by
him during his previous residence in
Bedford, Mass., has been preserved,
and it gives many glimpses of the
life of those times. It is a home-
made book with covers of shaven
oak held together with leathern
thongs, and in it he set down not
only business transactions, but rid-
dles and matters of local interest.
His spelling, if not to be taken as
evidence of his accuracy as a work-
man, ma}^ at least, be regarded as a
proof of his marvelous versatility.
Residence of Charles L. Rich.
[AFFREY.
87
He was a man of many trades and
his book affords evidence of his use-
fulness and the variety of his deal-
ings.
The following extracts, taken at
random, are suggestive of the simple
neighborly life of the times: " wid.
richerson is in dat to me for day
work sider niill." "Jonathan Este
is in dat to me for making a cart."
"Samuel Flint Let me have a pach
of mell and again I had a par of mit-
tons of his wife, and again I help him
part of a day pach his barn."
He made "tuggs," and "collers,"
and sleds ; ' ' dugg ' ' graves and
made " corfens ;" he plastered chim-
t^, A
Summer Residence of Joseph E. Gay
neys ; made "casement," "leach"
tubs, " ches prese," and " exaltrees ; "
mended "saddels," and made plows
and "siesnaths," besides other arti-
cles too numerous to mention. He
often changed work with his neigh-
bors, and occasionally lent his
" mear " to go a journey. But when
we come to his purchase of a " yeard
and a half of read cloth to make me a
chaket," we seem to have a picture
of the man in full feather, gay as a
blackbird with a dash of red on its
wing.
During a part of his residence in
Bedford, he managed, on shares, a
saw- and grist-mill for two sisters,
evidently maiden ladies of means,
Gilm.ore Pond, from the Residence of Joseph E. Gay.
into whose possession the property
had come by inheritance, and, in
spite of the proverbial formality of
those grave old times, we find the
amazing entry " reconed with the
gals," when he recorded a settle-
ment in his book.
"November the 5 day, 1774, I
brought my fammely into Jaffrey,"
says the book, and from other
sources we learn that on his arrival,
he sawed boards, ground grain,
made flax wheels, repaired big
wheels, and in all the lines of his
multifarious talent, made himself a
useful member of society.
Peter Davis, who married John
Eaton's daughter, was a man of kin-
dred genius with his father-in-law.
He took up his residence near Long
pond, where he made clocks to regu-
late the affairs of the community.
Tradition says that he put eighteen
barrels of cider in his cellar one fall,
and, with the help of his son, drank
it all before spring. But it must be
remembered that those were neigh-
borly days, and, besides, the pur-
chase of a clock being a transaction
of importance, would be naturally
attended with much deliberation.
About the year 1772, Joseph Cut-
ter came, the first of a name that was
destined to fill much space in the
history of the town. He was a man
88
lAFFREY.
The Ark.'
of great undertakings, who minded
his own affairs and prospered there-
by. After clearing the farm at pres-
ent owned by Solomon Garfield, he
moved yet further into the woods
and took up a large tract of land
near the foot of the mountain. Here
he felled the giant trees, built a log
cabin, and continued adding to his
domain until he became the largest
landed proprietor and heaviest tax-
payer in the township. He had a
family of ten children, and five of his
sons he established upon farms in
different parts of the town. His
mountain farm he divided between
two of his sons, and afterwards he
became a taverner at the center of
the town. His tavern was kept in
the house at the north side of the
common, at present owned by Robert
R. Endicott, Esq. This is all that
remains of the former hostelry, "a
large pile of buildings," that fur-
nished ample accommodations for his
many guests.
Joseph Cutter, Jr., like his father,
was a man of patriarchal type. He
had a large family of children and
a wide estate. With singular pre-
science of future times, he built the
commodious dwelling at present
owned by Joel H. Poole. "Who
hmW. the ark?" ran the question in
the catechism of the day. "Joe.
Cutter built the ark," was the ap-
proved reply. And the ark it has
been called to the present time.
He was one who builded better than
he knew, and the place, under the
shadow of the Grand Monadnock,
has become famous under the man-
agement of Joel H. Poole and his
son, descendants of the first settler,
as a resort for health and rest for
summer visitors to the town.
Road to " The Ark."
To the centre of the town came
another Cutter, John the tanner, who
at once became one of the foremost
men of the town. Over to the north,
near the Dublin line, lived Abel
Parker, a patriot of Bunker Hill, and
a commanding figure in county and
town affairs. His sons were men of
distinguished ability in business and
the profession of law. Dr. Adonijah
Howe lived on the present Shattuck
farm, and his fame as a physician
extended to all the towns around.
In the southwest again, Jereme Un-
derwood, a soldier of the Revolution,
town officer and carpenter, hewed
long timbers for the substantial farm
buildings in vv'hich his grandson,
George A. Underwood, lives to-day.
Ebenezer Hathorn came to town
as early as 1775, and settled where
Will J. Mower now lives. He was a
soldier and could tell of hair-breadth
escapes in the old French and Indian
JAFFREY.
89
wars. He made steelyards iu Jaffrey,
in order that his fellow-townsmen
might not cheat each other, and
some of the useful instruments that
he made have regulated the barter
of many generations, and are in
unquestioned service at the present
day.
Col. Jedediah Sanger settled near
the mountain, and a road was laid
out to his "chopping." He was a
great man during his brief stay in
town, but he went early with the
march of empire westward, and fixed
his name forever in the land by
founding the town of Sangerfield in
the state of New York.
Of the rugged men who rough-
liewed the town from the wilderness,
there were many more deserving of
lasting remembrance and honor, but
space forbids even a mention of their
names. They were the wall builders
Sugar Lot of J. H. Poole & Son.
and have left their sign-manual
upon the hills that they cleared
so that all who pass may read
of the manner of men they
were.
But better than volumes of
history to tell of the life of
the early inhabitants is the
sight of one of the unchanged
houses in which they lived.
Passing the Underwood farm,
and going toward the steep slopes
of Gap mountain you come at the
end of a grass grown road to the
house of Thomas Dunshee, one of
the pioneers. Here is a place where
time has been asleep through all the
changes of a hundred years. It is
as if some kindly spirit had held it
under a spell, to give to the later
times a glimpse of the lives of the
fathers, so rugged, simple, and sin-
cere. The old house that has never
known clapboards or paint has been
turned by wind and sun to a softened
shade that art could not improve.
Behind the house a rustic well-sweep
swings the cool bucket from the well.
In the kitchen is the fireplace and
the crane ; no stove was ever brought
inside its doors. On the great beams
overhead hangs the old musket that
served iu the training days, and has
laid low many a marauder of the
barn and field.
Before this great fireplace the past
seventy-five years, with all its pro-
gress, vanishes like a dream. The
place was for man}' j-ears the home
of Ezra Baker, who, with his wife,
is shown by the fireside in the illus-
tration with this sketch. They kept
the old house through a long and
useful lifetime, as it came to them,
and left it in possession of their son,
Milton Baker, who with true appre-
Interior of the Residence of Ezra Baker.
90
[AFFREY.
■%i
^;^^:-v';4^J fe^
Monadnock — Half Way Up.
ciation of its character, carefully
guard it from change.
The character of the rapidly in-
creasing population was a matter of
great importance, and very early we
find the town taking measures for
the restriction of immigration. They
did not care for numbers, but were
very particular about the brand, and
all who were unlikely to become self-
supporting citizens were served with
summary warning by the constable
to depart forthwith. This action was
taken under the provision of a law
designed to prevent the indigent and
the vicious from becoming charges
upon the slender resources of the
town.
In connection with this old custom
one instance is of interest. In 1781,
John Fitch, an old man broken by
the storms, had come to town to live
with his son who had settled on the
farm now owned by Benjamin Pierce,
Esq. But his son's means did not
assure his support, and so the old
man was warned to depart, and was
carried by the constable, as we sup-
pose, to his former place of residence
in Ashby, Mass. He had been a
man of action, and had borne the
brunt of battle in the Indian wars.
His house had been an outpost on
the frontier, and had been garrisoned
by the province and partly sustained
from the public treasury. While
here he was attacked ' by a force of
eighty Indians. Only two men were
with him at the time, and after these
were killed he was obliged to sur-
render to save the lives of his family.
With his wife and five small chil-
dren, among whom was Paul Fitch,
the settler in Jaffrey, he was carried
captive to Canada. After many suf-
ferings he was ransomed, and with
^A
UBR/i
^';^
y
JAFFREY. .... 91
his family, except his wife who died the towns and the defence of the,*
on the way home, he returned to the State," was one of the sights of tiraifl-
scene of his former labors. He be- ing day for'^nialiy years-. ^ '__^^-^"
came a man of wealth and distinction In 18 14 the famons-'J'aSrey Rifle
iu his times. He was a large land- Company was organized and it con-
holder, and his name was often found tinned in existence until 1851. P'or
j»i
in the registry of deeds. He gave his
name to the town of Fitchburg, and
many honors have been rendered to
his memory by the thriving city that
has grown from the town. He was
many years it was the best drilled
company iu the Twelfth regiment of
militia, and the first on the muster
field.
A company of nineteen soldiers
impoverished by the depreciation of from Jaffrey served at Portsmouth in
the currency in the Revolutionary the War of 1812 ; two enlisted for
period, and during his last years was the War with Mexico, and one hun-
assisted by the town where he had dred and fifty-one for the War of the
his home. Among the ironies of
time it would be hard to find one
more keen than this, that, after so
many 3'ears, in the towai that had
no room for him, railroad trains,
blazoned with his name (Fitchburg
Railroad), the symbol of a prosperity
of which they never dreamed, daily
pass iu sight of the place from
which, in his old age and poverty,
the constable warned him to depart.
But the warning out seems after
a few years to have become a per-
functory affair, and many men who
had been honored on their arrival in
town with that first punctilious call
from the constable, remained, not-
withstanding, to become prosperous
and influential citizens.
Very early in the history of the
town a train band was established,
and in 1786, authority was granted
for a company of Light Horse to be
made up in this and adjoining towns,
and according to the petition, with
the consent of all interested, the chief
command was the portion of ' ' our
trusty friend and well-disposed Citi-
zen, Namely Peter Jones." This or-
ganization so "highly Necessary for
the better regulation of the Militia in
The Old Meeting-house.
Rebellion, a record of which the town
may be justly proud.
But the choicest history of the old
New England towns is woven about
the meeting-house and the minister.
"What a debt," says Emerson, "is
ours to that old religion, which in
the childhood of most of us still
dwelt like a Sabbath morning in the
country of New England, teaching
privation, self-denial, and sorrow."
The chief fact about a people has
been said to be their religion, and it
remains incontestably true that to
the old country churches much of
the influence of New England upon
the character and progress of the
nation has been due.
92
lAFFREY.
It was one of the provisions of the
charter of the town that " a good and
convenient meeting-house should be
built." The meeting-house was to
the early inhabitants of New Eng-
Fiibt Cunyregational Church and Parsonage,
Jaffrey Centre.
land like the Temple to the Israelites
of old. On the year following the in-
corporation of the town in considering
the subject of a meeting-house, it was
voted "to build one near the senter
this and the ensueing year." The
length of the house was fixed at fifty-
five feet, the width at forty-five, and
the height to the roof at twenty-seven
feet. These were goodly dimensions
when the size of the town was con-
sidered, but at a later meeting this
vote was reconsidered, the length
was increased to sixty feet, and it
was voted to have a porch at each
end of the house.
It was provided that the great tim-
ber of the house should be hewed
before winter, and that the house
should be raised b}' the middle of
June in the following year. It was
to be well "under Pined with good
stone and lime . . . the lower
floor lead Duble and Pulpit like that
in Rindge meeting house," and all
to be completed within one year from
the raising of the trame.
There is a tradition that the meet-
ing-house was raised on the 17th of
June, the day of the battle of Bunker
Hill, but Hon. Joel Parker in his
centennial address has furnished evi-
dence that the raising was nearer to
the time fixed by vote of the town.
Jeremiah Spofford was the master
carpenter in the framing of the house,
and it is said that on his return to
his home in Massachusetts on the
day following the completion of his
work, he heard the firing at Bunker
Hill as he rode through Townsend,
and that evening from the Westford
hills he saw the light of Charlestown
burning. We are loath to part with
the old tradition but whatever the
date there has been no greater day in
the history of the town.
A supply of all provisions and
utensils needful had been ordered by
vote of the town, but as often hap-
pens some most essential things were
overlooked, and it was left to the
forethought of Capt. Henry Coffeen
to provide the necessary barrel of
rum. He had been a carpenter at
the raising of the meeting-house in
Rindge and knew the indispensable
requirements of such an occasion.
Baptist Church.
But for the sake of being authentic
and precise, it must be said to our
humiliation and sorrow that the barrel
of rum lingered long in the category
of benefits forgot, and it was more
JAFFREY.
93
than five years before the public-
spirited captain was paid for ' ' the
Barral of Rum and two Dollars Sil-
ver money he lycnt the town."
It may be assumed that every able-
bodied man in town was present and
ready to work besides the elder ones,
who came to see and to give counsel,
and the boys who passed the inspirit-
ing drink. Jeremiah Spofford was
master workman and Captain Cof-
sight, and had it happened in other
times, among a people more imagina-
tive, or fallen in the way of a histo-
rian with less regard for truth, it
might, perhaps, have been said that
a spirit in flaming vestments came
down when the day was done to bless
the work.
As might have been supposed from
the character of the congregation, they
were not readily agreed in the choice
Congregational Parsonage.
feen. Captain Adams, and many
more were his competent assistants.
John Eaton was there to help with
his unfailing skill, and we may be-
lieve that on such a gala occasion
he was conspicuous in his red cloth
"chaket."
To raise the great timbers was a
work that required strength and skill,
and was not unattended with danger,
but before night it was safely done,
and as a crowning ceremony before
the eyes of the workmen and the
populace John Eaton stood on his
head upon the high ridgepole of the
skeleton frame. It was a marvelous
Congregational Church.
of a minister. Many candidates ap-
plied, but no minister was settled for
several years. Perhaps the town
was too exacting, but from the
record the cause of the delay does
not clearly appear. In 1780 they
were still without a minister, and
in their extremity they talked of re-
considering a former vote that " No
Comittee shall imply no minister ex-
cept those that Preach upon Proba-
tion." Such a vote would certainly
seem to demand revision, but let it
not enter the thought of any one that
any dangerous latter day doctrine is
implied in this. The minister alone
94
fAFFREY.
was a subject for probation iu those
orthodox days.
Mr. Caleb Jewett was at this time,
after probation, accepted by both
church and town. A call w^as ex-
tended to him and for his " Incour-
agement " it was voted to give as
salar)^ seventy pounds, lawful money,
"to be paid to him after the rate of
Rye at four shillings per bushel,
Catholic Church.
Indian Corn at three shillings four
pence per bushel, Beef, Poark, But-
ter and Cheese as they were in the
years 1 774-' 75." But with all this
encouragement Mr. Jewett did not
see fit to accept the call, and the
flock was still wdthout a shepherd.
But their disappointment was con-
secrated to their good , for in the fol-
lowing year the committee on ' ' Sup-
plies of Preaching" found at the
commencement exercises at Dart-
mouth college a young divinity stu-
dent by the name of Laban Ains-
worth, who possessed a combination
of wisdom and grace that fitted him
for ministry and leadership among
such a people. They engaged him
to preach. He passed successfully
the period of probation, and was ac-
cepted by both church and towm.
The management of the church ser-
vice in those days even to the small-
est details was a matter for debate in
town-meeting. In 1778, in the midst
of war's alarm, the freeholders and
inhabitants in town-meeting assem-
bled, took up the matter of services
on the lyord's day, and made choice
of " William Smiley to read the
psalm and likewise chose Abrani
Bailey and David Stanley to tune
the psalm." They also voted to
sing a " verce at a time, once iu the
forenoon and once in the afternoon."
Occasional lack of harmony is sug-
gested by a vote of the town a few
3^ears later that "Jacob Balding
assist Dea. Spofford to tune the
psalm in his absence or inability to
set it."
The meeting-house was finished
after the fashion of the day with
galleries on three sides, square box
pews, and a pulpit elevated and
dignified, under a sounding-board
of huge dimensions suspended from
the timbers above. The walls of
the pews, or " sheep pens," as irrev-
erent tradition has called them, were
surmounted by a banister or balus-
trade, and the only means of getting
a view of their surroundings for the
boys and girls was by peeping be-
tween the spindles over the top of the
pews. On each side of the enclosure
were hinged seats that were raised
when the congregation rose during
singing or prayer, and in the middle
a chair was often placed in which the
head of the family or perhaps gran'sir
or grandma sat. It was an arrange-
ment admirably calculated to preserve
the decorum due to the occasion, as
from this centre the arm of authority
JAFFREY.
95
could carry swift discipline to both
points of the compass.
The early records speak of the
"men's side and women's side," but
it seems that such a division was not
long maintained. It probably refers
to the first seats erected in the
meeting-house before the pews as
family comparlments had been built.
Three of these old seats on each side
of the broad aisle were retained as
free seats, after the pews were built
"Sacred to the memory of Violate, by sale
the slave of Amos Fortune, by Marriage his
wife, by her fidelity, his friend and solace.
She died his widow, Sept. 13, 1802, a. 72."
If tradition may be trusted, the
church service of the old time was
far fess forbidding than many have
supposed. In the high gallery, as the
3'ears passed, a bass viol was heard.
" Dagon " it was called in oppro-
brious epithet after the old god of
the Phillistines, but nevertheless it
Baptist Parsonage.
and were occupied by the poor and
aged of the parish.
The singers occupied the centre of
the gallery, and to the right and left
were more free seats that were filled
by the boys from the overflowing
pews, under the watchful eye of the
tything man. Under the high pulpit
was a slip for the deacons and elders,
and perhaps as a mark of distin-
guished consideration, a pew for
negroes was set apart. The indi-
viduals thus honored were doubtless
Amos Fortune, the tanner, and his
wife. Violate, whose epitaphs in the
old churchyard eloquently tell the
story of their lives.
"Sacred to the memory of Amos Fortune,
Who was born free in Africa, a slave in America.
He purchased his liberty. Professed Christian-
ity, Lived reputably, died hopefully, Nov. 17,
1801, a. 91."
^m
The Ainsworth Parsonage, now the Summer Residence
of Rev. Frederick W. Greene.
held its place and sometimes a conse-
crated fiddle helped also to tune the
sacred psalm. When the singing be-
gan the congregation rose and faced
the choir, and when the last note of old
Dundee had floated upward into rest,
an instant of pandemonium ensued,
as, with clatter and clang, the old
hinged seats dropped into place.
When silence once more reigned,
the minister arose. He was a man of
strong frame and venerable aspect.
And sitting near the preacher, be-
hind the sacred desk, with his great
ear horn raised, that no word of
promise might be lost, was Jacob
Pierce, the old hero of Bunker Hill.
The sermons, though often doc-
trinal, were never long, and they
met with the approval of the people
through a pastorate that for duration
96
JAFFREY.
has perhaps never been equaled iu
the church in Atntrica. For seventy-
six and one half years Labau Ains-
worth was minister of the church iu
Jaffrey, and he died at the great
age of one hundred years, leaving a
memory that is a priceless possession
to the town that he served.
The Third New^ Hampshire Turn-
pike Road, by a charter granted by
the legislature in 1799, obtained a
right of way through this town.
stage, wagon, phaeton, chariot, or
coach, all must stop and pay their
toll before the creaking gate would
swing to let them pass. There were
teamsters from Vermont, often ten or
fifteen together ; farmers with their
loads of truck, and a little keg of
cider stowed under the seat for their
solace and cheer. Their horses, it
must be said, were often sorr}- jades,
and their harness marvelously con-
structed from straps and bits of string.
Summit of Monadnock, Showing Glacial Action.
The road was in many ways greatly
beneficial ; it diverted through traffic
from Vermont from the neighboring
towns, and made tavern-keeping a
lucrative occupation. It also made
accessible to the farmers the markets
of Boston for the products of their
farms.
Processions of varied and wonder-
ful composition were daily halted at
the gates. On a bill-board so that
all might read were posted the rates
for animals of the various sorts, and
for carts according to the number
of wheels, — sulky chair or chaise,
There were droves of cattle and
razor-back hogs, flocks of turkeys
and sheep, all moving with dull un-
consciousness along the fatal road
to its end iu the shambles of Brigh-
ton. But grandest of all were the
mail coaches of the "Old Mail
and Despatch lyine," that passed
daily, often with six horses on a
gallop, between Boston and Keene.
George and Bob Nicholas, the latter
familiarl)' and admiringly called " Old
Nick," were drivers of great renown
along the turnpike in those days ; and
it was an ambition exalted enough for
JAFFREY.
97
Residence of K. N. Davis, formerly the old
Prescott Tavern.
any healthy boy that he might some
day fill their honored place. In the
busy season of travel the old road
presented a panorama of constant in-
terest and change, and a truthful
man who remembered those days
has declared that Barnum's Greatest
Show on Earth was never a circum-
stance to the caravans that passed
along the turnpike in those stirring
times.
There were famous taverns in Jaf-
frey in the turnpike days ; those most
frequently mentioned in the stage reg-
isters were Prescott's and Milliken's,
both commodious brick houses, one in
the east part of the town, and the other
in the west. (Residence of K. N.
Davis and summer residence of Mrs.
Pratt.) It was a custom of many of
the teamsters to carry their provi-
sions for the journey, and it was
not uncommon to see them sitting by
the bar-room fire eating the Johnny
cake and doughnuts that they had
taken from home ; but he was a
small-souled man who did not patron-
ize the bar of the hostelry liberally
for liquid refreshments during his
stay. One frugal man from Jaffrey,
it is said, took his little keg of
cider with him to the fireside to save
the expense of " flip," and some of
the teamsters about the place slyly
burned out the bung with the logger-
xsvii- 7
head that was heating in the coals,
and his precious liquor flooded the
bar-room floor.
The question of allowing to cor-
porations privileges upon the public
streets, which at present is disturb-
ing so many municipalities, was
summarily disposed of in Jaffrey.
For a large part of the distance
through the town the turnpike had
been laid over pre-existing roads ;
and it was an intolerable grievance
to the people that they should be
compelled to halt and pay toll where
they had a prior right to pass. A
toll gate had been erected on the
bridge by which now stands the cot-
ton factory in East Jaffrey, and in
spite of the advantages of this new
line of travel, a vote was passed
directing the selectmen to move the
gate off the bridge near Deacon Spof-
ford's mill. But nothing was done,
and the inaction of the selectmen
was by some ascribed to the undue
influence of certain prominent men,
who were stockholders and directors
in the turnpike corporation.
At a second town-meeting a reso-
lution was adopted censuring the
selectmen for their neglect of the
duty assigned them. A new board
of selectmen was elected and "sol-
emnly enjoined to remove the gate
White Brothers' Mi
98
JAFFREY.
aforesaid, with everything apertain-
ing to the same which said inhabi-
tants view to be a public nuisance,
within twenty-four hours from this
time ; and again in case said pro-
prietors shall have the temerity to
erect another gate on or across any
part of the public road through this
town which was used as such before
sd proprietors were incorporated,
then, and in that case, the said
selectmen are hereby enjoined to re-
first mill on this privilege was built
about the year 1770, by John Bor-
land, one of the Scotch Irish pioneers.
On May i, 177S, Borland sold his
mill property to Dea. Eleazer Spof-
ford of Danvers, Mass., and soon
after removed from town. Deacon
Spofford made many improvements,
and at once became a prominent citi-
zen of the town. Hon. Joel Parker
said of him " that he was a tall gen-
tleman of grave demeanor, pleasant
One of Many Pretty Roads.
move the same as often as there shall
be any gate erected." Such em-
phatic commands were not to be
evaded, and that night, or soon
after, by some persons unknown, the
toll gate and all that ' ' apertained
to the same ' ' was torn down and
thrown into the river.
Lawsuits followed but the gate
was never again erected in the town
of Jaffrey. It was carried across the
border into Sharon, where it con-
tinued to hold up the traveling pub-
lic for many years.
The mills at East Jaffrey have
been a mainstay of the town. The
smile and kind heart. His mills
were complete for their day. In the
grist-mill was a jack, which, if it was
not the progenitor, was the prototype
of the modern elevator in hotels and
stores. It was worked by water
power to carry the wheat as soon as
it was ground to the bolter in the
attic. A ride in it with his son
Luke, then miller, but afterwards
clergyman, was a treat to the boys
who brought wheat to be ground."
His sawmill, too, it is said,
possessed improvements over any
other then known, and it was while
watching, one day, some marvelous
/AFFREY.
99
contrivance about the mill that a
negro, who was probably Amos For-
tune, the tanner, asked with mingled
astonishment and appeal, " Why,
Massa Spofford, couldn't you get
up a machine to hoe corn ? "
Ainsworth R. Spofford, a son of
Luke Spofford, the young miller,
became the efficient librarian of con-
gress in after 3'ears. Deacon Spof-
ford lived in the house at present
owned by Aaron Perkins, and his
house and mill, with the house of
William Hodge, now the residence
of E. B. Crowe, appear to have made
up the west section of the village of
his day. Joseph Lincoln had a
clothier's shop near the site of Web-
ster's tack manufactory, and Abner
Spofford was a blacksmith in this
section of the town.
About the beginning of the present
century the spinning of cotton by
machinery began to receive attention
in this country. In 1808, the first
cotton mill in New Hampshire was
built at New Ipswich, and soon after
a like enterprise was launched in
Peterborough. Jaffrey was not to be
outdone by her neighbors. She
possessed citizens of enterprise and
intelHgence, and while here as in
many other places, the mills were
bitterly opposed on the ground that
''^'^'''H^
.4.-^*
School-house, East Jaffrey,
School-house, Jaffrey Centre — Old Melville Academy.
the labor-saving machinery would
deprive the poor people of a means
of support, yet these fallacious argu-
ments did not deter these more pro-
gressive men from their purpose, and
in the year 18 13, a company, consist-
ing of Dr. Adonijah Howe, Samuel
Dakin, Artemas Lawrence, Nathaniel
Holmes, Jr., of Peterborough, Caleb
Searle, William Hodge, John Stevens,
and Samuel Foster, was incorporated
under the name of "The First Cot-
ton and Woolen Factory in Jaffrey."
In December of the same year the
company purchased of Deacon Spof-
ford his mill property, together with
some adjoining tracts of land, and on
the premises they erected the old
wooden mill which is still remem-
bered by many citizens of the town.
This mill, according to an old gazet-
teer, had a capacity of one thousand
spindles.
The machinery is said to have
been made by Nathaniel Holmes, Jr.,
of Peterborough, and Artemas Law-
lOO
fAFFREY.
I
N. W. Wluwtr s Biock.
189S the business was largely in-
creased by an addition to the East
Jaffrey mills, and at the present time
three hundred and twenty-five hands
find constant employment in the cot-
ton mills of White Brothers in this
town.
About the year 1758, Ephraim
Hunt, a young man who hailed from
the historic town of Concord in
the province of Massachusetts Bay,
rence of Jaffrey, who was a black-
smith. Holmes had learned the
trade by working in the lately-estab-
lished mills in Peterborough.
The incorporated company carried
on the business for twenty-one years,
and in 1834 deeded the property to
William Ainsworth, a son of Rev.
Laban Ainsworth, who, soon after,
deeded the saw- and grist-mill to
Samuel Patrick, and three years later
the cotton mill became the property of
Solomon Richardson, Perkins Bige-
low, and Edwin Walton.
In 1844, the cqtton factory came into
the possession of Alonzo Bascom and
others. Alonzo Bascom was born in
Hinsdale, but came to this town from
Palmer, Mass. He was a man of
marked ability and enterprise. He
found business in the new-bought
mills at a standstill, but by his
energy he gave it new life. He
largely increased the capacity of the
old Cheshire mill, and built the new
brick mill in East Jaffrey. He died
in the midst of a successful career in
September, 1872.
After one or two other changes
both the East Jaffrey and Cheshire
mills came into the possession of
the White Brothers of Winchendon,
Mass., about the year 1884, and their
occupancy has been one of uninter-
rupted activity and progress. In
Residence of S. H. Mower.
built a mill at Squantum, where he
sawed lumber and ground grain.
This is said to have been the first
mill in town, and tradition tells of
settlers with pack horses coming for
fifteen miles by marked trees to bring
their grist to his mill. Other mills
have replaced the old mill of Eph-
raim Hunt, and have continued in
operation to the present time. On
the Contoocook river, near the Peter-
borough line, M. I^. Hadley has suc-
ceeded to the ownership of one of the
old-time mills. Here he manufac-
tures turned-chair stock, and by
superior workmanship has gained a
patronage that keeps him constantly
employed. On the site of the old
lyincoln and Foster fulling mill is
the manufactory of the Granite State
Tack company, where, with improved
machinery and the best skill, tacks
and shoe nails are made that for
quality challenge the best in the
JAFFREY.
lOI
world. Many other mills in differ-
ent parts of the town, in which
a great variety of work has been
done, have gone with the changes
of time.
The mills of Jaffrey are located at
the head waters of the busiest stream
in the world, and the water that here
performs its first work helps drive the
turbines of Manchester, IvOwell, and
I^awrence on its passage to the sea.
The Contoocook is a most exemplary
stream, and its praises have been too
long unsung. Association with good
men, from the days of Deacon Spof-
ford till now, has made it, like a
sacred river of Judea, tamed in the
writings of Josephus, a Sabbath-
keeping stream, as any one may see
who drives along its banks by the
Peterborough road and contrasts its
^^^^ I 1^ II
Store of Goodnow Brothers & Co.
Sunday quietness with its week-day
hurry and foam.
But a sketch of a New England
town would be essentially lacking
without some mention of its stores.
From the earliest times the store-
keepers have been men of influence.
They have been generally the ready
men of the communit}-, with both
tongue and pen, and in Jaffrey as in
other towns of old New England, it
has been in the country store that
public opinion has been formed and
questions of town and national policy
discussed.
There is a tradition that the first
storekeeper in Jaffrey was a man by
the name of Breed, but the location
of his emporium is not known. The
storekeepers named in the first re-
corded tax-list in 1793, are Joseph
Thorndike and David Sherwin.
Thorndike was a merchant at the
centre of the town in the house now
owned by Dr. Phelps, and Sherwin' s
store was at Squantum, where the
house of Thomas Anuett now stands.
Thomas Sherwin, a son of David
Sherwin, was master of the famous
English High School in Boston. He
aided in the establishment of the In-
stitute of Technology, and was inti-
mately connected with many associa-
tions for the advancement of learn-
ing. His name has been greatly
honored in the city that he so faith-
fully served.
Squantum with its sawmill, grist-
mill, fulling mill, blacksmith shop,
tavern, and store was an earlj' centre
of trade, and the business established
by David Sherwin was continued for
more than half a century. But the
centre of the town held many advan-
tages as a centre of trade, and for
many years the largest stores were
Residence of Waiter L. Goodnow.
I02
JAFFRE\.
there. Among the other names long
and honorably connected with the
mercantile business of Jaffrey, in the
past are Paysou, Lacy, Duncan, Up-
ton, Foster, Bascom, and Powers.
In the early part of the present
century the village of East Jaffrey
A Summer Camp.
was a local habitation without a
name. It possessed neither meeting-
house nor store — not even a tavern
to slake the thirst of the wayfaring
man, but with the building of the
cotton mills a village sprang up like
the gourd in Jonah's dream, and it
has grown to overshadow the town.
The stores of Jaffrey are a credit to
the town, but the bustle and enter-
prise of these later daj's have been
the death of philosophy and the old
settle and whittled-bottomed chair
have gone to the limbo of outworn
things.
During the greater part of the first
half of the present century, in the lit-
tle house at present owned by John
F. Wheeler, lived Aunt Hannah
Davis, one of those unique characters
for which New England is famed.
In her the stars conspired to produce
a genius. She was a granddaughter
of John Eaton, the master of many
trades, and a daughter of Peter
Davis, aforesaid, maker of wooden
clocks. She never troubled her
mind about what occupations were
open to women, but, obedient to her
genius, she invented and manufac-
tured the nailed bandbox, and be-
came, thereby, a benefactor of her sex.
Who does not see in her work a lin-
gering trace of the red jacket, as
well as the product of three genera-
tions of inventive genius and manual
skill? The bandbox, besides being
the sacred repository of the treasures
of womankind, was the trunk and
satchel of those days.
Aunt Hannah's bandboxes were
substantially made, the bottoms from
boards of light, dry pine, and the
rims from spruce, shaved from the
log or bolt with a heavy knife. This
work required the strength of a man,
and the help of her neighbors was
employed in getting out the scab-
bards or scab-boards, as they were
called. From this point, with con-
trivances of her own invention, aided
by a marvelous manual dexterity,
she formed the box and finally fin-
ished it with a covering of paper of
varied and ornamental design. She
owned as a part of her equipment a
wagon of the prairie schooner type,
covered with a canopy of white cloth.
And when a shopful of her wares
had been accumulated she loaded her
wagon to the roof, hired a sober-
minded horse of her neighbors and
set out for the factory towns where
finery did most abound.
An old newspaper clipping in the
possession of Mrs. S. Willard Pierce,
who was a friend and helper of Aunt
Hannah in her enfeebled old age,
describes the factory girls of those
JAFFREy.
\ox
daj's and their bandboxes, which, it
is said, were made by Hannah Davis
of Jaffrey, and within the memory of
many now Hving the tops of the
stage coaches that run to the factory
towns were often covered with the
product of her shop. In the large
towns of Manchester and Lowell she
was well known, and when, as was
her custom, she halted her van at
the mill door at the hour of noon she
was sure of eager customers and a
lively trade. She is remembered,
while many of greater pretension are
forgotten, for her unique individual-
ity, her good works and sincere piety,
as well as for her unusual skill, and
her name has been honored by a me-
morial window in the Baptist church,
of which she was a devoted member.
Among the later names that have
brought honor to the town is that of
John Conant, a farmer of Jaffrey,
whose benefactions to public and
religious institutions aggregrated
more than one hundred thousand dol-
lars, seventy thousand of which was
a gift to the Agricultural college of
New Hampshire. Conant Hall at
Dartmouth, and the Conant High
school of Jaffrey were founded upon
his bequests and named in his honor.
Whe-e shy Contoocook gleams."
Shattuck Farm.
As for the men of the present time,
their record is best read in the well-
kept farms, the mills and stores, and
all those manifestations of enterprise
and thrift that have given Jaffrey a
good name among the towns of the
state. A summary of progress after
nearly one hundred and fifty years of
history, shows a population of ap-
proximately eighteen hundred souls,
with all the varied elements that
make up a complete and progres-
sive town. There are prosperous
farms, banks, railroad, telegraph
and telephone, mills, where up-
wards of four hundred hands find
constant employment, stores that are
hardly excelled in the smaller cities,
a public library, good schools, five
churches, all well supported, hotels
and boarding houses that furnish ac-
commodations for the transient guest
as well as for the hundreds of sum-
mer visitors who come to enjoy the
unexcelled attractions of the place as
a summer resort.
Nature has so grouped her beauties
here that very few towns in New
England possess greater advantages
and attractions as a summer resort.
Here is a land of pictures of infinite
variety and charm. Jaffrey abounds
in shady drives. Her roads, if not of
the latest build, are attractive as Na-
I04
fAFFREY.
ture's ways, and many of them yet
follow with alluring curves the ' ' trod
way " of the bridle path or the blazed
trees of the settlers' trail.
The territorial limits of the town
that have remained unchanged since
the days of Joseph Blanchard, were
in 1787 threatened by certain de-
signing men of Sliptown (afterward
Sharon), who petitioned the General
Court for the annexation of a strip
of land one mile in width from the
east side of Jaffrey. In a vigorous
remonstrance the inhabitants of Jaf-
frey represented to the law makers
of the state that they had no terri-
tory to spare, and in the course of
their weight}' argument they said :
' ' Moreover their is a Verry great
mountain in this town and a great
Number of Large ponds which ren-
ders about the fourth part thereof
not habitable, besides a great deal of
other wast Land which makes the
habitable part of this town but barely
sufficient to maintain our minister
and support our publick priveledges."
Residence of Charles R. Kittredge.
But times have changed, and the
waste land, the large ponds, and the
very great mountain that troubled
the thrifty hearts of the pioneers,
have come to be the choicest pos-
sessions of the town. As some great
genius lends of his fame to the place
that gave him birth, so it will be
always the chiefest fame of Jaffrey
that Monadnock mountain is there.
The glory of Monadnock is its
isolation. It stands apart from its
brothers of the north and west as if
in some far time it had been sep-
arated from them by some grim, re-
lentless feud. Many of the famous
" Uprose Monadnock in the northern blue, a mighty minster builded to the Lord."
JAFFREY.
105
peaks of the world stand shoulder
to shoulder with dead altitudes, or
brood in eternal hopelessness over
some desert plain. But Mouadnock,
with its rugged, rock-rent sides, is
planted in a world of green hills and
rich vallej's gemmed with a profu-
sion of woodland lakes. From the
rocky summit, on every side, thrifty
farm buildings are seen clustering
here and there into villages, with
steeples and towers. And sometimes
on a windless day the sound of a
mowing machine, like a cricket in
the grass, floats faintly to the sum-
Residence of Russell H. Kittredge.
mit with its suggestions of remote-
ness and the mystery of life. Again
the littleness of the far-off world
comes over one as he watches a
trailing line of smoke that marks the
creeping progress of a tiny railroad
train along the " town sprinkled " val-
ley. It is a dream of New England
realized.
The hill would not go to Mahomet,
and so Mahomet went to the hill.
With each return of summer the
prophet's miracle is repeated here.
From far and near the people come
to receive the largess of Monadnock,
promised through Emerson, its priest
and bard :
" I will give my son to eat
Best of Pan's immortal meat,
Bread to eat and juice to drain ;
So the coinage of his brain
Shall be not forms of stars but stars,
Not pictures pale but Jove and Mars."
Can any part of the world promise
better things than these ? What
place will leave in memory a brighter
picture than this by Edna Dean
Proctor, of Monadnock in autumn
with its groves and streams?
" Up rose Monadnock in the northern blue,
A mighty minster builded to the Lord !
The setting sun his crimson radiance threw
On crest and steep and wood and valley
sward,
Blending their myriad hues in rich accord ;
Till like the wall of heaven it towered to
view.
Along its slope where russet ferns were
strewn,
And purple heaths the scarlet maples flamed,
And reddening oaks and golden birches
shown, —
Resplendent oriels in the black pines framed,
The pines that climb to woo the wind alone,
And down its cloisters blew the evening
breeze,
Through courts and aisles ablaze with autumn
bloom,
Till shrine and portal thrilled to harmonies
Now soaring, dying now in glade and gloom.
And with the wind was heard the voice of
streams, —
Constant their Aves and Te Deums be, —
Lone Ashuelot murmuring down the lea.
And brooks that haste where shy Contoocook
gleams
Through groves and meadows broadening to
the sea.
Then holy twilight fell on earth and air,
While all the lesser heights kept watch and
ward
About Monadnock builded to the Lord."
IP- *
Beyond Monadnock.
COMK TO THE "OLD HOME WEEK."
By Alfred E. Baker.
Come to the " Old Home Week,"
Come to your native mountains,
Come where your heart may seek
The waters from living fountains.
Come where the memory 's green
With the love that knows no parting,
Come where the joy is seen,
In the tears that know no smarting.
Come where the streams are flowing,
With the honey of love and the milk of truth,
Come where in Concord growing.
Is the tree of eternal youth.
Daughter and son, husband and wife,
Father and mother and all.
Out of the sorrow and care and strife.
Obeying the Father's call.
Then will the home-coming glorious be.
And the " Old Home Week " the new year^make.
As we drink of the font of Love's liberty.
And of our Father's welcome home partake.
A NIGHT'S ADVENTURE.
By Bert P. Doe.
r happened one night in the troubles of the day, and soon after
chill month of February. The the clock proclaimed the waning
sun had long ago cast its final hours of the evening I left friends
ray on the cold, cheerless and gay scenes, and after a short
earth. A pearly moon from a cloud- walk in this ideal winter evening air,
less sky, together with the flickering I was in my own room ready to
stars, which dotted the dark arch drown life's fluctuating scenes in a
above, lighted up the winter scene few hours of sleep, then so welcome
without a speck of warmth. All was to my hot and restless brain. Only a
hushed without. few quiet hours, I realized, and an-
I was weary with the cares and other day of strife would dawn.
A NIGHT'S ADVENTURE.
107
I hastily took a last glance at
the pearly moon and the quivering
shadows stirred by a lazy breeze from
the south, and pulled the curtain
aside. I had not been in my downy
couch long before I was lost — lost in
slumber, so dear to tired brain and
throbbing nerves. Then I was borne
away, as if by some unseen magic
power, to scenes new to me. I stood
on a high cliff at the entrance of a
large, elegant, white mansion ; be-
fore the door stood an old man, with
gray locks hanging low on his fore-
head. His frame was thin and
wasted, and the bones in his hands
and legs were plainly visible. At
his feet stood an hour-glass, such as
I have seen pictured on the pages of
old almanacs, and hanging over the
doorway behind him was a scythe,
long of handle, and the blade long
and narrow, glistening in the rays of
the sun.
He greeted me with a wan smile
and extended his bony hand. Re-
membering the pictures I had seen,
it flashed across my mind that he
was Father Time, and the house was
his mansion.
"My lad," he said, "come in, now
is the only time as long as the earth
continues to revolve that you will
find me at my home. Now all is
quiet in your land — all have ceased
to grow old — the progress of all
things is stagnant. Only this once ;
never before has this happened, nor
never shall it again. Come in and I
will show you through my mansion,
large and fine."
I stood still, half in wonderment,
half in fear. "No, I cannot stop,"
I said, "I am weary, my head is
throbbing from hard labor and my
nerves are tired. I am looking for a
place to rest — to rest for an hour or
two only, so I can gird myself for
harder tasks."
"Ah ! my boy, there is no rest in
this land," he replied, and I noticed
that a shade of sadness flickered
across his wasted face. "But come
with me," he continued, " and I will
show you how the inhabitants of
these regions obey my commands."
I hesitated no longer and walked
to meet him where he stood at the
doorway. I felt a strange sensation
creep over me as I neared his weird
form, for he seemed to me an un-
earthly being. As I came within
his reach he extended his pallid and
wasted hand to me, which I clasped.
It was cold as ice.
Pointing to the scythe above the
door, he continued, " That scythe,
my boy, has reaped a harvest that
any reaper might well be proud of.
It has cut away generals, statesmen,
law^yers, and merchants, who have
aspired fame through me — through
Time, the greatest of all agents in
the universe. My boy, I have lived
for centuries," he went on, "I am
older than those blue summits which
rise above those dusky clouds," he
said, pointing his skeleton-like finger
to the west.
' ' I have crumbled away princely
halls and stately mansions ; I have
instigated the people of all nations to
bloody war, and I have soothed their
fevered passions in sweet peace. It
was I who built your own nation
where you dwell ; I saw it when it
was in its infancy and kept a vigilant
eye on its progress. Ah ! I cannot
begin to tell you all I have done. It
is a long, long story."
As he finished I thought his eyes
were moist. His words seemed to
io8
A NIGHT'S ADVENTURE.
have a sad effect on me for I, too,
felt like crying.
We both stood in silence for some
time, and then he led the way into
his mansion. "Well, come," he
said, " and we will be soon cheered
up." I followed him through a long
spacious hall, the brilliancy of which
was unprecedented to me. At the
opposite end he pulled the latch of a
door which swung open, and before
me was a scene replete with wonder-
ment and awe.
In a wide and fertile valley was a
large herd of beautiful horses of two
colors — black and white. They were
contentedl}^ grazing ; there was no
guard or keeper. Their shiny coats
glistened in the rays of the sun,
which beat perpendicularly down on
the herd. It formed a beautiful pic-
ture. The slopes of the green moun-
tains also glistened in the sun's
rays ; soft, fleecy clouds floated high
in the blue arch above, flecking the
green landscape with lazily moving
shadows. I stood and gazed on the
scene in wonderment. The old man,
too, was silent. Thus we stood for a
short time. At last Old Time, rais-
ing his right arm to a shelf above his
head, clutched a long thin bugle,
tarnished by age, and dusty from its
long rest on the shelf. Slowly he
raised it to his thin lips, and I stood
eagerly waiting to hear its notes re-
verberate over the level valley and
up the distant green mountains. But
before its notes broke the stillness he,
turning to me, said,
' ' Those horses represent the good
and bad souls which formerly in-
habited your land. There are men
of all nationalities among them, some
had become famous, and others,
taken in their youth before they had
become known to the world, — doc-
tors, lawyers, clergymen, statesmen,
merchants, and manufacturers, are all
mingled together in the herd below.
As they enter my palace they are
transformed into animals and then
left to graze in my pasture lands
until my trumpet sounds, which is
the signal for them to pass on to an-
other world, — the good to the celes-
tial region, and the bad to the shades
below."
As he finished speaking he again
raised the trumpet and blew a long,
clear blast. It was a weird sound,
such as I have never heard before,
and caused a strange sensation to
creep over my frame.
I turned my eye to the horses be-
low ; for an instant they raised their
heads and looked in the direction
from which the sound came. Then
what a thundering of hoofs followed.
It was a wild stampede. As if by
magic the}^ became separate, the
black in one herd and the white in
the other ; away to the east sped the
black, and to the west the white, all
the time gaining speed as they neared
the mountains. The old man and I
stood and watched the flight in
silence. Dimmer they grew as the
distance increased, and soon a gap
in the mountains put an end to our
view. We turned our eyes from the
direction of the fleeing horses down
into the fertile valley. The horses
had gone. It seemed still and lonely.
Old Time at last broke the silence.
"Another host of souls gone into
eternity," he said, and he turned and
replaced his trumpet into its long
resting-place. "To-morrow," he
continued, " I shall traverse your
regions and seek more souls for my
valley. I shall get them from happy
A NIGHT'S ADVENTURE.
109
homes, from stately mansions, from
hospitals, prison cells, and the high-
ways. Perhaps you yourself, at the
next blast of my bugle will be flying
with the horses over yonder moun-
tains."
I gazed steadfastly into his gray
ej'es as he was talking, and, as he
concluded, I thought he appeared
nervous and uneasy. " Well, my
boy, I must bid you adieu," he be-
gan again, and I again clasped his
icy hand as I had done when I
first met him. As soon as he re-
leased my hand he was gone. I
knew not where he went or how he
vanished. I delayed no longer in
his mansion but proceeded straight
to the door by which I had entered,
and a feeling of fear crept over me
for I feared that I might be en-
trapped in his halls, but no, as I
neared the door it swung open for
me to pass out into the open air and
warm sunshine. As I strolled again
down the pathway I turned and
looked back on the mountains to
the westward. They were as green
and beautiful as when the herd of
horses passed from view behind
them, but over their summits was
gathering a dark and dingy cloud
of huge proportions. It was rapidly
moving towards the zenith, and the
sun, which was close to it, would
soon be obscured. I hastened my
steps to reach my home — which
seemed near-by — before the darkness
could overtake me. I had traveled
but a short distance when the dingy,
black cloud put the earth about me
in shadow, and all was inky black-
ness. It was a wonderful transfor-
mation — from day into night — black,
silent night.
A feeling of fear such as I had
never felt before was creeping over
me. I stood still ; I dared not pro-
ceed for fear of coming in contact
with some strange, frightful object.
Neither did I dare to look behind for
I knew not what I should see. I
glanced to the west, and as I turned
my head a vivid flash of lightning
lighted up the landscape, followed
almost instantly by an appalling peal
of thunder. My knees trembled, and
large, cold drops of perspiration
stood on my forehead. I was grow-
ing weak, and it seemed as if I
should surely sink to the earth be-
fore long. The lightning flashed
almost incessantly, and a continual
roll of thunder echoed over the
mountain peaks.
Above the din of the thunder's
roar I could distinctly hear the shrill,
weird notes of Old Time's bugle, but
by the flashes of the lightning I
could see no herds of horses fleeing
from the level valley to the sloping
green mountains.
At last I proceeded ; the hailstones
beating in my face caused a sharp
pain, and I groped about wildly to
see if I could clutch something for
support. I walked on in this man-
ner for some distance, but there was
no lull in the raging of the storm.
I could only see before me bj^ the
flashes of lightning. As the light
of one flash, brighter than the others,
lighted up the gloom before me I
thought I saw an object standing to
the left. I quickly turned towards
it, but I had gone but a few steps
when the ground under me was
snapped asunder and I was hurled
headlong down a steep chasm. It
seemed as if I fell for yards and
yards. It was a horrible sensation.
At last I reached the end of the
no
A BLUE AND WHITE BOWL.
terrible fall, — all my senses were
gone. For awhile I knew nothing.
At last when my shattered senses
crept back to me I opened my eyes.
Before me was standing Old Time,
with the same wasted form and wan
countenance. Clutched in his bony
hand was the hour-glass and over
his shoulder was the long glistening
scythe. The storm had lulled. The
sun was shining among the black,
jagged clouds which were floating
away to the eastward. The rain-
drops were glistening on the green
foliage in the rays of the warm sun
like costly jewels. " Come, my boy,"
said Old Time, extending to me his
bony hand, '' yo\xx days in yoMX land
are over. Come to my mansion and
green valley." But I shrank back.
" No ! No ! " I cried. This aroused
the old man to ire. His kindly
eyes now glistened with anger, and
his feeble limbs grew knotted with
muscles.
He grasped his scythe and raised
it high above the gray locks of his
head. I knew that, with a mighty
swing, he was about to cut me down.
I knew not what to do. My weakly
condition would not permit me to
grapple with him and try to stay
the blow. I tried to cry for mercy,
but my tongue clove to the roof of
my mouth and not a sound could I
utter. Finally I gave up and fell
back. Is was a horrible sensation,
lying there and awaiting the stroke
of the scythe. Just then I was
nearly blinded by the sun flashing
into my eyes from the hour-glass.
His uplifted scythe never fell, for the
glare of the sun from the hour-glass
aroused me from my slumber. It
was a winter sun which had just
wheeled its broad disk over the
eastern hills and sent its full glare
into my eyes.
My night's adventure only lingered
in memory.
A BIvUE AND WHITE BOWI..
By Laura Garland Carr.
'Tis small and thin with scarce a trace
Of beauty tint or line of grace.
Two ugly cracks, from some mishap,
Ivike rivers pictured on a map, —
That no device of art can hide, —
Run aimlessly adown the side.
One little push, one careless pass.
And it might lie a shattered mass.
So frail and shell-like it appears,
Yet it has served a hundred years.
When great-grandmother, young and gay,
Went housekeeping in the old way,
No doubt this bowl, with other delf,
Was placed in line upon a shelf
Of that " red dresser " which we know
A BLUE AND WHITE BOWL.
Figured iu kitchens long ago.
And we are sure there was no lack
Of shining pewter at the back.
From its high place it could o'erlook
The big, wide kitchen's every nook.
And much that happened there below
We great-grandchildren wish to know.
Ah, if this bit of pictured clay —
By art unknown — could now portray
The quaint, old scenes that passed in view
While it was yet unstained and new !
Could show great-grandma as she worked —
For well we know she never shirked
A household duty, great or small —
But kept a watchful eye on all.
And was it true — as has been told —
Was she a bit inclined to scold ?
One old-time quilting we would see,
A candy pull, an apple bee,
An evening when the neighboring folk
Came in to sing, gossip, and joke,
Eat apples, popped corn and — why frown ?
Let good, hard cider wash it down.
And all the while the firelight's glow
Their queer, old homespun garbs would show.
And, dancing o'er the dingy walls
In many fitful flares and falls —
Dim in the darkness would reveal
The clumsy forms of loom and wheel,
With hanks of yarn and woolly rolls
Hanging from wooden pegs and poles.
From winter, summer, autumn, spring,
How much this ancient bowl could bring
From great-grandmother down to me
If it could speak, could hear and see !
What folly this ! Pray is not all
That constitutes this earthly ball
Old, older far than tribe or race.
Older than date of man can trace ?
Some things withstand dissolving test
A little longer than the rest.
But in good time all, all will fill
A place in Nature's grinding mill
To be reshaped in other mold.
And then again be "young " and "old."
Ill
RICKETTY ANN'S CONTRIBUTION.
By Doris L. Burke.
ISS Susan Ann Tuttle was
hastening home from
church through the soft
February sktsh. She was
a Httle old lady. Her thin, sweet
face was shaded by a scoop bonnet,
with a skimpy black veil tied in a
pitiful knot. Long afflicted with St.
Vitus' dance she had come to be
known as Ricketty Ann.
The condition of the roads made
cautious walking expedient, and
Ann's overshoes leaked. Yet she
hurried on unmindful of the fact that
she had already gone over them
twice in the melting snow.
The minister had said that hun-
dreds, possibly thousands, of people
were dying of starvation in Cuba,
and that a collection would be taken
for them on the next Sunday even-
ing. A dollar was sufficient to sup-
port one adult or three children for
one month.
"The poor little children," Ann
thought tearfully. "A dollar would
keep three of them a month."
If she might only give a dollar !
When she had reached home she sat
down to count the contents of her
rusty pocketbook before kindling a
fire in the tiny cracked stove. There
was even less money than she had
feared. She could spare but a few
pennies. She sighed faintly. "It
would be so beautiful to give a dol-
lar. Maybe I could if it had n't been
for the rheumatics in my hip. It
does cost so to be sick."
She resolved to do without butter
and tea for a while that she might
save a few extra cents.
Ann sighed again as she looked
out of the window and saw the peo-
ple going home from church. Most
of them were able to give so easily.
For instance, there was John Hart
who enjoyed the distinction of being
the rich man of Dunsettbury. A
dollar, even twenty dollars, would be
nothing to him she thought.
But Mr. Hart's mind was dis-
tracted to-day by financial anxieties.
As he sat in his heavily furnished
library that afternoon, he accused
himself of having done a criminall}^
foolish thing during the past week.
His severe New England ethics had
always frowned upon speculations of
any sort, but in a moment of fool-
hardiness he had jnelded to the temp-
tation to swiftly enlarge his mighty
bank account.
His conscience had feebly disap-
proved all along, and now it up-
braided him vehemently, for last
night's paper had quoted his stock
below par. It meant a loss of thou-
sands of dollars if he were obliged to
sell at that figure, and he trembled
to think how much lower the shares
might fall.
Three generations of well-fed,
penurious ancestors are not calcu-
lated to give one much sympathy for
the hungry, and Mr. Hart was duly
surprised that he must needs recall
Dr. Seelyes's solicitation for the
RICKETTY ANN'S CONTRIBUTION.
113
starving Cubans at that particular
season. Nevertheless the heart rend-
ing pictures and descriptions which
he had seen from time to time, re-
curred to him with redoubled force,
and resolutely persisted in com-
mingling themselves with his busi-
ness apprehensions.
The anthracite was beginning to
glow redly in the dusk, the twilight
shadows had lengthened until they
enveloped the stout man in the com-
fortable Morris chair, and the pale,
young moon looked timidly through
the windows. It was a propitious
hour for fine resolves, and the good
angel being abroad at that time, sug-
gested to Mr. Hart a possible way
out of his troubles.
He would make an offering to the
fa!es. Too skeptical to believe in the
efficacy of such an arrangement, and
yet superstitious enough to get com-
fort from it, he solemnly covenanted
with himself that he would send one
hundred dollars to the Relief fund
should he be able to secure a certain
margin on his stock. Extremely
nervous about the success, and thor-
oughly troubled about the righteous-
u(.ss of his hazardous investment, he
had been led into making this muni-
ficent and unparalleled promise.
The succeeding Wednesday night
Mr. Hart sat again in his library.
He did not look like a man who had
cleared $3,000 on Y. P. K. stock in
less than a week. For although at
four o'clock his broker had tele-
graphed that the shares were sold
and the returns safely placed, there
yet mingled with his joy a disturbing
memory.
In vain he endeavored to persuade
himself that a promise made under
such peculiar circumstances could
never be considered binding. Con-
science whispered that a promise was
a promise, and John Hart was a very
honorable man.
But to give away one hundred dol-
lars at once ! One hundred dollars
was more than he had given awa}^ in
all his life. Moreover he had been
put to extra expense lateh'. There
was that lost pocketbook. which had
contained valuable papers and the
futile advertising for its recovery, the
new carriage house, and some repairs
on his business block.
And those Cubans were nothing
more nor less than Spaniards any-
way. Doubtless, many of them
richl}' deserved what they were get-
ting. It was not at all certain that
the persons who needed and deserved
help would get it. Furthermore, he
was chary of beginning benevolences
on such a large scale. There was
no sa3'ing what great expectations it
might arouse. The}^ would be ask-
ing him to found a hospital or build a
church next. Having thus lost him-
self in a glow of indignation at the
grasping ways of philanthropists in
general, and Cuban sympathizers in
particular, Mr. Hart settled himself
to the evening journal.
But he could not forget that as a
man of honor he should do as he had
stipulated. Again and again that
ev-ening he went over his arra}' of
arguments, and from them he de-
duced many others.
He told himself that he was not
under obligation to any person or
power in this matter. The broker
had received a fery liberal percent-
age, and he had looked ver}^ closel}^
after the buying and selling himself.
Some men would have held the
stock for still further advances and
sxvii— 8
114
RICKETTY ANN'S CONTRIBUTION.
then lost every dollar. It was surely
most inexpedient for him to exhaust
his nervous force on such an incon-
siderate question as this.
" I shall use my own judgment
about what I can afford to give," he
said, doggedly, to himself. "I'll
settle the matter by sending Dr.
Seelyes a check this very hour. It
seems to me that about five dollars —
yes, I think five dollars — would be a
very liberal contribution."
Mr. Hart pulled out his check
book. His pen paused for a moment
after writing the "5."
" It would be easy to make it 50,"
the good angel whispered. "Five
dollars is an exceedingly small sum
from a man who has made three
thousand in six days."
But Mr. Hart signed his name and
sealed his envelope with decision.
' ' They may think themselves
lucky. Ordinarily I should not have
felt called to give more than a nickel.
If everybody is as liberal as I have
been I 'm thinking Dr. Seelyes would
open his eyes pretty wide. But they
won't be."
Mr. Hart began to feel better while
making this cheerful reflection.
"They won't be," he repeated,
with conviction. "I estimate there
won't be three persons out of the
whole congregation who'll give as
much as that. If they all did as
well as I 've done the collection
would amount to — lyCt me see how
much the collection ivozdd amount to.
There must be about sixty members.
Now if each one would do his duty
as well as I 've done mine there
would be three hundred dollars from
this one church."
Mr. Hart found this mental arith-
metic highly agreeable, and imme-
diately plunged into broader calcula-
tions which involved the county and
state.
The next morning, however, Mr.
Hart endeavored in vain to convince
himself that ev^en five dollars was
more than could be reasonably ex-
pected of him.
"You promised, you promised,"
the inward monitor whispered un-
ceasingly, and Mr. Hart remembered
uncomfortably that he had often said
a promise made to one's self was as
obligatory as any other. He was in
this mood of mingled satisfaction
and uneasiness when the trim maid
announced a visitor.
"There's an old lady to see you,
sir," she said. " I told her you was
always busy in the forenoon, but she
says, if you please, it's important."
" I,et her come in," said Mr.
Hart.
A little, bent, old figure followed
the servant across the wide hall.
" What can I do for you, madam? "
asked Mr. Hart. " I have the impres-
sion that I 've seen you before."
" Yes, sir," assented Ricketty Ann
eagerly, " I see you go by real often.
I come to bring you this."
From her limp, old-fashioned va-
lise Ann drew a very battered mud-
stained and water-soaked affair. But
notwithstanding its sad condition Mr.
Hart recognized it joyously.
"My wallet!" he exclaimed.
" Well, well, how did you happen to
find that?"
"It was yesterday when I was
coming across the avenue. I saw it
sticking up through the snow by the
walk. My eyes aint what they w.is
once, but I says to myself that aint
a stick, nor yet a leaf. I was sur-
prised enough when I see what 'twas.
RICKETJY ANN'S CONTRIBUTION.
115
There was a sight of them doc}--
meuts, and some of 'em was pretty
well soaked. But I spread 'em out,
and they got nice'n dry by mornin'.
Soon as I see it was your pocket-
book I says to myself, I '11 take it
over first thing in the mornin'. Mr.
Hart must be real worried about all
them papers bein' lost."
Mr. Hart finished the inspection of
his papers, and then his revolving
chair wheeled toward Ricketty Ann.
' ' You have done me an invaluable
service, madam. The most of these
papers were extremely important.
I am very greatly obliged to you,
Mrs. — . Did you tell me your
name ? "
"Miss Susan Ann Tuttle, sir," Ann
answered with quavering dignity.
Her heart was beating high with
tremulous hope. Once she had re-
ceived twenty-five cents for finding
a plated brooch. And Mr. Hart had
said the papers were valuable. If
he would only give her a dollar !
Then she could send something
worth while to the Relief Fund.
She began to pull on her darned
mittens slowly.
Mr. Hart's hand was in his pocket,
and his fingers had closed over a
quarter irresolutely.
" I do not like to be beholden,"
he was thinking. "Yet she seems
to be a very worthy person, and I
am not sure how she would take the
offer of money. Besides that adver-
tising is going to cost me heav}-."
Ricketty Ann's quick ear caught
the clink of the silver as he dropped
the quarter back to its place. He
had changed his mind ; he was not
going to give her anything after all.
Nevertheless she waited longingly.
Mr. Hart fingered his pocketbook
with painful indecision. At last he
opened it hesitatingly. A vision of
greenbacks glimmered before Ann's
eyes. She felt that her dream of a
dollar bill had become a reality.
Impetuous words of thanks rose to
her lips.
"Oh, sir," she began gratefully.
The next moment she stopped,
covered with crimson confusion.
Mr. Hart had closed his pocketbook,
and was regarding her with grave
interrogation.
" I beg pardon," he said question-
ingly.
Ricketty Ann's poor, slow wits
scattered right and left.
"I was jest a goin' to say — "
She paused again growing pinker
every moment. Her eyes were on
the floor in distracted perturbation,
and Mr. Hart followed her glance.
He could hardly help seeing that
her overshoes must leak and that
her shawl was only an illusion. He
thought he understood her unspoken
wants.
" I do not like to be beholden,"
he reflected again, " and those papers
were worth big money to me."
With extreme reluctance he drew
forth a two dollar bill. It had been
a crisp new one and he looked at it
tenderly, half deciding to return it to
its fellows. But Ann's hand was al-
ready outstretched, and her pinched
face was radiant.
"Get some real heavy ones," ad-
vised Mr. Hart as he pushed back
the portieres, "and I woirld have a
shawl, too. That one seems hardly
suitable for winter wear."
"Oh, sir, I didn't mearr that,'''
gasped Ricketty Ann, amazed at
the magnitude of his misconception.
But Mr. Hart had bowed her down
ii6
RICKETTY ANN'S CONTRIBUTION.
the imposing steps aud the heav}'
door was closed behind her.
She tripped through the iron gate-
way with swift, glad steps. The snow
seemed to glide from under her feet.
" It's come. It's come," she whis-
pered exultingl5^ " Nobody but the
dear Lord k no wed Jioiv I 'd wanted to
put a dollar into the box come next
Sunda}' night. And here 's two dol-
lars — two dollars — two dollars."
She clutched the bill more tightly.
At thought of the overshoes and
shawl she laughed jo3'Ously.
' 'T would n't be right for me to be
buying rubbers when folks are starv-
ing, and spring only six weeks off."
Ann was naturally of a hopeful
disposition and she as summarily dis-
missed Mr. Hart's suggestion of a
shawl.
"Maybe we aiut going to have
much more cold weather, and my
shawl aint so very thin. It was a
good shawl in its day. Mr. Hart
won't care. I '11 tell him how 't was.
It 's likely he '11 do something hand-
some himself."
Mr. Hart, however, was thinking
moodily of his two dollar bill and
hundred dollar promise.
There were subtle distinctions in
Dr. Seelyes's Sunday night prayer-
meetings. Long custom had deter-
mined which particular portion of
the congregation should occupy the
beginning, middle, and end of the
service. On the evening of the
Cuban collection the various strata
were especially prompt, and the
choir sang lustily during the brief
intervals. But after a time there
came the deplorable prayer-meeting
lull.
The good little girl who sat priml}^
beside her mother examined wnth
interest the penu}" which had been
prudently tied in the corner of her
handkerchief. The nervous man
looked at his watch, and the ner^^ous
woman stole a glance at the clock —
under pretence of looking for a hymn
book — and wondered it the baby
would wake. Mr. Hart, unaccus-
tomed to pra3^er-meetings, sat sleepil}^
in his dusky corner and w^ondered for
the eleventh time why he had come.
" There are a few moments left,
friends," observ^ed Dr. Seel5'es. " I
wish we might hear from all."
This customary remark was the
signal for certain elements of the
assemblage to fasten wraps and pull
on overshoes.
Suddenly there was a little stir of
interest down by the door. Rickettj-
Ann had risen and was talking in an
animated treble. Two dollars was a
small fortune to her — poor soul — and
she tried to tell how glad she was
at being able to give so much. In
her simple way she said, " The Lord
meant for the Cubyans to have it
but he let me send it to 'em because
he knew I wanted to so."
A little hush of reverence aud
shame stole over the congregation as
she sat down. Some of the people
had the grace to realize how much
of the spirit "for value received"
was accustomed to permeate their
prayers and praises. John Hart
watched with feelings that defied
description while Ricketty Ann
poured the contents of her pocket-
book into the box. He was thor-
oughly, wondrousl}' ashamed of him-
self. He hastily pnlled out his long
pocketbook. There was a hundred
dollar bill inside, and he put it into
the box as the collector passed up
the aisle.
H. D. SOULE.
Henry Dexter Soule died suddenly at his home in Manchester, July i6. Mr.
Soule was born in Manchester, June i, 1857, attended the public schools and was
graduated from the High school in 1875. He was connected with the advertis-
ing department of the Alirror for many years. With the business men he made
friends from the start, and he had the faculty of holding their friendships. His
genial manner and warm-heartedness made him popular in all circles. He was
one of the most affable men in the city, and his judgment and discretion made
him a leader at all times.
As a Mason Mr. Soule's career was the most noteworthy. In May 6, 1885,
he took his entered apprentice degree in Lafayette lodge, No. 41, of that city,
June 3, the fellow craft, and September 25, of the same year, was made a Master
Mason. The chapter degrees were taken in Mt. Horeb Royal Arch chapter,
Mark, May 25, 1886, Past, June 9, M. E., October 13, and R. A., November 8 of
the same year. The council degrees were taken in Adoniram council. Royal,
January 23, 1887 : Select, January 28 and Sup. Ex., February 25 of the same
year. The orders of Knighthood were conferred in Trinity commandery, March
8, 1887, March 23, and June 14 of the same year. The Scottish Rite degrees,
Lodge of Perfection, March g, 1893, Council, April 6, Chapter, April 6, he receiv-
ing the 32d degree May 25 of the same year. Mr. Soule was twice elected emi-
nent commander of Trinity commandery, his reelection being on June 28. He
was also Past T. I. M. of Adoniram council, being in the chair in 1895.
Mr. Soule made one of the most successful eminent commanders Trinity ever
had. Particularly able was his management of the pilgrimage to the triennial
conclave to Pittsburg. Had a less active man been at the head of the command-
ery at the time the affair would have failed. He was also an active member of
the Ancient Essenic order, being the first excellent senator of Manchester senate.
In politics he was a Republican, and was serving the city for the second term
on the school board. He was chairman of the important committee on fuel and
heating, of the sub-committee on evening schools, and a member of the committees
on the Lincoln and Lowell-street schools. He took a deep interest in all school
matters, and was one of the most agreeable and pleasant members of the board.
He, at one time, was a letter carrier connected with the Manchester post-ofiice.
He was also a member of the Cadet Veteran association, and of the Sons of Vet-
erans camp. He leaves a widow and one brother.
DR. JOHN H. GIIvBERT.
Dr. John H. Gilbert, one of the best known physicians and one of the oldest
medical examiners in Massachusetts, died at his home in Quincy, August 3, after
ii8 NEW HAMPSHIRE NECROLOGY.
a long illness. Dr. Gilbert was born in Atkinson 66 years ago, and was a gradu-
ate from Dartmouth and Tremont medical colleges. He began practice in Wey-
mouth, where he remained ten years, when he removed to Quincy. He was
prominently connected with organizing the Quincy City hospital and the board of
health. In 1882 he was appointed medical examiner for the Quincy district, a
position he held up to his death. He leaves a widow and one son.
DR. M. W. PRAY.
The recent death of Dr. M. W. Pray removes a familiar face from the ranks of
Boston's dentists. Dr. Pray was born in Lebanon some 70 years ago and re-
moved to Boston when a young man. He is survived by a widow, one son and
two daughters, a sister and two brothers, one of the latter being Dr. J. E. S.
Pray of Exeter.
GEO. W. MOORE.
George W. Moore, one of the oldest, if not the oldest, pioneers of Lenawee
county, Michigan, a man of sterling worth and integrity, a staunch and life-long
Democrat, and a man universally loved and respected, passed away at his home
in Medina, Mich., July 21, at the age of 85 years. He was born in Peter-
borough, April 13, 18 14. His old home never lost its attractions for him, for he
came alone at 84 years of age to see it once more.
HON. NEWTON S. HUNTINGTON.
N. S. Huntington died at his home in Hanover, August 2, at the age of 77
years. He was cashier of the Dartmouth National bank, which he founded, and
at the same time was treasurer of the Dartmouth Savings bank. During many
)ears, and until his death, he had been president of both institutions, represented
the town in the legislature in i858-'59 in the house, and was in the legistature con-
tinuously from i885-'97, being always prominent on committees, and during
many years chairman of the banking committee.
He was a quiet, persistent, forceful man, who, by diligent and conscientious
effort, made a large place for himself not only in the community where he made
his home, but in the wider field of public life. As a legislator he was valued for
the safety and prudence of his judgment, and his long service in both branches of
the general court made many friends who will learn of his death with regret.
SAMUEL ADAMS WIGGIN.
Samuel A. Wiggin, a native of Portsmouth, died at the Georgetown University
hospital. District of Columbia, recently, aged 67 years, from injuries received in
falling down a flight of stairs at "Fernwood," his home in the suburbs of Wash-
ington. The unfortunate man did not recover consciousness after his injury.
Mr. Wiggin was for many years a clerk in the departments at Washington, and
last served as a clerk in the pension office. During the time Andrew Johnson
occupied the White House Mr, Wiggin was his private secretary. He had con-
siderable literary talent, contributed articles for various magazines and news-
papers, and was the author of a number of poems, some of which may be found in
" The Poets of Portsmouth," and in the files of the C/iroiiic/c, for which paper he
was a frequent contributor in the sixties.
GOVERNOR ROLLINS
Tnn CiRARITE AORTMOT.
Vol. XXVII.
SEPTEMBER, 1899.
No.
GOVERNOR ROLIvINS.
By Hon. Cliarles R. Corning.
His
RANK WEST ROLLINS,
forty-fifth governor of the
state, was born in Concord,
the 24th of Febriiar}^ 1S60.
father was Edward H. Rol-
lins, late a congressman and a sena-
tor of the United States, and widely
known as a Republican leader. His
mother was Miss Ellen West, a na-
tive of Concord, and a daughter of
an old-time merchant of the town.
Heredity to public office while un-
recognized in our republic is never-
theless not uncommon to our prac-
tices. We naturally turn to the
Adams family as an illustration of
this fact where both father and son
held the highest office in the repub-
lic, and following closely is the Har-
rison stock which gave to the LTnited
States a Revolutionary leader whose
son and great-grandson became chief
magistrates of the country. Here in
our own state we have had the Bell
family furnishing three governors
and as many United States senators
to add dignity and lustre to public
councils. We see this fittingly illus-
trated in the career of the present
chief magistrate. Nothing, there-
fore, would seem more natural to a
son of the late senator than political
aptitude and ambition.
In the days of the governor's boy-
hood there was no place in the state,
the Eagle and the Phenix hotels in
Concord excepted, where politicians
were so accustomed to meet to talk
over affairs of moment as in the
quaint, old-fashioned house on North
Main street beneath whose roof Gov-
ernor Rollins first saw the light of
day. This ancient dwelling is no
longer standing, but within its apart-
ments political leaders made political
history in the three decades from
1855 to 1885, as it had never been
made before. No wonder then that
with surroundings like these politics
became a subject of early interest
and accomplishment to the young ob-
server.
Those that knew Senator Rollins
recognize more than one of his
characteristics in his son. Among
the senator's strongest traits was his
122
GOl'ERNOR ROLLINS.
deep and abiding love of his native
state, his constant attention to its
interests, and his persistent and life-
long striving in its behalf. His last
senatorial duties were directed to the
erection of a pubHc building in Con-
cord, and a lasting memorial to his
industry and fidelity may be seen in
the stately court-house and post-office
ornamenting the city of his residence
and sepulchre.
In the public schools of his native
town young Rollins began his educa-
tion, supplementing it by private tutor-
ing wnth Mr. Moses Woolson, who in
his day ranked among the most thor-
ough and masterful teachers in New
England.
Under the stimulating discipline of
this teacher Mr. Rollins was fitted
for the Institute of Technology at
Boston, and entered the class of '8i.
After leaving that institution he en-
tered the Harvard L,aw school, fin-
ishing his studies in the office of the
late John Y. Mugridge in Concord.
In August, 1882, he was admitted to
the bar at the general law term.
Law, in the concrete as well as in
the abstract, did not prove wholly to
his tastes, and the young attorney
was not long in finding out his dis-
inclination for the serious pursuit of
his profession. In those days of pro-
fessional probation I saw a good deal
of him, for we began law at the same
time, and it was easy to predict that
jurisprudence was not to be his life's
work. Even then his mind was in-
clined to business affairs, while his
tastes went out strongly toward lit-
erature. In a year or two the un-
equal struggle ceased ; the freshly-
lettered sign of attorney- at-law came
down, his literary predilections were
made secondary, and with firm reso-
lution he devoted himself to that
most sensitive and insistent of call-
ings — banking. The well-known
house of E. H. Rollins & Son
had already been established with its
principal office in Concord, but in-
creasing business demanded exten-
sions, and as vice-president of the
company, Frank W. Rollins became
the manager of the branch in Boston.
To-day this banking house is one
of the widest known in the United
States, with offices east and west
employing scores of clerks and
agents, enjoying the best of reputa-
sions, and reflecting the highest
credit on its managers. Those that
know^ the secrets of banking know
how much of this prosperity and
standing is directly due to the con-
stancy and skill of the banker-gov-
ernor. Again, those that are know-
ing to the conditions of successful
banking understand the demands it
makes on its managers, the inexor-
able attention and devotion to in-
cessant detail, the watchful eye and
resporisive courage, in short, the
incompatibility of that calling with
another wdiolly dissimilar.
Yet in the face of these com-
mon obstacles, Mr. Rollins, true to
those early tastes in literature, has
not been dumb to the promptings
of the siren of fiction. His activity
in writing stories and novels and
in well-turned translation from the
French, has been one of the notable
incidents of his career. We recog-
nize the expression of literary talent
in his writings, and with it we detect
the ingenuity of plot and situation
and the smooth current of his style.
Among his published writings are
" Ring in the CHff," " Break o' Day
Tales," "The Twin Hussars," and
MRS. ROLLINS
124 GOVERNOR ROLLINS.
" The Lady of the Violets," the last ecessors he served no apprenticeship,
named coming out in 1897, ^^d meet- he underwent no novitiate, for his
ing with an appreciative reception, first public office secured to him a
Besides banking and story writing position second only in title and rank
the governor's catholicity of occupa- to the one he now occupies. In
tion is curiously shown in his fond- November, 1894, Mr. Rollins was
ness for military life and the prac- chosen a state senator from the
tical experience it affords. In the Concord district, and on the assem-
days of his studentship, at the Insti- bling of the senate in January, he
tute of Technology, he took an active became its president. Four years
part in the military exercises of the later, as is well remembered, the
school, serving for some time as first Republican state convention nomi-
lieutenant of cadets. As early as nated him for governor, and in
1880 he enlisted in Company C, of November, 1898, he was duly elected
the Third regiment, N. H. N. G., by the people. His inauguration to
and continued as a member of the office took place in January of this
organization for several years. In year.
1890 he was appointed on the staff As governor of New Hampshire
of General Patterson commanding his views on public affairs have been
the brigade, and served successively expressed without hesitation, and the
as judge advocate and as assistant more original they are, the wider
adjutant-general with the rank of they have spread, until his name is
lieutenant-colonel. His affection and known from shore to shore,
interest toward the State National As his Fast Day proclamation
Guard is no wise lessened by his made of the state a battle-ground
present station, and that this is fully of varying opinions so his "Old
understood by the guardsmen was Home Week" will make of the old
abundantly proved by their warm state a delightful festival of fra-
welcome as the governor and staff ternity and love. This conception
rode upon the camp ground at the on the part of the governor is the
last encampment. Governor Rollins white mark of his administration,
is the first one among our recent To call attention to the charms of
chief magistrates who knows the the state is no new thought of Gov-
strength and defects of our citizen eruor Rollins. He long ago recog-
soldiery by actual service and expert nized the probabilities of New Hamp-
observation, and it is no secret that shire's future, as we all do, but he
had circumstances been favorable, he went further and called attention to
would have urged on the last legis- certain accessories calculated to in-
lature some radical changes respect- crease and to hasten the coming of
ing our state militia and have done pleasure seekers. Good roads are as
his utmost to carry them to a sue- essential as good order if we mean to
cessful conclusion. make the most of Nature's dowry, so
In the game of politics his career good roads has long been his favor-
has been distinctively unusual. I ite theme. Ahead of the time he
believe it is unparalleled in the an- surely is, yet he points the certain
nals of our state. Unlike his pred- way. He possesses in full measure
o
I
O
z
DC
UJ
>
O
UJ
I
126
GOVERNOR ROLLINS.
the courage of his enthusiasm ; he
believes in object lessons near at
home, and he enforces his ideas by
unwearying activity. It was, in-
deed, a happy moment when the pic-
ture of returning sons and daughters
became a reality in his mind, and he
moulded into form the idea of this
beautiful festival of the Granite
state. The sentimental and the prac-
ticable in one is the meaning of Old
Home Week. "I would have,"
said the governor, "every town and
city in the state make up lists of
all its native born sons and daugh-
ters living in other states and send
them an urgent invitation to be pres-
ent through the week."
We, who are part of the soil of our
native state, welcome this sugges-
tion, but scarcely one among us all
feels what it means. Fortunately,
the success of the plan depends on
sentiment, and sentiment of this sort
is largely measured by the memories
of youth and the years of separation.
Therefore, the words uttered by
Governor Rollins falling like seed on
rich soil have produced abundant
harvest. Among the thousands
dwelling beyond the state borders,
particularly those living on the far-
ther banks of the Mississippi and the
Missouri, the invitation to Old Home
Week touched as never before the
chords of sentiment and affection
and quickened in their breasts the
loves of their childhood. The profit
and generous action throughout the
state attests the sensible popularity
of the governor's views, while the
unvarying response of our sons and
daughters beyond the gates proves
what Old Home Week means to
them.
In public and in private he has
urged on the people the necessity of
taking hold and carrying out all
measures looking to the benefit of
the state. No son of the Granite
state looks with forebodings on its
future, and least of all the present
chief magistrate. He says officially
what he has long been saying as a
private citizen, and if his utterances
now have wider scope and bring
speedier results, the gain and pleas-
ure to New Hampshire and its peo-
ple are his complete rewards.
In social life Governor Rollins finds
the fullest enjo^aiient. He was a
leader in the organization of the
Wonolancet Club of Concord and its
first president, and is a member of
the Derryfield and the Calumet in
Manchester, the Puritan and the
University in Boston, besides other
societies in this and other states.
In Masonry he holds the 3 2d de-
gree.
On December 6, 1882, he married
Miss Katherine W. Pecker of Con-
cord. The son of this marriage, a
young man of some twelve years,
attends the public schools of his
native city. In religious associa-
tion, the governor is a member of
the Episcopal church, and is at the
present time a vestryman in S. Paul's,
Concord.
BIRTHPIvACK OF GOVERNOR ROLIvINS.
By Hon. Henry Robinson.
ENEATH the spreading
branches of grand old
guardian ehns, opposite the
New Hampshire Historical
Society building, on North Main
street, in the city of Concord, and an
appropriate companion to that inter-
esting depositar}' of curiosities, stood
an ancient house, around whose his-
tory cluster many fond memories.
It was the birthplace of Hon.
Frank W. Rollins, the present popu-
lar chief executive of the Granite
state.
It was a part of the property of the
estate of the late United States sena-
tor, Hon. Edward H. Rollins, and
for fourteen years after her marriage
was occupied by his only daughter,
wife of Hon. Henry Robinson, pres-
ent postmaster of Concord, and their
family.
The sacred old home subsequently
was deemed unsuitable for further
occupancy, and, a few years ago,
was reluctantly abandoned and left
to be torn down and removed from
its splendid site, where it had stood a
landmark for almost a century.
No record remains of its origin ;
nobody can furnish any definite in-
formation of its erection. It belonged
to prehistoric Concord. It was one
of the very oldest and most remini-
scent structures in this community,
the pennant at the masthead of a
submerged generation.
In 1817, it was remodeled from a
public building to a private resi-
dence. To trace its history, even
since then, would fill a volume, but
there are man}^ still alive who have
pleasant recollections of the lovel)',
late Mrs. Nancy West, the mother
of Mrs. Edward H. Rollins, one of
the most estimable women that ever
128
BIRTHPLACE OF GOVERNOR ROLLINS.
lived. For mau}^ 3'ears she was the
cultured and noble-hearted hostess
of that old-fashioned mansion, and
was the accomplished leader of town
society and generous charities.
There her daughter, the late Mrs.
Edward H. Rollins, formerly Miss
Ellen West, was born, with her twin
brother, the late Capt. John M. West,
during many years of his life con-
nected with the management of the
Old Dominion Steamship company,
of Petersburg, Va. Their sister, the
late Clarissa Anne, who was after-
ward Mrs. William P. Hill, of Con-
cord, was born there, as were their
brothers, George Montgomery West,
Francis Sparhawk West, Charles
Haynes West, and Montgomery
West. Isaac William Hill, son of
the late Mrs. William P. Hill, who
has been for many years clerk at the
Concord Gas &. Electric Eight com-
pany, was born there, as were the
five children (one deceased) of Mrs.
Rollins. Her four surviving children
are Edward W. Rollins, of Denver,
Col., Frank W. Rollins, of Concord,
the present governor, Montgomery
Rollins, of Boston, Mass., and Miss
Helen M. Rollins (Mrs. Henry
Robinson), three of whose children,
Ethel Rollins Robinson, Marjorie
Sawyer Robinson, and Rupert West
Robinson, were born there. A
complete genealogical narration of
the numerous births, marriages, and
deaths in the old place would make a
considerable record.
It was to this memorable residence
that Senator Rollins came, a poor
boy, from the town of Rollinsford, to
engage in business. It was here
that he was married, and here was
his beloved home throughout all the
events of his honorable and success-
ful public career. From the old front
steps, the stones of which still remain
in place, he made his famous speech
to his friends and fellow-townsmen,
when serenaded and complimented
upon his election to the national sen-
ate, the highest tribute of honor, re-
spect, and confidence that the en-
thusiastic people of his native state
could give him.
As is well known, Mr. Rollins was
one of the very first and most zealous
organizers of the Republican party
of New Hampshire, and the early
meetings of the local leaders in the
important movement were many of
them held in the library of the an-
cient house, and there, too, through
later years were held some of the
most significant and consequential
conferences within the history of the
state.
President Franklin Pierce made
his home for a time there. He was
then a law partner of the late Judge
Asa Fowler, and they had their office
in the bank building, now that of the
New Hampshire Historical Society,
across the way. Three hundred feet
down the street stood the old court-
house in which Ezekiel Webster fell
dead. This was then the business
square of the place, and the Rollins
house was used for an office by
Samuel Sparhawk, secretary of state,
and by other state officials, at some
time prior to th^ erection of the state-
house, which was begun in 18 16.
The original John West, who re-
modeled the house, was town clerk
for years, and held his office in it.
The post- office was also held in a
store in it for a time, under Gen.
Joseph Eow, as postmaster. He was
the first mayor of Concord. Indeed,
the old house was the central busi-
BIRTHPLACE OF GOVERNOR ROLLINS.
129
ness block of the picturesque village,
and therein various public gather-
ings were held, and all the important
town and county affairs conducted.
After the death of Mr. West, his
estimable widow entertained a few
disitnguished boarders, generally
lawyers, attendant upon court or
legislature. It was the headquar-
ters of the venerable Judge Nesmith,
of Franklin, Judge Greene, of Hopkin-
ton, grandfather of Hon. Herman W.
Greene, and Chief Justice Richardson,
Hon. George Y. Sawyer, of Nashua,
and others of eminence. The first
time that Att.-Gen. Mason W. Tap-
pan came to Concord, his father,
grand old Ware Tappan, led him, a
little boy, to that house, to leave him
in tender care while he attended to
law business. Mr. Tappan was a
frequent visitor there afterward, es-
pecially after Mr. Rollins became
prominent in politics, and during the
anti-slavery agitation, but he never
forgot or tired of telling of his first
visit. Nearly all the court judges in
those days stayed there at some time
or another. The great fires of hos-
pitality roared up those big chim-
neys, and they burned on as brightly
throughout the long proprietorship
of Senator Rollins, and how well
they were subsequently kept alive by
those near and dear to him, others
may tell. Hon. Ichabod Bartlett,
Judge Joel Parker, late of Cam-
bridge, and Benjamin French, of
Washington, formerly boarded there,
and Bishop Alexander Griswold was
entertained there. Speaker Colfax
and United States Senator John P.
Hale were guests there, and Gov.
Nat. Baker was a frequent visitor.
There was the original constitu-
tion and signatures in the Know-
Nothing movement. There many
a political caucus and convention
was anticipated, and many a candi-
dacy conceived. During the con-
gressional and senatorial experiences
of Mr. Rollins, it was the resort of
the prominent men of all parties.
He was the chairman of the Repub-
lican State committee, and afterward
a member of congress during the
most important epoch of our national
existence, and the old house became
historic, reminiscent, and sacred,
from the old Gass's tavern clock at
the head of the front stairs, way
through to the circular mill-stone
cover to the well in the back yard.
It contained the finest and most valu-
able political library in New F^ng-
land.
General Lafayette was entertained
in that very house. There was the
chair in which he sat. Speaker Col-
fax once sat in it, and so did Henry
Ward Beecher, and Theodore Tilton,
and Col. Robert G. Ingersoll, and
General Sheridan, and other promi-
nent characters whose names are
familiar.
The big brass knocker on the front
door, now at the residence of Post-
master Robinson on South Spring
street, many times announced such
prominent men as Gen. Gilman
Marston, Col. John H. George, Hon.
Jeremiah Smith, Col. Daniel Hall,
Hon. George G. Fogg, Hon. N. G.
Ordway, Gen. Walter Harriman,
ex-Gov. Person C. Cheney, and
many others whose names figure
conspicuously in public history and
affairs.
The grand old house in which the
present governor first saw the light
was a big feature in the narration
of public events during the last half
I30
HOME.
century. Its story fully told would
be a romance worthy of general read-
ing. Scattered almost everywhere
are good men and women who can
date there some experience in their
lives. United States Senator Wil-
liam E. Chandler came hither an
awkward j'outh, and his son, William
D. Chandler, boarded there. Hon.
James O. Lj'ford, present naval offi-
cer at Boston, courted his wife and
got political inspiration there. Mr.
Rollins had a thousand-and-one
friends and acquaintances and call-
ers, and Mrs. Rollins, who inherited
from her mother a fascinating faculty
of graceful and generous hospitality,
was always the centre of an admiring
circle of lady friends.
" 'T was a home of welcome no one could doubt,
Whose latch-string hung invitingly out,
And many a stranger supped at its board
While blazing logs in the chimney roared."
HOME.
By Geo7-ge BaHcroft Griffith.
Camillus, whom Rome exiled, often sighed
P'or the loved haunts that fate to him denied ;
Demosthenes, on lone cliff by the sea,
With eyes turned homeward, wished that he was free ;
And great Confucius looked back on Eoo
With breaking heart, and penned his sad adieu.
Immortal Dante pictured in his dreams
When old and homeless his dear native streams.
All men, in ev'ry age, have loved their home,
Whate'er their lot, where'er they chanced to roam ;
Have wept to see, though many years have flown.
The roofs and towers they fondly called their own.
Ah ! while the brain with varied thoughts can deal,
The throbbing heart has warmth or power to feel.
The love of home is by all lips confest.
And burns, a sacred flame, in every breast !
J^^r^'^
■^
THE HILLS ARE HOME.
[Written for New Hampshire's " Old Home Week," August, 1899.]
By Edna Dean Proctor.
Forget New Hampshire? By her cliffs, her meads, her brooks afoam,
With love and pride where 'er we bide, the Hills, the Hills are Home !
On Mississippi or by Nile, Ohio, Volga, Rhine,
We see our cloud-born Merrimack adown its valley shine ;
And Contoocook — Singing Water — Monadnock's drifts have fed.
With lilt and rhj^me and fall and chime flash o'er its pebbly bed ;
And by Como's wave, yet fairer still, our Winnipesaukee spread.
Alp nor Sierra, nor the chains of India or Peru,
Can dwarf for us the white-robed heights our wondering childhood knew —
The awful Notch, and the Great Stone Face, and the Eake where the echoes fly,
And the sovereign dome of Washington throned in the eastern sky ; —
For from Colorado's Snowy Range to the crest of the Pyrenees
New Hampshire's mountains grandest lift their peaks in the airy seas,
And the winds of half the world are theirs across the main and the leas.
Yet far be^'ond her hills and streams New Hampshire dear we hold :
A thousand tender memories our glowing hearts enfold ;
For in dreams we see the early home by the elms or the maples tall,
The orchard-trees where the robins built, and the well by the garden wall ;
The lilacs and the apple-blooms make paradise of May,
And up from the clover-meadows floats the breath of the new-mown hay ;
And the Sabbath bells, as the light breeze swells, ring clear and die away.
And Oh, the Lost Ones live again in love's immortal year !
We are children still by the hearth-fire's blaze while night steals cold and drear ;
Our mother's fond caress we win, our father's smile of pride,
And, " Now I lay me down to sleep," say, reverent, at their side.
Alas ! alas ! their graves are green or white with a pall of snow,
But we see them yet by the evening hearth as in the long ago,
And the quiet churchyard where they rest is the holiest spot we know.
Forget New Hampshire ? Let Kearsarge forget to greet the sun ;
Connecticut forsake the sea ; the Shoals their breakers shun ;
But fervently, while life shall last, though wide our ways decline.
Back to the Mountain- Land our hearts will turn as to a shrine !
Forget New Hampshire ? By her cliffs, her meads, her brooks afoam,
By all her hallowed memories — our lode-star while we roam —
Whatever skies above us rise, the Hills, the Hills are Home !
"■■^
^^L.
0i
i
\
EDNA DEAN PROCTOR.
By Harlan C. Pearson.
HE successful poem of oc-
casion is oue of the most dif-
ficult of literary products.
England's laureates have less
often added to, than detracted from,
their fame by the manufacture of
verse required from them by their
position. From the hundreds of
such poems vi'ritten every year in
our English language those that sur-
vive can be counted on the fingers of
one hand.
But to this rule of inadequacy there
are brilliant exceptions. lyowell's
wonderful ' ' Commemoration Ode ' '
is one that will come instantly to the
mind of the reader. It seems to me
beyond doubt that another will be
found in the poem written for New
Hampshire's first " Old Home Week "
by Miss Edna Dean Proctor, and
published, by permission, in this
number of the Granite Monthly.
Governor Rollins is to be congratu-
lated on his wisdom in choosing Miss
Proctor, from the many who might
claim the honor, as the informal poet
laureate of the state on this signifi-
cant and inspiring occasion. To
Miss Proctor herself are due the
thanks of all sons and daughters of
New Hampshire, all past and pres-
ent residents of the Granite State,
for her cheerful compliance with the
wishes of the chief executive and for
the beautiful poem in which she has
EDNA DEAN PROCTOR.
133
placed a new laurel crown of song
upon the brow of the commonwealth.
No other living poet of New
Hampshire birth, with the possible
exception of Thomas Bailey Aldrich,
possesses in any such degree as does
Miss Proctor the genius and the tech-
nique for vital verse. And in the ap-
preciation of that for which New
Hampshire stands in the world's ac-
counting ; in admiration for the past,
in love for the present, and in hope
for the future of the state, she is pre-
eminent.
Celia Thaxter sang of the sea at
the Shoals ; Whittier painted for us
the marshes at Hampton, the lakes
at Squam, and the mountains at
Franconia ; Richard Hovey has
paid tribute to the great hills ; but
Miss Proctor voices in verse the
spirit of the whole state from the
forests of the north to the spindles of
the south, from the meadows of the
east to the shore cliffs of the west.
This loyal and talented daughter
of New Hampshire was born at Hen-
niker. The Proctor family removed
to that town from Manchester, Mass.,
near the close of the last century,
and settled upon a high hill over-
looking " Contoocook's bright and
brimming river." Her mother, Lu-
cinda Gould, was a descendant of the
Hiltons and Prescotts of Portsmouth
and Hampton.
Edna Dean Proctor was educated
at South Hadley, Mass., where she
distinguished herself as a brilliant
scholar. She taught drawing and
music at Woodstock, Ct., for several
years, and was afterwards governess
in the family of Henry C. Bowen in
Brooklyn. In 1856 she published a
collection of the most striking and
valuable thoughts from the sermons
of Henry Ward Beecher. She took
notes at first for the sake of friends
in the west, who were rejoiced to
receive these choice extracts. Soon
she was besought to publish them.
She made her selections with great
judgment and good taste, and "Life
Thoughts" sold marvelously, not
only in this country but in England.
Two 3^ears of her life were spent
abroad, traveling with a Brooklyn
family. She was well prepared by
previous reading and study for this
delightful experience, and no one
ever enjoyed such a trip more keenly
or made better use of it. Although
fascinated by eastern scenes she pre-
ferred to write only of Russia, and
her "Russian Journey" has always
been much admired. Eongfellow .
was especially charmed with it, and
showed appreciation of its author's
descriptive pieces by including sev-
eral of them in his ' ' Poems of
Places."
When the Civil War came, arous-
ing her patriotism to a white heat,
her national poems, such as "The
Stars and Stripes," "Compromise,"
" Who's Ready," and others, stirred
the hearts of the boys who wore the
blue to deeds of valor in the great
struggle for country and freedom.
Her "Mississippi" brought her let-
ters of congratulation from Lincoln,
Chase, and others.
Two of her later poems, "Colum-
bia's Banner " and " Columbia's Em-
blem," are exceedingly popular.
The latter is a ringing, spirited ap-
peal for maize as our national floral
emblem, and has received the en-
dorsement of multitudes throughout
the country. Her " Song of the An-
cient People " is universally con-
ceded to be the grandest poem ever
134
EDNA DEAN PROCTOR.
written of the aboriginal Americans.
The late Mary Henienway was so
inspired with its depth, pathos, and
historical significance, that she gave
$2,500 to have it illustrated.
Twenty years ago the late Hon.
James W. Patterson said of Miss
Proctor, " It was my good fortune to
be her friend and schoolmate in our
academic years, and to be associated
with her later as a teacher in Con-
necticut. I think I know Edna
Dean Proctor thoroughly, and I
believe her one of the purest and
noblest of her sex. Hers was a fore-
most famil}^ of our native town, and
her mother a woman of great refine-
ment and rare qualities of mind and
heart. Edna resembled her mother
in personal appearance and mental
characteristics. She had the same
grace of form, the same classic fea-
tures, and the same large, dark,
thoughtful eyes. In the galaxy of
school-girls in which she moved she
shone with special lustre. She was
one of the sweetest, most stainless,
and brilliant of them all. The intel-
lectual products of the woman are
legitimate fruits of the genius of the
girl. The beauty of her character
is as worth)'- of admiration as the
music-spirit of her poems, and that
should satisfy the aspirations of any
woman."
In a biographical sketch by Miss
Kate Sanborn, written about the
same time, and published in No. i,
Vol. 3, of the Granite Monthly,
from which other liberal extracts
have here been taken, one brilliant
daughter of New Hampshire paj's this
tribute to another: "As a poet she
[Miss Proctor] is remarkable for her
earnestness and enthusiasm, and the
elaborate finish of each verse. She
is a careful writer, often changing a
line many ways, until the perfect
rhythm and most desirable word is
'attained. It would be impossible for
her to feign anything. What she
writes comes straight from her heart
and must be expressed. For her
intimate friends she will recite her
own poems at times, and it is a great
pleasure to listen to her deep, rich
voice, and watch the changing ex-
pressions of her beautiful face, lit up
with such rare dark eyes as are sel-
dom seen out of Italy. She has a
wonderful memory, never seeming to
forget dates, or names of persons and
places, or what she has read. She
is self-sacrificing, sympathetic, re-
sponsive, and loyal to the core. She
is a woman of whom New Hampshire
may well be proud."
Miss Proctor now resides in Fram-
inghani, Mass., but spends much
time in Boston and Washington in
winter. She has traveled widely
and never fails to visit her native
town and state when opportunity
offers.
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-'OMtO? TMi Tfi3rll.X)"3 'B^iEAT ORATORS/
'XBtrl-y ^^^t) WnOM, >10>^ AND FOREVER.
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»-SF««-w *•**— 'v'<cy*^»'^''''w<g'^ap r «M M ff
-^ TT TRt TOTm OF aosOAWKN 4^,
THE MARKING OF BOSCAWKN'S HISTORIC SITES.
Z>y yc;//« C. Pea f son.
T its aunual meeting in March,
1899, the town of Boscawen
appropriated a sum of monej^
to mark historic sites within
the limits of the town. The idea, so
far as this town is concerned, origi-
nated with the late Judge George W.
Nesniith of Franklin. He suggested
to the late Charles Carleton Collin,
historian of the town, the propriety
and educational usefulness of preserv-
ing in some outward form the rich as-
sociations that cluster about so many
spots in Boscawen 's comparatively lim-
ited area.
Neither Judge Nesmith nor Mr.
Coffin had the happiness of seeing
their hopes in this direction realized
during their lifetimes, but if they
could, in spirit, revisit Boscawen on
its Old Home Day, Friday, September
I, they w^ould find handsome bronze
tablets telling the significance of eight
different localities in the town.
One marks the birthplace of Gen-
eral John A. Dix, senator, governor,
cabinet member, minister to France,
who contributed to American patri-
otism that famous sentence, "If any
one attempts to haul down the Ameri-
can flag, shoot him on the spot."
The house on Boscawen Plain in
which he was born is now the sum-
mer residence of Rev. A. A. Berle,
D. D., of Boston, Mass.
Just north of this residence is the
site of the first office in which Daniel
Webster, greatest of the sons of New
Hampshire, practised law, coming
down from his uativ^e place, the ad-
UMIT"? 57ATt3 SENATOR-^^
r?,0^ ^1 \ iMi -r?! THIRTEEN "VeA^S,
Si:Dr!i7\?,T Of U. 3. TREASURY "
i.Sc!4- 13 33. '■(,
"3 IT TIE TOW!» Of aOSCAWCN "
EIRTHPLiLG£ CL-
•HON. MOODY G&Rlriiffi.
BORN APKlL.6.^.t. LiiC*.
„;: EDITOR. BAKk'ER.
'■'■■>OfT,LEqii§^AJOR AK13 SC^c:^^.
V0VE|N0R OF NEW KAkciSikaiZ
1885 - lS©7»v
^
138
BOSCAWEN'S HISTORIC SITES.
joining town of Salisbury', with the
ink still fresh upon his Dartmouth
diploma.
The house where William Pitt
Fessenden was born, also on the
Plain, was destroyed by fire several
years ago. George H. Carter has a
new house on the old site, and in
front of this will be placed the mem-
orial to the distinguished member of
congress, senator, and secretary of the
treasury.
The birthplace of Moodj^ Carrier,
governor of New Hampshire, was the
house on the Plain now owned and
occupied by Mrs. Benjamin Dow. In
the old stage-coach days it was the
famous West tavern.
About a mile and a half north of
Boscawen Plain was the home of Rev.
Dr. Wood, the town's first minister
and a notable figure in its earl}^ his-
tory. The place is now owned by
Royal Choate.
Charles Carleton Coffin, journalist
and traveler, novelist and historian,
was born on Water street, on the
road leading to Corser Hill, Webster.
The buildings are gone, the house by
fire and the barn by a tornado the
present summer. The memorial will
be placed in front of the site of the
house. The propert}^ is now owned
by Mr. Marden of Waltham, Mass.
The site of the old fort, built
b}^ the early settlers for protection
against the Indians, was near the
residence of Henry H, Gill, over-
looking the broad intervals along the
Merrimack river, east of Boscawen
Plain. A pile of loose stones has
marked the spot and near it will be
placed the bronze tablet.
The remaining site to be commem-
orated, that of the first Congregational
meeting-house in the fo7V)i of Bos-
cawen, is just west of the cemetery
on the road from Boscawen Plain to
Water street.
The formal placing in position and
dedicating of these markers is ex-
pected, at this writing, to take place
m
i
1
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■"ITSTDslA-M OT;.; 3€S-C.AWSN.
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CHniSLATC'^,. A^ln Bl'31?<lt-3S MAN.
?vr -'Ari.]0
■■z: x: =,5l?'Hd1-Al3 ^113 NATIVE- TOWN.
•
■^ /f "It rcWM or OlSSCAWEfl
* RESlCiZkCE Ci-
•
.„Rev.Sauuizl\a)bgd
1-, .
D.D.
^gl^ADUATE OF DARTluabVLa Cot-uZ^
.£ l::s.
^pjhlB. MINISTER IK ECSC.^VvE.^ i:S
L, ISSc.
JPJ|C^, - A VEAClrlER;.
■P^^eIj^KD PU.£lLlC- l^lvQ'AC
I'Cl^.
jw^ -. ~~":,..... ....-..,,.__
•
on Boscawen's Old Home Day, Fri-
day ,^ September i. At that time the
work of the committee, appointed by
the voters of the town to take the
matter in charge will be ready for
the public approval or censure. The
committee is composed of John C.
Pearson, E. E. Graves, M. D., John
E. Rines, Frank E. Gerrish, and
George E- Pillsbury.
In the matter of the manufacture
of these tablets the committee cor-
responded with parties in Boston and
New York doing such work, and in
the end found it t® be much to the
advantage of the town to give the
contract to the Whitney Electrical
A VERSE.
139
,>;liH7i?^G House
tllRNES A.DVr7S8.
M^MiiiMil
•CgccTta Vi TW TCWH or
SS?M»^" • *
n,IIW»ll»L!i
Instrument company of Penacook, by
whom they were made and at whose
works the photographs for this article
were taken. It is a matter for pride
that New Hampshire has within her
borders a manufacturing plant that
can turn out such work, so excellently
done, at very reasonable prices. In
this, as in all the company's different
lines of work, their motto is, "The best."
The tablets will be set on stone,
either boulders or split granite, and
so placed as to be easily read from
the highway.
While Boscawen claims no partic-
ular merit for its action in this re-
gard, or novelty for the idea, it is,
nevertheless, the first town in New
Hampshire to preserve the memory
of so mau}^ of its historic sites in
such enduring form. If its example
should be widely followed by the
cities and towns of the state the re-
sult would inure greatly to the en-
hancement of patriotism, the educa-
tion of youth, and the pleasurable
profit of tourist and visitor.
^1 rORT. .^
%
A,T). 173S. ^^t
•nnMD'^.«:o feet square?
■'li'lLT OF HEWN LOGS.
QMa
A VERSE
TO vSING TO "AMERICA" IN OLD HOME WEEK.
By Adelaide Cilley IValdroii.
All hail to thee, we sing,
And homage true we bring,
O native land.
Thy well-won fame we share.
Thy noble name we bear.
And ever proudly wear
Our birthright grand.
TH£ NOTMAK PHOT; -■--•-
IN THK HOME OF HIS ANCESTORS WITH WHITTIER.
By Caroline C. Lamprey Sliea.
There is Whittier whose swelling and vehe-
ment heart,
Strains the strait-breasted drab of the Quaker
apart,
And reveals the live man, still supreme and
erect.
Underneath the bemummying wrappers of
sect ;
There was nice a man born who had more of
the swing
Of the true lyric bard and all that kind of
thing."
AID Lowell iu his brilliant
" Fable for Critics," and
while he points out the
faults and foibles of others,
he has only words of love and praise
for the gentle bard of New England,
who has done so much to immor-
talize its character and scener}'.
He has left many pen pictures and
told several stories of the home of
his ancestors, having felt, no doubt,
a kinship with its inhabitants past
and present.
" When heats as of a tropic clime
Burned all our inland valleys through."
The poet loved to escape awhile
" From the cares that wear the life away
To eat the lotus of the Nile,
And drink the poppies of Cathay."
And no better place could he find
than wnth the life-giving winds of the
Atlantic, which, while they lure to
repose, impart vigor anew to tired
man. So beyond the river, where
he might look back on the beauti-
ful and many-shaded marshes, with
numberless ponds, and across the
sand hills to Great Boar's Head he
pitched his tent on the beach, that
he might hear
". . . the bells of morn and night
Swing miles away their silver speech,"
within the steeples of old Newbury-
port, and there look upon the scenes
described in "The Wreck of River-
mouth." In the same tent was read
that tale of the early Colonial days,
with its beautiful pictures of sea and
shore, and description of the old
superstitions.
No more charming spot may be
found than that where
" Rivermouth rocks are fair to see
By dawn or sunset shone across.
When the ebb of the sea has left them free
To dry their fringes of gold-green moss,
For there the river comes winding down
From salt-sea-meadows and uplands brown.
* ^:- * * ^ *- * * 3»^
" And fair are the sunny isles in view
East of the grisly Head of the Boar,
And Agamenticus lifts its blue
Disk of a cloud the woodlands o'er.
And southerly when the tide is down,
'Twixt white sea waves and sand hills brown,
The beach birds dance, and the gray gulls
wheel
Over a floor of burnished steel."
The ever-shifting clouds as they
hurr\- through the sky send color
after color chasing over the wave,
until the sea becomes one vast opal,
fringed by the white-crested billow,
as it sings on the shore.
Man}' a story is told of Hampton
river. Many a young man has gone
forth in health and vigor, to be
caught b}' the deceitful winds, and
142 IN THE HOME OF HIS ANCESTORS WITH WHITTIER.
wrecked on the treacherous ledge,
and the south wind which follows
the storm, bears on its wings the
moan of the buoy, on Newburyport
bar, a requiem for the dead.
A wreck of the olden time was
the poet's theme, with its picture of
beauty — its tale of storm, death, and
witchcraft
". . . in the old Colonial days,
Two hundred years ago and more,
A boat sailing out on the summer sea
Veering to catch the land breeze light,
With the Boar to left and the Rock to right,"
bore a goodly company on its way to
Boston, in the fall of 1657. The
persons were Robert Reed, sergeant;
William Swaine, Emanuel Hilliard,
John Philbrick, his wife Ann, and
daughter Sarah ; Alice Cox, and
John, her son. And the records
speak of what happened in the fol-
lowing quaint language :
" The sad hand of God upon eight
psons going in a vessell by sea
from Hampton to boston, who were
all swallowed up in the ocean soon
after they were out of the Harbour."
Tradition on which Whittier
founded his verse has it, that one
Goody Cole, witch-wife, caused the
wreck.
She, poor old woman sitting in
her little cot alone by the marsh,
looked across to the "landing" and
saw the sailing of the vessel, and the
black cloud in the sky portending
the storm.
Turning to her fire, she stirred
up the embers, and in the kettle of
water hanging on the crane she
placed a wooden piggin. As the fire
blazed bright, and the water boiled,
she said, "the water is the angry
sea, the piggin is the boat, if it sinks
they are lost ; ' ' and with one eye on
the fire, and the other on the squall
as it struck the white sail, she saw
her own madly-tossing vessel sink
out of sight in the seething cauldron,
and muttered, " the rogues are gone."
" The skipper hauled at the heavy sail ;
God be our help,' he only cried,
As the roaring gale like the stroke of a flail.
Smote the boat on its starboard side.
*********
" Goody Cole looked out from her door ;
The Isles of Shoals were drowned and gone,
Scarcely she saw the Head of the Boar
Toss the foam from tusks of stone.
She clasped her hands with a grip of pain,
The tear on her cheek was not of rain :
' The J' are lost,' she muttered, ' boat and crew ;
Lord forgive me ! mj' words were true ! ' "
Goody Cole was hated and feared.
It w^as said that she was in league
with the devil, and the young people,
peering through the latch-string hole,
after dark, declared that she held con-
verse with him, in the shape of a lit-
tle black imp who wore a red cap.
It was testified in court several
years before the Rivermouth wreck
that she " bewitched good-wife Mars-
ton's child," and that a person " was
changed from a man to an ape, as
Goody Marston's child was." She
was charged with saying of calves
that ate her grass, that " she wished
it might poysen them or choke them,"
and of the calves, " not one was ever
seen afterwards."
Abraham Drake deposed in court
to the loss of " two cattell," and the
" latter end of somer I lost one cowe
more." For all of which and other
deeds she was sentenced to be
whipped and imprisoned during her
natural life.
Her trial began in 1656, and fol-
lowing the third trial, she was im-
prisoned in Boston until 1671. After
her release the inhabitants of the
town were ordered to support her.
IN THE HOME OF HIS ANCESTORS WITH WHITTIER. 143
each taking a week in turn to pro-
vide her with food and fuel.
She was again arraigned for ap-
pearing as a dog, an eagle, and a
cat, and the Salisbury court ordered
her to Boston to await trial. After a
few months the following decision
ended her case :
" In y'' case of Unie Cole now pris-
oner att y'' Bar not Legally guilty
Acording to Inditemeut butt just
ground of vehement susprisyon of
her havering had famillyarryty with
the devill Jonas Clarke
in the name of the rest."
She passed the remainder of her
days in Hampton, it is hoped, in
peace. When she was buried crossed
stakes were driven down over her
cofhn, and rocks were heaped upon
it, that she might be held fast at
last.
" O Rivennouth Rock, how sad a sight
Ye saw in the light of breaking day !
Dead faces looking up cold and white
From sand and sea-weed where they laj' ;
The mad old witch-wife wailed and wept,
And cursed the tide as it backward crept :
' Crawl back, crawl back, blue water-snake,
L,eave your dead for the hearts that break ! '
" Solemn it was in that old day.
In Hampton town and its log-built church.
*********
" And Father Dalton, grave and stern,
Sobbed through his prayer and wept in turn."
And the old witch standing by
"... let the staff from her clasped hands fall.
' Lord forgive us ! we 're sinners all ; '
And the voice of the old man answered her ;
'Amen ! ' said Father Bachiler."
Father Bachiler was one of Whit-
tier's earliest American ancestors.
The settlers of Hampton were Puri-
tans of the same spirit with the May-
flozcer pilgrims, and they brought
with them their pastor. Rev. Stephen
Bachiler, who was a man of gentle
blood. He went first to Holland,
and was preceded in this country
by his daughter Theodate, and her
husband Christopher Hussey, from
whom the poet was descended.
He began his ministry in Lynn.
Being a "liberal Puritan," he dis-
pleased many of his people ; petty
quarrels arising, he went to Ipswich,
from whence he traveled on foot at
the age of seventy-six years, a dis-
tance of nearly one hundred miles to
Cape Cod, but being unsuccessful
here on account of the poverty of the
people he returned, and finally set-
tled in Winnecunnet, " which shall
be called Hampton," in 1638, with
his followers.
The "log-built" church was
erected on the green, where succes-
sive churches stood for two hundred
years, and the people assembled to
worship at the call of a bell, which
was the gift of their pastor.
"Father" Dalton was summoned
to assist the ancient minister, but so
different were their temperaments,
that they could not agree, and many
of the people siding with the new-
comer, charge after charge was pre-
ferred against Mr. Bachiler.
At length the people of Exeter pro-
posed to gather a church, and invited
Mr. Bachiler, then over eighty years
old, to take charge of it, but the gen-
eral court interfered, and the "in-
habitants of Excetter " gave up their
church .
Mr. Bachiler's buildings being-
destroyed by fire about this time,
he went to Strawberry Bank (Ports-
mouth), where he sued the town of
Hampton for "wages," obtaining a
verdict in his favor.
In 1655 he returned to England
with his grandson, Stephen Sam-
144 ^^ THE HOME OF HIS ANCESTORS WITH WHIT TIER.
borne, and he died at Hackney, two
miles from London, in his one hun-
dredth year.
It will be seen by the above date
of his return to his mother country,
that he could not have been present
at the funeral of the victims of the
Riverniouth wreck.
It is said that " Father" Bachiler
had prominent dark eyes which were
transmitted to many of his posterity,
Daniel Webster's being mentioned
among others.
A careful historian summing up
the Rev. Stephen Bachiler's charac-
ter concludes thus, " He was a good
and useful man," being of an inde-
pendent and liberal mind, "he re-
fused to bow to unreasonable man-
dates," making himself "enemies in
high places."
" Father Dalton continued his min-
istry until his death, at the age of
eighty-five years, ' a faithful and
painful laborer in God's vineyard.' "
Of the names of those recorded as
lost or being wounded in the wreck,
only those of Philbrick and Batchel-
der remain in the town of to-day,
though they are common enough
elsewhere.
The Hon. Tristram Dalton, United
States senator from Massachusetts,
was of the third generation, from a
brother of " Father" Dalton.
Christopher Hussey's son, Stephen,
grandson and namesake of " Father"
Bachiler, settled in Nantucket, as
did Richard Swayne, father of Wil-
liam, being one of the proprietors of
the island. He left Hampton soon
after his son's death.
A son of John Philbrick settled in
Groton, Mass.
So as I sat on Appledore,
In the caltn of a closing summer day,
And the broken lines of Hampton shore
In purple mist of cloudland lay,
The Riverniouth Rocks their storj- told ;
And waves aglow with sunset gold,
Rising and breaking with steady chime.
Beat the rhj-thm and kept the time.
" The beacon glimmered from Portsmouth bar.
The White Isle kindled its great red star,"
which preludes the stars of heaven
as it trembles on the eastern horizon,
the first star to come after the setting
sun, and "signal twilight's hour."
In the same tent on the beach the
poet heard of the "ghosts on Haley's
Isle," who begged a " passage to old
Spain."
"For," said an ancient dame of
the town, who had once been a
" Shoaler," as she related the legends
of the isles, "the spirits of the dead
guard the graves and the treasures
buried there. My own father found
coin in the rocks. He used to go out
and dig for the heft of it, and when his
spade struck the chest, there would
come a low mumble and roar in the
earth, and down out o' sight would
go the chest. Though he dug many
times he never outwitted the ghosts."
Once more in the "The Chang-
ling," we see the superstition of
those old days, and again is Goody
Cole charged with evil work, though
the prayer of Goodman Dalton re-
stores to her right mind his young
wife, and she begs that the old
woman bear not the burden of her
charge :
" Then he said to the great All-Father,
' Thy daughter is weak and blind,
Let her sight come back and clothe her
Once more in her right mind.'
'Now mount and ride, my goodman,
As thou lovest thy own soul ;
Woe 's me if my wicked famine
Be the death of Goody Cole ! ' "
IN THE HOME OE HIS ANCESTORS WITH WHITTIER. 145
Sometimes the poet came to the
home of his ancestors another way
than from Salisbury to the sands, for
he said,
" On, on, we tread with loose-flung rein our
seaward waj-,
Through dark green fields and blossoming
grain,
Where the wild brier- rose skirts the lane,
And bends above our heads the flowering
locust spray."
On his road thither he passed the
little Quaker meeting-house, one of
the oldest, built in 1701, in what is
now Seabrook. Prior to this it was
recorded of the Quakers that thirteen
persons, all of Hampton, " were con-
victed before this court for y*' breach
of y'' law called Quakers meeting,"
in 1674.
The sum of sixty-six pounds and
four shillings was raised for the meet-
ing-house, and here the Quakers
from Hampton, Salisbury, and Ames-
bur}' held their meetings, until the
Friends meeting-house was built four
years later in Amesbury, the quar-
terly meeting still continuing in
Hampton.
L,ess than iox\y years before this
was executed the cruel order of Capt.
Richard Waldron in the town.
" At last a meeting-house came in view,
A blast on his horn the constable blew ;
And the boys of Hampton cried up and
down,
' The Quakers have come ! ' to the wonder-
ing town."
Three helpless women, "Vaga-
bond Quakers," Ann Coleman, Mary
Tomkins, and Alice Ambrose, tied
fast to the tail of a cart, received
there ten lashes each on the bare
back.
Let us hope the fear of authority
compelled the deed in Hampton, and
that pity made the blows light, but
"The tale is one of an evil time
When souls were fettered and thought was
crime,
And heresy's whisper above its breath
Meant shameful scourging, and bonds and
death."
The Society of Friends, afterwards
established in Hampton, grew and
spread out, and we find them, in 1728,
contributing five pounds, ten shillings
towards repairing a Boston meeting-
house.
At a monthly meeting in Hamp-
ton in regard to a communication
received from a quarterly meeting,
the following decision was reached
as to the wearing of wigs.
"}'• y'-
Wearing of Extravegent Superflues
Wigges Is all to Gather Contreary to
truth."
As the poet drove on he passed the
" Moulton House," not far from
where dwelt Witch Cole. Stately
and grand, though shorn of its
former ornamentation both within
and without, it has stood for more
than a hundred years, and by its
doors Washington halted on his jour-
ney to Portsmouth to pay his re-
pects to General Moulton.
In the dim vista between now and
its past is many a picture of stately
dame and haughty squire, while
there walks unseen the troubled
spirit which seeks again its earthly
abode when night has hushed the
world to slumber.
From the numerous legends, the
memory of which haunts the old man-
sion, Whittier has selected the tale
of two wives. For mau}^ a time, no
doubt, he heard the oft-repeated
story of the first wife with stately
mein and ghostl}^ step, who rustled
in stiff brocade over the broad stair-
way, where but a short time before
she held full swaj^ in the flesh.
146 IN THE HOME OF HIS ANCESTORS WITH WHIT TIER.
" Dark the hall and cold the feast,
Gone the bridesmaids, gone the priest ;
*********
" All is dark and all is still.
Save the starlight, save the breeze
Moaning through the gravej-ard trees ;
And the great sea waves below.
Pulse of midnight beating slow.
" From the brief dream of a bride
She hath wakened at his side.
******* **
" Ha ! that start of honor ! why
That wild stare and wilder cry !
*********
" Spare me, spare me, let me go !
" But she hears a murmur low.
Full of sweetness, full of woe.
Half a sigh and half a moan, —
' Fear not, give the dead her own ! '
Ah ! the dead wife's voice she knows !
That cold hand whose pressure froze,
Once in warmest life hath borne
Gem and band her own hath worn.
*********
" Ah, the dead, the unforgot!
From the solemn homes of thought.
Where the Cyprus shadows blend
Darkly over foe or friend.
Or in love or sad rebuke.
Back upon the living look."
The poet has taken more license
with this story than in any other of
his Hampton pictures.
The first wife was the mother of
eleven children, and the second, no
longer a girl when she married the
stern old man, but a woman of
thirty-five.
The story of the rings taken from
the bride's fingers by the ghostly
hands of the first wife, is well
known in the old town. And years
ago, when some gossip bolder than
the rest ventured to ask the second
Mrs. Moulton if the rumor which
had come to her ears was true, she
could win from her lips no denial.
Those less prone to believe in the
power of spirit or ghost, declared it
was the "general" himself, whose
conscience rebuked him for haying
bestowed on his new spouse the
gems which his own fair daughter
should have worn after her mother.
However, it is a pretty tale, and
lends a charm to the old mansion
to this day known as the "haunted
house," though it is only one of
many a strange story told of the
place.
Good-by to pain and care ! I take
Mine ease to-day ;
Here where these sunny waters break.
And ripples this keen breeze, I shake
All burdens from the heart, all weary thoughts
away."
He lov^ed to sit by the mighty
deep, and dream of the past — of the
future — and no doubt he gave many
a backward glance to his forefathers,
who came to the little town so many
years before — charging the very sin
with the might}^ purpose which
brought them thither, and leaving
posterity, who should go forth into
all parts of this broad land, carrying
the grand principles which have
made it the best spot on earth for
man to dwell.
Not many j^ears before his death
Whittier spent a few days in a hotel
at the foot of the bluff close by
the sea, and with his usual modesty
and retirement kept his room except
wdien he chose to wander on the
"floor of burnished steel" bej^ond.
It was probably his last visit to
Hampton beach.
" So then beach, bluff, and wave, farewell !
I bear with me
No token stone or glittering shell.
But long and oft shall memory tell
Of this brief, thoughtful hour of musing by
the sea."
With loving hand he held the pen,
when he told the legends of old
Hampton, and pictured the beauty
HOME AGAIN WITH CUPID.
147
of sea and shore, and with loving
heart he turned to the home of his
ancestors to die.
Within a stone's throw of the man-
sion, where Meshech Weare lived,
and Washington once lodged, at
Hampton Falls Hill, is the Gove
mansion, where the poet spent his
last days, and may it stand for
future generations to say, " here died
our own New England bard."
". . . when times's veil shall fall asunder
The soul may know
No fearful change, nor sudden wonder,
Nor sink with weight of mystery under,
But with the upward rise, and with the vast-
ness grow."
Note. — All historic quotations are taken from Dow's " History of Hampton.'' All quotations
from Whittier are from the following poems : " The Tent on the Beach," " The Wreck of River-
mouth," "The Changeling," " How the Women Went From Dover," "Hampton Beach," "The
New Wife and the Old."
HOME AGAIN WITH CUPID.
By Lama Harlayt.
ERGUSON came into the
oi^ce two hours late with an
unpleasant taste in his mouth
and the hint of a headache
lurking about his eyes. It was all
very fine winning a great case, with
the handsome fee that accompanied
it, but the after celebration had
proved more of a bore than other-
wise, and Ferguson had been unable
to extract as much enjoyment as his
guests seemed to from the wine and
the supper for which he had paid in
honor of his good fortune.
This morning, unrefreshed by his
sleep, jaded and nervous, he began
to wonder what there was in the
world worth living for, and just what
was his excuse for existence anyway.
Involuntarily he looked in the glass
to see if he were growing old, and
felt of his arm to find if his muscles
had become soft.
The senior partner looked up with
an unwonted smile as Ferguson en-
tered the private office. It was the
first time in the history of the firm of
Furnel & Ferguson that the junior
partner had not preceded the senior
in appearing at the office in the
morning. But this senior, like all
others, had been a junior once him-
self and remembered j^et the winning
of his first great case.
So Furnel would not have been
surprised had Ferguson not appeared
at all this day, and wdien Ferguson
did come in Furnel noticed with hid-
den amusement the air of ' ' morning
after" repentance worn by his junior.
148
HOME AGAIN WITH CUPID.
"Congratulations, my boy," said
the older man cordially. "I had no
chance last night to tell you how well
3'ou managed the case, but you did
excellently. It was a brilliant piece
of work. I — we were all proud of
you."
"Thank you, sir," replied Fergu-
son, standing a bit straighter in
spite of himself. He was still young
enough so that a word of praise went
a long ways with him, and he had
never heard his cool, self-repressed
senior speak quite so enthusiastically
of anj^thing before. " We were on
the right side and we had good luck."
" Law is not as potent a factor in
law as in some other professions," re-
marked Furnel dryly. " I am afraid it
would never have won your case if it
had not been supported by some good
authorities."
" That is true, sir," assented Fur-
nel, with a smile.
There was silence for a minute
while the older man regarded the
younger keenly. Then he said ab-
ruptly, " You must take a good long
rest, now, Ferguson. You have
well earned it and you need it. You
are not at all in good shape this
morning.
"Well, you see, sir," explained
Ferguson, rather shamefacedly,
" some of the boys insisted last night
on celebrating our victor}-, and as I
don't usually travel at so fast a pace
I suppose I show the effects of it to-
day. I '11 be all right to-morrow."
"Pshaw! That isn't it," said the
senior partner impatiently. "You
will never celebrate enough to hurt
you any. You have been working
too hard and too steady for too long
a time. You are getting stale.
Why, you haven't had a good vaca-
tion since you came into the firm.
Now I want you to go somewhere —
— it makes no especial difference
where — and drop all thoughts of law
books and law business for at least a
month, three months if you will. I
insist on you're doing this as a per-
sonal favor for me."
"You are very kind, Mr. Furnel,"
replied Ferguson, promptly, "but I
really don't think I need a vacation,
and if I did I can't imagine where
I would go to enjoy one. I do n't
seem to have any interests outside of
Chicago."
"Go out to the Rockies and kill
some big game. Go down to my
ranch in Texas and mix in a round-
up. Go East and see the real swells
at Newport. Go back to the old
town where you were born and look
up the girls you used to beau home
from prayer-meeting. Probably some
of them have named their babies after
you."
The old gentleman turned to his
desk, signifying that the discussion
was over, and Ferguson, with a
laugh that was half a sigh, picked up
a pile of letters awaiting his atten-
tion. The top one bore a peculiar
red and blue stamp that caught his
eye at once. He had never seen one
like it before, and he prided himself
on being something of a philatelist
at that. "What exposition has got
to the stamp issuing stage, now, I
wonder?" said he to himself, and
let the other letters lie unopened
while he devoted himself to decipher-
ing the inscription on this one.
"Old Home Week! What the
deuce is Old Home Week?" was
his final mental query. Opening the
envelope and unfolding its contents
he read as follows
HOME AGAIN WITH CUPID.
149
The Winniepauket Old Home Week Associa-
tion cordially invites you to participate in its
observance of
OLD HOME DAY
by a basket picnic at Great Pond (if stormy in
Grange Hall) Tuesday, August 29, 1S99, at 10
o'clock. Public exercises at 1:30, including
music and speaking.
Very respectfully,
E. B. Weston, President.
C. I,. Flint, Secretary.
" E. B. Weston, president," he
mused. "That must be old Deacon
Weston, And C. ly. Flint, secre-
tary? Why, that is Carroll Flint,
who cut me out with Marion Gray.
I wonder if she married him finall3^
I never got cards."
Ferguson shook himself out of his
fast-approaching day-dream and asked
his senior, " Have you heard any-
thing about this New Hampshire Old
Home Week, Mr. Furnel ? "
"Yes, indeed," was the reply.
' ' The papers have referred to it fre-
quentl}'. Is that an invitation you
have there ? ' '
Ferguson handed over the docu-
ment and the other read it carefull3^
"That does sound good," he said,
as he handed it back. "A basket
picnic on the shores of the pond !
I can shut my eyes and see the good
things they '11 have to eat. Bless me,
I wish I had been born in New Hamp-
shire instead of Pennsylvania. But
of course j'ou will go, Ferguson.
It's quite providential. Just as you
needed some definite place to visit up
comes this invitation. Why, man,
they '11 ask you to speak in the ' pub-
lic exercises at i : 30.' "
"The Jackson will case is hardly
of such national celebrity as that,"
said Ferguson, "but I believe I will
make a flying trip back for that day,
just to see what the old town looks
like and to find out how Deacon
Weston has managed to keep alive
so long."
So the next day but one found
Henry H. Ferguson, Esq., ensconced
in the smoking compartment of a
Wagner car, with his back to the
setting sun, and a determination on
his mind not to think of the ofhce
again until he once more set foot in
Chicago.
Through the Indiana prairies as the
daylight waned ; watching the lights
of Ohio cities pierce the black even-
ing ; wakened at night in Buffalo,
where the engines changed ; gazing
at the rich lands of central New
York from the window of his berth ;
down the Hudson in the glory of a
perfect da3% and then — New York.
Two days later Ferguson escaped
from the colony of old college chums
he had discovered in the Metropolis,
and with the comfortable sense of
putting temptation behind him was
whirled away towards Boston. His
friends in New York had laughed at
the Old Home Week idea, and his
determination to take part in it, and
he himself was inclined to believe
that a week in New York with such
competent guides would be more
entertaining than a trip to Winnie-
pauket. Nevertheless, having once
made up his mind to go back for Old
Home Day he was determined not to
be kept away by all the allurements
of Gotham.
So he was settling himself content-
edly to read " David Harum," when,
glancing over the top of the book,
the rich brown hair of a girl half way
down the car caught and held his
eye. The poise of the head, the
heavy coils of the hair, the stray
curls above the dainty collar, all
pleased his cesthetic sense, and fully
I50
HOME AGAIN WITH CUPID.
as often as once in each chapter he
caught himself looking up to see if
his presumabl}^ fair fellow-passenger
was still in her seat.
Jolting across Boston from the
south terminal to the north, and just
catching the White Mountain ex-
press, he had almost a shock of
pleased surprise when he looked
down the parlor car and saw the
same brown hair and regal head. If
Ferguson had been like most men
he would promptly have sauntered
through the car and secured a front
as well as rear view of this fellow-
passenger who had engaged his at-
tention. He, however, preferred
not to run the risk of dispelling the
illusions of beauty and grace which
he had half unconsciously formed.
Presently, too, as the brakeman be-
gan to call out well-remembered New
Hampshire names, Nashua, Man-
chester, Concord, his thoughts cen-
tered upon the town that had been
his old New Hampshire home, and
in the throng of memories, bitter and
sweet, the minutes sped swiftly.
Winniepauket next, sir," said the
porter, and Ferguson came to him-
self with a start. As he descended
from the stuffy car and stood on the
little station platform, unchanged in
a dozen years, the cool night air
fanned his face wnth what seemed to
him his first welcome home.
The one hack, of which the village
boasted, was filled, inside and box
seats alike, before he reached it. So,
nothing loath, he set out on the well-
remembered half-mile walk to the
Webster Inn, now so called because
there in his salad days the Jove-like
Daniel had passed many hours of
relaxation from the duties of his bud-
ding law practice.
As Ferguson strode along, beneath
the great elms that arched the road-
way, over the bridge and up the hill,
the soft moonlight illumined with ap-
propriate indistinctness long forgot-
ten scenes of his boyhood and earl)'
manhood.
There was the brick schoolhouse
whither he had been led in fear and
trembling at the tender age of five,
not to leave it until the classic portals
of Dartmouth opened before him.
There was the white church with the
tall spire, where, on every Sunday
he had attended morning service,
Sunda3'-school, and prayer-meeting.
There was the little store, with the
stone hitching posts in front, over
whose counter he had passed many a
penny in exchange for peanuts and
cand^^ There was Squire Graj^'s
mansion looming up among its senti-
nel maples, square and bluff and
stern, like the old squire himself.
The Squire never liked Ferguson,
and Ferguson, in turn, hated as well
as feared the Squire, even before the
latter opened his front door one even-
ing quite unexpectedly and found his
daughter and Ferguson sitting very
close together on the steps. To-
night, after a dozen years, Ferguson
could feel almost as intensely as at
the very moment the impotent rage
and resentful shame which filled him
when the old Squire said : ' ' Clear
out, you bo}', and don't come 'round
here botherin' me and mine no more."
Carroll Flint was the squire's fav-
orite, Ferguson remembered, and
probably he had finally succeeded in
winning Marion for himself.
Just as Ferguson reached this point
in his mental autobiography and just
as he stood across the street from the
old Squire's house, the hack stopped
HOME AGAIN WITH CUPID.
151
at its entrance, and once again the
big front door swung open. This
time it was not Squire Gray who was
framed in the square of light but Car-
roll Flint, portly and bearded, but
still Carroll FHnt.
Ferguson quickened his pace at
the sight, and when, ten minutes
later, he blew out the kerosene lamp
in his room at the inn a vague sense
of disappointment overlaid his first
impressions of Old Home Week.
Rising bright and early next morn-
ing, he faced, with a dismay that
turned to delight, the heavily-laden
breakfast table. Blackberries and
cream, "raised biscuit," fried chicken,
and baked potatoes disappeared in a
way that would have made urbane
Francois, best of waiters at a certain
Chicago club, stare in astonishment.
Breakfast over he paid tribute to vil-
lage tradition by leaving his cigarette
case in his rooms and buying instead
a half dozen of the landlord's cigars.
Then he struck out, away from the
village main street and up a hilly
side road that skirted the base of
"The Mountain."
Over a stone v/all and through a
pasture where Mayflowers used to
grow ; in among sweet fern bushes
and blackberry vines ; by the bould-
ers on which chestnut burrs used to
be hammered open with rocks ; up a
short, steep ascent — and Ferguson
looked once more upon a scene that
had held him rapt more than one
hour of even his busy, boyhood days.
A drop of a thousand feet and below
him pastures and fields stretched
away, dotted here and there with
grazing cows and horses. The high-
way, in stagecoach days a turnpike,
wound a white ribbon between field
and field. In the distance the sand-
banks that marked the slow curving
course of the river stood out on the
blue horizon like blotches of yellow
paint thrown on by a careless artist.
A mile to the south the blue smoke
from the factory chimneys curled
lazily up and the white spire of the
church pierced a mass of green tree-
tops. Through the clear air came
the sound of whistle and bell as the
mountain express paused a moment
at the station, then dashed away to
the north.
Ferguson stood like a statue for
minutes, drinking in the peaceful
beauty of the wide prospect. For
the moment he was a boy again,
wondering what lay beyond the
sandbanks and the hilltops. Deter-
mined to retain the mood of the
moment as long as possible he de-
scended a little way to a well-remem-
bered nook, where, years ago, Marion
Gray had heard him say good-by, the
day after his abrupt dismissal by her
father.
As he turned a corner of the ledge
he saw that someone had been before
him. A marvelous, flower-covered
hat had been thrown carelessly on
the ground and its owner leaned
against a boulder, her back to Fer-
guson. Once more he saw the brown
hair and the regal neck he had ad-
mired on his journey. He stepped
on a dry twig and the noise made the
woman turn so that he could see her
face. It was Marion Gray.
She started as she saw who it was,
then extended her hand with a smile.
"Welcome back to the mountain,
Mr. Ferguson," she said.
"Thank you, Mrs. FHnt," repHed
Ferguson, who was far from being as
composed as his companion.
She lifted her eyebrows in surprise
xxvii — 11
152
HOME AGAIN WITH CUPID.
as he spoke, and opened her mouth
to answer. Evidently changing her
mind she bit her hps and was silent.
" Is Winniepauket's Old Home
Week a success?" he asked pres-
ently.
"Indeed, it is," she said. "The
Griffiths have come clear on from
San Francisco, and the Dodges from
Minneapolis. Minnie Quimby has
brought her husband up from New
Orleans, and Frank Miller, with all
his millions, is on from New York.
But the star of the occasion is that
red-headed, freckle-faced little Mar-
tin boy that was always under foot.
Don't you remember? "
Ferguson remembered very well.
' ' He was appointed to the naval
academy the year after you gradu-
ated from college, and the little
scamp got through there just in time
to be ordered on duty with the ships
at Santiago. He did something
there to make himself more or less
famous, and then was sent to Ma-
nila. Now he 's home for the first
time since the war, and Winnie-
pauket's Old Home Week has re-
solved itself into a Martin glorifica-
tion. Not even the winner of the
great Jackson will case can divide
with him the public attention."
" How did you hear about that? "
asked Ferguson, quickly.
"Perhaps I keep better track of
my old friends than they do of me,"
she said demurely. "When I was
last in Chicago and heard of the ris-
ing young barrister, Henry H. Fer-
guson, Esq., I quite expected the
honor of a call from him, but I was
disappointed."
"You in Chicago?" exclaimed
Ferguson in surprise. " But when ?
And how should I — "
' ' Do you go to the theatre often ? ' '
interrupted the girl.
"No, not often. Occasionally.
Why ? ' '
" Do you remember a play, ' The
Sorrows of Susan,' two season ago ? "
"Yes, I think so. One of Froh-
man's companies, was it not? Why,
5'es, that was the play that new
actress, Anita Arnold, was in. I
remember how sorry I was to miss
it."
"Then you didn't see it ? "
" No. Why?"
" Because I w^as Anita Arnold."
Ferguson stared in blank amaze-
ment. "You on the stage? You
Anita Arnold ? What do you
mean ? "
The girl laughed a little at his sur-
prise. "It is quite a long story,"
she said. " When father died his af-
fairs w^ere in such shape that their
settlement left little for mother and
us girls but the old place. As the
oldest I w^ent out to make my own
living. I tried teaching school, I
tried shorthand, I tried demonstrat-
ing a new 'food,' I tried church choir
singing, and finally I got a start on
the stage. That was in the fall of
'95. I was an understudy that sea-
son, played a small and not particu-
larly pleasant part the next year, and
in '97 I got my chance. That was
the year I expected to see you when
I came right to your doors."
"You surely would if I had
known," returned Ferguson with sin-
cere regret in his voice. " But 3'ou
have left the stage ? "
" Yes, I have got a little start in a
new line of late. Did you happen to
read ' Captives of Chance ' in the
Pacific last year? "
" You do n't mean to say you wrote
WELCOME HOME.
153
that!" F'erguson's doubt was too
plainly mauifested in his tone for
real politeness, but his companion
did not mind. She was thoroughly
enjoj'ing her little triumph over her
old mate. "And I'm writing them
another for next year under con-
tract," she added.
Ferguson was fairly overcome by
this avalanche of surprises. "But
your marriage. Where does that
come in?" he blurted out.
The girl turned very red. "To
whom do 3'ou think I am married,
Mr. Ferguson? " she said.
"Why, to Carroll FHnt. I cer-
tainly saw him standing in the door-
way of your old home last night."
"You did, and he lives there, but
through his marriage to ni}^ sister
Anna, not to me. He was very kind
to us all after father died, and it was
a genuine love match between him
and Anna."
Ferguson's spirits sailed aloft like
hot air balloons. " Is it true ? " he
cried eagerly. "And your are really
still—"
" Marion Gray," said the girl look-
ing down.
Ferguson was at her side in a step.
"Marion, do you remember what I
asked you here twelve years ago ? "
"Yes," said the girl.
" You would do nothing that would
cause your father sorrow, you told
me."
" Yes," said the girl.
"Marion, I was a poor boy then
and you were a rich man's daughter.
To-day I am a struggling young law-
yer and you are already a famous
woman. But, Marion, I want to ask
you again the question I asked you
here twelve years ago. May I ? "
" Yes," said the girl.
"Marion, I gave you then the
whole of a boy's heart. It has al-
waj's been yours. It is to-day. And
now it is a man's heart, full of love
for you. Marion, will you marry me ? "
"Yes," said the girl.
And after all Ensign Martin,
U. S. N., was far from monopoliz-
ing the interest at Winuiepauket's
Old Home Day basket picnic.
WELCOME HOME.
By George Bancroft GrijffitJi.
I 've seen the countless sparkling threads
Of waters rich with rainbow hues.
And stood where Shoshone's bosom sheds
Its changing, matchless diamond dews,
But never beauteous arc of light.
Or glittering, bead-like, tossing foam,
Shone like her tear of pure delight
When mother hailed her wand'rer home !
NEW HAMPSHIRE HOME WEEK GREETINGS.
By Rev. N. F. Carter.
New Hampshire, noble mother of us all,
Whose name is sweet as Eove's triumphal psalms,
Arrayed in all her wealth of summer charms.
Is stretching out her open, wide-spread arms
To bless her children gathered at her call !
Her sons and daughters coming from afar,
Forgetting for the time life's fretting cares,
Are back to breathe once more her wholesome airs,
Revive fond memories, and learn how fares
Her household, what the signs of promise are.
Ten thousand voices, ringing cheer on cheer.
Give royal welcome now to every guest,
Come from the north, or south, or east, or west,
Back to the homeland, longest loved and best,
Most glad, yea, more than glad to see all here !
Our cordial greetings leap from honest lips,
Bespeaking fires of love in kindred souls
Glowing to speed the way to worthy goals.
Over which Time its wave of glory rolls.
Like that of suns that never know eclipse !
Here stand, as high and rugged as of yore,
Our mountains first to greet the morning sun.
East kissed by sunsets when the day is done,
Our grand old mountains, sacred every one,
The guardians of our homes forevermore !
From their bold summits out on every hand
Run landscapes beautiful as eye has seen.
Inlaid with crystal lakes in silver sheen.
And streams like silver ribbons fringed with green, —
A view to rival any fairy land !
A land of royal homes for raising men
To match her mountains, peers of any race,
Eike Webster, Greeley, Sullivan, Stark, and Chase;
And fairest daughters fitted well to grace
Such homes in city, or in mountain glen !
NEW HAMPSHIRE HOME WEEK GREETINGS. 155
No honored place in liigh or lowly life
They have not filled with credit to the state,
In priceless blessings made her rich and great.
Her growing fame has reached the Golden Gate, —
No heroes braver in the battle's strife !
What teeming land in all the circling earth
New Hampshire has not in her children blest ?
What tidal wave of glory, east or west,
Has not her symbols blazoned on her crest.
Recounting to the world her sterling worth ?
God bless the dear old state, her children bless,
As hand clasps hand, and e^^e meets eye to-day,
And hearts with tuneful raptures have their way
With joj'S of fellowship, whose sovereign swa}^
Shall fill with courage when new burdens press !
God bless her homes, her schools and churches all,
True sources of her greatness and her lame,
Nursers of hope, like torches all aflame,
To banish darkness, save from sin and shame,
Speed heavenward ere the evening shadows fall !
The need is still of men to smite the wrong.
As one in word and deed, not once nor twice.
But always ; with heroic sacrifice
Wage long and holy war to free from vice ; —
Strong for the right, for ever}^ virtue strong ;
Of noble women, who, with patient will
Shall train the young to wisdom's pleasant ways,
Illumine with their graces coming days.
With good deeds win them highest meed of praise
As they with glory every household fill !
For all the blessings of the honored past.
For all our wealth of homes whose silent power
Has wrought the glory of this favored hour, —
Pledge we to-day our meed of holy dower
To bless the world as long as time shall last !
Majestic as her rock-ribbed mountains stand,
Fair as her summer fields and forests are ;
So ever may her children, near or far.
In storm and shadow, under sun or star.
Stand forth the pride and joy of ever}' land !
THE BLUE YELLOW-BACKED WARBLER.
Copyright, /SgS, hy C. M. Wi'cii.
THE WARBLERS AND VIREOS IN THEIR ECONOMIC
RELATIONS.
By Clarence Moores Weed.
THE AMERICAN WARBLERS.
HE beautiful plumaged and
sweet-voiced American war-
blers {Sylvicolidac) form next
to the largest family of our
native birds. Nearly all of them are
small — the great majority being less
than five inches long — and as a
group they are abundant and widely
distributed, migratory and iusect-
iv^orous. In manj^ species the plum-
age varies greatly with the age and
sex of the individual. There are
about sixty North American repre-
sentatives of the family. " With tire-
less industry do the warblers be-
friend the human race," writes Dr.
Elliot Coues, " their unconscious
zeal plays due part in the nice ad-
justment of nature's forces, helping
to bring about that balance of vege-
table and insect life without which
agriculture would be in vain. They
visit the orchard when the apple and
pear, the peach, plum, and cherry
are in bloom, seeming to revel care-
lessly amid the sweet-scented and
delicately tinted blossoms, but never
faltering in their good work. They
peer into the crevices of the bark,
scrutinize each leaf, and explore the
very heart of the buds to detect,
drag forth, and destroy these tiny
creatures, singly insignificant, col-
lectively a scourge, which prey upon
the hopes of the fruit grower, and
which if undisturbed would bring his
care to naught. Some warblers flit
incessantly in the terminal foliage
of the tallest trees ; others hug close
to the scored trunks and gnarled
boughs of the forest kings ; some
peep from the thicket, the coppice,
the impenetrable mantle of shrub-
ber}' that decks tiny water courses,
playing at hide-and-seek with all
comers ; others more humble still
descend to the ground where they
glide with pretty mincing steps and
affected turning of the head this
way and that, their delicate flesh-
tinted feet just stirring the layer of
withered leaves with which a past
season carpeted the ground."
The black and white creeping
warbler, sometimes called the black
and white creeper, is abundant in
most wooded region portions of
eastern America, extending west-
ward to Dakota and Nebraska. It
resembles the creepers and nut-
hatches in its manner of taking
food, searching every cranny and
crevice of the bark of trees for the
insects sheltered there, occasionally
chasing for short distances moths
or other creatures frightened from
their hiding places ; and sometimes
scrutinizing the foliage like other
warblers. The nest is placed on or
near the ground, very often on a
rocky ledge. Four or five young
are reared. The insects eaten by
158
WARBLERS AND VIREOS.
the bird belong mostly to species of
small size.
Seventeen Wisconsin specimens
had eaten 5 ants, 20 small measur-
ing worms, and i other caterpillar,
4 moths, 5 two-winged flies, i cur-
culio, and 15 other beetles, 7 bugs,
a caddis-fly, and a small snail, be-
sides more than a hundred insect
eggs. One Nebraska bird had swal-
lowed 41 locusts and 12 other insects,
together with a few seeds.
The blue yellow-backed warbler is
a beautiful little bird which spends
much of its feeding time among
the topmost twigs of the tallest trees.
It is common in eastern America,
and is fonnd as far west as the
Rocky mountains. In New England
it has been observed feeding on may-
flies, measuring worms, and spiders ;
in Wisconsin 6 small insects were
taken from a single stomach, and in
Nebraska it has frequently been seen
picking up locusts and other insects.
The Nashville Warbler is found,
occasionally at least, throughout al-
most the whole of North America,
specimens of it having been taken
as far north as Greenland, as far
west as Utah, Nevada, and Cali-
fornia, and as far south as Mexico.
Its chief distribution, however, is in
the region east of the Mississippi
river, where it is a regular migrant,
breeding as far south as the northern
counties of Illinois and the central
portion of New England. The nest
is placed on the ground. The only
food records we have show that two
Wisconsin specimens had eaten 4
small, green caterpillars and some
other insects not identifiable ; and
that one Nebraska fledgling had de-
voured 21 locusts and several other
insects, while the adult birds have
frequently been seen feeding on
locusts.
The Tennessee warbler is an ex-
tremely migratory species that passes
regularly and abundantly through
the Mississippi Valley states during
its spring and autumn migrations.
It also occurs sparingly west to the
Rocky mountains and east to the
Atlantic ocean. It breeds in the far
north and winters, in part at least,
in South America. It searches dili-
gently for the insect mites that in-
fest the foliage of trees, seeming to
have a special fondness for aphides,
42 of which have been taken from
the stomach of three of these birds.
Among the other food elements of
thirty-two specimens there were
found 2 small hymenoptera, 13 cat-
erpillars, 15 two- winged flies, 13
beetles, 35 small bugs, and 1 1 in-
sect eggs. Four fifths of the food
of one bird shot in an orchard in-
fested by canker worms consisted
of these pests. Tennessee warblers
have also been seen feeding on small
grasshoppers.
This, however, is one of the very
few warblers against which a charge
has been brought by the fruit-
growers. In some sections it is
known as the "grape-sucker" be-
cause it probes ripe grapes with its
little beak, presumably to get at the
juice. Testimony on this point ap-
pears to be conclusive, and consid-
erable injury occasionally results.
There can be no doubt, however,
that in the aggregate the bird does
vastly more good than harm.
The yellow-rumped warbler or
Myrtle bird is an exceedingly^ hardy
little creature, often enduring the
rigors of a New England winter
when its congeners are basking in
WARBLERS AND VIREOS.
159
the sunshine of the South. It is
distributed over a large North Amer-
ican range, and is abundant in all
sorts of situations, especially during
the spring and autumn migrations.
It breeds regularly in the far north,
sometimes nesting, however, in the
northern tier of states and in lower
Canada. According to Ridgway it
is a common winter resident in
fectly at home throughout the whole
of North America from the tropical
regions of the south to the arctic
lands of the north. It is a famil-
iar and confiding bird, associating
freely with civilized man, and. build-
ing its neat nest of vegetable fiber
in the trees of the orchard, park,
family residence, and public thor-
oughfare. Four or five eggs are
The Yellow-rumped Warbler.
southern Illinois. Of twenty-one
specimens studied by King, "one
had eaten a moth ; two, 21 caterpil-
lars — mostly measuring worms ; five,
14 two-winged flies, among which
were three crane-flies; fifteen, 48
beetles ; one, 4 ichneumon flies ; one,
a caddis-fly ; and one, a spider."
The yellow warbler or summer
yellow-bird is probably the most
abundant and widely distributed
member of its famil^^ It seems per-
usually deposited in the nest, and
when an additional one is left by a
skulking cowbird, the warblers, with
a wisdom beyond, their size, add
another story to the nest and begin
again their domestic duties, leaving
the stranger eg^ and if necessary
some of their own to go unhatched.
The food habits of the yellow
warbler are all that could be de-
sired. It freely visits farm premises
and feeds on minute insects of many
i6o
WARBLERS AND VIREOS.
kinds. Two thirds of the food of
five Illinois specimens consisted of
canker worms, and most of the re-
mainder was an injurious beetle.
An equal number of Wisconsin birds
contained small caterpillars and bee-
tles ; and from various other speci-
mens, spiders, myriapods, moths,
bugs, flies, grasshoppers, and other
insects have been taken.
The black-throated green warbler,
which is especially characterized by
having a jet black chin, throat, and
breast, is abundant in New Eng-
land, and extends westward to Ne-
braska, breeding in pine trees
throughout the northern portion of
its range. Its food is obtained
among the branches of tall trees,
largely upon the wing, and consists
of a great variety of small insects,
including caterpillars and larvae of
man}' kinds, curculios and other
beetles, small bugs, and various hy-
menoptera. An idea of the number
of insects they consume may be ob-
tained from the statement that the
stomachs of five birds taken in Ne-
braska during June contained ii6
small locusts and 104 other insects —
an average of 44 to each bird. Sev-
enty per cent, of the food of one
Illinois specimen consisted of canker
worms.
The beautiful American redstart
is a much commoner species in most
of the northern states than would be
supposed by those who have paid
no special attention to the study of
birds. Living amidst the foliage of
the tallest trees, it is seldom seen,
except by those looking for the war-
blers found in such situations. The
redstart is the flycatcher of the inner
tree-tops, capturing on the wing the
numerous insects that flit about
among the branches and occasionally
taking a caterpillar hanging by a
thread or crawling on a twig. The
food of the few specimens that have
been critically examined consisted of
small two-winged flies, a few para-
The Yellow Warbler.
Cot>vright, fSgS, hy C. M. Weed.
WARBLERS AND VI R EOS.
i6i
sitic hymenoptera, an oc-
casional small bug and
some minute larvae. Seven
Nebraska specimens had
eaten i6i small locusts and
117 other insects.
The handsome little Ma-
ryland yellow-throat is
found throughout the
United States from the
Atlantic to the Pacific
oceans, and in many local-
ities is one of the most
abundant of the warblers.
It especially affects the
shrubbery about standing
or running water, where it
can be found throughout
the summer busily search-
ing for insect food. It
often visits orchards, where
canker worms and other
caterpillars are greedily devoured,
forming in three cases on record
four fifths of the food. The little
case bearing caterpillars of the gen-
us Coleophora and its allies are
often eaten, while moths, two- winged
flies, beetles, grasshoppers, leaf-hop-
pers, bugs, dragon-flies, hymenoptera,
and insect eggs are all included on
the bill of fare. The young are
sometimes fed with small grasshop-
pers.
lyike the yellow warbler this species
sometimes outwits the cow bird by its
intelligence. Mr. A. W. Butler thus
describes the three-storied nest of a
yellow- throat in his possession : "In
the original nest had been deposited
the &%% of a cow bird, then within
that nest and rising above it the yel-
low-throat had built another nest,
which also became the depository of
the hope of offspring of this un-
natural bird ; again the little war-
The Blackburnian Warbier.
bier constructed a third nest upon
the other two, burying the cow bird's
^ZZ, and in this nest laid her comple-
ment of eggs."
These examples will suffice to make
manifest the fact that the warbler
family is one of extraordinary econo-
mic value, the members of which are
immensely useful in checking noxious
insects, and with very few excep-
tions have no injurious habits. It
is particularly gratifying that these
charming birds, whose song and
plumage draw to them the good-will
of all intelligent people, should show
so well that utility and beauty are
not alwavs dissociated.
THE VIREOS OR GREENI.ETS.
The vireos or greenlets are univer-
sally recognized as among the sweet-
est of feathered songsters. They are
small birds, modest in manners and
l62
WARBLERS AND JIREOS.
dress, very different from the shrikes
to which the ornithologists claim
they are closely related. This is
exclusively a new world family com-
posed of half a dozen genera and a
little over half a hundred species ;
only one of the former, the genus Vi-
reo, and thirteen of the latter occur in
the United States. Of these thir-
teen species about half are common
over a considerable area. In color
our forms are mostly greenish-olive
or gray above and white or yellow
below. They build slightly pendent
nests in trees, migrate southward in
autumn, and are almost exclusively
insectivorous. They are more often
heard than seen. "Clad in simple
tints that harmonize with the ver-
dure," writes Dr. Coues, "these gen-
tle songsters warble their lays un-
seen, while the foliage itself seems
stirred to music. In the quaint and
curious ditty of the white- eye in the
earnest, voluble strains of the red-
eye, in the tender secret that the
warbling vireo confides in whispers
to the passing breeze, he is insensi-
ble who does not hear the echo of
thoughts he never clothes in words."
The red-eyed vireo seems to be the
most abundant, widely distributed
species of the genus. It is found in
all the states except those of the ex-
treme west, and in summer some-
times migrates as far north as Green-
land. It prefers woodlands to the
cultivated fields, but occasionall}^
finds its way to parks and orchards.
It commonly seeks its food among
the foliage and branches of trees and
shrubs, sometimes chasing moths and
other flying insects for short dis-
tances on the wing. It is universally
recognized as a great insect eater ; an
excellent idea of its food may be ob-
tained from Professor King's studies
of fiftj'-four Wisconsin specimens :
' ' From the stomachs of eighteen of
this species were taken 15 caterpil-
lars, 5 other larvae, 8 beetles, among
them 5 weevils and i long-horn ; 70
heteropterous insects, among them
67 chinch bugs; 16 winged ants, i
ichneumon, 5 dragonflies, 2 dip-
terous insects, one of them a large
horsefly ( Tabanus ai rains) ; 3 small
moths, 2 grasshoppers, i aphis, i
chrysalid, 2 spiders, and 7 dogwood
berries. Of 36 other specimens ex-
amined, 15 had eaten caterpillars; 2,
other larvae ; nine, beetles, among
them 2 ladybird beetles ; 3, grass-
hoppers ; 2, ants; 2, moths; 4, uni-
dentified insects ; and 7, fruits or
seeds, among which were raspber-
ries, dogwood berries, berries of
prickly ash, and sheep berries."
During locust outbreaks in Ne-
braska four fifths of the food of this
vireo has been found to consist of
these insects.
The warbling vireo frequents culti-
vated fields, orchards, and the vicin-
ity of houses much more than the
shyer red-eye. It is an abundant
species in most states, and is highly
insectivorous. Its food consists
chiefly of caterpillars, including
such destructive species as the can-
ker worm, beetles of various kinds,
among them the twelve-spotted cu-
cumber beetle, and occasionally a
lady bird, crane-flies and other two-
winged flies, grasshoppers, bugs,
and sometimes dogwood berries.
The young are known sometimes to
be fed with grasshoppers. Canker
worms formed forty-four per cent, of
the food of three specimens shot in
an orchard infested by these pests.
The vellow-throated vireo is a
OLD HOME WEEK— NEWPORT, N. H. 163
laro-er bird than either of those found as far west as the base of the
above mentioned. It is common in Rocky mountains. It usually haunts
the eastern region of North America, clearings where there is much under-
and feeds on caterpillars including brush. Dr. Brewer reports that it
measuring worms, moths, weevils, feeds on canker worms, and DeKay
and other beetles, grasshoppers, leaf- says it eats insects and berries. No
hoppers, and various flies. It evi- precise records of the examination of
dently is a highly beneficial bird. the stomach contents appear to have
The white-eyed vireo is abundant been published, but its diet is prob-
in the eastern states as far north as ably similar to that of the other
Massachusetts, and is occasionally species of the genus.
OLD HOME WEEK— NEWPORT, N. H.
[Poem read August 29, iSgg.]
By Edivard A. Jenlcs.
A radiant morning of the Long Ago, and June
Was at its best. The bluest of o'erarching skies,
Flecked with soft boats upon a tideless, waveless sea,
And wind-swept with the breath of Power invisible.
Bent wistfully above the unconscious world, and seemed
To take, in her capacious arms of mother-love,
The whole round world. The birds were organized in one
O'ervvhelming orchestra, that made the forests ring
With yet unpublished symphonies ; and all the fields
And meadows, full of flashing wings, and violins
And drums and flutes, wiled the rapt soul away — away —
Beyond the beck'ning mountain-tops, a prisoner
In rippling chains of untaught songs and melodies.
A farmhouse, comfortable, hospitable, calm—
Of paint and ornament serenely innocent —
Was hidden 'mong the peaceful hills. Gigantic elms.
Contented maples, guardians for a century,
Stood watchful at the open door ; and softest winds
Played hide-and-seek with birds and humming bees among
The leaves and twigs, while the long fingers of the Sun
Just touched the finger-tips of all the living things
Secluded there, and waltzed to the swinging music.
The voices of the farmer's boys in far-off fields,
In tones familiar to the lumbering ox-team,
Came lilting o'er the shining grass ; and nearer still
1 64 OLD HOME WEEK— NEWPORT, N. H.
The homely conversation from the poultry-yard —
Full of unconscious happiness and deep content —
Mingled in perfect harmony with cadences
From spinning-wheel and spinner, as deft fingers turned
The flying wheel, and guided the soft thread upon
The willing spindle, just inside the open door.
Alas ! — sad was the day ! — there came a time when one
By one those splendid boys and girls, full-fledged and strong,
Climbed over all the loving barriers of that
Old nest, and flew away into the wide, wild world, —
Where softest winds forever blow from Carib seas,
And oranges and pineapples and figs and dates
Smile in your thirsty face, and say in loving tones
" Kiss me, and eat ! " and some to wild Pacific shores
And mountains, where the streams run golden sands, and where
From hill and topmost peak you see the ponderous Sun
Disrobe himself and sink into I^ethean depths
For night's most calm repose ; and some to wheat-fields fair
And broad — great seas of billowy grain, of promise full
For hungry worlds in waiting ; and some to where
The city's ceaseless din drives out the memory
Of home and mother-love and father-care, and all
The dear entanglements of youth, and love, and heaven.
Alas ! — sad was the day ! — there came a time, after
The cruel lapse of half a hundred hurrying years,
When one by one that band had crossed The Great Divide
In search of homes not made with faltering human hands —
Yes, all save one — and he a white-haired man whose brow
Showed many a well-turned furrow from Time's sharp plowshare ;
Who could not drive the great ox-team again afield,
Nor send the giants of the forest thundering
Groundward ; who could no longer break the untamed colt
To harness or to saddle, nor pitch the fragrant hay
From load to mow. Oh ! where were now the glory and
The strength of his once lusty manhood !
'T was June again : the old man sat beneath the vine
His own strong hands had reared. He leaned his tired head
Upon his staff, — and all the years passed languidly
Before his vision ; — saw the dear old home beneath
The trees ; saw the same birds, and heard the very songs
His ears had reveled in a thousand times in boyhood ;
The fragrance of the lilacs overwhelmed him, and
The tears dropped sadly on his wrinkled hands ; he heard
The bleating of the lambs beyond the pasture bars ;
OLD HOME WEEK— NEW PORT, N. H. 165
He saw the cows come winding down the rocky slope,
And heard the foamy milk zip-zipping in the pail ;
He saw his sisters and his brothers — every one —
Just as thej^ used to gather round the sunset door,
And chased them o'er the lawn in most hilarious mood ;
He pla3^ed " Hi Spy " with them when all the chores were done ;
He heard his father's kindly voice in prayer, and then,
Across the silence, " Rock of Ages, cleft for me," —
It was his mother's voice — O God ! to hear it once
Again ! He knew the wish was vain — except — perhaps —
Above
Just then a voice came ricochetting o'er the hills
From far New Hampshire's open doors — a bugle call —
Come home ! — and see the dear old valleys once again !
Come home ! — and climb the old familiar hills once more,
And see how grandly beautiful the Old Home is !
Come home ! — and wander through the fields of tasseled corn.
And roast the luscious ears as in your boyhood's prime !
Come home ! — see how the red and yellow apples taste
That hang upon the trees you loved to climb so well !
Come home ! — wade all the pebbly brooks where once you fished,
And then recount the triumphs of your fishing-rod,
And all the wonders of the pool wherein you swam !
Come home ! — and see the zig-zag lightnings flash across
The clouds, and list the thunders crack the mountain's crest !
Come home ! — and see 3'et once again the country church
Where your bare feet, tanned brown, perchance, have often trod,
And the old schoolhouse where your jackknife carved your nanit !
Come home ! — and see old friends — perhaps some still abide —
And make the welkin ring with songs of other days !
Come home ! — and see how Progress marks the dear old town, —
How all the beauty — all the good — have riper grown !
Come home ! — and be for one brief week a boy again.
And drink the bubbling laughter from the cooling spring !
Come home ! — and wander through the drowsy Cave of Dreams
To the muffled patter of the rain-drops on the roof !
Come home ! — and visit that dear spot where calmly sleep
The father, mother, that you fondlj^ loved in days
Gone by, and ne'er shall see again, and lay your head
Upon the soft green turf that kindly covers them !
Come home ! — Come Iwjjic ! — Come home !
And when the old man roused himself from that sweet dream.
His eyes were full of love-light ; tears were on his lashes ;
And brokenly he said, — " I— will — go — home ! "
THE HOUSE OF THE FIRST MINISTER.
Ly y. B. Walker.
HIS house, mentioned by Mr.
David Watson, in his Con-
cord Directory of 1S44, as
' ' the oldest two story house
between Haverhill, Mass., and Cana-
da,"^ was erected by the Reverend
Timothy Walker, the First Minister
of Concord, when New Hampshire
was a British Province, and its peo-
ple were subjects of King George the
Second. To aid in its erection, his
fellow-citizens, on the i6th of Janu-
ary, 1733/4, made him a grant
from their common treasury of fifty
pounds.'
Its life spans the several periods of
King George's and the last French
and Indian wars ; of the Revolution-
ary War and the establishment of the
government of the United States ; of
the War of 1S12 and of that with
Mexico ; of our Civil War and of our
war witli Spain. It has witnessed
the relinquishment, by France and
Spain, of substantially all of their
1 The correctness of this statement is neither
affirmed nor denied.
2 At a meeting of the Inhabitants and Freehold-
ers of Pennj' Cook, holden on the i6th day of Janu-
ary 1733/4 it was
"Voted that there .should be Fifty Pounds given
to Mr. Timothy Walker for building of him a
Dwelling House in Penny Cook provided that he
gives the Inhabitants and F'reeholders a Receipt
that he has received in full for his Salary in times
past until this Day for the Decay of Money it not
being equal to Silver at Seventeen Shillings the
Ounce."
Ruiii/ord Town Records, printed vol., p. 13.
THE HOUSE OF THE FIRST MINISTER.
167
immense colonial areas on this hemi-
sphere.
During the first of the wars above
mentioned, the people of Rumford
lived more or less of the time in gar-
risons. Within the one whose walls
enclose this house dwelt eight fami-
lies, besides that of the First Minis-
ter. Watch and ward was main-
tained day and night, and the dis-
charge of a musket from its sentry
box indicated to all who heard it the
approach of the Indian enemy. ^
From these garrisons, the men
went out armed to their work, on
'Garrisons in 1746.
" Province of \
New Hanipe. \
We, the subscribers, being ap-
pointed a Committee of Militia for settling: the
Garrisons in the frontier Towns and Plantations
in the Sixth Regiment of Militia in this Province,
by his Excellency, Benning Wentworth, Esq.,
Governor, &c, having viewed the situation and
enquired into the circumstances of the District of
Rumford, do hereby appoint and state the follow-
ing Garrisons, viz. :
The Garrison round the house of the Reverend
Timothy Walker, to be one of the Garrisons in sd
Rumford, and thafthfe following inhabitants, with
their family's, viz:
Capt. John Chandler,
Abraham Bradley,
Samuel Bradley,
John Webster,
Nathaniel Rolfe,
Joseph Pudney,
Isaac Walker, Jr.,
Obadiah Foster,
be and hereby are, ordered and .stated at that
Garrison."
Extract from Report of Committee, May 75, IJ46.
First Meeting-house in
xxvii— 12
Families quartered at the Garrison of the First Minister,
1745.
week days, and with their families to
their block house, to worship, on
Sundays. The First Minister prayed
and preached with his gun beside
him.- Gospel and gun were near
companions in those days. Indeed,
even yet, the gunpowder age has not
fully passed.
The frame of this
house is mainly of
pitch pine and white
oak. Its boarding
and inside woodwork
aie of white pine. It
originally consisted of
a two story front, forty
feet long and twenty
feet wide ; and of a
one story ell, about
twenty feet square.
Each was covered
with a gambrel roof,
2 " 1746, June 24, Wm. Stick-
ney brought up my new gun,
and my mare from Andover."
Diaries of Rev . T. Walker, p. ij
i68
THE HOUSE OE THE FIRST MINISTER.
House of the First Minister, I 734.
battened with birch bark, and shin-
gled. It had three chimneys, two
of brick, and one of stone laid in clay
mortar and plastered within and with-
out with clay and chopped straw. In
these were six fireplaces of ample di-
mensions; that in the kitchen having
before it a hearth of granite ten feet
long, still in use, and polished by the
feet of the family generations of the
last one hundred and sixty-five years.
A quaint correspondence, in 1757,
between the First Minister and his
son, then teaching school at Brad-
ford, Mass., relative to painting "ye
outside" of it has been preserved.^
1 "Am now to inform you yt we have hitherto got
along with good success with ye House & find we
shall have a comfortable and handsome one, if we
can get thro with it, but finding several species of
materials to fall short, have determined upon a
journey to Boston. * * * One article we have at
present under consideration is, whether or no to
paint ye outside. Am advised to it by ye best
Judges & particularly Col. Rolfe."
Walker Papers, vol. i,p.5.
Building in which the New Hampshire Legislature held its Fi'st Session in Concord, 1782.
THE HOUSE OF THE FIRST MINISTER.
169
,0.
?
0% cr7^A^fr€^/s^i,./y (^A ,
^?'?.
^-3^
2
Ut- iie^^ c^^/Y'Cm^^' ^>^
-V
.4^. ^
4fc-/rr
^/^^
Bill of Sale of Slave Girl Rose,
The conclusion then reached is not
known. Seventy years ago it wore a
coat of light drab paint upon its
walls, and of white upon its cornices,
corner-boards, and casings. These
remained unchanged until 1848.
The interior was not completel}^
finished until 1764, when the title to
the township had been confirmed to
its occupants by a second decision of
the King in Council, and a legal con-
test of forty years was substantially
ended. Then, tradition says. Dea-
con Webster, of Bradford, Mass.,
came to Rumford and spent the sum-
mer in constructing the front stair-
way, with its ornamental rail and
balusters, and the paneled dadoes of
the upper and lower halls.
The room partitions were largely
wainscoting, the window sashes were
heavy and glazed with small panes of
seven by nine glass, those of the first
story being protected by inside shut-
ters of wood.
The Legislature met in Concord
for the first time on the 13th day
of March, 1782, at the old North
Church. As there was no means of
warming it, an adjournment was im-
mediately taken to a room prepared
for it, in a building still standing on
the west side of North Main street
and numbered 225 and 227.^
1 This house then stood upon the east side of Main
street, about four rods south of the house of the First
Minister.
Count Rumford.
From the original in the Royal Iiistitutioii, Loniiott.
I JO THE HOUSE OF THE FIRST MINISTER.
During its session, the First Minis- the first floor and eight on the sec-
ter placed at the use of the state offi- ond, with a Hberal interposition of
cials in attendance such portions of closets, hall ways and entries. One
his house as they required. The portion of the attic was devoted to
president, Meshech Weare, with the bins for the storage of grain, and
Honorable Council, occupied the another to a small sleeping room,
north front chamber ; the secretary In the remainder was kept a miscel-
of state, Ebenezer Thompson, the laneous collection of farm and house-
sitting-room ; and the state treasurer, hold utensils not in active use —
Nicholas Oilman, the south front weaving machinery, spinning-wheels,
chamber. swifts, flax-combs, etc. It was the
The First Minister lived to occupy most attractive place in all the house
/■f- -v-jf '--,•- ■;■ ^ {^/ .•*»*.. o. •-«>««. x' ^ . • . ' - . )
'^^T /2 //-ef ■^i^^^^^y'T-r^^nt^ ^^^e^*^- ^i<5^^.^.<5^ r'tyA^e>^i. ^y-T-t^i^x^ ^y^'^i't^-^^ ^ -^r-z^ /a. =
-ruc/"^/ />*/ ^^^<a^^«^' ^.^fixY^/^ .~ z*'*^ £^ /^*^ ^ J/.f^i/:f^ ^'Tt^Z. tJtycCt ^^ac^ z-»t^
(Ar^^l ^rr.f-n:://^i^.
Extract from Letter of Benjamin Thompson to his Father-in- Law, the First Mmister.
his house until September i, 1782, for the children, with the exception
when he died, having completed a of the pantry.
pastorate of nearly fifty-two years. Beneath the first floor were two
Upon his decease, its ownership cellars, one for the storage of meats,
passed to his son. Judge Timothy vegetables, etc. ; another, for uses of
Walker, who, with his wife, occu- which recollection speaks charily,
pied it the remainder of their lives, mildly hinting that, had the Maine
To them were born fourteen children, liquor law then been in force, it
It can be no surj^rise, therefore, that might have furnished a fit repository
its enlargement became imperative, for its archives.
This was secured by doubling the The wainscoting and other wood-
length and height of its ell. work of the several rooms bore differ-
As first remembered by its present ent colors ; that of the parlor and sit-
owner, it contained seven rooms on ting-room chamber being green ; of
THE HOUSE OE THE EIRST MINISTER..
the sitting-room, light bkie ; of the
front hall, parlor chamber, and old
people's bedroom, white ; and of the
kitchen, red.
Around this kitchen, as a centre,
revolved the general econoni}^ of the
household. Its red color gave it a
cheerful tone ; its wooden window
shutters, a sense of secnrity ; its am-
ple display on open shelves of crock-
ery, pewter and wooden ware, a com-
fortable intimation of good cheer, while
its huge fireplace, brick oven, and
swinging crane, loaded with a graded
line of pots and kettles, asserted
the famil3^'s dependence upon its
cook.
The six doors of this room, like
the gates of ancient Rome, opened in
all directions ; one to the back room,
a second to the deep closet, another
to the old people's bedroom, still an-
other to the pantry, another still to
the vegetable and meat cellar, and a
sixth to a side entry and thence out
doors ; while, through the capacious
flue of its chimne}', the sailing clouds
might be observ^ed in the daytime,
and the sparkling stars at night.
Here, in old colonial times, when a
mild slavery existed in New Hamp-
Sarah, Couritec.i of Rumfoid.
From n Painting by Kcllcrlioffm-, 17Q7-
shire, Rose^ and Violet domineered
over their gentle mistress within,
just as Prince lorded it over his mas-
ter, the first minister, on his farm
without. Here Eph. Colby, the town
bully, rehearsed his exploits, boast-
ing that he feared no man on earth
save Parson Walker. Occasionally,
at nighfall, a strolling Indian, melan-
cholly representative of a vanishing
race, found welcome in this plain
kitchen. Here he loosened his belt,
fed to his fill, rolled himself in his
blanket, and upon its floor slept
soundly before the fire which never
went fully out.
At the decease of the second pro-
prietor, Judge Timothy Walker, the
house descended to his youngest
son. Captain Joseph Walker, and
still later, to the present proprietor.
With the exception of a slight en-
largement and modifications, easily
recognized, it remains as above de-
scribed. It has sheltered six genera-
tions of the First Minister's family,
Rolfe and Rumford Asylum.
Once the Residence of Count Ritm/ord.
' How many slaves the First Minister owned in
the course of his life does not appear. Three bills
of sale of such property have been preserved, of
one of which the illustration, p.. 169, is-ta facsimile.
172
THE HOUSE OF THE FIRST MINISTER.
Prof. Samuei F. B. Morse.
and, by God's blessing, the oil in the
cruse and the meal in the barrel, has
never failed. During the first forty
years of its existence, its occupants
were loyal to the cross of St. George.
Since 1776, they have gloried in the
stars and stripes.
The first two owners of this house
were much engaged in public affairs.
The First Minister was not only
the spiritual leader of his people,
but quite often a temporal advisor
in their business matters as well.
Many of the legal documents relat-
ing to these, which have been pre-
served, are in his handwriting. He
was their agent in the celebrated
Bow Controvers3^ before mentioned,
which involved the title to their en-
tire township, and lasted forty years.
During its continuance, he made
three journeys to I^ondon in prose-
iMuf I II wtjb I »^ur
I ij 1 li I y
House of the First Minibtet.
THE HOUSE OF THE FIRST MINISTER.
173
Mrs. S. F. B. Morse.
the
cution of their claims before
king in council.
For more than sixty years, the
judicial and multifarious other duties
of Judge Walker kept him in close
touch with all the affairs of his town,
and with many of the state, which
he had aided in creating.
These varied relations of its occu-
pants brought to this house, during
the first one hundred years of its
existence, visitors almost numberless,
raanj' of whose names receive fre-
quent mention in their diaries.
Here, for half a century, the First
Minister entertained his clerical
brethren. Here, as visitors, re-
peatedly came General John Stark,
sometimes accompanied by his wife
{nee Elizabeth Page), to whom the
first minister had united him in mar-
riage. Here, also, were welcomed
Major Robert Rogers, the ranger,
Capt. Peter Powers of Coos, Col.
Joseph Blauchard, Col. John Goffe,
Capt. Calel) Page, Capt. Phineas
Stevens, and many others, much of
whose talk was of French and Indian
wars in which they had been or
were then engaged. Under the same
roof, a little later, with his neigh-
bors. Col. Thomas Stickney, Col.
Benjamin Rolfe, Capt. Joshua Ab-
bott, and Capt. Benjamin Emery, his
only son, Timothy, his sons-in-law,
Capt. Abiel Chandler, and Dr. Eben-
ezer Harnden Goss, all, subsequently,
participants in the Revolutionary
struggle, near at hand, the First
Minister discussed the varying pros-
pects of that inevitable contest.
Here, too, the old patriot strove, but
in vain, to detach from his entau-
Charles Theodore, Elector of Bavaria.'
From a Painting by Keller lioffer, Munich, lyqy.
' It was under the patronage of Charles Theodore,
the E.ector of Bavaria ( 17S4-1799), that Count Rnin-
ford made many of the scientific researches and in-
stituted many of the social and civil reforms which
secured to hi'iu high position and lasting fame.
174
THE HOUSE OF THE FIRST AHNISTEK.
glement with the royal cause the
husband of his eldest daughter, Beu-
janiin Thompson, now known to the
world as Count Rumford.
In later years, his son and suc-
cessor. Judge Walker, welcomed
to the hospitalities of his paternal
home, friends of his own generation.
Anions these were President Meshech
Weare, Secretary Ebenezer Thomp-
son, Treasurer Nicholas Oilman,
Countess Nogarola.^
Front n Painting hy Kellerhoffcr, TilutiicJi, I7Q~.
Governor John Langdon, Col. Eben-
ezer Webster, the father of Daniel,
while later still, its doors swung
' The Countess of Nogarola became the chaperon
of the Countess of Rumford when at the age of
about twenty-one having left America, where she
had been born and educated, she joined her father,
then a widower, at the Bavarian court, in Munich.
They ijecame fast friends, and wlien the latter was
about to return to her native land in 1799, the Count-
ess of Nogarola presented to her, then in London,
an oil portrait of herself of which this is a copy.
Of this portrait she thus speaks in a letter dated
February 12, 1799: " Je suppose qu' a '1 heure qu' il
est vous aurez re<;u mon Portrait, une vue de la
mer que j' y ai fait ajouter (qoique je ne la trove
pas parfaitement execut^e) vous rappellera que
mes penses sont bien souvient, tourn6es vers cet
element qui nous sepere." The Countess of Noga-
rola and the Countess of Baumgarteu were sisters.
open to Countess Rumford, to Prof.
Samuel F. B. Morse," of telegraphic
fame, and husband of his grand-
daughter, to Governors William
Plumer, Benjamin Pierce, and Isaac
Hill, besides numberless others,
whose names it would not be eas}-
to number.
Its third proprietor, Capt. Joseph
Walker, had military tastes, and, in
the early part of the century, com-
manded a company of horse, com-
posed of persons living in Concord
and several of the adjoining towns.
Tradition says, that meetings of the
company were warned by verbal
notices given the Sunday before, to
such members as were present for
worship at the Old North meeting-
house, which by them were com-
municated to the others not there
present. It also says that more or
less of the members who lived at a
distance came mounted to the resi-
dence of their captain the night be-
forehand, and that to such, the hos-
pitality of his house was freely
extended, and to their steeds, the
horsepitality of his barns. It further-
more asserts that, when the supply
of beds proved insufficient, as it
sometimes did, the less fortunate,
unbuttoning their waistbaud.s, laid
down upon the floors and "endured
hardness as good soldiers."
At the death of its second mistress,
in 1828, the house contained a re-
spectable library, the result of the
gradual accretions of nearl}' a cen-
tury. The division of her estate
among her heirs-at-law caused a dis-
persion of its volumes, as complete
2 Professor Samuel F. B. Morse was married, Sep-
tember 29, 1S18, to Lucretia Pickering Walker, a
daughter of Charles Walker, Esq.,— for many years
in the practice of law in Concord, — and a grand-
daughter of Hon. Timothy Walker.
THE HOUSE OE THE FIRST MINISTER.
175
as did the deportation of the mem-
bers of the ten tribes of Israel by
Shahnaneser.
lyittle knowledge of its contents
has survived, other than that of in-
ference, from the character of a
few volumes which a long effort has
reclaimed from their exile. These
indicate that it may have been
largely theological and miscellaneous.
Among these may be found the
Westminster Catechism, An Exami-
nation of Edwards on the Will, four
volumes of Caryl's Job, Coleman's
Sermons, Religio Medici, Baxter's
Saint's Rest, a first edition copy of
Belknap's History of New Hamp-
shire, a volume of the Tattler, to-
gether with enough others to bring
the number to a score or thereabouts.
As these stand together, in their
dark, leather covers, in a corner of
the present library, their expression
appears one of sadness. While glad,
apparently, to get back to their old
home, they seem to mourn more the
absence of their former companions,
than to rejoice in the welcome ac-
corded them by the larger company
now about them.
The few pictures, which formerly
hung upon the walls of the house,
shared the fortune of the books just
mentioned. Those now scattered
through its different rooms have
been gradually gathered from differ-
ent sources by its present occupants ;
mostly from the collections of the
Countess of Rumford and of Judge
Nathaniel G. Upham, the father of
its present mistress. The large one
of the woman and child, over the
front hall stairway, was painted in
Paris, about twenty years ago, by
Charles Walker Eind, a grandson of
Professor Samuel F. B. Morse, and
the little encaustic painting on cop-
per, in the poet's corner of the li-
brary, is a copy of Prof. Morse's
portrait of his wife ; painted when
she was about twenty years of age.
Nearly all the portraits and some of
the other subjects in oil are the
works of German and English artists.
The few water colors and prints are
of various ages and from different
sources. Of the former, the two
Countess Baumgarten.
From a Painting by Kcllerhoffer, Munich, ijq'.
Bavarian landscapes, above the man-
tel of the sitting-room, were pre-
sented to Count Rumford by the
ladies of Munich, in recognition of
his .services in causing the neutrality
of Bavaria to be recognized by the
contending armies of the French and
Austrians, in 1796. The three early
prints of Trumbull's paintings of the
Death of Gen. Montgomery, of the
Battle of Bunker Hill, and of the
Declaration of Independence were
purchased of the artist's executor.
CONTOOCOOK RIVER.
176
soon after his decease. They are
largely interesting as specimens of
American art, at the close of the
last and the beginning of the present
centur}'.
And the furniture which was in
the house in 1828, encountered the
same dispersion which came to the
books and pictures.
The small stone in front of the
house records the names of the
families assigned to the garrison
built around it in 1746. The large,
round stone beside the driveway, is
the horse-block formerly attached
to the Old North meeting-house in
which the first minister preached
from 1 75 1 to 1782. In that period,
many of the good wives of the parish
rode to meeting on horseback, seated
upon pillions behind their husbands.
Tradition has it that its purchase
was effected by their joint contribu-
tions of a pound of butter apiece.
The elms in front of the house
were planted by the First Minister
on the second day of May, 1764.
On this seventeenth day of June,
1899, they are in a fair state of
health, growing old, indeed, but
gracefully and with a tenacious vigor
which makes slow their decline.
Horse-block of Old North Meeting-house
CONTOOCOOK RIVER.
By Edna Dean Proctor.
Of all the streams that seek the sea
By mountain pass, or sunny lea,
Now where is one that dares to vie
With clear Contoocook, swift and shy ?
Monadnock's child, of snow-drifts born.
The snows of many a winter morn
And many a midnight dark and still.
Heaped higher, whiter, day by day,
To melt, at last, with suns of May,
And steal, in tiny fall and rill,
Down the long slopes of granite gray;
Or filter slow through seam and cleft
CONTOOCOOK RIVER. 177
When frost and storm the rock have reft,
To bubble cool in sheltered springs
Where the lone red-bird dips his wings,
And the tired fox that gains their brink
Stoops, safe from hound and horn, to drink.
And rills and springs, grown broad and detp,
Unite through gorge and glen to sweep
In roaring brooks that turn and take
The over-floods of pool and lake.
Till, to the fields, the hills dehver
Contoocook's bright and brimming river !
O have you seen, from Hillsboro' town
How fast its tide goes hurrying down.
With rapids now, and now a leap
Past giant boulders, black and steep,
Plunged in mid water, fain to keep
Its current from the meadows green ?
But, flecked with foam, it speeds along ;
And not the birch-tree's silvery sheen,
Nor the soft lull of murmuring pines,
Nor hermit thrushes, fluting low,
Nor ferns, nor cardinal flowers that glow
Where clematis, the fairy, twines,
Nor bowery islands where the breeze
Forever whispers to the trees.
Can stay its course, or still its song ;
Ceaseless it flows till, round its bed.
The vales of Henniker are spread.
Their banks all set with golden grain,
Or stately trees whose vistas gleam —
A double forest — in the stream ;
And, winding 'neath the pine-crowned hill
That overhangs the village plain.
By sunny reaches, broad and still.
It nears the bridge that spans its tide —
The bridge whose arches low and wide
It ripples through — and should you lean
A moment there, no lovelier scene
On England's Wye, or Scotland's Tay,
Would charm your gaze, a summer's day.
O of what beauty 'tis the giver —
Contoocook's bright and brimming river !
And on it glides, by grove and glen.
Dark woodlands, and the homes of men,
With calm and meadow, fall and mill ;
ijS MONADNOCK IN OCTOBER.
Till, deep and clear, its waters fill
The channels round that gem of isles
Sacred to captives' woes and wiles,
And eager half, half eddying back,
Blend with the lordly Merrimack ;
And Merrimack whose tide is strong
Rolls gently, with its waves along,
Monadnock's stream that, coy and fair,
Has come, its larger life to share.
And to the sea doth safe deliver
Contoocook's bright and brimming river
MONADNOCK IN OCTOBER.
By Edna Dean Proctor.
Uprose Monadnock in the northern blue,
A mighty minster builded to the lyord !
The setting sun his crimson radiance threw
On crest, and steep, and wood, and valley sward.
Blending their myriad hues in rich accord.
Till like the wall of heaven it towered to view.
Along its slope, where russet ferns were strewn
And purple heaths, the scarlet maples flamed.
And reddening oaks and golden birches shone, —
Resplendent oriels in the black pines framed,
The pines that climb to woo the winds alone.
And down its cloisters blew the evening breeze.
Through courts and aisles ablaze with autumn bloom,
Till shrine and portal thrilled to harmonies
Now soaring, dying now in glade and gloom.
And with the wind was heard the voice of streams, —
Constant their Aves and Te Deums be, —
Lone Ashuelot murmuring down the lea.
And brooks that haste where shy Contoocook gleams
Through groves and meadows, broadening to the sea.
Then holy twilight fell on earth and air,
Above the dome the stars hung faint and fair.
And the vast minster hushed its shrines in prayer ;
While all the lesser heights kept watch and ward
About Monadnock builded to the Lord !
rt:':ii''"r""."""fr"t
GEORGE M. SHERBURNE.
George
M. Sherburne, a veteran of the Rebellion, died Friday, August 4, at
his home in Pittsfield. He was born in Gilmanton 57 years ago, and enlisted in
Co. I, Sixth regiment, N. H. Vols., November 28, 186 1. He was one of eleven
children, eight of whom are now living,
DANIEL C. vSTlLSON.
On August 21, at Somerville, Mass., was ended the life of Daniel C. Stilson,
the inventor of the "Stilson" wrench. He was born in Durham, March 25,
1830, and was a highly skilled mechanic.
REV. GEORGE FABER CLARK.
A life of long and faithful service in the temperance cause, a life devoted to
all that was pure and manly, filled up with large service to his parish and his
townspeople, was that of Rev. George Faber Clark, who died in his eighty-third
year, at West Acton, Mass., on July 30.
A native of Dublin, he was graduated at Harvard Divinity school in 1847,
after a preparatory course at Exeter. He was ordained at the Unitarian church
of Charlemont and preached for some time in that and neighboring towns ; sub-
sequently he was settled over the church in Stow, then in Mendon, and in Hub-
bardston. He was deeply interested in local history and biography, writing a
valuable history of Stow.
J. BYRON HOBART.
J. Byron Hobart, one of Somersworth's highly esteemed and most respected
citizens, passed away at his home on High street, August 12, after a lingering ill-
ness from paralysis. He was born in Groton, October 28, 1840, and received an
education in the public schools of his native town. While yet a young man he
removed to Manchester, where he remained a few years, coming from that place
in 187 1 to this city, where he was employed by the Great Falls Manufacturing
Company, and for many years held the position of second hand over the weaving
room in No. 3 mill. In politics he was a Republican, although he never became
actively engaged in them. He was a member of Libanus Lodge of Masons of
Somersworth, and of Mechanics' Lodge of Odd Fellows of Manchester. He is
survived by a widow and a son, Paul.
GEORGE J. WRIGHT.
George J. Wright, the veteran locomotive engineer, died at his home in Brad-
ford, August 28, after a long illness. Mr. Wright was born in Melvin's in War-
ner, and soon after the Northern railroad was opened he secured employment
thereon as a section hand. Later he was taken on an engine, and was promoted
to the position of engineer after serving his time as a fireman. He ran for a time
on the Northern, and was then transferred to the Claremont branch, where he
continued until about eight years ago, when he retired. He is survived by a wife,
one son, George B., two brothers, Eben and Robert, and a sister living in Minneap-
olis, Mr, Wright was well known in this city and vicinity, and was highly esteemed.
i8o NEW HAMPSHIRE NECROLOGY.
ALBERT A. HATCH.
Albert Alanson Hatch died at his home in Somersworth August 23, after an
illness of several months. He was born at Gilford, September 10, 1823, his
parents being Eben and Mary (Hatch) Hatch. His parents early removed to
North Berwick, where he attended the public schools. He began work with the
Great Falls Manufacturing Company in April, 1844, and was overseer in the
weaving room for years, later having charge of the reeds. September 15, 1S53,
he was married to Sarah E. Lord, daughter of Oliver Lord, of South Berwick, who
died two years ago. They had four children, all of whom are now living, —
Charles E., Mrs. Helen Legro, Etta W., and Emma C, of Somersworth. One sis-
ter, Mrs. Thomas Weymouth of North Berwick, also survives him.
Mr. Hatch was a constant attendant at the Congregational church in this city.
He was a prominent member of Washington Lodge, I. O. O. F., and was a past
grand. He also held the office of warden of Granite State Commandery,
U. O. G. C. Years ago he belonged to the Banner Guards, a company of militia
which was well known in its time. In politics he was a Republican, and a sturdy
one, too, though he never sought to hold public office.
MAJ. EDWARD T. ROWELL.
Maj. Edward T. Rowell, president of the Lowell, Mass., Courier-Citizen Pub-
lishing Company, died August 4, on a train en route from Boston to Swam-
scott, where he and his family had been spending the summer. Death was sup-
posed to have been due to heart failure. He was born in Concord, August 14,
1836. After passing his boyhood on a farm, he fitted for and entered Dartmouth
college, graduating in 1861. His business partner, the Hon. George A. Marden,
was a college mate when he graduated.
The Fifth New Hampshire regiment was being recruited and he enlisted. He
was given a second lieutenant's commission in Co. F, Second regiment, Berdan's
Sharpshooters, and received rapid promotion, being made first lieutenant, captain,
major, and finally lieutenant-colonel, although he did not muster in with the lat-
ter. He was wounded at Gettysburg and again at Petersburg.
After the war Major Rowell was for some time engaged in the iron business
at Portland, but in September of 1867, with Mr. Marden, who was in his regi-
ment, he purchased the Lowell Courier and Weekly younial. Together they ran
those papers until a few years ago, when a company was formed and the Lowell
Citizen absorbed. Major Rowell being the business manager, and Mr. Marden the
editor. Both have retained similar positions in the stock company.
The papers they conducted reflected their political sentiments. President
Grant, in his second term, appointed Major Rowell postmaster at Lowell, and he
was successively reappointed by Presidents Hayes and Arthur. Governor Robin-
son made him state gas commissioner, and he held the place for five years. In
1897 he was elected representative to the legislature, and again in 1898.
In 1890, Major Rowell was elected president of the Railroad National bank
of Lowell, and since served in that capacity for three years. He was commander
of Post 42, G. A. R., and served as delegate to state and national conventions of
the order. He was one of the committee sent to Washington at the time of Gen-
eral Butler's death, to escort the body to Lowell, General Butler having been a
member of that post.
He was president of the Ayer Home for Women and Children and the Lowell
General hospital, and was an officer in the Kirk Street Congregational church.
Major Rowell, in September, 1870, married Miss Clara, daughter of George
Webster of Lowell, who survives him. Three children have been born to them,
one of whom, a daughter, is living.
^4^^'^^'^^
Tme CiRARirn
"^1 1
ITMOT.
Vol. XXVII.
OCTOBER, 1899.
No. 4.
Mary E. Crosby. C1iji>. iJuuittr.
Anderson's Coal Schooners.
THE EXETER OF TO-DAY.
By Edwin It'. For 7' est.
u
T was Oliver Goldsmith who
sang of " Sweet Auburn, love-
liest village of the plain," but
Goldsmith had never seen
Exeter, and he was partial to Eng-
lish, or, shall we say, Irish scenery
anyway. The American Goldsmith,
who shall make this beautiful New
Hampshire town thus immortal, is
still hidden 'neath the veil of ob-
scurity, but sooner or later he will
appear, for the inspiration of the
beautiful old town is such that no
poet could long resist its spell, and
the Tennyson, the Eongfellow, or the
Arnold of to-morrow will recognize
its beauty and sing its praises even if
the Tennyson, the Eongfellow, and
the Arnold of to-day have been sin-
gularly silent upon that subject.
The average article upon Exeter
begins with Wheelwright and ends
with Phillips Exeter Academy. A
score more or less of histories of
1 84
THE EXETER OF TO-DAY.
Exeter have I perused, and in them those sturdy, God-fearing, Indian-
all, without a variation of a hair,
have I found this order traversed.
I hate ruts, and hence I shall not
travel in this one. My interest and
the great public's interest in Exeter
is in Modern Exeter not Ancient
hating, Bible-loving, money-making,
Yank-producing pioneers than my-
self. There were giants in those
days, and in New Hampshire, as
in Massachusetts, they laid broad
and deep the foundations for a
Andersen Snapshots.
Exeter — in the Exeter of to-day, in
its schools, in its highways, in its
business men, and in its tax rate,
and not in the Exeter of 1638, and
in the Rev. John Wheelwright, es-
timable man as he may have been.
Far be it from me to appear dis-
respectful to the fathers. No man
yields a larger meed of praise to
church without a bishop, and a state
without a king. But, after all, the
greatest study of mankind is man,
and it is the men who made the
Exeter of to-day rather than those
who made it yesterday or the day
before with which we have to do.
New England, out of all of the
different sections of the United
THE EXETER OF '1 0-DAY.
185
Coi. R, N. Elwel
Gen. Wiliiam P. Chadwick.
States of America, has a distinctive
personality. Her founders left their
impress upon her, and although we
have been overrun since by the Gaul
and the Hun, by the bond and the
free, the Yankee stamp, the Puritan
hall-mark, is still there.
And in New England certain
towns stand out conspicuously. Of
such are Newport, R. I., once a
great seaport, thought to be a possi-
ble rival to New York, now deterio-
rated into a watering-place, the
home of millionairedom and boasting
" cottages," whose splendor makes a
European potentate's mouth water
with envy. Salem, Mass., once the
greatest shipping port on the Atlan-
tic coast, whose Crowninshields and
Brookhouses had bottoms in every
dock and sails on every sea, now
a center for tanning hides and dress-
ing morocco, content to vegetate
on vanished glory. Newbury port,
which has stood still since 1820,
when she was one of the most
J! T. liif-'gs. Mary K. lr.isl>.v.
Anderson's Coal Schooners.
"^m^
I
THE EXETER OF TO-DAY.
187
famous cities on our coast, is now
only known by the superior quality
of her famous rum. Half a dozen
others might be mentioned, but the
list does not include Exeter. Honor-
able and ancient in its history as any
of the others, progress and improve-
ment has ever been its motto, and
to-day while it has the fine old flavor
that always attaches to a community
boasting a continuous history of 260
years, it has, too, enough of the mod-
ern commercial spirit to bring it up
to date, and to make it a worthy
associate of its more modernly-settled
neighbors.
And chiefly among the influences
that have tended to keep the town
modern in spirit, while preserving
the best of its hallowed memories of
the great men who were nurtured
here, and who, growing to greatness,
passed away without their fellow-
townsmen really recognizing the pre-
eminence to which thev had reached.
'/
m
I
Hon. Thomas Leavitt
Hon. John D. Lyman.
— we say chief among these influ-
ences is Phillips Exeter Academy,
one of the greatest, if not the greatest
fitting school in the country. For
years Phillips Andover and Phillips
Exeter vied, but the theological
trend of the former, and the cosmo-
politan character of the latter have
tended of late to emphasize to a
marked degree the differences be-
tween the two institutions. The
academy dates back to 1781, when
it was incorporated, and on January
7, 1782, tollowiug, Dr. John Phillips
conveyed to the trustees a large
amount of land in different parts of
the state, the whole amounting to
about $60,000, an independent for-
tune for those days, and fully as
much as a grant of a million dollars
would be to the school to-day. The
regulations which he made were lib-
eral and progressive, and thanks to
this spirit the school has prospered
HARLAN P. AMEN, A. M.
I'rn/a'pa! of PInUips Excicr Acadrviy.
THE EXETER OE TO-DAY.
189
and grown marvelously. The school
grounds comprise as beautiful a spot
as America can boast, and the build-
ings, all of which have been erected
since 1872, and which comprise be-
side the main adminis-
tration building, Soule
hall, Lawrence house,
Peabody hall, Abbott
hall, the principal's res-
idence, gymnasium,
physical laboratory,
chemical laboratory,
etc., etc., form as com-
plete a school home as
can be found in either
Europe or America. Be-
side the main grounds,
the academy owns sev-
en acres of level, sandy
land used for athletic
sports. Phillips Exeter puts no pre-
mium on weaklings. It believes in
educating brawn as well as brain.
Its boys are a hardy and a self-reliant
lot. In its season the chrysanthe-
mum hair of the football player is
Hon. Charles Marseilles
as popular here as it is at Harvard
or Yale or Pennsylvania.
The boys are taught to be manly,
to take as well as to give, and to
always remember that while the
world listens with one
ear to the man who
has something to say,
it listens perforce with
both ears to the man
who is strong enough
to compel its attention
while he says it. I do
not mean to say by this
that brutality or plug-
uglyism is encouraged.
No school is freer from
these un-American
qualities. A premium
is simply put upon a
virile race, upon a race
that shall be able in the twentieth
century, as it has been in the nine-
teenth, to hold its own with all the
world, a race that shall produce its
Grants, and its Shermans, and its
Sheridans, and its Deweys, its Samp-
County Solicitor L. G. H.iyt.
Sheriff John Pendtr.
I go
THE EXETER OF TO-DAY.
sons, and its Schlej's, as well as its
Websters and its Hales, its Beecliers
and its Talmages.
For this reason the gymnasium at
Phillips Exeter is not neglected any
more than the chemical laboratory,
and neither is elevated above the
other. A sound mind in a sound
body is Principal Amen's motto.
The school has an endowment of
over half a million, and among the
graduates are no less than forty gov-
tlie Robinson Female Seminary,
founded by William Robinson, a
native of Exeter, who went south
during the Civil War, settled at
Augusta, Ga., became rich, and
dying, left the town of Exeter
$250,000 for the establishment of a
school for girls.
This institution, founded at the
time that the higher education of
women commenced to become popu-
lar, has done a great work in prepar-
Robinson Female Seminary.
ernors of states and members of con-
gress, including the immortal Web-
ster, twelve cabinet and foreign
ministers, twenty- five judges of the
higher courts of the nation, sixty-one
college professors, including nine
presidents, thirty- six authors, and
over 1,200 members of the learned
professions— truly a magnificent
record. There are no less than
thirty-six endowed scholarships, and
the trustees add the price of tuition.
Ranking alongside Phillips P^xeter
in its great educational work, stands
ing the girls of the present genera-
tion for their life duties. Cooking
and home sanitation cut as important
a figure as music, mathematics, or
rhetoric. The graduates of the
school are fitted for the duties of the
wife and mother as well as for those of
the teacher and the librarian. The
arts and sciences of the household
are not neglected as they are in some
fitting schools to make a fine lady,
who with her knowledge of French
and music and embroidery is almost
as useless as she is fine.
THE EXETER OF TO-DAY.
191
lu addition to the seminary and
the academy the town has a complete
system of schools of the highest order,
including an excellent high school.
It is not strange that Exeter should
be intellectual.
Religion and education go hand in
hand always, and it is not strange to
find the town amply provided with
sanctuaries, in which able and bril-
liant clergymen expound from week
to week the word of God. There are
came as near being the Established
Church of the New World as it could
and miss it. But that it did miss it,
Methodism and Baptistism and Uni-
tarianism and Universalism and all
the other isms can eloquently testify.
Its members, however, were among
the rich and the influential and the
important men in almost every com-
munity, and Exeter was no excep-
tion. The First Congregational
church, indeed, as an organization,
w.
Squamscott Hotel.
no less than eight such structures in
town, representing in alphabetical
order the Advent, Baptist, Congrega-
tional, Catholic, Episcopal, Metho-
dist, and Unitarian denominations.
The Baptists have an elegant house
of worship, and the First Congrega-
tional have one hallowed b}^ many
years of memories, the present edi-
fice having stood more than one
hundred years, its first century expir-
ing in 1898. The Orthodox church
in New England, as the Congrega-
tional church was formerly known,
dates back to the very settling of the
town, and for man}^ years the town
clock and the town bell were kept in
the church tower, and thus its singu-
larly close relations to the commu-
nity were emphasized.
The Second Congregational church
is a direct outgrowth of the visit to
this country of Whitefield, the cele-
brated evangelist, fifty members of
the First church who supported him
withdrawing to found the second
place of worship. In 1813 the church
was formally organized, and in 1823
192
THE EXETER OF TO-DAY.
John A. Brown.
erected its first meeting-house. It is
now known as the Phillips Congrega-
tional church and its new sanctuary
is one of the finest in southern New
Hampshire. The Baptists date back
to 1800, the Methodists to 1830, the
Catholics to 1842, the Advents to
1852, the time of the Millerite excite-
ment, the Unitarians to 1854, and the
Episcopalians to 1865. All seem to
be planted in fruitful soil and to be
exercising a marked influence for
good upon the community.
The town in addition to these two
moralizing and spiritualizing influ-
ences boasts a third humanizing in-
fluence in the shape of a handsome
free public library.
This institution starting in 1853
with $300, has now over 10,000 books
on its shelves and is housed in one of
the finest buildings in town. This
structure also serves the purpose of a
soldiers' memorial hall, there being
inscribed on marble tablets in its ves-
tibule, the names of the gallant sons
of Exeter who won deathless fame
and imperishable renown upon the
battle-fields of the Southland that our
Union might continue to exist one
and indissoluble through all coming
time.
Dr. Charles A. Merrill and Mrs.
Harriet M. Merrill gave the institu-
O. H. Sleeper's Jewelry Store.
tion $10,000, the interest to be used
in buying books, and there have
been other gifts not as extensive, but
still very acceptable.
Besides the churches, schools, and
library, the town has some ver}^ hand-
some, modern, and up-to-date public
buildings. One of the handsomest is
the county records building. This is
built of brick in the old Colonial style,
and its handsome front and inviting
entrance form a picture not easily
erased from the mind. The town
hall is a substantial two-story brick
structure with a tower and with a
handsome portico in front. The
Rockingham county court-house is
the most ambitious structure in the
THE EXETER OF TO-DAY.
193
town. It is built of brick with a
magnificent tower and a large bow
window on the front. It is hand-
somely located on Front street and its
commanding appearance attracts the
attention and admiration of all vis-
itors.
The residential streets are lined
with trees and are faced by some of
the most commodious mansions in
southeastern New Hampshire. The
large number of old colonial houses
that Exeter boasts make it unique
among early New Hampshire settle-
ments. The pioneers of this section
were many of them well-to-do and the
C. E. Burchstead, M . D. V.
result is seen in the old family home-
steads which line Exeter's beautiful
thoroughfares. Among the number
are the Peavey house, the Oilman
mansion occupied by Mr. John T. Per-
ry, "the oldest house in town," now
occupied by Miss Harvey, and the
Judge Smith mansion. The Oilman
mansion is one of the historic houses
of Exeter just as the Oilman family
is one of the historic families of New
Hampshire. The house was erected
by Nathaniel Eadd in 1 722-' 23. In
1743 it wac5 purchased by the great-
great-grandfather of Mr. Daniel Oil-
man and in the due course of time it
became the property of that cele-
brated governor, John Taylor Oilman,
who held ofhce eleven consecutive
years, and then after an interim was
elevated to that most important posi-
tion for three years longer.
The business blocks, like the pub-
lic buildings, are handsome, commo-
dious and up-to-date structures, are
built largely of brick and reflect
credit upon this conservative and yet
progressive old town.
The valuation of Exeter at the
close of the last fiscal year was
$3,247,482. Its tax rate was $20 on
the $1,000, and its net indebtedness,
$69,768.64.
The town is strong naturally on
the social side. Its society is diver-
sified of course, as is that of everj^
^^^
Batchelder's Stationery Store.
194
THE EXETER OF TO-DAY.
Fellows's Box Factory.
New England town with 250 years of Benjamin Pierce, governor, Matthew
history behind it, but nowhere is it
stronger than in its secret fraternities.
There are a large number of these
and their members vie with each
other in extending the bonds of fel-
lowship, assistance and enjoyment,
for which purpose the several organi-
zations sprung into being.
The chief manufacturing industries
of the town are the Exeter Manufac-
turing Company's cotton mills, the
Gale shoe shops, the Exeter Machine
Company, the Exeter Brass Works,
and Fellows's box factory. These
cover a large territory which is a
veritable hive of industry abounding
during six days of the week, with
men and women actively employed
at remunerative w^ages.
The Exeter Manufacturing Compa-
ny, manufacturers of cotton sheetings
and fine cambrics, was chartered in
1827, the charter bearing the names of
Harvey, president of senate, Henry
Hubbard, speaker, and Richard Bart-
lett, secretary of state. The mill
was started in 1830 with 5,000 spin-
John H. Fellows.
THE EXETER OF TO-DAY.
195
dies and 175 looms, which was grad-
ually increased to 25,000 spindles and
600 looms. The main building is
three stories in height, 350 feet long,
and one half 92 feet wide, and the
other 72 feet. A side extension for
repair shop and cloth room 100 feet
by 36 on ground, same height as
main building. A high basement
under all the buildings adds greatly
to the floor space, where are located
finishing departments and water
Exeter News- Letter Building.
wheels. In addition to the buildings
enumerated there are large, brick
storehouses, engine and boiler and
picker buildings adjoining. Power
is secured by four 36-inch water
wheels, and a fine compound Allis
engine of Soo horse power steam,
is supplied by three large vertical
«fc*-..-
?f-
McKey's Clothing Slore.
boilers communicating with a huge
octagon brick chimney. The officers
of the Exeter Manufacturing Com-
pany are president from i827-'29,
John Houston ; i829-'38, John Har-
vey; i838-'50, Samuel T. Arm-
strong ; i85o-'55, James Johnson ;
i855-'72, Samuel Batchelder ; 1872-
'76, Albert T. B. Ames; i876-'89,
Eben Dole; i8S9-'92. William J.
Dole, Jr.: i892-'93, John J. Beh ;
i893-'96, Wilham J. Dole, Jr ; 1896,
Hervey Kent, the present incumbent.
From 1830 to 1S95 there have been
but three agents of the concern, John
Eowe, Jr., served twenty-nine years,
James Nims for nearly three 3'ears,
and Hervey Kent for thirty-three
years.
The capacity of the mills was
doubled in i873-'74, and it was even
The Newfields Bottling Works, Newfields, N. H.
196
THE EXETER OE TO-DAY.
further gradually increased up to its
present size. The failure of Dale
Brothers & Company, who had a
controlling interest in the stock,
caused embarrassment, and there
were disastrous fires in 1887 and
1893, which may have been blessings
in disguise, as it gave the company
the opportunity to thoroughly refit
the mills with the most highly effec-
tive modern machinery, so as to get
results as to quality and cheapness
not possible with the machinery of
the old mill.
In 1895 George E. Kent pur-
chased a large interest, and he has
since been prominent in the manage-
ment, being elected general manager
in 1895, and treasurer and agent in
1898. In 1897 the Exeter Manu-
facturing Company leased the Pitts-
field mills of Pittsfield, owned by
George E. Kent, and the two plants
are run as one concern with nearly
40,000 spindles and 1,000 looms.
The capital stock of the company is
•A
$325,000, divided into 6,250 shares
of $50 par value.
The goods are sold by the commis-
sion house of Converse Stanton &
Company, New York, Boston, and
Philadelphia. The present officers
of the company are Hervey Kent,
president ; George E. Kent, treas-
urer and agent ; George B. Goodale,
clerk ; directors, Herve}^ Kent, George
E. Kent, Charles A, Appleton,
Walter M. Brewster, and John E.
Gordon, the last named having died
since last election.
The mills annually consume over
5,000 bales of cotton, and turn out
about 7,500,000 yards of fine cottons.
I
i
A. M. Trefethen.
Dewhirst's Barber Shop.
A recent writer in endeavoring to
show up the muddy character of the
Chicago river, from which the Windy
city draws its water supply, albeit far
out in the lake, says of it that in
order to be kept pure the water
should be sprinkled, at least, once a
day. The water of Exeter has not
IHE EXETER OF TO-DAY.
197
reached that stage as yet, but to tell
the truth it is not as pure as Ccesar's
wife, neither is it as far above sus-
picion. It compares favorably with
the water supply of the average New
England town, but Exeter is indeed
fortunate in possessing in its midst
a water supply that is absolutely
Shoe Store of H. Jelna.
pure and can be utilized, if desired,
by everybody. We refer to the ar-
tesian well of the Exeter Machine
Works. The output of this well has
already been put into commercial
use in the town, and its employment
is gradually extending among all
classes. Its purity and sparkling
qualities have indeed attracted atten-
tion outside of Exeter, and it is now
in general use throughout the state.
The well, at the instigation of Mr.
W. Burlingame, the treasurer, was
sunk in order to supply the works
with pure drinking water, but the
well proved such a gusher that a
supply far greater than was needed
by him was forthcoming from the
xxvii— 14
H. F. Dunn.
start. Knowledge of Mr. Burlin-
game's lucky strike spread rapidly,
and as a result another new industry
was accidentally added to the town,
viz., the supplying of water for
commercial purposes. The well was
drilled through 100 feet of solid rock,
and water, colorless, odorless, and
sparkling, was encountered 150 feet
from the earth's surface. The water
has been analyzed by eminent analy-
tical chemists of Boston, and Dr.
Edmund R. Angell of the state
board of health of New Hampshire.
Professor Angell says that the car-
bonates of magnesia and soda and
sulphates of magnesia in it impart
some medicinal properties to it.
Prof. Henry Carmichael declares
that it is not only soft and sparkling
but suitable for all uses. Mr. Bur-
lingame contemplates extending the
use of the water to some convenient
and easily accessible points through
pure block-tin pipes. Among those
who highly recommended it are Dr.
198
THE EXETER OF TO-DAY.
A. S. Langley.
Nute, chairman of the Exeter board
of health, Mr. Joseph Manning of
the Squamscott, who uses it exclu-
sively on his table, and several
prominent physicians in Concord and
elsewhere.
Exeter is fortun-
ate not only in her
educational, histor- -' .
ical, and naturally
picturesque attrac-
tions, but also in
her mercantile in-
dustries, and in her
strong virile men in
every walk in life.
In the educational
line no man in Exe-
ter exceeds in pop-
ularity and worth
the scholarly head
of Phillips Exeter
academy, Prof. Harlan P.
Amen, and ranking along-
side of him is that notable
educator, Prof. George A.
Went worth, the celebrated
mathematician and compiler
of mathematical works.
Among the leading physi-
cians of the town are Dr.
W. G. Perry, Dr. W. H.
Nute, and Dr. E. L. Saw-
yer. No sketch of Exeter
would be complete without
reference to Hon. E. G.
Eastman, the efficient and
scholarly attorney-general of
the state. Judge John E.
Young of the supreme court,
the venerable and highly
esteemed Hon. John D. Ly-
man, Hon. Thomas Leavitt,
Gen. William P. Chadwick,
Hon. Charles Marseilles, the
nestor of New Hampshire
journalists. Gen. S. H. Gale, the head
of the Gale Bros, shoe factory, is, of
course, one of the town's leading citi-
zens, and another, known all over the
state, is Col. R. N. Elwell, the popu-
i'l i mm
Hotel Whittier, Hampton, N. H.
THE EXETER OE TO-DAY.
199
in If I PI ii
W^lPi'-* "■'^
Chase's Hotel, Rockingham Junction, N. H.
lar and efficient collector of the port.
Hon. W. H, C. Follansby, the coun-
ty treasurer, is another strong man of
whom it can be said that no pent-
up Exeter contracts his powers.
Eben Folsom, the treasurer of
the Exeter Brass Works, is an
old-time resident of the town,
and with John H. Fellows, the
proprietor of Fellows' box facto-
ry, has done his share towards
building up the communit5^ An-
other progressive manufacturer
is Daniel Oilman, the proprietor
of the Exeter Rubber Step Mfg.
Co. Another gentleman who is
actively engaged in developing
Exeter is Mr. A. E. McReel, the
popular and highly efficient gen-
eral manager of the Exeter,
Hampton & Amesbury Street
Railway.
Hon. A. S. Wetherell, the
druggist, and one of the best
known citizens of Exeter, is a
son of the old town by adop-
tion, having been born in Nor-
ridgewock, Me.,
October 5, 1851.
Mr. Wetherell was
a representative in
the state legisla-
ture from Exeter
in 1893 and 1895,
and in the latter
year was chair-
man of the rail-
road committee.
He was in busi-
ness in one store
for twenty - three
years, but in 1896
established him-
self at his present
location, building
a new store. He
is deservedly popular among his
townsmen, and it is believed higher
honors yet await him.
J. E. Knight, the druggist, is an-
R. D. Bjro?e.
200
THE EXETER OE TO-DA\ .
Hervey E. Kent.
other well-known citizen who be-
lieves New Hampshire is a good
state to emigrate into, coming here
in 1870 and entering Phillips Exeter.
He has been in business in the town
since 1884. Mr. Knight occupies
the exalted position of thrice
illustrious master of Olivet
Council, Royal and Select
Masters. He is also a mem-
ber of DeWitt Clinton Com-
mandery of Portsmouth, and
district deputy grand master
of the grand lodge for this
section of the New Hamp-
shire jurisdiction. He is a
32° Mason, and a member of
Edward A. Raymond Consis-
tory of Nashua.
John A. Brown, the secre-
tary and treasurer of the Exe-
ter Cooperative bank, is a na-
tive of Exeter, having been
born here in 1857, graduating
at Phillips Exeter in 1875,
and receiving the degree of
A. B. at Harvard in 1879.
He has been a member of
the school board since 1886,
and a member of the board of
trustees of the Robinson Female
seminary since 1889. He is also a
member of the public library com-
mittee.
Albert S. Eangley, the well-known
"■Jr^'
Exeter Manufacturing Company.
IHE EXETER OF TO-DAY.
20I
J. E. Knight's Drug Store.
merchaut, is only twenty-eight years
of age, but his rapid strides forward
have placed him among the leading
young business men of Rockingham
county. He was born in Newmar-
ket just twenty-eight years ago, and
was educated at Epping and Exeter.
He was in business in Epping with
his father for a number of years,
after which he went to Boston and
New York to acquire metropolitan
methods. He was married in 1893
to Miss Alice E. Norris, only daugh-
ter of Haven Norris, the well-known
Epping shoe manufacturer. He is
prominent in the councils of the
Democratic party of the state, and
was its candidate for register of pro-
bate at the last election, polling a
handsome vote. He is prominent in
Pythian circles, and is also identified
with other secret societies.
O. H. Sleeper is the leading jew-
eler of the town. He is a Weare boy
and came to Exeter fifteen years ago.
He has a thriving trade.
H. F. Dunn, one of the prominent
grocers, was born in Weston, Mass.,
in 1850, and came to Exeter in 1876.
He has been in the same store in bus-
iness since. He has three stores and
does a flourishing business. He has
been identified with the Exeter Park
Eand Company for ten years and in
that position has had much to do with
developing the town.
Edward V. McKey, the popular
clothier, was born in Salem in 1853,
and came to Exeter in 1892 and built
the McKey block, the first modern
block in town. He can claim the
credit of having started the boom for
modern business blocks in Exeter.
R. D. Burpee is the leading baker
of this section, starting in business in
E. H. Fuller.
I'i'iotogra/>/ier.
202
THE EXETER OE TO-DAY.
Town Hall.
Exeter in 1892, and making a success
from the start. He has a large es-
tablishment and numbers Exeter's
representative citizens among his cus-
tomers.
H. Jelna, the boot and shoe dealer,
was born in 1855 in Three Rivers,
Canada, and came to Exeter in 1886.
He has been in his present store thir-
teen years. He is a member of the
Board of Trade and is actively inter-
ested in town affairs.
Dr. C. E. Burchstead, M. D. V., is
a graduate of Harvard Veterinary
school and practised in Boston five
years prior to coming to Exeter. He
has made a study of surgery and his
contributions to veterinary and medi-
cal journals have received special
comment. He is a member of the
Veterinary Society of Massachusetts.
Charles H. Dewhirst, the collegiate
barber, is a Lawrence boy, where he
was born in 1864. He came to Exe-
ter in 1892 and since his location here
he has practically gained a monopoly
of the business men of the town.
Other prominent and progressive
merchants and business men who
have done much to build up
Exeter include James H. Batch-
elder, stationer; H. W. Ander-
son, coal and wood dealer ;
A. M. Trefethen, stable and
liveryman, and J. E. Manning,
the new manager of the Squam-
scott.
The town has always been
fortunate in its near-by shore
resorts and since the construc-
tion of the electric street rail-
way the patronage of one of
these, the Hotel Whittier, has
largely increased. This is one
of the old-time hostelries of this
section, and its cuisine as well
as its hospitality has long been not-
ed. Its surroundings as well as its
location render it an ideal stopping
place. Another popular hostelry is
that at Rockingham Junction, con-
ducted by E. E. Chase. It is well
patronized not only by Exeter people
but also by travelers in this section.
I. A. Herrxk.
Fiihlishcr of the Exeter Gazette.
77^5" EXETER OF TO-DAY.
203
Among the industries of the ad-
joining towns whose business rela-
tions are closely connected with Exe-
ter is the Newfields Bottling Works,
managed by John Torrey. Mr. Tor-
rey not only has a complete up-to-date
plant in every particular including a
patent bottle washing machine with a
capacity of 1,800 revolutions a min-
ute, but also owns his own water-
works. He has a four-story building
with elevator and makes twenty-four
papers in the United States. Its in-
fluence and friendship is sought on all
sides and its character has made a
powerful impression on the affairs of
the county and of the state.
Thus stands Exeter — a model New
Hampshire town filled with bright,
brainy, progressive men. Eooking
back on three centuries of growth , it
looks forward also to the next one
hundred years, determined to keep its
record as honorable, as inspiring, and
High Street.
different flavored extracts. He em-
ploys seventeen people and has a ca-
pacity of 400 dozen bottles a day.
No town in the state is more fortu-
nately situated with reference to its
newspapers. These are two in num-
ber, the Exeter Gazette, managed by
Israel A. Herrick, and the Exeter
News-Letter, owned by John Temple-
ton. The Nezvs-Letter deservedly
stands at the head of the weekly
journals of jNew Hampshire and is in
fact one of the ablest edited news-
as spotless during that period as it
has during all the generations that
are now numbered with the past.
George E. Kent was born in Som-
ersworth, December 31, 1857, being
the son of Hervey Kent, at that time
superintendent of the Great Falls
Manufacturing Company. When Mr.
Kent was four years old, in 1862, the
famil}' moved to Exeter, where they
have since resided. Mr. Kent attend-
ed the public schools in the town,
graduating from the High school in
GEORGE E. KENT.
THE EXETER OF TO-DAY. 205
1S57, and from the Worcester Poly- 200 hands. Beside the plant at Pitts-
technic Institution of Worcester, Ms., field, there are valuable water-povv-
in 1878, with the degrees of B. S., C. ers in the towns of Alton, Gilman-
E., having taken the full civil engi- ton, and Barnstead, which serve as
neering course. In the fall of 1878, reservoirs in times of drouth. In May,
Mr. Kent entered the employ of the 1895, Mr. Kent, having purchased a
Exeter Manufacturing Company, at controlling interest in the Exeter
the daily wage of 80 cents per day, Manufacturing Company, became its
which was doubled under contract general manager, dividing his time
with his father, who was treasurer and between Pittsfield and Exeter, and on
agent of the mills, to pay the son an October i, 189S, was elected treasurer
equal amount to the regular wage and agent, a position filled by his
schedule. After spending time in father so acceptably for thirty- three
various departments of the concern in years. Mr. Kent leased his Pittsfield
which he as a boy had been familiar, mill to the Exeter company, and the
in May, 1879, an opportunity arose in two plants are run as one concern,
an unexpected quarter. The owner with about 40,000 spindles and 1,000
of the Pittsfield mills, of Pittsfield, looms, giving employment to five hun-
wrote to Mr. Kent, senior, asking him dred hands.
to recommend a man to take charge In addition to his manufacturing
of his concern, as his agent was on his interests, Mr. Kent, on the death of
death-bed. As a result of an inter- Hon. John J. Bell, was appointed ad-
view with Mr. Hovey, who naturally miuistrator of his estate, which con-
was looking for an older man with sisted of a large personal and real
more experience, it was decided to estate in Exeter, Manchester, and
give the young man a trial, with the North Woodstock, in the latter place
understanding that the father would taking in the well-known Deer Park
come to the rescue in case of an emer- hotel. Mr. Kent has been identified
gency. On May 6, 1879, Mr. Kent with many financial and business en-
took charge of the Pittsfield mills as terprises, being one of the few who
agent, filling the position acceptably successfully emerged from several
for nearl}^ twenty years. During this Southern booms. Mr. Kent is a
period the mills were doubled in size, director in the following companies :
and six dams were built, the largest Suncook Valley Railroad, Pittsfield
over three hundred feet long, with a Aqueduct Company, Pittsfield Gas
fall of twenty-two feet. In the fall of Company, Pittsfield Savings Bank,
1896 Mr. Hovey decided to retire from Exeter Banking Company, and the
active business, and accepted an offer Exeter Manufacturing Company. He
from Mr. Kent for the entire property, was state auditor during the gov-
and it was turned over to him on Jan- ernorship of Hon. H. A. Tuttle. In
uary i, 1897. The Pittsfield mills is 1884 Mr. Kent married Addie C. Gale
a cotton factory of 12,000 spindles of Pittsfield, and they have a family
and 322 looms, making a fine shirt- consisting of one daughter and three
ing, and giving employment to some sons.
xxvii — 15
CO
UJ
_l
O
X
_l
_J
<
Q
<
NEW HAMPSHIRE INDUSTRIES.
SECOND PAPER.
QUARRYING AND STONE-CUTTING.
By Josiah B. Dyer.
INTRODUCTORY.
HE purpose of this article is
not to teacli practical men
the rudiments or the higher
branches of their trade, but,
as plainly and concisely as possible,
explain to those unacquainted with
it, the methods used by practical men
in quarrying and cutting stone; so
we avoid anything which might con-
fuse the reader, but in as plain lan-
guage as possible tell the story so
that anyone may understand. We
might use very different language, as
used in the trade technically, but our
readers might not understand it and
become confused, and our object be
lost. That the subject of quarrying
and stone-cutting is not understood,
we very often find in conversation
with parties outside the stone trade,
even in stone districts. Some seem
to entertain the idea that it is very
simple and requires no skill, but we
think after reading this article that
those who have such an idea will find
that to excavate a cutting through a
rock is ver)^ different from quarrying
out a stone for a stone-cutter or
sculptor.
Some years ago in the city of
Brooklyn, N. Y., during a debate
on matters connected with stone, one
of the speakers said that it required
no skill to quarry stone, anybody
could blast it out. On being asked
if he ever saw a quarry, and whether
he knew the difference between ran-
dom and dimension stones, he ac-
knowledged his ignorance, and that
all he knew of quarrying was what
he had seen done in blasting out
cellars, and clearing away rock in
grading the new streets of the city.
The extent of his knowledge of quar-
rying tools was a large drill, striking
hammer, pick, shovel, and dump
cart, and his idea of a quarryman
was that he knew enough to drop
his pick and shovel when the whistle
was blown to quit work. He was
surprised to learn that there is a. dif-
ference between excavating and quar-
rying, and that it required skill of
no mean order to be a good quarry-
man. There are others who have
similar ideas of quarrying and quar-
ry men, which those who have lived
in quarry sections wonder at when
they hear them expressed.
QUARRYING.
The story of a stone in its progress
from its natural bed in a mountain
to a paving block in a street, a part
of a building, or a statue, is a story
of skill and patient endurance, dan-
ger and anxiety, from the time the
first blow is struck on a drill to re-
208
QUARRYING AND STONE-CUTTING.
move it from the mountain until it
is placed in the position designed
for it.
Quarrying is a lotter3\ The blanks
are more numerous than the prizes.
What has appeared to be a sure
thing has turned out to the con-
trary, and an abandoned quarry
shows plainly to experienced men
the blasted hopes and lost capital
study. He understands the use of
explosives and is familiar with pow-
der and dynamite, but an enumera-
tion of all the knowledge required
to be an expert quarrj^man would
probably be doubted by those who
only see him, as they consider,
mechanically striking the head of a
drill with a hammer, or hoisting on
a derrick ; so we refrain from enlarg-
Sheet yuarty, with Modern Steam Drills,
of those who have tried and failed
to develop what they fondly hoped
would prove a bonanza.
A good quarryman has a knowl-
edge of geology and often gives
pointers to professors of geology in
their investigations. He is a fear-
less man, facing danger every day
from explosions or falling rocks.
He has a knowledge of the stratum
and cleavage of rocks from daily
ing on the skill necessary to become
an expert quarryman.
Prospecting for quarries is carried
out with as much enthusiasm as pros-
pecting for gold mines. Frequently
the owner of a piece of land finds
rock on it and gets the idea that he
has valuable stone on his property,
and brings a small piece to a quarry-
man for his opinion of it. If the
quarryman is not satisfied with its
QUARRYING AND STONE-CUTTING.
209
Hoisting Machine.
appearance, he wastes no time about
it ; but if he is satisfied that it is
worth investigating further, he visits
the place where the rock is, taking
with him a few necessary tools and
makes his tests, either by blasting or
splitting off some larger pieces. If
the rock is a boulder, it is easy to
quarry ; but if beneath the surface
and in sheets, then the skill of the
quarryman is shown, and he pro-
ceeds to act in a scientific manner.
The earth over the rock, if any, is
cleared away, a hole drilled, and a
blast made after it has been deter-
mined on the best place to make
such blast. A derrick is erected
and the waste rock dumped where
it will not interfere with future opera-
tions. Derricks are worked by hand
or steam, a hoister where steam is
used being constructed so as to
operate several derricks. Seams are
traced and headings located for fu-
ture guidance.
The mode of quarrying depends on
the stone to be quarried, whether
granite, marble, freestone, or lime-
stone, each requiring peculiar meth-
ods. Our space being limited, we
confine this article to granite alone.
The rock is, in general, first started
by holes being drilled and explosives
used to dislodge it from its natural
bed. There are various methods of
blasting and the quarryman decides
on which method will best answer
his purpose. Where particular care
is not necessary, a large hole is
drilled by hand or steam power, and
when the hole is drilled to the re-
quired depth, it is thoroughly dried
of the water used in drilling it, the
fuse inserted, and powder poured
into it, the strength of the charge
necessary to accomplish the purpose
designed being determined by the
good judgment of the quarryman.
After sufficient powder has been
placed in the hole, the remaining
portion of it is filled with sand or
loam, allowing for air space, and
tamped down tight with the tamping-
bar, the fuse is lighted, and the quar-
rymen retire to a safe place to await
the result of the explosion. Dyna-
mite cartridges are also used for
blasting. Frequently the charge
fails to explode, and again the skill
of the quarryman is shown in re-
?t>
}
f.\
Quarrymen Drilling Holes for Blasting.
2IO
QUARRYING AND STONE-CUTTING.
■■V' ■: - i-
^'^-:-:.
Boulder Quarrying,
moving the old charge so as to insert
a new one. This operation is one
of the most dangerous parts of quar-
rying, as a spark of fire caused by
friction often explodes the charge,
and the quarrymen engaged in the
work, having no time to escape, are
killed or maimed for life by such
explosions. Where there is steam
power in a quarry, the holes have
been blown out by steam, thus avoid-
ing danger of explosion.
Much depends upon how the blast
is made. In the first place the direc-
tions in which a blast will break any
kind of rock from the drill hole are
but three, and sometimes four, unless
the explosive be too quick and forci-
ble in its action. The limited num-
ber of directions in which the rock
is most liable to break is determined
by the structure of the rock and the
shape of the drill hole. Quick-acting
explosives like dynamite have a ten-
dency to shatter the stone. Coarse
gunpowder is preferred by many, but
this is seldom used further than to
detach large masses, which are split
into smaller pieces by means of
wedges and half-rounds. Sometimes
a number of holes are drilled on a
line and fired by means of electricity.
Some large operations in blasting
have been done with tunnels, as at
Graniteville, Mo., and lyong Cove,
Me. In every locality the structure
of the rock must be studied to take
advantage of the cleavage and nat-
ural joints. There must be at least
one free end and a front to allow the
block to move outwards, and the ends
are often cut off by end joints. Hori-
QUARRYING AND STONE-CUTTING.
211
zontal joints called beds occur in
most cases. When the cleavage is
not very marked it is called the
grain, and when it is more decided
it is called the rift ; there is, also,
the end grain, which is the toughest
part of the rock.
There are different forms of holes
used in blasting. An elliptical hole
ensures a straight break. A lewis
hole is most commonly used ; it is a
three-cornered hole, two of the cor-
ners being on the line of the desired
fracture. The Knox system of blast-
ing, which has been the cause of con-
siderable litigation at law for in-
fringement on patent, is the boring
of a hole, and then with a reamer
making two V grooves directly oppo-
site each other on the line of the frac-
ture desired, the hole being shaped
thus < >.
After a blast has been made it
sometimes becomes necessary to
move a large block without break-
ing, which it is impossible to move
with a derrick. A seam blast is
made for this purpose, which is done
by charging the crack made by the
hole blast with powder and explod-
ing the charge which moves the
block without shattering it, owing to
the charge not being tamped tight as
in a hole. In the invention of the
steam drill, where large blocks are
needed, they are often channeled out
to avoid the risk of spoiling by blast-
ing. In this process holes are drilled
with the steam drill on the three
sides of the stone to the required
depth, as closely together as possible,
and the core remaining between the
holes afterwards cut away, thus re-
leasing the block at the desired size
without shattering it.
After the large block has been de-
^^
if » If
IJSbb
Quarry, showing Modern Method of Railroad Track Into Quarry.
212
QUARRYING AND STONE-CUTTING.
tached from its bed and it is desired
to reduce it to smaller sizes in the
most economical manner without
wasting more than possible, wedges
and half-rounds, sometimes called
plugs and feathers, are used. The
architect who plans a building of
any description to be of stone shows
in his plans each stone. The sizes
of these stones are given to the quar-
ryman, who enters them in his book,
and as he quarries each one checks
his chalk line or marked desired
curves, he, or his assistants, with
hand hammers and small drills, drill
a series of holes the length of the
line about three inches deep and
from two to three inches apart, and
where the stone is a very thick one,
larger deep holes are drilled between
the small holes about three or four
holes apart or more according to the
quarryman's judgment, to lead the
fracture of the smaller ones through
One of the Largest Stones Quarried in this Country.
// ivas b4 fret long, nearly S feet square, and iveigkcti 310 tons.
it off so as not to duplicate it. Hav-
ing the required sizes he measures
the large block, and, comparing with
the sizes on his book, calculates how
to split it to the bCvSt advantage, and
then with chalk, line, rule and
square, lays out the different sizes he
can see in the block, for an expert
quarryman can see every stone he
desires to get out of the block before
he marks his lines on it, unless in
splitting some should be spoiled
through the split going contrary to
his expectations. Having snapped
the stone and prevent it from running
out and spoiling the stone. The
holes being drilled the wedges and
half-rounds are inserted into the
holes, the half-rounds are shaped so
that one side fits the semi-circle of
the hole, the other side being fiat for
the wedge. The half-rounds are
thicker at the bottom than at the top.
The wedges are made flat on each
side and thicker at the top than at
the bottom. The wedges and half-
rounds being inserted in the hole,
the wedges being in line with the
QUARRYING AND STONE-CUTTING.
213
chalk line on their straight sides, the
heads of the wedges are driven down
by a large striking hammer, the
force of the blow is regulated by the
quarry man, and the thick part of the
wedge being forced down into the
thick parts of the half-rounds causes
the stone to split open. In splitting
stones a line of holes are sometimes
drilled down the side also, a line hav-
ing been marked for the desired frac-
ture. The wedges in the side are
driven from the top downwards so as
to lead the fracture from the top
holes down through the stone on the
line marked on the side.
In splitting dimension stone allow-
ance is made for any deviation from
the chalk line, and to allow for the
stone-cutter to finish it to the re-
quired design. Generally about
two inches is allowed in quarrying,
but it depends on the nature of the
stone, and the quality of the work
required on the dressed stone, — if
for rough work sometimes no allow-
ance is made, but the judgment of
the quarryman decides on what he
considers a necessary allowance in all
cases. To split dimension stone
there is often considerable waste, and
the skill of the quarryman is often
taxed to get out a stone at the re-
quired dimension and have it clear of
defects of knots, seams, and stripes.
The waste is either thrown over the
dump, or where the quarry is near
a city the waste stone, technically
called "grout," is often utilized for
foundations for buildings, bridges,
worked up into paving blocks or
crushed for macadamizing purposes.
In splitting random stock the same
process is gone through, only the
quarryman, not being limited to
special .sizes, splits the stone to the
best advantage with the least possi-
ble waste. A poor quarryman often
wastes more stone than he is worth,
so it can be readily seen how much
depends on a thorough knowledge of
quarrying to become an expert quar-
ryman.
PAVING CUTTING.
Where paving blocks are made the
paving cutter splits the stone by the
same process as the quarryman does,
and then with hammers breaks it
to the desired sizes, finishing the
small blocks with a reeling hammer,
sometimes called a reel, giving the
desired lines and removing the lumps
so that they may be laid more closely
together in the street. , Where he
quarries the stone himself the place
he works in is called a motion.
STONK-CUTTING.
After the dimension stones are re-
moved from the quarry they are taken
to the stone-cutter's shed, where they
are raised on blocks, known as banker
blocks, to a suitable height for the
stone-cutter to get round it and work
to the best possible advantage. A
diagram is given the stone-cutter with
the required finished sizes and sketch
of design, with name of cutter, time
of hankering, numbers or letters of
stone, and of " courses" on plan, and
blank spaces for time of finishing and
cost of cutting marked on it, by which
he is guided in his work and a record
kept for future reference. He then
proceeds to lay out his stone so as to
get the desired design out of it with
the least amount of labor, which is
often a difficult matter from various
causes, and requires study through a
stone being small or having some de-
fect. This reminds us that we heard
214
QUARRYING AND STONE-CUTTING.
of a Concord school teacher who told
her pupils that it required no skill to
cut a stone, but it did require skill to
build a house. If she had studied a
little more, she would have learned
that it required considerable skill to
cut a stone so that a mason could lay
it in a building, and she would not
have been considered as an inferior
teacher by the parents of the children
to whom she claimed to be teaching
object lessons. Accuracy of dressing
is essential for first-class work so that
the pressure may be equalized and
cracking avoided. After the cutter
has laid "out his stone, he finds out
the three lowest spots in the surface,
and cuts in with his hammer and
chisel three plumb spots on the three
lowest corners, and then takes it out
of wind by lowering the fourth or
highest corner to a perfect level with
the other three by the use of winding
blocks and straight edges placed on
top of them, and by sighting them
bringing both straight edges on a
perfect line with each other. Having
got his plumb spots he then snaps
chalk lines between the plumb spots
and breaks the stone to the line with
a hand hammer and pitching tool, or
if there is a large amount of waste to
be taken off it is broken to the lines
with a large striking hammer and
bull set, one man holding the bull set
to the line and guiding the break, and
another man striking its head with
the hammer. After the line has been
broken as straight as possible he then,
with hand hammer and chisel, cuts
draft lines connecting the four corner
plumb spots, thus forming the out-
lines of the plane surface, after which,
with hammer and point, he roughs off
the surface, making due allowance
for the work required. If it is a bed
QUARRYING AND STONE-CUTTING.
215
he points it down level with his draft
lines, and is not so particular as if it
is for face work, and where there is
much rough to take off, he plugs it
off where necessar)^ by drilling plug
holes with a drill and using wedges
and half-rounds as used in quarrying.
Where it is face work more care is
necessary : it must be pointed free
from holes, and allowance made for
pieces and screwed firmly together,
the stock having holes for the handle
and for the screws to hold the blades
in position. The blades are of thin
sheet steel of different thicknesses,
and the name given to the hammer
shows how many blades are in a given
space, as four or twelve blades to an
inch. The first surface being com-
pleted the other parts are worked from
A Typical Stone-Yard.
finishing to the required finish. After
the surface is pointed it is then pean
hammered down, and then hammered
according to the finish desired with
bush hammers. The coarsest ham-
mers being used first after the pean
hammer, and the other grades in suc-
cession. The different bush ham-
mers are known as four-cut, six-cut,
eight-cut, ten-cut, and twelve-cut.
The bush hammer is a tool made in
it, and an edge chiseled after being
chipped straight with a chipper and
straight edge where it is a square side.
The stone being turned with the sec-
ond surface to be worked on top, the
cutter then from the chiseled line at
the edge cuts plumb spots on the
opposite corners, using square and
winding blocks, and proceeds in a
similar manner as on first surface to
get it perfectly level, or with a square
2l6
QUARRYING AND STONE-CUTTING.
for a guide draws a square line from
the edge and chisels a draft line with-
out cutting in plumb spots and using
his winding blocks. For marking
lines where the chalk and line cannot
be used, camwood is generally used.
After he has his lines chiseled around
the side he proceeds to finish it in the
same manner as the other surface.
Very often two men cutting the same
kind of a stone will not take up the
stones in the same manner, but the
same result is accomplished in the
end. Great care is necessary to avoid
knocking off the corners and break-
ing out pieces of the edges. If the
stone is molded or beveled, patterns
are used. The "members" of the
mold are cut in at each end by the
use of a profile or template which is a
reverse of the mold. The profile, tem-
plate or pattern, is made by a pattern-
maker, on large jobs, of wood or zinc.
After the profile is cut in at each end,
the superfluous stone is worked off and
finished with points, chisels, pean,
and bush hammers, as in straight
work, and in addition to these other
tools are required on molded work,
such as Scotia hammers, bush chisel,
and various shaped chisels, and pean
hammers, to facilitate cutting difficult
parts of the molding. Great care is
necessary in cutting in the template
or bevel at the ends so that the stones
will come together without trimming
in the building, but often with the
greatest care on the part of the cutter
trimming is necessary so as to have
the joints show the mold continuously,
through the fault of the mason in set-
ting. It may seem to an onlooker
that it is a simple thing to chisel a
line or bush hammer a stone, but
care and skill are necessary from the
time the stone is placed on the banker
until it has passed inspection, has
been ' ' tried up, ' ' and the paint mark,
with the letter or figures of its position
in the building, as shown on the plan,
is placed on it by the person in charge.
Stones for polishing are hammered
to the desired shape and then sent to
the polishing mill, and after being
polished are returned to the cutting
shed, if more work is to be done on
them, but if no further work is re-
quired, they are boxed up ready for
shipment.
In lettering, the letters are traced
on the stone and the cutter, with his
lettering tools, which are smaller
chisels and points than ordinarily
used, either chips away the superflu-
ous stone for raised letters, or sinks
them with the corners of his chisel
into the surface of the stone, if for
sunk letters. In carving, it depends
on the nature of such carving, whether
a model is first made, or the carver
works from his drawing ; but gener-
ally, a model is first made in plaster of
Paris and the carver takes his points
from the model ; much also depends
on his eyes and skill. Too much
space would be required to enter into
fuller details of lettering, carving, and
sculpture.
Of recent years pneumatic tools,
worked by compressed air, are used
to a considerable extent for carving,
lettering, and skimmed work, in large
establishments. Surfacing machines
are also used for cutting a plain sur-
face, which finish and bush hammer
it. Saws are also used for plain work
by which square, oblong, or beveled
blocks are sawn to the required dimen-
sions, and either polished or bushed
by steam power. While in freestone
and marble, moldings are cut by
machinery, entirely supplanting hand
QUARRYING AND STONE-CUTTING.
217
work, np to the present no machine
has been invented to cut moldings on
granite, except certain forms on col-
umns and circular work. Columns,
urns, vases, and circular work are to
a considerable extent turned out on
specially constructed turning lathes.
In some large establishments, where
it can be done to advantage, the
■work is divided into different de-
te?'
Pneumatic Cutting.
partments, some men cutting plain
work, others molding, others letter-
ing, and others carving ; the stone in
some cases being taken from the man
who squares it up and transferred to
the letterer or carver to finish. While
in general a carver can take a stone
in its rough and complete it, there are
those who cannot cut a decent plain
stone, their inclination being against
plain work, and there are cutters who
cannot carve but can cut a first-class
plain or molded stone.
TOOI< SHARPENING.
Tool making and tool sharpening
is a necessary part of the stone trade.
An ordinary blacksmith, while he
may be able to make the tools required
in quarrying and stone-cutting, in
general is unable to sharpen and tem-
per them so as to stand the cutting of
granite. Tool sharpening is practi-
cally a trade by itself, as it requires
considerable experience to gain a
thorough knowledge of the temper
required for the tools to cut the differ-
ent grades of granite, and to sharpen
the different varieties of tools, as for
instance, the thin blades of a twelve-
cut hammer require considerable skill
to sharpen and temper exactly so as
to prevent their warping, to have them
straight, temper neither too hard nor
too soft, and to avoid flaws. Nothing
tries a cutter's or quarryman's temper
more than to have poor tempered
tools ; his temper requires considera-
ble previous tempering to prevent his
exploding into language more forcible
than polite wdien his tools break or
are too soft. An expert tool sharpener
saves considerable expense to his em-
ployer b}^ his knowledge of steel and
tempering it.
POLISHING.
Where polishing is required the
stone, after being hammered roughly,
is taken to the polishing mill. Where
there are several stones to polish a
bed is made by the different upper
surfaces being laid exactly level with
each other, and all joints or openings
filled with plaster of Paris, and firmly
bound together so that no shifting
may occur while it is being rubbed
down. This requires considerable
nicety of adjustment as the rubbing
must be equal on each stone, for if any
of the stones shift the rubbing will be
unequal, and such inequality might
spoil a stone. Where a stone is large
enough to be polished by itself, the
adjustment can be more easily accom-
plished. After the bed is prepared it
2l8
QUARRYING AND STONE-CUTTING.
is first rubbed down to bring the sur-
face free from tool-marks and holes,
either with sand or chilled iron, and
water being placed on the bed ; then
either a revolving iron wheel or a
large iron bar with a rubbing plate of
iron attached, is placed on the chilled
iron or sand and worked by steam
power. Sand was formerly used en-
tirely, but of late years very little of it
is used, having given place to chilled
iron or shot. The wheel is guided
around the bed by the man in attend-
ance so as to ensure equal distribution
of the necessary pressure to grind
down the surface. After the neces-
sary rubbing has been accomplished
the sand or chilled iron is washed off
and emery of different grades put
under the wheel to smooth the surface
before the final polish. After being
sufficiently rubbed with emery the
surface is cleaned, and either the same
wheel bound with thick felt, or a
wheel exclusively used for the pur-
pose bound in felt, is placed on the
surface and putty powder placed
under it and wetted with water to the
consistency of a paste. The wheel is
used the same as before, and as the
friction produces heat so the polish is
brought out, and when in the judg-
ment of the polisher no more can be
done, the stone is removed from the
bed. As in other stages skill and
good judgment are necessary to deter-
mine when the stone has been suffi-
cientl}^ rubbed down and all ' ' starts ' '
removed, otherwise they will show
through the final polish ; and to know-
when the stone is sufficiently rubbed
and polished before washing off the
chilled iron and putty powder, requires
considerable experience to avoid wast-
ing the materials. Some parts of a
stone which machinery cannot reach
are polished by hand, and also some
small work, such as bands, etc. The
principle of hand polishing is the same
as steam polishing. Some men make
a specialty of hand polishing.
BOXING.
After a stone is finished and ready
for shipment it is boxed up in lumber,
strips being placed around the edges
and firmly bound with hoop iron
nailed to the lumber, so as to protect
the corners and edges from
damaged in transit.
being
Polishing by Machinery.
A I.EAF FROM NEW HAMPSHIRE'S UNWRITTEN HISTORY.
By Carrie A/. Nay.
HE fact is deplored hy the
historian that a fund of in-
teresting and valuable leg-
endary lore is being lost past
recovery by the impossibility of dis-
covering just how and where to seek
the hidden treasures which would so
enrich the archives of history.
Men and women, famous in litera-
ture, come out from the disturbing
elements of city life, living weeks and
months in country homes, seeking
and hearing quaint incidents which
they weave into charming stories,
yet they rarely strike the keynote
inducing the loquacity of a New
Englander to give away the family
legends of the valor and courage of
his ancestors, — an inheritance of
which he is justly proud — to any
stranger within his gates. Hence it
is an indisputable fact that ere an-
other half century has passed but
slight trace will be left of the charm-
ing romance of our nation's history.
That a story, easily verified, yet
dating back to the Colonial times of
one hundred and fifty years ago, has
come to my knowledge, also that I
can have the privilege of recording
so noble an illustration of the potent
power of courageous fidelity to im-
press itself so that centuries cannot
erase it, I consider my great good
fortune.
As we look abroad over the sunny
hillsides of New England it taxes
our imagination to realize that our
ancestors, who once lived where we
now dwell in plenteous comfort, were
surrounded by dangers dire, from
savage beasts, and yet more savage
men. Not in vain was the discip-
line. Their environment gave them
nerves of iron and muscles of steel,
with a knowledge of woodcraft which
made them well-nigh invincible.
Although the inhabitants of the
little township of Peterborough had
enjo5'ed singular immunity from the
hardships and cruelty from Indian
warfare which had harassed their
neighboring townships, yet they
dwelt in the midst of alarms and
were keenly alive to the sufferings
which beset their less fortunate neigh-
bors ; hence when a call came to or-
ganize a company to proceed against
the Indians nine young men, the
very flower of the youth of Peterbor-
ough, enlisted with the unfortunate
company known as "Rogers' Rang-
ers."
Among the company was one Rob-
ert McNee, the eldest son of a num-
erous family. He was remarkable
for his massive frame and great
strength, as well as for his affection-
ate devotion to his friends and home.
Shall we picture the anguish of his
mother's heart or his father's grief
as their eldest child
"Their staff on which their years should lean,"
was hurried away to meet an un-
known peril ?
220
NEW HAMPSHIRE SENDS GREETING TO-DAY.
Among his comrades was one
whom he loved and trusted, — not a
Hercules as was McNee, but lithe
and nimble, and their friendship was
as that of David and Jonathan.
Hence the hours were not altogether
unpleasant as the}^ struggled for-
ward through forest and morass on
their dangerous mission. But the
time came when their love was to be
tested, even as gold cast in the fur-
nace, for, caught in deadly ambus-
cade by their foes, naught but flight
could save their lives.
Robert McNee could easily have
saved himself, but his friend faltered
and weariness overcame him ; with-
out assistance he could go no farther.
Would McNee leave him ? Never !
Possibly he could save both ; just a
little help, then both might escape.
Thus he reasoned, and, with here
and there the double burden of bear-
ing him forward with compelling
arms, McNee pushed onward. But,
alas, exhaustion had seized even his
powerful frame, and their vindictive
foes were close upon them ! But his
friend was restored only to realize
with breaking heart the sacrifice
which had been made for him on the
altar of Love, and could he accept
the offering ? No, they would perish
together ! He was now in advance,
and as he reached a hilltop he turned.
McNee seeing the act, with ringing
voice, called " Go forward ! " just as
the tomahawk of a pursuing savage
was buried in his brain. With a sad
heart the lonely man plodded on his
dangerous homeward way. With
one other he lived to reach Peter-
borough, and to the friends so anx-
iously awaiting them told of the no-
bility of heart and mind of Robert
McNee, gone forever from their for-
est home, but with the noble record
that he feared death less than dis-
loyalty. Was not the commendation
justly his, of One who said, " Greater
love hath no man than this, that a
man lay down his life for his friend ? "
NEW HAMPSHIRE SENDS GREETING TO-DAY
[Andover Old Home Week Celebration, August 30, 1899.]
By C. E. Carr.
From her forests and meadows supernal.
From her shores where the wild waves play,
From her hills and mountains eternal,
New Hampshire sends greeting to-day !
Restless with myriad fingers
Her streams clap their hands in glee,
And her hills where sweet memory lingers
Re-echo her greeting to thee.
The winds through her valleys are calling.
They are singing in maple and pine,
And voices of sweet waters falling,
Are summoning thee and thine.
NEPV HAMPSHIRE SENDS GREETING TO-DAY. 221
Silent and hushed are her spindles,
Her factories, looms, and wheels,
But her breast with the old love kindles.
And swells with the pride she feels.
To her children all she sends greeting,
Where 'er through the world they may roam,
For them is her loving heart beating
While to-day she w'elcomes them home.
" Nursed at her bosom of granite,"
With a hand of love and steel
Their duty she 's marked on the planet, —
To work for their country's weal.
She stands for the Spirit of Progress,
She stands for the Spirit of Right, —
Her journey lies forward not backward,
Her march, toward the clearer light.
About her she gathers her children.
But leaves each his own work to do : —
Some will make laws for the nation.
Some " carry water and hew,"
Some will be heard in the forum,
Some found on the tireless sea,
Some in the turmoil of battle.
And some ever silent will be ;
But whatever in life be their calling.
With her they have only one test, —
'Tis not the world's rising or falling.
But, " Son, are you doing your best? "
Is Liberty's spirit found with her?
Try her children wherever you will,
Hear the voice of her Daniel forever,
Count her dead at Bunker Hill.
Her breezes forever are blowing,
Her mountains forever shall stand.
Forever, her children's hearts glowing
For freedom, for God, and for land.
Then come back to her mountains and waters,
Come back to hamlet and glen.
Come back, oh, ye sons and ye daughters,
And greet your mother again !
xxvii— 16
THE SMITHS AND WALKERS OF PETERBOROUGH, EXETER,
AND SPRINGFIEED.
By F. B. Sanborn.
lEElAM SMITH, of Mon-
eymar, in northern Ire-
land, on his father's side
Scotch, and English by
his mother, emigrated to New Hamp-
shire with the Scotch-Irish who set-
tled Derry and Londonderry, Nnt-
field (now Manchester), and the
Monadnoc townships, round the
mountain of that name. He was
in Peterborough (named for the gal-
lant earl of that century) before
1750, and there married, December
31, 1 75 1, Elizabeth Morison, grand-
daughter of Samuel Morison and
Margaret Wallace (of Sir William
Wallace's race), who had suffered in
the famous siege of Derry. Eliza-
beth herself was born in London-
derry, N. H. She inherited and
transmitted from her mother, accord-
ing to family tradition, "all the wit
and smartness of the Morisons and
Smiths." Her most illustrious son,
Jeremiah Smith, son of William, was
born in a log house, near the present
Smith homestead (which was built
in 1770), Nov. 29, 1759; he was one
of a large family, very few of whose
descendants now remain in Peter-
borough, which they almost founded,
and long controlled, or shared its
control. His elder brother, James
Smith, of Cavendish, Vt., was the
father of Sarah, who married James
Walker, Esq., of Rindge, and was
the favorite niece of Judge Smith ;
a younger brother, Samuel vSmith,
built the first factory in Peter-
borough, and drew down the scat-
tered village from the hilltops to the
lovely valley where it now nestles,
around the windings of its two
rivers.
Jeremiah, who lived to be called
"the handsomest old man and the
wittiest wise man" in New Hamp-
shire, was early designated for a stu-
dious and distinguished career.
Without neglecting the rude labors
of his father's great farm, he read
and remembered everything that
came in his way. At twelve, when
he ' ' could reap as much rye in a
day as a man," he began to study
Latin with an Irish hedge-school-
master ; at seventeen he entered
Harvard college, but was drawn
away for two months to fight under
Stark at Bennington. His captain,
Stephen Parker of New Ipswich, the
next hilltown, on the morning of the
fight ordered the lad upon some duty
that appeared to be safe, not wishing
to have his neighbor's boy killed in
his first campaign. But when the
battle was hot, and Stark was charg-
ing the Hessian intrenchments. Cap-
tain Parker saw Jerry Smith by his
side. "What are you here for?"
" Oh, sir, I thought I ought to follow
my captain." His gun was disabled
by a British bullet; he caught
another from a dying comrade, and
224
THE SMITHS AND WALKERS.
fought on till night; and then helped
guard the Hessian prisoners in the
Bennington church. Remaining at
Cambridge two years, he was so
little pleased with his instruction
under Dr. Langdon (a wise scholar,
but with no gift for managing a
college), that he migrated to Rutgers
college in New Jersey, and there
brilliant young Hamilton, to whose
party in Congress he finally attached
himself, when sent from the Hills-
borough district in 1790 to represent
New Hampshire at Philadelphia,
where Washington was then carry-
ing on the government. In the inter-
val between 17S1 and his congres-
sional life he had studied law at
The Smith Homestead, Peterborougn.
graduated in 1780, about the time
(August 30), that Dr. lyangdon with-
drew from his thankless labors to the
little parish of Hampton Falls, where
he spent the last seventeen years of
his worthy life.
IvCaving college in debt, Smith
remained at home for two years, and
in that time, while driving cattle for
Washington's army to Peekskill, he
there met for the first time, the
Barnstable and Salem, had private
pvipils, taught in a young ladies'
school, and in Andover had among
his pupils Dr. Abbot, afterwards of
Exeter, and Josiah Quincy ; been
admitted to the bar at Amherst,
N. H., in 1786, against the wish of
Joshua Atherton, grandfather of the
democratic senator, and for three
years, i788-'90, represented his na-
tive town in the state legislature
at Concord. Such rapid promotion
for so young a man — he was not
quite thirty-one when chosen to
Congress — would have been remark-
able, had he not been well known
and won the confidence of his towns-
men and constituents by his integ-
THE SMITHS AND WALKERS. 225
At the age of thirty, then (June
17, 1790), Smith was a member of
the legislature for the third time,
and was to conduct an impeachment
against Hon. Woodbur}^ Langdon,
one of the handsomest and ablest
men of the time in New Hampshire,
Judge Woodbury Langdon.
rity, wit, eloquence, and good looks ;
the last a thing never to be despised
in the contention for popular honors.
It w-as this confidence which caused
him to be chosen for the prosecution
of his old college president's cousin,
the elegant and influential brother of
Gov. John lyangdon of Portsmouth.
and then a justice of the highest
court. Of Judge Langdon's char-
acter, William Plunier, afterwards
United States senator and governor,
has given a varying opinion, but at
the impeachment, he favored the
accused, and voted against it. Four
years earlier, Plumer made this con-
226
THE SMITHS AND WALKERS.
tribution to Judge Langdon's biogra-
phy, which, in its main facts, was
probably correct :
" In the commencement of the Revolution,
Woodbury L,angdon, Esq., was a Tory; one of
the five who signed a protest against the war.
In 1775 he embarked for England, and was
often closeted by the British minister. On his
return to New York he was well accommodated
in a British frigate. At New York the British
imprisoned him ; but it is now understood that
it was done to produce an opinion here that he
was friendly to our Revolution. His princi-
ples are formed by his interest, and his con-
duct has changed with the times. He has
been both Whig and Tory ; when he became a
Whig, he inveighed with bitterness against the
Tories. He is certainly a man of strong men-
tal powers, of a clear, discriminating mind.
He is naturally arbitrary, and has strong preju-
dices. His sense of what is right, and his
pride, form a greater security for his good be-
havior, than his love of virtue."
In 1790, Mr. Pkimer, perhaps from
a closer knowledge of Langdon,
thought better of him, and disliked
the impeachment, which he thus
characterized :
" Articles of impeachment were exhibited
against Woodbury Langdon for his not attend-
ing the superior court in three counties, par-
ticularizing Cheshire. Previous to this, long
and fruitless, though virulent, attempts had
been made to remove him from office, un-
heard, and without notice, by an address of
both houses to the President and council. The
resolve to impeach passed the house by a
small majority. The articles, after much
debate, were molded into form, and carried
to the senate who had resolved themselves
into a court of impeachment, to meet July 28,
1790, at Exeter, for trial. ... I have lately
paid Mr. Langdon a visit. His intuitive
genius enabled him to give a more accurate
account of the proceedings of the legislature at
their last session, than nine tenths of the mem-
bers present are able to do. He appeared to
have a perfect knowledge of the part each
member acted respecting the address and im-
peachment; the cunning and duplicity of
Sherburne was insufiScient to veil his conduct
from the discerning eye of the judge. The
more I see and know of Langdon, the more I
admire his wit, penetration, judgment, and
decision ; few men exceed him. If he con-
siders an object worthy of his attention, he
pursues it with such unremitted attention as
seldom fails of success. Those who have the
best means of information, and are accustomed
to think for themselves, are not satisfied with
the impeachment ; they consider it as flowing
from motives not honorable."
The associates of Smith in the
conduct of this impeachment were
Edward St. Loe Livermore and Will-
iam Page ; they went before the
New Hampshire senate, January 28,
1 79 1, prepared to prosecute the of-
fender, who was not present, and
therefore was not arraigned. The
elaborate speech of Smith was proba-
bly not delivered ; it contained the
substance of the charges, expressed
with some wit, and is worth citing,
in part :
" A judge must disengage himself from all
other business and employment, and devote
himself to the duties of his office. There is a
dictum in one of the books of reports, which, I
suppose, will pass for very good law in this
court, 'Ye cannot serve God and Mammon,'
you cannot be a judge and a merchant. 'T is
easy to guess, in this contest, which will get
the mastery ; if we look into the book of
human nature, we shall find it written in
very legible characters (Page i) that interest
will prevail; and that our judge will be more
solicitous about fitting out his brig, than about
settling a knotty point of law. He will be too
apt to be disposing of a cargo, when he should
be dispensing justice. One end of legal deci-
sion is to satisfy the parties ; but the parties
never will be satisfied unless their cause has
been coolly, deliberately, and fully heard.
This a judge will never do, if he is entangled
with private affairs; the parties think, and
have been heard to say, that when the Hon-
orable Judge Langdon's brig goes to sea, he
will be more at leisure. ... If the brig
sails, or arrives, in term-time, the inhabitants
of Cheshire and Grafton need not expect to see
the honorable judge. These are facts I do not
mean to exaggerate."
The truth was that Woodbury
Langdon, like his brother, the illus-
trious patriot, John lyangdon, who
was so many times governor of New
Hampshire, was a prosperous mer-
chant, owning and sailing vessels
THE SMITHS AND WALKERS.
227
from Portsmouth, and had more re-
gard to his own ventures, at limes,
than to the public convenience. But
he was a fair judge, notwithstanding,
and was not to be discredited by a
conviction and dismissal from office.
He had just been appointed by
Washington as federal commissioner
of accounts, at Philadelphia, by
reason of his acquaintance with
financial affairs, and he sent in his
Judge Jeremiah Smith.
resignation as judge in New Hamp-
shire before his opponents could \ry
him. Accordingly, late in Januarj'-,
1 79 1, Mr. Livermore, one of the
managers of impeachment, offered,
in the House at Concord, of which
he and Smith were members, this
vote, which passed :
" Resolz'ed, That the Managers appointed by
and in behalf of the House of Representatives
to manage the impeachment exhibited by this
House against Woodbury L,angdon, Esq., be
instructed to enter a nolle prosequi to said
itnpeachnient."
The Senate, meanwhile, which was
to try the impeachment, had been
thinking better of it, and on the
17th of February, 1791, informed the
house that " Ebenezer Smith, senior
senator in the chair, and Nathaniel
Peabody, Ebenezer Webster" (father
of Daniel), "John Bell, Amos Shep-
pard, Peter Green, Nathaniel Rogers,
Sandford Kingsbury, and Joseph Cil-
ley, Esqs., being present" (nine sen-
ators out of twelve), "when the
Senate for a moment reflect that the
full force of a resolve or address, if
carried into execution, can operate
no further than to effect a removal
from office ; and that Mr. Eangdon
hath accepted of an important ap-
pointment under the authority of the
United States, which renders it in-
convenient for him to execute, and
highly improper that he should any
longer hold said office as a justice
of the superior court ; and that Mr.
Langdon, impressed with these senti-
ments, or some otJier motives, hath,
by a letter of the 17th of January,
actually resigned said office, — the
Senate, taking all circumstances into
consideration, unanimousl}' voted,
That it is not their duty to concur
with the honorable House in their
resolve or address asking for Mr.
Langdon 's removal."
Commenting upon this whole af-
fair, Plumer, in a letter to Judge
Langdon, said (March 26, 1791),
"Thus ended this mighty fuss, —
disgraceful to the state, and vexa-
tious to you. John Sam Sherburne,
who last summer considered the
prosecution as a popular measure,
has lately been more cautious ; in
the house he has voted with your
friends, though he has manifested
too much indifference to be con-
sidered as one of them. George
228
THE SMITHS AND WALKERS.
Gains has beeu friendl}-, and did
everything a man of his feeble in-
tellect was able to do. George
Wentworth, your other Portsmouth
representative, always voted with us,
and that was as much as he was
capable of doing. Col. William
Page and James McGregor were the
most bitter and persecuting'; they
dealt in slander and calumny, both
in public and private. The Presi-
dent (Josiah Bartlett) was in favor
of the impeachment, but opposed to
the address of removal. Nathaniel
Rogers was zealous for j'ou. Had
the trial proceeded, some of the
senators would have voted against
you. Christopher Toppan (of Hamp-
ton), Nathan Hoit, and Bradbury
Cilley were active in your favor.
Timoth}^ Farrar is appointed your
successor. I do not know him, but
from his character he will be judi-
cious and useful."
Judge Smith long outlived Judge
L,angdon, who was more than twen-
ty years older, and who died in
1805. After three congressional
terms of two years each, and one
session of a fourth, Smith, who
had married in Maryland Miss
Eliza Ross, daughter of Mrs. Ariana
(Brice) Ross, of Bladensburg, at the
end of his third term, and visited
Washington at Mt. Vernon, removed
with his bride to Exeter, N. H.,
where much correspondence was had
as to what house he should occupy.
Writing to his friend Smith, Jan-
uary 12, 1797, William Plumer of
Epping said :
"Yesterday I was at Exeter, and conversed
with Parker, Peabody, Conner, etc., upon pro-
curing a house for you. The mansion-house
of the late General Folsom, with eight or ten
acres of land, may be rented for $135 per
annum. The house in which Dudley Odlin
lived may be had cheaper ; 'tis about 80 rods
west of Lamson's tavern, a pleasant, healthy
situation. It needs considerable repairs, but
maj' be purchased cheap ; the governor (Gil-
man) has the care of it. The houses in which
Conner and young Odiorne lived may be had
on reasonable terms ; they are west of Emery's
office, but I think they would not suit you."
In a letter to Miss Ross, a month
before the wedding, Smith said, " My
correspondent at Exeter has just
written me that we can have a house,
which he thinks will answer our pur-
pose, for $40 a year. From the price
I conclude it must be a very ordinary
house ; but perhaps it will serve our
purpose for a year or two, till we can
accommodate ourselves better, either
in buying or hiring."
He failed to get the Folsom " man-
sion," and yet did not content him-
self for a dozen years with so cheap
a house as he thus mentioned.
Finally, in 1809, after holding the
important offices of district attorney.
United States circuit judge, judge of
probate for Rockingham, and chief
justice of New Hampshire (1802 to
1809), he purchased the fine estate,
a little west of the village, on the
road from Exeter to Epping and
Nottingham, which is associated with
him in the recollections of his
friends.
The house, a large and substantial
one, built by a Captain Giddings
and represented in the next view,
was much improved by the judge,
and beautified by trees and gardens,
while a magnificent wood of primi-
tiv^e pines, oaks, and maples covered
the rear of his farm of 150 acres.
He first occupied this during his
single year as governor, when he
defeated the brother of his prede-
cessor on the bench, the impeached
Judge Eangdon, by the small ma-
THE SMITHS AND WALKERS.
229
Exeter House of Judge Smith.
jority of 369 ; but in the following
years he was defeated by Governor
Langdon with majorities of 1,157 in
1 8 10, and 3,045 in 181 1. These in-
creasing negatives were hints to
Judge Smith that he should with-
draw from politics, and he devoted
himself afterwards to the law, to lit-
erature, and to the social and family
affections, by which he is now best
remembered.
His eldest child, Ariana Smith,
was the charm of his Exeter home,
and the unqualified delight of her
father and friends. Born December
28, 1797, and dying of consumption,
June 20, 1829; she was of a gentle
and accomplished nature, as unusual
as her name then was in New Eng-
land. She had inherited that from
a Bohemian branch of her grand-
mother's family, the Brices of Mary-
land ; and her cousin, Mrs. James
Walker of Peterborough, who was
with Ariana Smith in her last ill-
ness, gave this cherished name to her
own daughter born in the following
November. Something of the same
character must have gone with the
name from the description which Dr.
Morison, the cousin and biographer
of Judge Smith, gives of this ever-
lamented daughter :
" Existence was to Ariana Smith a continual
romance. Her personal appearance was pecul-
iar to herself, — a clear, white complexion, con-
trasting with her long black hair and eyelashes,
— large, blue eyes, looking out with animation
from a countenance always calm, indicating
both excitement and repose, — all were such as
belonged to no one else. She laughed, wept,
studied, went through the routine of house-
hold cares, — was not without some portion of
feminine vanity, — loved attention, and was not
indifferent to dress, — and yet she was like no
one else. Her voice, subdued and passionless,
contrasted singularly with the fervor of her
words. Her enthusiasm might have betrayed
her into indiscretion, but for her prudent self-
control ; and her rare good sense might have
made her seem commonplace but for her en-
thusiasm. She had a feminine high-minded-
ness. She was equally at home among differ-
ent classes of people ; with the most eminent
she betrayed no consciousness of self-distrust,
and with the humblest no pride or condescen-
sion. Her cook she regarded not merely as a
faithful servant, but as a sister ; the poor stu-
dent, unformed, bashful, and desponding, soon
felt at ease with her, looked with more respect
on himself, and began to feel new powers and
hopes. The charity which thinketh no evil
was not in her so much a cherished principle,
as an original endowment ; disturbed some-
times by momentary jealousies and rivalries,
by wrongs received or witnessed, but quickly
recovering itself, and going cheerfully along its
pleasant path."
230
THE SMITHS AND WALKERS.
An American Portia.
In the absence of any adequate
portrait of this lady, or of her elder
cousin, Mrs. Sarah Walker, I have
found, among the types of English
beauty and grace, a face and pres-
ence which recalls both to my fancy,
— the lady of whom Charles Howard
wrote these verses :
Here is there more than merely common spell
Of rosy lips and tresses darkly streaming ;
O thou, by fairy Nature gifted well,
What is it in thy picture sets me dreaming?
Thee, fair as Portia in her beauty's prime.
And true, or Beauty's smile hath lost its
meaning,
Thee may Regret, that sullen child of Time,
Pass, as she goes her sad tear-harvest gleaning !
Surviving his wife and all the chil-
dren of his first marriage, Judge Smith
married again at the age of seventy-
two ; and this second Mrs. Smith,
mother of Judge Jeremiah Smith, now
a law professor in Harvard University
(born in 1837), kept up the hospi-
tality of the Exeter home, and, after
her husband's death in September,
1842, of the still larger estate in Eee,
N. H., where many friends will
remember visiting her. During her
residence in Exeter, which the
Smiths left in the spring of 1842, the
THE SMITHS AND WALKERS.
231
Walkers of Peterborough, to be near
their kinsman. Judge Smith, and the
youths, James and George Walker,
there fitting for college, took a house
not far from the Judge's, where they
lived two years. Mrs. Sarah Wal-
ker, born at Cavendish, Vt., in 1795,
and married to James Walker in
1819, was, as Dr. Morison says, "A
woman greatly beloved by all who
knew her. There was no one out of
his immediate family to whom Judge
Smith was more tenderly attached.
They died of the same disease, and
within a few weeks of each other."
Writing to her from Virginia in 1836,
he said, "You were always dear, and
now, in the midst of the Alleghanies,
are dearer than ever. The higher
we ascend, the better we love one
another. So be it, for this is the
greatest earthly good." Writing to
another niece, Ellen Smith, in 1839,
he said, " Have you heard that your
friend, Miss A., is going to instruct
in an academy at W.? and it is said
the situation was procured for her by
Mrs. Walker. Is there to be no end
to the good deeds of that woman ? "
She was indeed one who lived for the
good of others, and whom those who
knew her could not praise enough ;
as her husband said, " Everybody in
Peterborough loved her, and most
of them were under some obligation
to her." Few of her letters have
been preserved ; but her daughter
cherished the last she received, on
her birthdaj' in 1841 :
" My Dear Ariana : Twelve years ago this
very evening I first pressed you to my bosom,
fervently thanking that Good Being who, in
answer to my prayers, had given me a daugh-
ter. O, I shall never forget the joy which
filled my heart when your happy brothers first
greeted their little sister, how their eyes glis-
tened with joy and love when they were per-
mitted to take you in their arras ! Your father,
too, looked with delight upon his infant
daughter; I believe he nursed you more than
both your brothers. I was feeble during your
first year, and very often went to bed too weary
to sleep, but your smiles paid for all ; and I
looked forward to the time when you would be
my companion, friend, and helper.
"The world was bright to me then, but sor-
row came. My poor mother died ; then my
dear brother John, and to fill my cup of bit-
terness, my darling James was taken from
me.' Can you wonder that I am changed ?
Oh, no ! But though our kind Father in
Heaven has seen fit to afflict me. He has not
left me comfortless. Though he has taken one
dear child from me, two others, equally dear,
are yet spared to bless and comfort me.
' In August, 1S40.
Exeter Street in I 838.
JAMES WALKER. ESQUIRE.
THE SMITHS AND WALKERS.
233
" O, my dear Ariana, if 3^011 knew how very
anxious I am to see you grow up a good and
useful woman, you would, from this time for-
ward, try to amend every fault, and, by a care-
ful attention to the happiness of others, secure
your own.
" [Peterborough] Nov. 8th [1S41J, 11 o'clock,
Eve."
Mrs. Walker died the next year ;
Ariana being then at school in
father (born in 1784, died Dec. 31,
1854), was a native of Rindge, and a
first cousin of Dr. James Walker,
president of Harvard university, and
of Dr. W. J. Walker of Charlestown,
Mass., a distinguished physician,
whose bequests have enriched Am-
herst college. The father, grand-
father, and uncles of Mr. Walker
Birthplace of Geo'ge and Anna Walker.
Keene. She was of the warm-
hearted, musical, sympathetic Scotch-
Irish race, akin to the Smiths, Mori-
sons, Wilsons, Moores, etc., of that
stock. Her brother, William Smith,
I knew in later years, the kindest,
most amiable of men, born atid living
in Cavendish.
James Smith Walker, oldest child
of James Walker, died while in Yale
college, at the age of nineteen. His
were soldiers or officers in the Revo-
lution ; he was a student in Dart-
mouth college along with Daniel
Webster, graduating in 1804, two
years after Webster. He chose law
for his profession, and settled in
Peterborough about 18 14.
A brother. Rev. Charles Walker,
was for years a Congregationalist
minister in New Hampshire and
Massachusetts, dying in Groton,
234
THE SMITHS AND WALKERS.
Mass., in 1847. 'Squire Walker,
as he was generally termed, soon
acquired the confidence of the peo-
ple of his native region, as Judge
Smith had done, though a very dif-
ferent man, with few popular quali-
ties. His innate justice, sterling
integrity, and firm opinions won re-
spect, and his management of causes
and of property entrusted to him
made him successful in his pro-
fession. His marriage with Sarah
this house his two younger children,
George and Anna, were born, and
from it they tripped, hand in hand,
to the foot of the hill, near the man-
sion of Samuel Smith, the Judge's
manufacturing brother, to attend the
private school of Miss Abby Abbot
(now Mrs. H. Wood). She was a
niece of the village pastor, Dr. Abiel
Abbot (born 1765, died 1S59), whose
lovely garden and orchard, by the
riverside, overseen by the belfry of
Dr. Abbot's Orchard.
Smith, whose uncles and cousins
were the leading men in Peterbor-
ough, gave him social standing, and
his simple wa}^ of life suited the hab-
its of that town of " plain living and
high thinking." In his early mar-
ried life he occupied one of the older
houses of the present village, — the
Carter house, on the steep hillside
overlooking the Contoocook from the
northeast, and commanding that no-
ble prospect of Monadnoc which (with
a slight variation for the point of
view), appears in our engraving. In
the church where he ministered so
long, appears in our engraving. This
was the noontime playground of
Anna and her cousin. Abbot Smith,
who lived with his grandfather Abbot,
and from this hill town went to Exe-
ter, Harvard, and the Divinity School
before taking pastoral charge of a
church at Arlington, where he died.
The two cousins studied and read
French and German together in later
years, but in the decade from 1832
to 1842 were learning the E)nglish
branches, under the direction of that
THE SMITHS AND WALKERS.
235
famous Abbot famil3^ who all seem
to have been destined for the educa-
tion of the young. Dr. A. Abbot
was a first cousin of Dr. B. Abbot,
for fifty years the head of Exeter
academy, where, among his later pu-
pils, were James and George Walker,^
as among his earlier were Webster
and General Cass. It was Dr. Abbot
of Peterborough, then preaching at
Coventry in Connecticut, who per-
suaded Jared Sparks, the future his-
torian, but then a carpenter in Mr. Ab-
bot's parish, to go to the school at Exe-
ter; and he carried the young man's
box, slung under his parson's chaise,
to the academy, while Sparks went
on foot the whole way. This was in
1809, and Abiel Abbot was on his
v/ay then to visit his brother. Rev.
Jacob Abbot (also a good teacher),
who had succeeded President Lang-
don in the parsonage of Hampton
Falls in 1798. Miss Abbot, the
teacher of the Walker, Smith, and
Abbot children at Peterborough, was
the daughter of Jacob Abbot, and the
elder sister of Miss Mary Anne Top-
pan Abbot, who became the second
wife of James Walker.
It was thisnuitermarriage between
the Abbot and Walker families that
gave me the privilege of my first
acquaintance with Ariana Walker.
Her stepmother had a sister, Mrs.
Porter Cram, married in her father's
old parish of Hampton Falls, and the
eldest daughters of that family be-
came the dear friends of Ariana, who
often visited them, as well as her
friends at Exeter and Eee, sometimes
spending weeks in the quiet rural
scenery of the Hamptons, which she
had loved when a child at Exeter.
1 James entered at Exeter in 1S33, and George in
1S36, both at the age of 12.
In the winter of 1 849-' 50, Miss Cram
(now Mrs. S. H. Folsom of Winches-
ter, Mass.) had visited Peterborough,
and told her friend, always interested
in poetry and romance, about a boy-
poet at Hampton Falls — a school-
mate of hers, — giving some samples
of his verses at the age of seventeen.
Miss Walker, then just twenty, took
a deep interest in this youth from his
verse and prose, and in the following
summer, returning her friend's visit,
she expressed a wish to see him.
The two sat and looked at each other
across the little church (July 22,
1850), and Miss Walker wrote on
her fan the favorable comment she
wished to make for the friend beside
her. The youth of eighteen was no
less affected at this lovely vision, and
the next evening called on Miss
Walker at the ancient farmhouse
where she lived.
As it happens, I know exactly,
from Anna's own pen, what was her
attire when I first saw her, at church
in Hampton Falls, in her white bon-
net, and the same evening in her
"pink barege." Writing to her step-
mother from Springfield in June (1850)
she said, —
' ' I have two new dresses, — a morn-
ing dress and a pink barege ! The
latter is very pretty ; I am doubtful
if it will be becoming, — but no )nat-
ter. My bonnet is a French lace,
trimmed with a white watered rib-
bon ; in the inside a ' ruche ' of white
lace, dotted with blue, and with blue
strings. So you have me, — dress,
bonnet, and all."
(Eater.) " Do you care about the
vanities f and would you like to know
of my dress at Mrs. Day's party, where
I had a pleasant evening? I wore
my pink dress, made low in the neck,
236
THE SMITHS AND WALKERS.
"O^-^-^^^^
with a lace jacket coming close up to
the throat, — short sleeves, with short
undersleeves of lace, made like a
baby's, — white gloves and my ' wed-
ding ' shoes." (That is, the shoes
she had worn at her brother's wed-
ding, the previous November.) " I
had white and scarlet flowers in my
hair, and a beautiful bouquet on my
arm. They say I looked my veiy
prettiest, — which isn't saying much;
and even I agree that the pink dress
is decidedly becoming, — which Sarah
Walker considers a 'little triumph'
for her. So much. Mother dear, for
the outward, which Father may pass
over if he pleases."
I saw her in the pink, without the
flowers and the white slippers, and
soon after in blue, which she more
commonly wore, and with which she
is most associated in my memory.
The date was July, 1850. The
impression on both our hearts was
instantaneous, and never effaced ; it
led to memorable conversations in
the summer evenings, and two weeks
later to the remarkable analysis of a
nature not easy to read, and which
only time could unfold to the general
comprehension, or even to the youth
himself ; but which was strangely
open to the sibylline insight of this
fascinating person,
THE SMITHS AND WALKERS.
237
F. B. Sanborn at Twenty-one.
THE CHARACTER OF F. B.
EIGHTEEN.
AT
Mind analytic, the intellect predominating
and governing the heart ; feelings do not often
obtain the mastery. Intellect calm and search-
ing, with a keen insight, equally open to mer-
its and demerits. Much practical ability and
coolness of judgment. He is unsparingly just
to his own thought, and is not easily moved
therefrom. With great imagination he is not
at all a dreamer, or if he is ever so, his dreams
are not enervatirig and he has power to make
them realities. He is vigorous, healthy, strong.
Cal unless of feeling as well as of thought, is a
large element in his nature ; but there is fire
under the ice, which, if it should be reached,
would flame forth with great power and inten-
sity. Imagination rich and vivid, yet he is
somewhat cold ; wants hope, is too apt to look
on the dark side of things.
Has great pride. It is one of the strongest
elements of his character. Values highly inde-
xxvii— 17
pendence, and thinks himself capable of stand-
ing alone, and as it were apart from all others ;
yet in his inmost soul he would be glad of
some autlwrity upon which to lean, and is in-
fluenced more than he is aware by those whose
opinions he respects. There is much religion
in him. He despises empty forms without the
spirit, but has large reverence for things truly
leveienceable.
He is severe, but not more so with others
than with himself : yet he likes many, endures
most, and is at war with few. His feelings are
not easily moved, loz'es few — perhaps )io7ie
with. e>//l/!(siasin. He is too proud to be vain,
yet will have much to stimulate vanity. He
fancies himself indifferent to praise or blame,
but is much less so than he imagines. He is open,
and yet reserved ; in showing his treasures he
knows where to stop, and with all his frank-
ness there is still much which he reveals to
none.
Has much intellectual enthusiasm. Loves
wit, and is often witty ; has much humor too.
238
THE SMITHS AND WALKERS.
sees quickl}- the ludicrous side of things, and
though he wants hope is seldom sad or despond-
ing. Has many noble aspirations yet unsatis-
fied. Still seeking, seeking, groping in the
dark. He wants a definite end for which to
strive heartily ; then his success would be sure.
Much executive power, executes better than he
plans.
I,oves the beautiful in all things. He has
much originality ; his thoughts and tastes are
peculiarly his own. Is impatient of wrong,
and almost equally so of inability. Is gentle
in spite of a certain coldness about him ; has
strong passions in spite of his general calm-
ness of intellect and affection. A nature not
likely to find rest, struggle is its native ele-
ment ; wants a steady aim, must work, standing
still is impossible ; but he must have a great
motive for which to strive.
Aug. ^tli, jSio.
Many contradictions in this analj-sis, but not
vwrc than there are in the character itself.
This forecast of character was made
after several long conversations, of
which Anna (we soon got beyond the
formality of titles) preserved a record
in her journal, for she had formed the
journalizing habit in childhood, and
had it confirmed by the fashion of the
day, among her Boston friends. Of
our first evening (July 23), she
wrote:
" F. stayed until eleven, and j'et I was
neither weary nor sleepy, but rather refreshed
and invigorated. He excused himself for stay-
ing so late, but said the time had passed rap-
idly. Cate seemed very much surprised that
he had spoken so freely to a stranger ; I think
he himself will wonder at it. The conversation
covered so many subjects that I could not help
laughing on looking back upon it ; he might
have discovered the great fault of my mind, a
want of method in my thoughts, as clearly as I
saw his to be a want of hope. But talking with
a new person is to nie like going for the first
time into a gallery of pictures. We wander
from one painting to another, wishing to see
all, lest something irnest should escape us, and
in truth seeing no one perfectly and appreci-
atingly. Only after many visits and long fa-
miliarity can we learn which are really the
best, most suggestive and most full of mean-
ing ; and then it is before two or three that one
passes the hours. So we wander at first from
one topic of conversation to another, until we
find which are those reaching farthest and
deepest, and then it is these of which we talk
most. My interest in Frank S. is peculiar ; it
is his intellectual and spiritual nature, and not
himself \.ha.t I feel so much drawn to. I can't
say it rightly in words, but I never was so
strongly interested in one where the feeling
was so little perso>ial."
It is not only at locksmiths that lyove
laughs ; he has an especial and inti-
mate smile for the disguises which
affection assumes in the minds of the
j^oung. From those happy evenings
the future of the new friend occupied
that gentle heart more than all other
interests. She thought and planned
for him wisely, and with the tact and
generosity of which she alone had
the secret ; while his affection for her
easily persuaded him to adopt the
course of study and of life which she
suggested. Their correspondence
continued when she went onward to
her friend, Miss Ednah Littlehale
(Mrs. E. D. Cheney), at Gloucester
and Boston, and it was at Ednah's
convalescence from a severe illness,
that the declaration of 3^outhftil love
found her, in her friend's apartment.
So early and so bold an avowal fixed
the fate of both ; they could never
afterward be other than lovers, how-
ever much the wisdom of the world
pleaded against a relation closer than
friendship. But the world must not
know the footing upon which they
stood ; even the father and brother
must imagine it a close friendship,
such as her expansive nature was
so apt to form, and so faithful to
maintain. One family in Hampton
Falls and one friend in Boston were
to be cognizant of the truth ; and it
was not clear, for years, to the self-
sacrificing good sense of the maiden,
what her ultimate answer to the
world might be. Hence misunder-
standings and remonstrances from
THE SMITHS AND WALKERS.
239
^1 Mil Eli
Peterborough in 1854.
those naturally dear to her, but not
the dearest ; and on her part the
most complete and unselfish devo-
tion to the lover who would not re-
nounce her, when she set before him
illness, and the sacrifice of worldly
success as the dower she must bring
him. She had been suddenly at-
tacked, in March, 1846, with a pain-
ful and ill-understood lameness, which
kept her for years from walking
freely, and was accompanied by ner-
vous attacks which often seemed to
threaten her life. This affliction had
interrupted her education, and made
her more dependent on the service of
others than her high spirit could al-
ways endure ; it also drew forth from
her brother George, five years older
than herself, a tender regard and con-
stant care which, since the death of
her mother, before she was thirteen.
had inspired the most ardent sisterly
affection. Her need of love was en-
hanced by her limitations of health,
and these also tended to develop in
her character that patient sweetness
which her portrait so well presents.
Yet all this made it more difficult for
her to decide the issue of betrothal
and marriage.
After nearly four years of this pleas-
ing pain of thC' heart, — this striving
to satisfy every claim of love and
duty, — when betrothal had been pub-
licly declared, and marriage was only
waiting upon time, she thus gave her
allegory of the past and the future of
our relation to each other :
THE STORY OF THE BOY AND HIS
PIPE.
" In a lonely valley among the hills, where
there were but few people, lived a beautiful
boy ; he tended his father's sheep among the
240
THE SMITHS AND WALKERS.
The " Little Lake Near By.
hills, and labored for him in the fields. These
people led very simple lives, and the boy had
only one treasure, which he loved above all
other things, — a sort of pipe, curiously carved
with beautiful figures, and furnished with
many silver keys. When he was a babe at his
mother's breast, an angel had one day come
and laid this pipe in his cradle, and from that
time he had kept it constantly near him.
While he was a child he loved it because of
its silver keys, which shone so bright in the
sunshine, and seemed to light up all the room,
and for the many curious figures carved upon
it, among which he was always finding some-
thing new and wonderful. But, as he grew
older, he discovered that by breathing into this
pipe he could produce strange and sweet
sounds, — sweeter and more beautiful than any
he had ever heard, even from the birds who
sang in the forests among the hills. When he
had made this discovery, he said nothing of it
to any one, but took his pipe up into the most
distant hills, where he kept his father's sheep,
or out into the far-off fields, and there played
over and over again these notes which had so
much delighted him, adding new ones thereto,
until at last he could play many most sweet
strains of music, which he now perceived lay
hidden in the pipe the angel had brought him.
At first, and for a long time, he did this only
when among the distant hills, or far off from
all neighborhood of men, but gradually, as he
became more confident in his own skill, and
more accustomed to the music which he made,
he used to play more openly, wherever he
might chance to be, and especialh' at even-
ing, sitting before his father's cottage, or, still
oftener, by the shores of a little lake near by,
on whose banks grew many flowering shrubs
and waving trees, and which bore white water-
lilies upon its bosom.
" Here he would often sit and play until late
in the night, and all who heard his music loved
it, and praised him much for the skill which
brought it forth out of this little wooden pipe.
To them it was neither beautiful nor wonder-
ful, and not different from any common shep-
herd's pipe, except for its silver keys. But one
day as he sat playing among the hills a bird
stopped to hear him, and when he had ended
she said : ' Who gave thee thy pipe and taught
thee how to play upon it?' 'When I was a
child,' he answered, 'an angel brought it and
laid it in my cradle, and I have taught myself
to play on it.' Then the bird said, shaking its
head wisely, ' What thou playest is indeed very
sweet and pleasant to hear, but there is far
nobler music hidden in thy pipe, and thou
canst not find it until thou hast learnt the use
of all the keys.' So saying, the little bird flew
away. The boy looked at his pipe and was
sorrowful, for there were many keys which he
knew not how to use, nor could he discover,
though he tried often and often and played
more than ever before in his life. And at times
all the sweet strains he had prized so much be-
fore became as nothing to him, so much did he
long for the nobler music concealed in his pipe,
which he could not draw forth.
"Filled with these thoughts, he went one
THE SMITHS AND WALKERS.
241
evening down to the shores of the small lake,
and sat there dejectedly, leaning his head on
his hand, with his pipe lying silent by his side.
When the flowers saw him so sad, they were
grieved in heart, and said to him, ' Why art
thou sad ; and why dost thou no longer play as
thou hast been used to do, coming down to
us?' But he said, ' I do not care to-night to
play upon mj' pipe, for I know there is far
sweeter and nobler music hidden in it, and I
cannot find it because I know not the use of
all the keys. Why should I dishonor it by
playing so imperfectly on it? '
"Then the flowers all spoke to him, com-
forting him, and some praised the music he
had made, and ' did not believe there could be
any so much sweeter hidden in the pipe ; ' and
they spoke so flatteringly of what he had done,
and so lauded his skill, that he might well
have been in some danger of forgetting (for a
time, at least) all that the little bird had told
him of the nobler music he had yet to learn.
But when there was a silence, a little reed that
grew close down to the waterside, and bore
pale white flowers, some of whose leaves were
torn or broken by the wind, began to speak.
' Yes,' she said, ' it is true that thou playest
very sweetly, and we have all loved to hear
thee, and have kept the tones in our hearts ;
but it is also true that far nobler and sweeter
music is hidden in thy pipe. And since the
angel of God has entrusted it to thee, thou
canst not find rest in thy soul until thou hast
learned the use of all the silver keys, and can
call forth all the hidden power of melody which
is shut up within it.' This she said in a quiet,
calm voice ; and when she had ended the boy
raised his head from his hands. ' Thou art
right,' he said, ' I believe that thou art right ;
but how shall I find a way to do this ? ' 'To
him whose will is fixed,' answered the flower,
' there is always a way ; but listen, and I will
tell thee. I am only a little reed, but I know
some things which are hidden from thee, and
that which I know I will tell thee. Bid fare-
well to thy father and thy mother, take thy
pipe in hand and follow the little path which
leads southward out of the valley, over a high
mountain. Beyond that mountain is a country
very different from this, where many people
dwell together, and among them thou wilt find
some who will teach thee the use of the
silver keys ; but the hidden music thou must
find thyself, for this pipe is thine own, and
thou only canst play upon it. Be faithful and
brave, and all shall be well with thee ! '
" Then the boy's face flushed with feeling,
and his eyes gleamed. ' All that thou hast said
tome I will do,' he said, and rising, walked with
firm steps to his home. When morning had
come, he bade farewell to his father and
mother, and, taking his pipe in his hand, pre-
pared to set out on his journey. But first he
went down again to the shores of the little lake,
and said, ' I will take with me at the beginning
some flower which I will wear in my bosom
all the way, to keep me from the evil ; ' and,
bending down to the little reed, he said, ' Wilt
tlioK go with me and guard me from the evil ?
I will shelter thee in my bosom from everj-
storm, and will cherish thee most tenderly.'
Then the little reed trembled as if a sudden
wind had shaken her, and drops like dew
stood in her eyes. ' Would'st thou indeed
take me with thee ? ' she said, in a voice made
sweet bj'some inward emotion. ' In the coun-
try to which thou art going thou wilt find many
beautiful flowers ; I am onlj' a pale reed, bent
by the wind and rain.' But he said, ' I
will have none but thee.' ' I will, go with
thee,' she said, bowing her head, ' but thou
shalt not wear me in thy bosom, but shalt
carrj' me in thy hand ; only so will I go.' ' If
I do not wear thee in m}^ bosom, how can I
shelter thee from the storms and the fierce wind ?
nevertheless, it shall be as thou wilt,' and,
stooping, he gathered the little, pale blossoms,
and, taking them in his hand, he set out on his
journey.
Tne Contoocook in Peterborough.
242
THE SMITHS AND WALKERS.
fte^-
The " Little Wood Opposite.
" When he was come to the top of the moun-
tain, he saw below him, as the little reed had
said, a new and strange country where dwelt
many people; and as he went on his way, or when
he rested for a time, as he often did, dwelling
in many towns and cities, he found those who
knew the use of some of the silver keys, and
so learned more and more of the hidden music
shut up in the heart of the pipe. His own
heart was glad within him, and he rejoiced
daily. Wherever he went, and in whatsoever
place he dwelt, he kept his little reed always
with him, carrying it when possible in his
hand, and when it was not, laying it tenderly
aside in some place where he could return to
it again when his task was ended. But one
day, as he walked holding it fast, there came a
sudden fierce wind, and bent the frail flower,
and had nearly broken it from its stem. In-
stinctively he put it in his bosom then, and
shielded it from the storm. And he said, while
he mourned for its pain, ' Wh3' wilt thou not
let me shelter thee thus in my bosom ? only so
can I shield thee from the fierce wind and the
rain ; and if thou refuse me, I will tell thee
this surely,— that I will wear no other flower
upon my breast all my life through.' But she
answered, ' I am bent and faded, and the little
beauty which I had at the beginning is gone
from me ; if thou shouldst now wear me in thy
bosom, I should be no ornament, but the con-
trary. And how can I suffer thee to do as thou
sayest? Lay me, rather, softly aside in some
quiet place, where thou wilt come sometimes
to see me ; and take some other flower to
wear.' 'No,' he said, 'I will have none but
thee,' — and softly kissing the leaves of the
pale flower, he placed it in his bosom. So
when the storms came he sheltered it, and
guarded it from the chill and the heat, and
preserved it from harm.
"And as he walked, he met one Mr. Worldly-
wise (he who in former times talked with
Christian by the way), who said to him, ' Why
dost thou wear that little faded weed in thy
bosom? I tell thee plainly, friend, it will
greatly hinder thy success in the world, and
will do thee much harm ; take my advice and
throw it away from thee, now while it is yet
time 1 ' Then he answered, — ' I will not part
with my little reed, — no, not for all which thou
couldst give me, were thy power ten times
greater than it is. Did she not show me the
way at the beginning, and teach me how to
find out the music that was hidden in this pipe,
which the angel of God entrusted to my keep-
ing? ' Then he took his pipe and played glori-
ously ; and as he played, the pale leaves of the
flower shone as with a soft light, and the radi-
ance fell down on the path before his feet. So
they journeyed on together, but I saw not for
how long, nor whether it was into joy or pain."
THE SMITHS AND WALKERS.
243
Harketi to yon pine warbler
Singing aloft in the tree !
Hearest thou, O traveler,
What he singeth to me ?
Not unless God made sharp thine ear
With sorrow such as mine,
Out of that delicate lay couldst thou
Its heavy tale divine.
ill her companionship half a centtiry
ago. The engraving shows it tnuch
as it then was, — one of two houses
built by McKean, a skilful car-
penter, about 1844, and both now
owned by the L,ivingston family.
The touching parable was written But when we visited the Walkers
in April, 1S54, at Springfield, where there, it had a green bank sloping
she is buried beside her brother down to the river, unobstructed by
George ; we were married in Peter-
borough, the 23d of August follow-
ing, in near anticipation of her
death, which came August 31, 1S54.
Just four months after, in the same
house, her father died.
It was this house, in Grove street,
with its "little wood opposite" up-
on which her windows looked out,
which is associated with her in my
memor-y, and that of her surviving
the railway and its apparatus ; across
the amber water was the flower-
encircled cottage of Miss Putnam,
the " Lady Bountiful " of the village
then, who gave Putnam Park to
the public, and preserved the fine
trees on her terraced river-bank. On
the opposite side from this west front
was the garden, — small but neatly
kept, and blooming in the season
with Anna's favorite roses; while
sister and her friends,— now alas ! but the pine trees overhung the narrow
few, out of the many who rejoiced street, and waved a sober welcome
i.jS^'Se/^'
Residence of Anna Walker, Giove Street.
244
THE SMITHS AND WALKERS.
to their lover in the house, who
could never have enough of gazing
at them and tlie sky above, or of
walking in their alleys, whatever the
season. Her best-loved walk was up
along the mill-stream, through what
is now the park, to the little foot-
bridge, commanding a romantic view
of the waterfall and the forest- circled
pool, shown in the engraving. How
she idealized the pine may be seen in
her early poem, long since printed,
but here copied.
In looking over the journal of a
friend. Miss A. C, she found and
copied some verses on the pine tree ;
she writes (September 7, 1848): "I
also had a thought of the pine tree,
and, poor as it is, I will write that
here also. It stood looking up into
the sky, as if saying, —
" upward and ever upward,
While the storms pass me by, —
Up through the lightning flashes
Longingly look I."
Yet when the storm-wind bloweth,
Gentle Pine Tree,
Downward thine arms in protection
I^eanest thou o'er me.
" Upward and ever upward,
While the snn rideth on high,
Fearing not his bold glances,
Longingly look I."
. Yet when the sun's glance is boldest,
Gentle Pine Tree,
Downward thy poor child to shelter
Leanest thou to me.
This thought of the down-leaning
of the trees is often with me, and it
always gives me loving strength."
Many descriptive sketches of the
scenery in Peterborough are found
in her letters and journals ; but I
will only quote here those which
picture the Coutoocook river from
her orchard-bank, looking across
towards Miss Putnam's cottage ; and
the glen and forest leading up to the
waterfall of the Nubanusit ("little
waters" in the Indian's musical
speech). They are from her unfin-
ished romance of "Alice Easterly,"
written at the age of twenty :
" A March night. Dark and wild, not a sin-
gle star in the clouded heavens, nothing but
the impenetrable gloom. I like such nights,
especially when there is this life-full murmur
in the air, which makes me constantly long for
the overwhelming tumult it seems to portend.
I will go out into this mystery. . . I went
down to the willow tree, all there was wildlj'
beautiful. The wind blew so that 1 could
scarcely- stand, and the willow bent beneath it
until it touched the black waters at its feet.
The river rolled on sluggishlj', not noisilj',
calm, because it was too much swollen for foam
or ripple. I clung to the old elm on its bank,
and looked down into the depths. I was per-
fectly, exultinglj' happj-, and yet felt as if I
should like to throw mj'self into the waves,
that I might never wake out of that feeling.
The distant clock in the village sounded twelve,
and I hastened back to ray room."
" May 7. I went out to-day into the deep,
pine woods, striving to escape from the world,
perhaps from myself. I lay down in the depths
of the wood's heart, and looked up into the
thick branches of the shadowing trees. Not
one of j'our clear, mild days, but a fine ming-
ling of storm and sunshine which did my
heart good. Everything in the Dingle was
finer than I had ever seen it, the little brook
now dashing and foaming over its rocks, now
stopping to rest and curdle in the hollows, and
then on, on, on, wild, free, glorious. I rose
and clambered up the rocks, with an ease that
astonished and delighted me, higher, higher,
higher yet, until I stood on the very summit.
That was trulj' fine, the torrent beneath me,
half-hidden by a veil of mist and vapor, which
a sudden gleam of sunshine changed to gold ;
the dark shadows on the distant mountains,
and changing and beautiful clouds above. Na-
ture in her freest, her loveliest forms ! again the
feeling of overwhelming life ! . . . After
a time, a storm seemed gathering upon the
mountains, and I descended into the ravine ; it
came on so fiercely that by the time I reached
the bottom, the rain was falling in torrents,
and thunder rattled fearfully in the narrow
gorge. The tempest came, swift, terrible, re-
joicing in its strength. The lightning flashed
through the gloom of the ravine, and the thun-
der echoed with almost deafening roar. Sud-
denly it ceased raining, and then the clearing
THE SMITHS AND WALKERS.
245
Ravine and Cascade, Peterborough.
away of the mists was glorious. The little
brook, swelled by the storm, changed the as-
pect of its beauty. It tumbled now over the
stones without pausing, yielding to no obsti-
nate rocks or hollows, but sweeping over them
with a deep, resistless force. There was less of
foam and spray, but a blue mist enveloped its
course, and rendered it almost invisible from
above. . . . When the tumult was over, I
threw down my book and pencils, and, resting
my head upon the soft, cool turf, lay watching
the changing, beautiful clouds, and listening to
the song of the waterfall, with a sort of dreamy
pleasure which does not will itself into words."
James Walker had come to Peter-
borough in 1 8 14, married in 18 19,
had two sons born in 1820 and 1S24 ;
in 1826 was active in the formation
of a Unitarian religions society,
which, in 1827, invited Dr. Abbot to
be its pastor, in the present church,
which was dedicated in February,
1826, with a sermon by Dr. Walker
of Charlestown, Mass., afterwards
president of Harvard, — a first cousin
of James Walker. In 1833 he was
active, along with J. H. Steele, after-
wards governor, and Dr. Abbot, in
forming a town library, believed to be
the oldest free municipal library in
the world. From 1828 Mr. Walker
was town treasurer four years, and
again five years, beginning in 1843;
he was in the state legislature in
i833-'34 and 1844.
These public trusts show how he
was regarded by his neighbors. His
son George, graduating, like his
father, at Dartmouth, but studying
law at Harvard, held more and
higher offices in Massachusetts and
in Europe. He began active law
practice in Chicopee in 1846, and
was counsel for the Cabot Bank,
from which John Brown, not yet a
soldier in the army of the Lord, bor-
246
THE SMITHS AND WALKERS.
rowed the monej^ to carry on the
large business of a wool merchant in
Springfield, where he then lived.
George Walker removed to that city
in 1849, the year of his marriage
with Sarah Bliss, only daughter of
George Bliss, a prominent citizen of
western Massachusetts, and much
In 1858 he became one of the staff
of Governor Banks, was afterwards
in the Massachusetts Senate, and
before the Civil War was appointed
bank commissioner of Massachusetts,
an office which he held for 3'ears.
In 1865 he was sent abroad by Gov-
ernor Andrew on a financial mis-
^••1^
^
George Walker in Paris.
connected with the extension of rail-
roads from Boston westward. Mr.
Walker entered actively into poli-
tics on the Whig .side, but when that
paity died in 1855, he became one
of the early Republicans, and was
chairman of the Hampden county
committee which raised funds in 1856
for aiding the freedom of Kansas.
sion — being reckoned one of the per-
sons best acquainted with the theory
of finance — and was for many years
afterward concerned in large bank-
ing and telegraphic business, which
caused him to remove from Spring-
field to New York.
In 1880 he was appointed consul-
general of the United States at Paris,
THE SMITHS AND WALKERS.
247
where he remained seven years in
office, returning to America in 1887,
to estabhsh himself in law practice at
Washington, but died there in March,
1888, after a short illness. He is
buried in the lovely cemetery of
Springfield, w^iich he was active in
laying out and adorning, and where
his wife and infant children, and his
sister Ariana, are also buried. None
of his family, or of his wife's family,
now live in Springfield ; their graves
and their memory alone remain there ;
and the same is true of the Walkers
in Peterborough and the Smiths (of
this branch) in Exeter. James
Walker, with his two wives and his
infant daughter Edith, are buried at
Peterborough ; his youngest daugh-
ter and only surviving child, Martha
Cotton Walker, now Mrs. Walter
McDaniels, lives in Lowell, Mass.
It is seldom that families, so con-
spicuous in three New England
towns as these three, so entirely pass
away from all, in less than sixty
years.
In the graces and affections of
domestic life, none of those here com-
memorated excelled George Walker,
and few have left a dearer memory.
From earliest years he was distin-
guished, like his mother and sisters,
for tender and helpful S3'mpathy with
those related to him, and for cour-
tesy and kindness to all. His rela-
tion to his sister Anna, after the
death of their mother, and in the
feeble health and engrossing occupa-
tions of their father, was peculiarly
admirable and devoted ; and when
she found herself more closely bound
to another, this new tie w^as not al-
lowed to weaken the fraternal affec-
tion. He adopted the youth who
had so unexpectedly become dear.
as a younger brother ; and his deli-
cate generosity in circumstances
which often produce estrangement
was never forgotten by those who
experienced it. In his public life
he was the same considerate and
high-minded gentleman ; not regard-
less of the advantages which social
position and moderate wealth give,
but ever ready to share his blessings,
instead of engrossing all within reach
to himself and his circle. Without
the commanding talents or decisive
character which make men illustri-
ous, and secure unchanging worldly
fortune, he had, as Channing said of
Henry Thoreau, "what is better, —
the old Roman belief that there is
more in this life than applause and
the best seat at the dinner-table, —
to have moments to spare to thought
and imagination, and to those who
need you."
As for that gentle, self- forgetting
and inspiring Person whom I of all
men have the best reason to remem-
ber, and whose long-vanished life has
been here recalled, what can be said
worthy of her memory? Something
of her will be learned from that grace-
ful portrait of her early womanhood ;
something, perchance from her words
herein cited ; but she was so much
more than any one mood or aspect
could imply, that the variety and vi-
tality of her genius will hardly be
suspected from its partial expression.
As Chaucer says of his poet,
Certes, it was of herte all that she sung.
Affection and humility were her
constant traits ; they led her to under-
value that nature which none could
regard without love and admiration ;
but along with them went a serene
courage and a high spirit not always
248
ADMIRAL DEWEY
known to dwell with humility. She
claimed silently by her steady affec-
tion what she was apt to renounce
by her magnanimity, — the devotion of
hearts too much possessed with the
magic of her vivacious thought and
romantic sentiment ever to forget
her. Needless, therefore, were her
verses, addressed in moments of sad-
ness to him who lived for nothing
but her :
Oh, leave me not alone ! I cannot brook
The winter winds, the cold and g^loom of life;
I need the sunlight of a loving look
To shine amid the darkness and the strife.
Then leave me not alone ! some hope as fair
As the pale windflower nestling in the shade,
Shall live within my breast, and hiding there.
Smile out for thee when brighter joj's shall
fade.
When the venerable Alcott, her
friend and mine, was composing his
Sonnets, in tender recollection and
spiritual recognition of the compan-
ions of his life, young or old, he gave
me the first two lines of the poem
which follows, and desired me to
complete it, in memory of her whom
we had lost till the light of a fairer
world st?ould shine. With this shall
the chapter be closed :
Sweet saint ! whose rising dawned upon the sight
Like fair Aurora chasing mists away ;
Our ocean billows, and thy western height
Gave back reflections of the tender ray.
Sparkling and smiling as night turned to day ;
Ah ! whither vanished that celestial light?
Suns rise and set ; Monadnoc's amethyst
Year-long above the sullen cloud appears ;
Daily the waves our summer strand have kist,
But thou returnest not with days and years ;
Or is it thine ? yon clear and beckoning star
Seen o'er the hills that guarded once thy home ;
Dost guide thy Friend's free steps, that widely roam,
Toward that far country where his wishes are ?
ADMIRAL DEWEY.
By George Bancroft Gri[fi//!.
He comes ! victorious, yet serene !
The modest hero of Manila bay ;
And while flowers bloom and mother earth is green
We '11 laud his valor as we do to-day !
THOSE WHO HAVE COME HOME TO-NIGHT.
[Rendered at an evening observance in honor of Old Home Week, at the Perkins Inn, Hop-
kinton, August 30, 1899.]
By C. C. Lord.
What gladness claims the hour ! The face
Of beauty smiles ; the manly grace,
Exultant, beams with smiling cheer;
The fireside gleams anew ; the clear,
Bright luster fills the room ; the lime
Bespeaks some rapt, supernal clime.
O thankful scene ! O joyful light !
For those who have come home to-night.
Spread the rich board ! The feast of soul
Make manifest ! The wassail bowl
Fill to the brim ! Eet wisdom take
Its rarest moods ! Eet music wake !
Eet the dance whirl ! There is no zest
Too glad when hearth and heart are blest
With richer life and rarer light.
For those who have come home to-night.
Thus speed the time, and when the hour
Has fled with all its golden dower
Of favor, let our thoughts take heed
Of memory in choicest meed ;
And, in the sweet, transcendent lore
Of peace on love's diviner shore,
Eet splendors glow in endless light.
For those who have come home to-night !
TO THE SPHINX.
By Fred Myron Colby.
Face of woman, heart of stone,
There thou standest all alone
Eike a Niobe of woe ;
And the centuries come and go,
Still thou keepest ever mute.
Turk, and Copt, and Mameluke,
Pagan priest and Jewish seer.
All have sought thy listening ear;
All have turned away unheard.
Never could they win a word.
Well hast thou thy secret kept.
Stony mouth and eyes unwet.
250 TO THE SPHINX.
Thou couldst tell us of the time
When great Rameses sublime,
Brought his captives to tli}' feet,
And his Lybian coursers fleet
Bore him up the Sacred Way,
Prouder than victorious day.
Thou hast gazed on Thotmes' face,
On Cleopatra's regal grace ;
And a thousand pageants rare
Have passed beneath thy stony glare.
Still thy lips are locked as fast
As if thou never hadst a past.
Pulseless, bloodless, without life.
Deaf to either love or strife.
Still thou gazest ever there
In the sultry, tropic air.
With that aspect calm and cold.
As if all the centuries old
Hid their secrets in thy breast,
Vowed to an eternal rest.
Oh, ye riddle of the ages
Wiser than the ancient sages.
With that store of hidden lore
lyocked behind thy forehead hoar.
So thou standest, ere will stand,
Gazing o'er that ancient land.
Where the march of Time has swept
With his chariot crimson-wet.
Empires, kingdoms, rise and fall.
Thou hast triumphed o'er them all.
Pharaoh's glory, Ptolemy's pride,
Greek dominion spreading wade,
Caesar's purple, Ahmed' stripe,
Byzantine and Fatimite,
Were but milestones in thy path.
Symbols of Osiris's wrath.
Oh, ye silent shape of fate.
Void of love and void of hate ;
Open but thy lips a space
As we gaze upward at thy face.
Tell us what we long to know
Of that mystic long ago.
Is thy being but a dream
There beside the storied stream.
Where the palm trees nuirmur low.
And the shadows come and go ?
But thy stony lips are mute
As are Greek and Mameluke.
i ■"' ''^"^M '
HON. JAMES W. WEEKS.
James Wingate Weeks, son of James Brackett \\'eeks, born in Lancaster July
15, 181 1, died in that town September 5, 1899.
When a young man Mr. Wrecks taught a number of terms of school, learned
the trade of carpenter, studied land surveying, and was employed in many difficult
cases of land litigation. In 1834 he entered the employ of the Fairbanks Scale
Company of St. Johnsbury, Vt., as agent and salesman, and traveled extensively
in what was then the West. In 1840 he returned to his native town, and for a
while was interested in the manufacture of furniture, where the present hardware
store of L. F. Moore stands. In 1847 he bought the farm on which he has since
lived and where he died, which he improved and always cultivated with intelligent
thrift. From the time he returned to Lancaster he was closely identified with the
interests of the town, and because of his strict integrity and business capacity, he
was called to many positions of trust and responsibility. He was county road
commissioner two years from 1S44. He was also engaged in the survey of the
Pittsburg lands, and in 1845 assisted in the boundary survey between the United
States and Canada, and because of the accuracy of detail, his work was highly
commended. He served as railroad commissioner from 1848 till 1854, when he
was appointed Judge of Probate for the county of Coos, holding the office until
his removal upon the advent of the Republican party to power, for political
reasons. He also served many years as a member of the Lancaster board of
selectmen, and for a term as county commissioner. He was prominently con-
nected with the educational and financial institutions of the town, and enjoyed in
the highest degree the confidence of his fellow-townsmen. Judge Weeks was an
earnest Democrat in politics and a Unitarian in religion. He was twice married
— first in 1842 to Martha W. Hemenway, who died in 1855, leaving four children,
Sarah (Mrs. Oxnard), who died in 1871 ; George, James W. Jr., and Clara H., who
died in 1 88 1. In 1859 he married Mary E., a daughter of Dr. Robert Burns of
Plymouth, who also died in 1879.
HON. CHARI.es a. PILLSBURY.
Charles A. Pillsbury, born in Warner, N. H., October 3, 1842, died at Minne-
apolis, Minn., September 18, 1899.
Mr. Pillsbury was the son of the late Hon. George A. and Margaret Sprague
(Carleton) Pillsbury. He passed his youth in Concord, and graduated from
Dartmouth college in the class of 1863, having largely paid his way by teaching.
He was subsequently for several years engaged in mercantile life in Montreal, but
252 NEW HAMPSHIRE NECROLOGY.
in 1869 went to Minneapolis where he bought an interest in a small flouring mill
at St. Anthony's Falls, and applied himself to the task of mastering the business,
which he did so thoroughly that some years before his death he was known as
the head of the greatest flour manufacturing establishment in the world, having
himself devised and perfected some of the most important improvements known
in the business. On account of ill health he had retired from active labor some
time since, but retained his vast interest in the great syndicate controlling the
Pillsbury-Washburn mills. Like his father, he was a decided Republican in
politics, but his only public service was that performed as a member of the
Minnesota state senate for ten successive years, from January, 1877.
Mr. Pillsbury was united in marriage, .September 12, 1868, with Miss Mary A.
Stinson of Goffstown, by whom he is survived.
REV. HARRY LAWRENCE VEAZEY.
Rev. Harry Lawrence Veazey, a brilliant young clergyman of the Universalist
faith, who was accidently drowned with his fiancee, Miss Ellen F. Calhoun of
Oak Park, 111., while boating on Caspian Lake, at Greensboro, Vt., August 16,
although not a native of the state was essentially a New Hampshire man. He
was born in Haverhill, Mass., July 25, 1870, his parents being natives of the
town of Brentwood to which they returned when he was a small child. He was a
remarkably precocious child, and at seven years of age could read and understand
anything printed in the English language. He obtained his preliminary education
in Kingston academy, pursued his theological studies at St. Lawrence university,
Canton, N. Y., and commenced preaching at Harriman, Tenn., where he was
ordained to the ministry July 25, 1891. In December, 1898, he took the Uni-
versalist pastorate at St. Johnsbury, Vt., and had already greatly endeared himself
to the society and community. Mr. Veazey was an earnest worker in, and the
president of the National Young People's Union of, the Universalist church.
During the absence of Rev. F. L. Carrier, as chaplain of the First New Hamp-
shire regiment at Chickamauga, he supplied the pulpit of the latter at Woods-
ville, where he also made many friends.
REV. JAMES THURSTON.
Rev. James Thurston of Dover, the oldest member of the New Hampshire
Methodist Episcopal conference, and long among the most prominent clergymen
of that denomination in the state, died at his home in Durrell street in that city,
on Friday, September 15.
Mr. Thurston was a native of Buxton, Me., born March 12, 18 16, his paternal
ancestors being among the earliest settlers of Newbury, Mass. He received his
education mainly at the famous Kent's Hill school in Maine, and commenced his
life-work as a preacher at the age of twenty-one years, remaining in Maine until
1848, when he was transferred to the New Hampshire conference, with which he
has since been connected, being stationed as a preacher in various cities and
towns, and serving as presiding elder in three different districts. For the last
quarter of a century he had been in impaired health, and had no regular charge.
Since retiring from active duty in the ministry, he had been somewhat prominent
NEW HAMPSHIRE NECROLOGY. 253
in politics as a Republican, and represented Ward 2, Dover, two terms in the leg-
islature, of which body he was also twice chaplain. He was also a member of the
last constitutional convention. In 1840 he married Mrs. Clara A. Flint of Lubec,
Me., who died some years since.
REV. G. F. EATON.
Rev. G. F. Eaton, D. D., presiding elder of the Cambridge district of the New
England Methodist conference, who died at his home, ri8 Oxford street, Cam-
bridge, Mass., Sunday, September 3, was born at Hillsborough Bridge, in 1837,
and early entered upon his studies at the Crosby Literary Institute, and completed
them at the Concord Biblical Institute. He was admitted to the New Hampshire
conference in i860. He was pastor at Ipswich, during the years 1863, '64, and
'65, and at Brookline in 1866 and '67. He was then transferred to the New Eng-
land conference and went to Massachusetts. He remained the then limit of three
years in each of the following churches in that state, beginning in 1868 : Cherry
Valley, Ware,Winchendon, South Street, Lynn, Milford, and Gloucester. In 1886
he went to Waltham, where he remained five years, and in 1892 was made presid-
ing elder of the Springfield district. In 1894 he was called to the Lafayette Street
church, Salem. The next year he was recalled to the work of a presiding elder,
and assigned to the Cambridge (then called the North Boston) district. It was in
this work that the last four years of his life were spent.
JOSIAH H. WHITTIER.
Josiah Herbert Whittier, son of Addison S. and Susan F. (Robinson) Whittier,
born in Deerfield, April 25, i860, died at his parental home in that town, Septem-
ber, 13, 1899.
Mr. Whittier had been in the employ of the Cocheco Woolen Manufacturing
Company, at East Rochester, as bookkeeper, for seventeen years. He was well
known throughout the state as the secretary of the New Hampshire Board of
Library Commissioners, and the author of the law requiring annual assessments
for library purposes. Largely through his untiring efforts the whole state, with
the exception of fourteen towns, has been brought under the operation of this
beneficent law. He has written several valuable articles on library work, and his
time and talent were freely given that New Hampshire might stand in the front
rank in the establishment of free public libraries.
CLARENCE HENRY PEARSON.
Clarence Henry Pearson, born in Ossipee, N. H., February 21, 1859, died in
Sequachee, Tenn., August 31, 1899.
Mr. Pearson was a son of John L. and Elizabeth Pearson who removed from
Ossipee to Belmont in his early childhood, where he attended the Ladd Hill
district school, and subsequently the Laconia High school. He evinced a strong
taste for literary work in youth, publishing an amateur journal for a year, at an
early age. Later he was for a time city editor of the Saginaw Michigan Herald,
but returned to New Hampshire and pursued the study of law in the office of
Jewell & Stone at Laconia. Subsequently he again went to Michigan where he
254 NEW HAMPSHIRE NECROLOGY.
was admitted to the bar, and located in the town of Gladwin in that state, where
he was in practice several years, but was forced to give up his practice and come
back to New Hampshire on account of ill health, being severely afiflicted with
rheumatism.
He resumed practice for a time in Laconia, but in 1890 removed to Sequachee,
Tenn., hoping by the change in climate to secure relief from the rheumatism by
which he continued to suffer. The hope was a vain one, however. He never
regained his health, and for the last few years his sufferings were most intense,
leaving him completely helpless for the last two years or more.
Despite his sufferings he cultivated his literary tastes and had long been
favorably known as a writer of prose and verse of more than ordinary merit. He
contributed for many years to various publications, and the readers of the
Granite Monthly have been among the most ardent admirers of his poetic
gems.
In 1893 he published a volume of poems, " The Prayer Cure in the Pines," and
other poems, and up to and including the present year in part contributed to the
Ladies' Home yoiitmal and other magazines, his wife writing from his dictation,
while he was suffering acutely, and unable to move hand or foot. His pro-
ductions have withstood the blighting blast of criticism, and are all of the highest
order, full of thought and depth and delicacy of feeling. In writing he wielded a
keen and trenchant pen, and his language was equally terse and vigorous. He
was thoroughly familiar \^ith the works of the best authors of the past, and with
an insight that was truly remarkable kept pace with the trend of modern thought.
He leaves a widow, formerly Miss Flora O. Bean of Belmont, with whom he
was united July 24, 1884, and who accompanied his remains to Laconia for
interment.
BRADLEY TRUE.
Bradley True, one of the most prosperous farmers and prominent citizens
of Lebanon, died in that town August 31, 1899. -^^ ^^^ born in Plainfield,
March 21, 1815, but had resided in Lebanon for sixty years or more. He served
the town three years as a selectman, and was twice a member of the legislature.
A VIEW OF MT. PLEASANT,
From the Raflroad to the Base ot Mt. Washington.
Tnn (iRAI^ITC A\onTMl£)q.
Vol. XXVIL
NOVEMBER, 1899.
No. 5.
THE BIRTHPLACE OF WHITTJER'S MOTHER.
Z^y Catherine Mordaiitt (2i(int.
ERHAPS it was because
Whittier is to me the best
and nearest of poets. Per-
haps it was a local interest
when I read in recent biographies
that his mother was born within the
ancient territory of the town of my
residence. Perhaps it was a union
of the two that led me, late in the
summer, to go to the deserted spot
where Abigail Hussey was born.
There is nothing peculiar about the
place, but I venture to write down its
common things. I took the guidance
from " Snowbound."
" Recalling, in her fitting phrase,
So rich and picturesque and free.
The common unrh5'med poetry
Of simple life and country ways.
The story of her early days, —
She made us welcome to her home ;
Old hearths grew wide to give us room."
In what was once entirely, and is
now partially, the eastern part of
Dover, is a neck or point of land ly-
ing north and south between two
rivers. The eastern river is the
Newichawannick, separating Maine
from New Hampshire, coming from
Quamphegan Falls, — "swift Quam-
phegan," says Whittier in "John Un-
derbill," and flowing into the Pas-
cataqua. On the western side of
this point is, at its upper part. Fresh
Creek, and at its lower, the Coche-
cho, into which it flows. The Co-
checho flows from its falls, in the cen-
tre of Dover, into the Newichawan-
nick.
" Tear from the wild Cochecho's track,
The dams that hold its torrents back."
This point of land, between the
two rivers, is, maybe, one and one
half or two miles in length, and
where the Hussey home was, less
than a mile from the southern end, it
is half a mile wide. It is partly
level, tranquil, of farms and some
woodlands, and partly broken by
gentle swells of land.
This point was occupied long be-
fore the year 1700. Near that time
Richard Hussey owned a farm of
some hundreds of acres lying across
this point. Portions of it came to
258
BIRTHPLACE OF WHITTIER'S MOTHER.
The Site of the House.
his son Joseph who married a grand-
daughter of that cruel constable,
John Roberts, who whipped the
Quaker women out of Dover in 1662,
and thus, by a peculiar fate, made
that man of stripes an ancestor of the
Quaker poet.
"Joseph Hussey, husbandman,"
made his will, January 27, 1762,
and it was proved two months later.
After the death of his wife, the farm
was divided, in 1785, between two
sons, Daniel and Samuel, — or rather
Daniel's heirs on one part, as Daniel
was dead. Samuel received half the
land and the eastern half of the
dwelling house. Samuel was the
poet's grandfather. It is a little re-
markable that some of the biogra-
phies which I have seen wrongly call
him Joseph, and also that all mis-
state as to the date of birth of Abigail
Hussey, the poet's mother, which a
family record, which I was fortunate
enough to find, makes September 3,
1779.
Samuel Hussey's wife was a gentle
Quaker, Mercy Evans. Her uncle
was that John Evans of Dover whom
the mother tells in "Snowbound,"
from one of the legends of Dover :
" And how her own great-uncle bore
His cruel scalp-mark to fourscore."
Samuel Hussey here had born to
him twelve children. The Scripture
names of Elizabeth, Mary, Susanna,
Ruth, Abigail, Anna, Phebe, Sarah,
are in the list, and Peter, Samuel,
Joseph, and there is Mercy, of whom
" Snowbound " says :
" The sweetest woman ever fate
Perverse denied a household mate.
Called up her girlish memories,
The huskings and the apple-bees
The sleighrides and the summer sails."
Samuel Hussey was dead in 18 15.
The inventory of his little property
is interesting. It is that of a New
Hampshire farmer living by honest
labor, wanting nothing, but with lit-
BIRTHPLACE OF WHITriER'S MOTHER.
259
tie beyond real needs. There is one
farm containing fifty-five acres, "with
half a dwelling house and half a barn
thereon," valued at 5^825. A horse,
some cows, some sheep are men-
tioned. Foppishness cannot have
belonged to him, for his wearing ap-
parel is appraised at only $18.25.
He owned half a plow and half a
grind.stone. There was also a loom,
a " linen wheel" and a "woolen
wheel."
" Our mother as she turned the wheel."
Many of us. New Hampshire
sons, know the "wdieel," which our
mothers deftly turned in their girl
days, although now put awaj^ in
some country garret, and the "loom"
whose dainty products are heirlooms
in our homes. But Abigail had
been gone to her new wedded home
nearly a dozen years when the father's
inventory was made, and Abigail's
brother, Peter, the eldest of the
family, took the place, but no Hus-
sey or Hussey blood is there now.'
To reach the old Hussey place one
drives out of Dover toward Eliot.
The present road turning off from
Henry Paul's, at about a mile from
the end of the point, is comparatively
new, having been made, perhaps,
between thirty and forty years. Mr.
Paul had it built. It originally was
a roadway entered by bars. This
road runs through the Hussey place.
The former path wound east of the
Hussey house and nearer the Ber-
wick river. Traces of this old road
are still there.
The house has been gone about
sixty years and the foundations
thrown into the field, but a slight
depression, once the cellar, is still to
be seen. Occasionally old-fashioned
1 Written thus far by Rev. A. H. Quint, D. D.
The Brook and the Path uo the Hill.
26o
BIRTHPLACE OF WHITTIER'S MOTHER.
A Pool in the Brook.
sunburnt brick are ploughed up, and
once the plough ran into an old well.
The Hussey land on the west ran to
Fresh Creek. Peter Hussey, the
poet's uncle, was the last Hussey
there. A great elm, still standing,
was planted by Peter, but Peter
"went to the eastward" and only
returned on an occasional visit.
The site of the old Hussey house
is one of quiet beauty, and the
scene can be altered but little since
the days of Whittier's childhood.
Toward the west still stand the In-
dian Hills, and Fresh Creek still
winds on its way to the river.
" Noiseless between its banks of green
From curve to curve it slips."
To the eastward one goes down the
.slope, crosses the "little trout-brook"
where trout are caught to-day, and up
the hill through the old, old woods to
the river which
" By greenest banks with asters purple-starred
And gentian bloom and goldenrod made gay,
Flows down in silent gladness to the sea
L,ike a pure spirit to its great reward."
Somersworth is not far from Whit-
tier's boyhood hoiue, and one can
imagine the visits at the old home-
stead where his grandmother lived
until her grandson John was nearly
twenty-one. There would be the
leisurely drive up through the pleas-
ant Hamptons where the ocean lay
" A luminous belt, a misty light,
Beyond the dark pine bluffs and wastes of
sandy gray,"
past the rocky promontory where the
trav^elers
" Saw the Head of the Boar toss the foam from
tusks of stone,"
through the Seabrook woods and
Greenland to Great bay, then over
the Pascataqua bridge, long since
borne away by the crashing ice floes
BIRTHPLACE OF WHITTIER\S MOTHER,
261
in a memorable spring freshet, up the
hill, from whose crest the view of the
bay, dotted with island and encircled
by woodland and meadow, is remark-
ably picturesque, on to Dover, the
earliest New Hampshire settlement,
with glimpses during the latter part
of the journe)^ of
" Agamenticus lifting its blue
Disk of a cloud the woodlands o'er."
Moses Cartlaud (the son of the
poet's mother's cousin, Elizabeth
Austin, who was the daughter of
Phebe Hussey) of whom Whittier
says
" In love surpassing that of brothers '
We walked, oh friend, from childhood's day,"
lived in lyce, less than fifteen miles
from the grandmother. Whittier
often visited the Cartland place.
Doubtless, a visit to one included the
other.
That the boy Whittier thoroughly
knew his mother's girlhood home is
evident from "Snowbound." This
knowledge could have been obtained
from his mother as she told ' ' the
stor)^ of her early days," from the
tales of " the dear aunt," who wore
" through all the poor details
And homespun warp of circumstance
A golden woof-thread of romance,"
supplemented by visits to the grand-
mother.
Whittier tells us that the children
" knew
What flowers in wood and meadow grew."
Here is such a place as would de-
light a nature-loving lad, and that
the " sh}^ still boy" found pleasure
in wood and field we know. This
love for "Nature" continued through
his life.
" The j'ears no charm from Nature take,"
he says.
rne Old Roadway.
262
BIRTHPLACE OF WHITTIER'S MOTHER.
In my visit to Abigail Hussey's
home, I especially noted the trees
and flowers, thinking that traces of
his early knowledge of the spot
could be seen in the poet's writings.
Things seen by "childhood's won-
der-lifted eyes" are never forgotten.
Whittier likes
" To pluck a flower from childhood's clime.
Or listen, at L,ife's noonday chime
For the sweet bells of Morning,"
and he says of himself in "My Name-
sake ' ' that
" On all his sad or restless moods
The patient peace of Nature stole ;
The quiet of the fields and woods
Sank deep into his soul."
The house stood on a high bank
above the brook and a path still
winds downward through the trees.
Near the old site is a horseradish
plant which for many years has come
up in the same spot. Early settlers
often had these in their dooryards.
By the path I saw alders, the "birch's
graceful stem," the clematis with its
feathery blossoms climbing from tree
to tree, the jewel-weed, ferns in abun-
dance, and on decajxd limbs the vel-
vety moss.
" And ever upon old Decay
The greenest mosses cling."
Toward the south down by the
brook are several enormous willows
"wet with dew," which, judging
from the size of their trunks, have
been growing for many years. They,
or those from which they sprung,
must have been there in Whittier's
childhood.
The brook with the "balsam-
breathing pines" on either side was
a source of never-ending delight.
BIRTHPLACE OF WHITTIER'S MOTHER.
263
with its little cascades and deep, still,
rocky pools. We can see the " bare-
foot boy ' ' throwing
" His light line in the rippling brook.''
The water of the brook is sweet to
the taste ; and we remember that
" the streams most sweet
Are ever those at which our young lips drank."
The sunlight glints down through
the branches, lighting up the almost
twilight shade made by the tall, over-
hanging trees.
And down again through wind-stirred trees
He saw the quivering sunlight plaj'."
I followed the brook for quite a dis-
tance toward its source,
Climbing the dead tree's mossy log,
Breaking the meshes of the bramble fine,
Turning aside the wild grape vine"
where " wood-grapes were purpling,"
-and finding it true that
fe^cM^n^'^--" "^^^ •' ; .w^m
"The Willows.
" Fringing the stream at every turn
Swung low the waving fronds of fern ;
And still the water sang the sweet
Glad song that stirred its gliding feet
And found in rock and root the keys
Of its beguiling melodies."
My journey toward the fountain-
head was only abandoned when the
tangled undergrowth seemed too
thick to easily penetrate. Across
the brook a well-worn path leads up
the hill to a broad wooded plateau.
The Old Orchard.
264
BIRTHPLACE OF WHITTIER'S MOTHER.
v^r
K
.fe.-...5^|g
-m
The Graveya'cl.
" Lo ! once again our feet we set
On still green wood-paths."
Verily, these are woods " that dream
of bloom."
" Soft spread the carpets of the sod,
And scarlet oak and goldenrod
With blushes and with smiles
Lit up the forest aisles."
Here are wild strawberry vines, but-
tercup leaves, the wood-ferns, the
dainty milkweed ready to fly, frost-
daisies, just coming into bloom, the
iron bush with its pink spires, and
all around "the breath of the sweet
fern."
" And Nature holds, in wood and field.
Her thousand sunlit censers still."
There are maples, pines, and hem-
locks with their " cone-like foliage."
It was midday when I stood there
" and the great pine trees laid
On warm noon lights the masses of their
shade."
A few sunken stones still mark the
old roadway east of the house. Fol-
lowing the road where
" I<ike the flowers of gold
That tawny Incas for their gardens wrought
Heavy with sunshine droops the goldenrod,"
then turning to the right down the
hill and crossing a log bridge we
come to the " Hussey spring." The
water runs out directly from a steep
hillside under tangled roots and then
through vines and mosses trickles
down to the brook.
" The wild brier-rose skirts the lane "
and berries tinged with scarlet " tell
where bloomed the sweet wild- rose,"
but only one blossom was left.
" In lovelier grace, to sun and dew
The sweet brier on the hillside shows
Its single leaf and fainter hue.
Untrained and wildly free, yet still a sister
rose ! ' '
The low white everlasting is there
and
" the sumachs grow
And blackberry vines are running."
The long pennons of the flagroot
bend over the water which is clear
and cold.
BIRTHPLACE OF WHIT TIER'S MOTHER.
265
" The wild bees made
A dreamlike murmuring in the shade,"
and one velvety fellow rested on the
rose blossom.
If you retrace your steps and
stand on the site of the house, at the
south you see the orchard. The
trees are gnarled and twisted, — vet-
erans of many a stormy winter.
Some are nearly dead, and the leaf-
less branches on others tell the story
of long lives. The old orchard, now
so weather-beaten, was young in the
Hussey daj'S.
Southwest from the house is the
ancient burial place. To reach it
we walked through a clover field,
and through the " long, green lances
of the corn," stirred by the gentle
summer breeze. The spot is an ideal
God's Acre. The land is high.
To the west lies Fresh Creek like a
silver ribbon in the sunlight and be-
yond the Indian Hills are blue. At
the south a grove of walnut trees
skirts the edge of the plateau.
" And the rough walnut bough receives
The sun upon its crowded leaves."
A "tree-perched squirrel" who "fed
where nuts fell thick," chattered
The Maple Chest.
from a little distance. The plot of
perhaps twenty by thirty feet is a
little knoll.
" They laid her in the walnut shade,
Where a green hillock gently swelling
Her fitting mound of burial made."
F'ive or six graves are easily discern-
ible. The mounds are still some-
what rounded, but the stones are
sunken almost out of sight. The
stones are the common field rock.
Here is the dust of Whittier's ma-
ternal ancestors. His great, great
grandfather died in the early part
of the eighteenth century, and his
great grandfather Joseph was buried
in 1762. There lie the brave, true
men and women who spent their
lives on the quiet farm, and then
were laid for their final rest on this
beautiful western slope.
Fortune favored me in that one,
who has done much in genealogi-
cal research, lived near. She showed
me two old chests which are known
to have come from the Hussey es-
tate. One is of curly maple with
old brass escutcheons. It has quaint
pigeon holes. This has been mod-
ernized simply by the addition of
266
THE ANGLER'S JOYS.
some top shelves. The inventory of
Samuel Husse}' mentions
" I Maple chest with drawers."
There is also another set with the
top gone. This is of " mahogany
maple."
I spent all day on the farm where
the mother of the poet played as a
child. Many times she saw
" How flamed the sunrise through the pines,
How stretched the birchen shadows,
Braiding in long wind-wavered lines,
The westward sloping meadows."
Her love for the old place she took
with her to her new home, and that
her children shared this affection we
know from "Snowbound." We can
well believe that the beauty of the
old homestead wrought its way into
^ the heart of one to whom
" The common air was thick with dreams."
The descending sun was sending
its level rays across the fields while
" Now and then a bird song gushed"
from the woods, when I turned from
the quiet, forsaken spot.
" From the graves of old traditions I part the
blackberry- vines,
Wipe the moss from off the headstones, and
retouch the faded lines.
The birthplace of Whittier's mother
will soon be only a tradition. There
are no ancestral halls to mark that
early home. But the allusions of
the poet to the sweet lives lived
there, and the happy incidents of his
boyhood visitations, preserved in his
works, will keep the tradition green
in hearts which hold near and dear
the gentle Quaker poet.
THE ANGLER'S JOYS.
By Clarence Miltoii SinitJi.
Creepin' along in the medder, fol'rin' the ramblin' brook,
Totin' a branch of alder with twine an' a home-made hook ;
Out in all kinds o' weather an' never carin' a mite,
Hearin' voices o' Nature an' learnin' a might}^ site ; —
I takes comfort in the summer an' wouldn't swap my place,
With a banker, er prince, nary one o' the human race.
Eurin' the trout from the waters, hidin' in darkness cool,
Hearin' the catbird in the trees, tryin' his mates ter fool ;
Sniffin' the odor o' the grass, cut an' turnin' ter hay,
Hearin' the bobolink trillin', the shrill shriek o' the jay ; —
I jes' glories that I 'm livin' an' would n't care a rap,
Fer a kerrige, ner bank account, an' all thet sort o' trap.
Hearin' the ripplin' of water, flowin' down through the dell,
Slakin' my thirst at the fouuting, drinkin' from fairies' well ;
Watchin' the clouds up above me, driftin' across the blue,
Seein' the beauties o' Nature, learnin' His goodness, too ; —
I 've been happy all my lifetime, an' would n't swap my place,
With a banker er prince, nary one o' the human race.
AMONG THE SANDWICH MOUNTAINS.
By Rev. George L. Mason.
N the words of my friend who
shared these delightful trips
with me ' ' the confused mass
of ranges, peaks, and groups
covering an area forty miles square
in northern New Hampshire, and
collectively known as the White
Mountains, has for its southern wall
the Sandwich range, trending east
and west through the towns of Al-
bany and Waterville." This is a
correct description regarding the
range, though, if we reckon Mt. Is-
rael and the small Sandwich range
proper among this greater range, ex-
tending from old Chocorua to Sand-
wich Dome, the town of Sandwich
comes in for a share. But old Israel,
with its 2,880 feet above the brine
of the Atlantic, is really detached
from the main range, and the smal-
ler mountains called the Sandwich
mountains proper, and a few lesser
peaks, are, perhaps, outposts or senti-
nels to guard the paths into the
mighty wall of the Sandwich range.
The town of Sandwich is the larg-
est in area of any in the state, being
laid out ten miles square. So then
the area is one hundred square miles,
or one sixteenth of the area of the
entire White Mountain group, and
if the group were arranged into a
square Sandwich's four sides would
each equal one fourth of the sides of
the White Mountain square. I^ike
many other New England towns this
town has lost much in population.
but its natural scenery remains as
beautiful as ever, and is becoming
more and more appreciated. Indeed,
Black mountain, the local appella-
tion, or Sandwich Dome, the more
dignified name, four thousand feet
above sea level, forms, according to
good judges, one of the three finest
views in the state.
Eess than a mile from the quiet
village of Center Sandwich, with its
two churches ringing out their peals
each Sabbath in the year, less than a
mile out on the stage road to West
Ossipee, is a rock or boulder by the
roadside called Sunset rock. Eet us
seat ourselves on this rock a short
time before old Sol shoots his hot
August rays behind Sandwich notch.
Soon we realize the apt local appella-
tion of Sunset rock. Worthy of an
artist's inspired brush, indeed, is the
picture of God's painting before us!
He is to be pitied, indeed, who has
no eye for the deep shadows, rosy
glow, and purple tinge to follow !
Gradually the deep shadows creep
up the sides of the mountains, the
dark maple, spruce, and fir forests of
sombre and frowning Black moun-
tain first going into mourning be-
cause of the retreating disc of the
great source of terrestrial energy,
the sun, which Sandwich notch too
soon receives in her loving embrace.
In a little while the white and almost
perpendicular cliffs of Whiteface —
some of them fully perpendicular —
268
AMONG THE SANDWICH MOUNTAINS.
catch the deepening gloom from
frowning Black mountain, but old
Chocorua's bold and piercing brow
still escapes the gloom, a rosy tinge
lingering "lovingly," as my friend
expressed it, upon his peak. This
rosy tinge dies away and is suc-
ceeded by a purple tinge. After a
little all is gloom, the mountains are
to slumber through the night to
smile upon us with refreshened brow
in the dewy morning.
My friend and I determined on a
few trips of mountain climbing. A
Sunday-school picnic is to be held on
the shores of Squam or Asquam lake.
What is a picnic of that description
to us? But the minister must not
"cut" a picnic of his own Sunday-
school. Full well he knows the con-
sequences, and full well, too, he
knows that such a picnic to the pro-
fessor is but a sorry attraction com-
pared with a certain fine lake and
mountain view in the vicinity. A
compromise is effected. The two
schemers will attend the picnic and
have the climb up the spur of Red
Hill, too ! Accordingly, they drive
as far as the team can be taken, take
the horse out, unharness it, hitch the
animal in a shady place, and forth-
with proceed to climb the spur, very
steep the latter part of the trip. We
cross the steep sides of the pasturage
land of the hill, enter the woods
nearer the summit — having a little
sport with a porcupine up a tree in
the brief forest — scale the cliffs, and
one of the most soul-satisfying views
in New Hampshire is before us.
Asquam lake is at our feet, neither
at too steep an angle or too near the
parallel, but at just the right angle of
vision for us to enjoy the beauties of
the silvery sheet.
On the whole I think Asquam lake
superior in beauty to Newfound lake.
So, at least, it seemed to us. The
placid sheet of silver lay calm and
smiling below us, the bays, inlets,
shores, and many other features of
the lake were attentively studied,
the course of a little pleasure steam-
er toward the picnic grounds was
watched, and the exclamations of de-
light from the usually undemonstra-
tive pair on the ledge constantly dis-
turbed the air. The mountain view,
as far as visible, was not neglected
either, but the lake view, especially
held us to the spot till fleeting time
admonished us that it was necessary
to descend.
On our return the same porcupine
occupied the same tree. He was in
a perch of safety, and brief was our
interview with him. The horse we
found safe where we hitched it, and
soon the rough and primeval-ap-
pearing picnic grounds were found.
While the horse, hitched to a tree,
munched oats, we joined in the picnic
with the happy children and their
guardians for the da)^ Dinner over,
we drove a roundabout way home in
order to get a long range view of
the entire Sandwich range from a
field near Sandwich village proper.
Long did we stud}- the succession of
peaks from great caterpillar, sprawl-
ing Ossipee range — that requires the
towns of Sandwich, Ossipee, Moul-
tonborough, and Tuftonborough to
hold it — to Chocorua, Paugus, Pas-
saconaway, Whiteface, Flat mountain,
a glimpse of Tripyramid, the Dome,
Israel, Sandwich mountains proper,
Red Hill, the Belknap range.
The whole area of Sandwich — ex-
cept the small portion back of us —
was laid out before us. Lake, val-
AMONG THE SANDWICH MOUNTAINS.
269
ley, lesser niouuts or hills, the most
of the dwelHng-houses in town, all
before us. We reached the parson-
age in good season. Israel, the
Dome, and Whiteface were destined
to receive our visits. These trips
will now be noticed, but not with a
design to preserve the chronological
order. So old Israel will do to be-
gin on. It was told us that he would
give us a pleasing view. Such it
was truly. Saturday was the day.
No sermon prepared for the morrow !
Never mind. An old one will do
this time. Sermons come every
Sunday, but the minister had not
climbed Israel for twenty years the
very month. Off we start afoot, ac-
companied this time by a guest of
black complexion, a genuine son of
Africa, of sterling worth, highly edu-
cated at one of our New England col-
leges, and soon to return as a mis-
sionary to his native land. We ar-
rive at a farmhouse right under the
mountain at morning milking time,
drink a quart of warm milk, take a
gallon maple-syrup can filled with
the same liquid, a can without any
handle and awkward to carry.
Never mind. There is no path up
Israel, hence it is a .sort of a go-as-
you-please arrangement. The kind
farmer, however, gave us sundr)^ di-
rections concerning sundry stone-
walls, a "gut" in the mountain side
caused by descending streams, etc.,
all of which directions we followed
as faithfully as we felt inclined.
The minister took the can of milk
without any handle, and other arti-
cles, including a "mess" of raw
potatoes to roast on the summit.
We were prett}- nearly roasted after
our two-hours' climb. But it paid.
Black mountain close by jealously
guarded the view to the north of him,
frowning down from a summit more
than eleven hundred feet above
us. The northern view is denied us,
but in other respects the view is
"pleasing." Asquam and Winni-
pesaukee smile up at us. Red Hill,
however, is jealous and so denies us
the view of certain features that
might have pleased us. The gallon
of milk in a wonderfully short time
was transferred from the can with a
small mouth to larger mouths and
still larger stomachs.
Reader, this is the solid truth about
that liquid fluid ! Five quarts were
disposed of b3^ the three pedestrians
that blessed day, to say nothing of
the solid food taken with us. Did
the roasted potatoes taste good ?
Never did potato served by any art
in a palace taste so supremely good
as did those tubers pulled out of the
hot ashes of the fire 2,880 feet above
sea level. Three tired pedestrians
reached the parsonage that night.
An old sermon sufficed for the mor-
row. Rather hard on the summer
boarders in the audience, perhaps,
but yet warmed-up articles are not
wholly unknown to them probably in
more ways than one.
Our first trip up the Dome was a
failure for sightseeing. A good path
clear to the top, two springs of water
on the way that slaked our thirst as
no beverage of man s device could
do. Our second trip, successful this
time, deserves some description. It
is some eight miles to the foot of the
mountain. We. start before light.
The day is unpromising, but we
hope it will "clear off." We put
up at a hospitable farmhouse a mile
from the base of the mountain, the
nearest, however. It rains. We feel
270
AMONG THE SANDWICH MOUNTAINS.
rather blue. But like a true Yankee,
the minister makes up for his abbre-
viated sleep of the night before by a
long nap on the haymow. The pro-
fessor sleeps for a shorter period.
Along in the afternoon there are
signs of "clearing off."
A bright thought occurs, for once,
to the minister. We will ascend to-
night, sleep in the log cabin near the
summit, and be up with the birds in
the morning. Three miles to the
telephone he goes, explains things
to the lady of the house and returns ;
the farmer promises to take care of
the team ; the good woman of the
house puts us up additional food in
the way of doughnuts right out of
the fat, a pie, etc. ; for a nominal
sum the son takes us in the wagon to
the base, and up we start. A guide
board tells a true tale, doubtless —
they say the distance is measured — •
three miles and twenty-two rods to
the top. We knew that on our first
trip. We noticed also that some wag
had placed a one before the three,
making the distance thirteen miles
and twenty-two rods. It almost
seemed so the first trip, but this time
our three hours were shorter than on
the first trip. Our collateral is a lit-
tle heavy, but the hospitable hut re-
ceives us before dark. Spruce and
fir logs were employed in its struc-
ture, the edifice hardly being a speci-
men of the highest modern architec-
ture, and not very elaborate in
equipment. A few rusty, tin cook-
ing utensils, a primitive fireplace in
one corner made of a few stones piled
up, a hole in the roof for the escap-
ing smoke, a bed of fir boughs on the
bare earth, logs for a pillow, our
blankets for covering. It is. the last
of August, a cold, damp night. A
fire is needed to warm us. We start
one. No view from the summit that
night. We eat our supper, with
spring water to wash it down, enjoy
our romantic situation, and, about
nine o'clock, go to bed. The prepa-
rations for slumber required little
preparation. The stick of wood for
d. pilloic was hard enough for a pillar-
in any climate. Nothing soft' about
it, especially the sharp knots trying
to jab into the right ear, then into
the left. We keep the lire going for
warmth and company. A thunder
storm comes up outside, and soon
some of it comes inside. A pail
cleverly fixed above our heads
catches the more numerous drops,
but we are literally between fire and
water. The minister slept next to
the fire. Our sleep was the sleep of
the tired, if not of the just, but about
three o'clock the cold compelled at-
tention to the fire. We thought it
would not pay to go to bed again, so
partook of an early breakfast nearlj^
four thousand feet above the Atlantic
ocean.
It did not "clear off" till about
nine o'clock, though we shivered on
the summit, off and on, from five
o'clock. Then the view, magnifi-
cent, grand, sublime, all around us !
A pole on the summit, from which
floated "Old Glory," placed there by
some patriot, indicated the points of
compass. The strong northwest
wind carried off the clouds. We
thanked the wind for its kindness,
and really felt grateful to the Divine
Architect who controlled it. Among
the hundreds of peaks visible we iden-
tified partly, with the aid of a map,
the following : Tecumseh, Osceola,
Cannon, I^iberty, Lincoln, Lafayette,
Garfield, Fisher, Hancock, Tripyr-
AMONG THE SANDWICH MOUNTAINS.
271
amid, lyowell, Auderson, the two
Kearsarges, Passaconaway, White-
face, Wonalancet, Paugus, Flat,
Israel, Red Hill, Moosilauke, Choco-
rua, Whittier, Ossipee, Belknap, P^ort,
Uncanoonucs, Monadnock, Sunapee,
Cardigan, Cari, Kineo, Cushman,
Waternomee, Green mountains, and
many others. But the Presidential
range was covered by clouds all the
three hours of our stay on the sum-
mit. The lake views vied with the
mountains. The villages of Center
Sandwich, Plymouth, Campton, Mere-
dith, and the city of Laconia were
discernible.
Once in seven years the town lines
must all be surveyed. We soon be-
came aware that this was the year,
because, already knowing that the
line separating Sandwich from Wat-
erville runs directly over the summit
where we were standing, and also
seeing the blazed trees and narrow
path cut by the surveyors, we at once
lumped to the logical conclusion.
One foot in Sandwich, 1,400 inhabi-
tants, in Carroll county, and the
other in Waterville, only 39 inhabi-
tants, in Grafton county, was the
feat we performed. The Appalach-
ian Mountain Club register, which
we found in an iron cylinder, told us
quite a story. PVom August 4, 1897,
to August 26, 1898, the day of our
ascent, 321 names were registered.
Of course we registered. The noon
hour saw us on our return.
Whiteface is about four thousand
feet in height, and disputes with the
Dome a few paltry feet of elevation.
The exact altitude of the Dome has
been given as 3,999 feet, and of
Whiteface 4,007, a matter of eight
feet in favor of Whiteface. Our
ascent of Whiteface w^as made in
xxvil— 19
three hours, that is, after we spent a
half hour in trying to find the first
end of the trail. The journey up
was even then partly a matter of
judgment and of the balancing of
probabilities ; but both of us being
Yankees, we "guessed" right every
time, wdien a pair of paths occasion-
ally disputed with each other for our
entrance. The summit reached, a
dense cloud hung over it during all
our stay. While disappointed, nev-
ertheless, there was much of local
interest. On the rocks could be
traced the course of the glacial
march of many thousands of years
ago. My friend, versed in botany
and geology, was delighted continu-
ally with his examinations. We
learned later, how, many years ago,
a cloudburst caused the memorable
slide, taking thousands of tons of
rock, dirt, trees, and all in its path,
leaving the precipitous ledges, cliffs,
or framework of rock, at a distance
the white face presented, suggesting
the name the mountain goes by.
A party had preceded us but a day
or two before, as a loaf of bread,
some plums, and other articles, in a
fair state of preservation, found on
the ground near the remains of a
camp, indicated. If we had decided
to remain all night, no doubt that
food would have been utilized, as we
had but a moderate supply of our
own. A huge rocking stone six feet
long we found. This was not a dis-
covery equal to the one on a branch
of the Bear Camp river, however,
near the path up the Dome. At any
rate we claimed the priority of dis-
covery. This discovery, or rather
the three discoveries, might as well
be described now. My friend really
made the discoveries, and I helped
272
AMONG THE SANDWICH MOUNTAINS.
do the naming. We found a deep
pool, which we called "The Pool,"
a charming bit of deep, placid water
near the junction of two branches of
the Bear Camp. Looking calmly
down into this pool was a face of
rock, a real resemblance to a human
face, which we called " The Sphinx,"
Near by was a curious pot-hole, in
which was a small round stone. We
took out the stone, but felt con-
demned as we might to rob a nest of
an ^<g^ and replaced it. It seemed
too bad to rob that pot-hole of its
smooth companion. We cut out a
path to these natural curiosities,
placed up signs, the date of discov-
ery, the name of the intrepid explor-
ers who discovered them, braving
the Bear Camp wnlderness as they
did, in a town that killed five bears a
year or two ago, as per the annual
report of ye selectmen. Within a
year two bears have been killed in
Sandwich, and in this town the pro-
fessor and minister made the discov-
eries mentioned.
A good chance for a simple outing,
family picnic, and general good time,
is afforded by White Ivcdge, the same
hill where gold was discovered years
ago and where there is an aban-
doned gold mine full of dirty water.
Our party of six, including an eight
months old baby belonging to the
wearer of the cloth, passed a day on
this hill. It looks down upon the
entrance of Sandwich notch, affords
a beautiful view of Asquam lake, of
the Sandwich range from a westerly
point of observation, and other ob-
jects of interest. We had a picnic
dinner. The air was in motion suffi-
ciently to be denominated a wind. We
realized this fact when we set the oil
stove going to warm some appetizing
stew. The table-cloth was spread
upon the uneven surface of the soil,
a clean, all-wool horse blanket served
as a seat, and we fell to with great
relish. Delmonico is cast into the
shade by a picnic dinner such as we
had among the maple trees on White
Ledge.
Of course we visited the aban-
doned gold mine. It looked about
the same as it did twenty years be-
fore this time to the very month, or
in August, 1878, when the writer
visited it as a twelve-year-old boy.
The water in the deep hole was just
as dirty. It looked like the same
water. As to this I am not sure. It
might have been a brand new sup-
ply, but the yellow, dirty color had
a familiar appearance that twenty
years had not changed. We threw
stones in to hear the water splash.
I did the same twenty years before.
Whether others have done so or not
the deep hole is not yet full of stones.
The dirty water still remains.
A ninety-nine-cent telescope came
into use on the north side of this hill,
but the wind blew the sight out of it.
It is pretty hard to see anything with
a ninety-nine-cent telescope that came
all the way from New York to use on
a windy day. Do not use a ninet)'-
nine-cent telescope from New York,
patient reader, especially on a day
when the wind blows. Pay, at least,
a dollar for a telescope if you have to
send to Philadelphia for it. A cheap
one does not pay. Pay more if you
have to send further.
Our picnic day passed without a
thunder-storm. A short time before
this "my wife and I" were on the
ledge when a sublime thunder-shower
came up, either via Sandwich notch
or Asquam lake, or both. At any
STORM ON THE NEW ENGLAND COAST.
273
rate we did not linger. The writer
was put in mind of another August
day in 1881, when he and two other
bo5'S were caught on this lake in a
thunder-storm. He was then fifteen
5'ears of age ; the sight was sublime
to him then ; he enjoyed it as a boy
would. We put for an island, tipped
over the boat, crawled under it, and
escaped a wetting. Another time
when we came down Black moun-
tain, or the Dome, in a thunder-
storm, on one of our trips before
mentioned, we reached home in a
perfect shower bath from the heavens.
There was not much sprinkling about
it, I can testify, and so can my friend,
the professor. He is a Presbyterian.
All too soon the day of parting
came. That da3^ however, was long
to be remembered as the one of our
round trip ride on Lake Wiunipe-
saukee, bidding farewell at Alton
Bay and returning to Center Harbor,
thence with our team to Center Sand-
wich via shores of Asquam. A sixty
mile ride on this lake in the steamer
Mt. Washiiigion for only seventy-five
cents afforded a fitting close to that
season's enjoyment with our com-
panion. Now, after another winter,
another glorious season has also come
and gone, and many from other parts
have breathed our mountain air,
gazed upon the grandeur and sub-
limity of the Sandwich range, and
once more concluded that life is
worth living if one can only feast his
eyes upon God's handiwork in these
mountains.
STORM ON THE NEW ENGLAND COAST.
By Frederick Brush.
A golden sun in the piney west
Makes ships of gold on the eastern sea ;
And they ever go sailing and sailing b}^
Into the night where great hopes die,
And never come in to me.
Silver moon high out in the west ;
Silver ships on a shimmering sea
Go sailing and sailing all trim and true,
While I am awaiting a word from you —
And never one comes to me.
Weird lights figure the blackened west ;
Storm and night meet over the wave.
And his ship out on that starless sea
Is fighting for life and love and me —
Oh, that a prayer might save !
Morn is streaming out of the east ;
Blackest night and the storm's low moan
Are over my soul forever more.
The village-folk gather about my door,
But I am alone — alone.
Dl^,/\CHaKti1:
0Ti{^LRCier<5.
I.
DONAIvD, a rock
pyramid towerino^
8,000 feet, stands
like the warder of
his clan among
the mountains of
the Selkirk range. A veritable High-
lander is Sir Donald, in bonnet and
kilt ; and the broad glacier which he
never throws back from his huge
brown shoulders is unsurpassed
among the plaids of all his kith
and kin.
To the traveler, glaciers are al-
ways striking objects of curiosity and
delight, and the great Pacific Moun-
tain system, of which the Selkirks
are part, affords verj- many excellent
opportunities for the study of them.
Some of these, it seems to me, must
eventually prove in no wise less in-
viting to the earnest student of na-
ture than do the more noted streams
of the Pyrenees, the Swiss Alps, or
the Juras, — certainly in some re-
spects they far surpass them.
For some time prior to the year
1840, Louis Agassiz had studied
glacial phenomena in Europe, es-
pecially in Switzerland, his home-
land. From close observation of
By H. J I'. Brown, M. Sc.
existing forms he had prepared him-
self to defend the then almost as-
tounding proposition that all north-
ern latitudes, even including our fair
New England, were once for a long
time covered by deep, moving, grind-
ing fields of ice.
Think of it — that the very spot
whereon we now stand should ever
have been buried thousands of feet
and for thousands of years under
the crushing weight of dense mov-
ing ice ! Yet of this there is evi-
dence.
It was while resting beside a rapid,
milky, snow-fed torrent, high among
the Rockies of Canada, at the very
foot of Sir Donald, that I first clearly
realized how nearly identical are the
visible effects of a living, active
glacier with those ancient traces
which are, even to this daj^ so
readily to be recognized all over
old New Hampshire's granite hills.
It was these ancient traces that
early drew^ Professor Agassiz into
our state, into the "Alps of Amer-
ica," for the further prosecution of
his own profound and indefatigable
researches. Many others have fol-
lowed him. But a phenomenon, as
STOSS AND LEE.
275
truly as a prophet, is not without
honor save in its own country ; and
these local evidences, which long have
been so full of interest to scientists
and to man}^ tourists, are not being
given appropriate consideration by
our own people.
Every schoolboy, we may suppose,
can pass his test upon such terms as
striae, neve, roclies moutonnees, and
stoss and lee ; yet I fear the simple
glacial fact, even as it pertains to
New Hampshire, is often held by
him as though it were hardly more
than problematical. Commonly, too,
I judge, glaciers, whether of the an-
cient or of the recent sort, are looked
upon as abnormal, or, at least, as un-
essential, within the realm of nature ;
while to many they are suggestive
only of catastrophe and ruin, in the
self-same category, let us say, with
cyclones, earthquakes or — defeat of
the party.
To a person, however, who chances
to stand, say, at the base of Sir Don-
ald, it certainly is otherwise by far.
To him this marvelous possibility of
nature both appears and appeals not
only as a veritable reality but as one
of the most reasonable and appropri-
ate things in the world. Its massive
proportions, its scarred, seamed, and
crevassed surface, the feeling for its
own great weight and inherent power
which it inspires, together with what
might be called its vast avalanchic
possibilities — these combined tend to
render a glacier not only the fitting
accessory to all rugged mountain
scener)^ but a quite essential feature
of it. One is led almost to regret
that the familiar old home peaks,
Washington, Jefferson, and Lafayette,
were ever denuded of that hoary crest
which still might serve for them as
the proverbial crown of glory.
II.
Glaciers are frequently defined as
rivers of ice, a term which applies
very well to the comparatively small
At tne Base of Sir Donald.
276
STOSS AND LEE.
valley or Alpine form ; but there are
glaciers and glaciers, and the other,
or great continental form, if we would
extend the metaphor, must be spoken
of as a sea of ice, and this definition
is not nearly so fortunate.
Local or valley glaciers, among the
Rocky Mountains to-day, as has been
indicated, are common enough. One
often meets them high among the
mountains of the northern ranges and
far into Alaska. Essentially, they
are huge masses of compressed snow
and ice. While some of them are
very large indeed, within the United
States such as exist at all are quite
small and are correspondingly unim-
portant.
The origin of all such glaciers is to
be sought in that accumulation of
snow which often occurs in high alti-
tudes. This has always been the
occasion for them, similar conditions
must always produce them.
If seen at a distance such ice
streams, with their tributaries, look
not unlike our own snow patches as
they appear in spring. How those
white masses incline to linger upon
the summits of Kearsarge and Cho-
corua, lying prone like some monster
ophiuran that spreads its long tenta-
cle-like arms far down the sloping
valleys to sweat and ooze and melt
away on plains below. Yet they are
quite different, in this especially, that
they move ; besides, the true valley
glacier is vastly larger than these
caps and is permanent. Its source is
within the realm of perpetual snow.
No heat of summer is sufficient to
melt it entire!}'' away — only to re-
duce it ; while in winter it creeps
resistlessly forward, inch by inch, an
advancing front of solid ice pushing
everything before it. Huge rocks
accumulate within its sides and upon
its surface. Its outlines are obscured
by snow and rubbish at the base, but
weird sounds proclaim its stealthy
approach, and soon all the important
geological processes usually ascribed
to its far grander primeval progenitor
are on once more.
The valley glacier is both a sample
and a type. It illustrates its own
class and it refers to larger things.
Historically, such glaciers are relics
of a remote past. Within the great
realm of life, those absurd and de-
generate marsupials, now to be found
only in Australia, remain to typify
an old-w^orld fauna. So these abor-
tive ice forms remain to evidence an
old-time geological condition. Con-
ceive of that condition, if you can,
and then marvel at results even now
visible in rounded hills, deep and fer-
tile valleys, smiling intervales and
productive soil.
Like the mills of the gods, glaciers,
even valley glaciers, grind slow, but
"they grind exceeding small." They
are the very embodiment of power.
Hence at no season of the year, in
the presence of any one of those plas-
tic yet almost resistless stone crushers
of the mountains, can there be au}^
doubt as to the possibility of that old-
time condition or any question as to
whether the accrued energy of those
vaster prehistoric forms was sufficient
to accomplish all that is claimed for
it. One sees the same kind of work
going on before his very eyes. Hence
the question becomes but a simpler
one of time. But, fortunately, is not
time plentiful ?
Glaciers might not have been the
only agency at work in those earlier
ages, one may say— probably they
were not, but if they existed at all
STOSS AND LEE.
277
An " Indian Mound.
and were of this sort, that is, if this
same agency could have been multi-
plied a million-fold, as it doubtless
was both in extent and power, why,
then, with but a modicum of time,
they could have done all that is
claimed for them. Certainly they
could, and more and more.
They could have rended these
ledges, transported these boulders,
ground these rocks, formed these
clays ; they could have rounded
these flinty out-crops, planed these
perpendicular cliffs, scored these
massive stones, reduced to powder
this granite and gneiss. Together,
with the water of melting, they might
successfully be brought to account for
all the materials of these sand beds,
these level reaches of debris, these
"horse backs," "Indian mounds,"
and hummock}' hills, these river ter-
races, deltas, and dunes. Glaciers
could have done all this, we say,
and — is it not needless to affirm ? —
they did do it.
It is precisely this fact that the
New Hampshire schoolboy is asked
to prove from the results of his own
observation. To the careful eye the
surface of New Hampshire every-
where discovers their ancient and
altogether unmistakable imprint.
Their former presence here is clearly
revealed in the fullest displa}^ of
every possible phase of glacial action.
Mountains and hills, valleys and
plains, alike confirm the same stu-
pendous probability of their own not
over-distant past. Thus, verily and
verily, that long, that mysterious gla-
cial age of the world's more recent
history is not a dream. Neither is
it a myth. While the results of that
far off labor are now being acted
upon by other and constant forces, or
are being appropriated for subse-
quent ends, and while many of the
effects of that ice period already have
become obscured or lost, yet there
can be no shadow of doubt that a
broad, deep, continent-spanning gla-
278
STOSS AND LEE.
cier, the mighty ageut of Creative
Intelligence, did here at one time
perform its own divinely appointed
work, and that it lacked no essential
element for the prosecution of its
great and beneficent purpose. That
purpose, ultimately, we must plainly
see, was the preparation of the north
temperate zone, by the grinding and
distribution of soil and rock material,
for the important mission which it is
to-day fulfilling. That mission is
the furnishing of an acceptable home
for the hardiest manhood, the sturdi-
est personal character, and the stout-
est virtue that the world has ever
yet sustained.
III.
With Mars at perihelion and Earth
at aphelion, the telescopic vision of
the astronomer has to span a dis-
Mars.
tance of only 36,000,000 miles in
order to look directly upon the sur-
face of our next door neighbor in the
heavens.
Much is still conjectural concern-
ing the physical conditions upon that
planet, yet Mars should have his
seasons much as Earth does, and
there is no doubt that ice patches
surround both his northern and
southern poles. It is a most interest-
ing matter of observation to see those
gleaming white caps slowly spread-
ing down over the twenty- seven de-
grees of his frigid zone during the
Martian winter. It is quite as pleas-
ing to see them slowly melting back at
the approach of his summer solstice.
Unless we are greatl}^ deceived,
broad dark borders and torrents and
pools of melted ice can also be dis-
tinguished during the warmer sea-
son, draining across rusty colored
land and emptying their floods into a
blue-green sea. To an observer,
the sight of all this makes the fact
of somewhat similar terrestrial ice-
sheets seem far more tangible to the
mind — certainly more definite in the
thought. It furnishes a touch of
nature whereby all worlds may seem
akin.
Now all broadly extended masses
of snow and ice of this sort, whether
of the past or of the present, and
wherever seen, are called by geolo-
gists continental glaciers.
To an imagined inhabitant of
Mars, who, from his great distance
should view our own arctic snow
fields, especially if he could see them
as they existed in ancient times, the
phenomenon would be quite accu-
rately explainable by reference to
facts of his own ; that is, he would
regard them as monstrous accumu-
lations of congealed moisture.
Planets of the solar system superior
to Mars are known to be too highly
heated to admit of any approach to
glaciation. As planets they are far
too immature. Planets inferior to
Earth are doubtless as much too old
— whatever experiences we may con-
ceive them to have had during earlier
eons. Our spectral old moon may not
have escaped, — at least we are not
STOSS AND LEE.
279
sure that she has not telt the pres-
sure of the same icy hand. But her
glacial age must have occurred, if at
all, a very long time ago, or, mani-
festly, before she had experienced
that inevitable world-calamity, the
loss of all her atmospheric air and
moisture. We must infer that the
presence of glaciers is evidence of
planetary prime.
Upon the earth, although fast los-
ing many an ancient outpost of his
once broad dominion. King Glacies
retains relentless sway over several
enormous realms. Arctic explorers
tell us that nearly all of the vast is-
land of Greenland, for instance, is
still permanently covered by an ice
sheet having a probable area of more
than 500,000 square miles. At the
seashore this continental glacier has,
in places, a sheer depth of a thou-
sand feet at least, while farther in-
land, where the surface of the earth
is never bared beneath the rays of
even a summer sun, those intermin-
able snow fields must sometimes at-
tain to a thickness of fully one mile.
The buoyant force of ocean water
lifting the protruding edge of the
Greenland glacier wrenches off huge
masses, which fall and topple over
into the sea and go floating down as
pinnacled icebergs to melt and dis-
integrate in the waters of warmer
climes. Many coastal shallows have
been formed by the transported
debris of these icebergs.
The Antarctic continent also is
said to consist of hardly more than
one great, deep, monotonous waste
of snow, not to mention smaller areas
in different parts of the world.
The source of any such nicr dc
glace, like that of the valley form, is
always to be found in some cold
region of great annual precipitation
where more snow falls in winter than
can possibly be disposed of in sum-
mer. Year after year the snow in-
creases. It piles up, partially melts,
and, by reason of its own mass, is
compressed into ice. Because of its
ponderous weight and plastic nature,
it spreads itself widely out from its
geographic centre, conforms to topo-
graphic conditions, yields to gravity,
flows slowly down hill and pushes up
slopes, expands with heat, contracts
with cold, wrinkles, splits, cements
again, wears, tears, erodes, severs
pinnacles from headlands, drags
along debris, removes every possible
object, and then, at last, its force
expended, dumps all its rocky rub-
bish, pell-mell and helter and skelter,
wherever most convenient — unto it-
self.
There are some remarkable fields,
possessing hardly any movement,
that are so conditioned as to sup-
port a considerable vegetation upon
their surface. But, as a rule, the fore-
going phenomena of the continen-
tal glacier have always attended it.
They are identical in kind, if not in
degree, with those of the vestigial
valley glacier of our day. Traces of
former valley glaciers are not at all
uncommon among the hills of New
Hampshire, and are deserving of
careful study, yet there is good
reason for believing that these marks
are the work of some comparatively
recent epoch.
The true and all comprehending
ice age of our latitude, whose effects
more deeply concern us, must have
come to its somewhat abrupt close
many thousand years ago.
[ To be couchidfdJ\
VINDICATION OF THE ARMY OF WEST VIRGINIA
(or Eighth Corps), at the Batti^e of Cedar Creek, Oct. 19, 1864.
OR a third of a century the
Eighth Corps has rested un-
der the suspicion that the
totaHty of the surprise on
the left at the Battle of Cedar Creek
was due to lack of vigilance, or neg-
lect of proper precautions on the part
of the corps commander, or division
commander, or officer of the day, or
to lack of watchfulness or of wake-
fulness on the picket line, or gulli-
bility of pickets, by which they fell
victims to the stratagems of the
enemy, or to an unwarrantable feel-
ing of security in that corps, or to
neglect of phenomena presenting
themselves to the pickets in the
night, but which were not investi-
gated, or to an illy performed recon-
noissance from that corps on the pre-
ceding day, or to some undefined,
unsoldierly quality that had suddenly
possessed some of the best soldiers of
the Union armies.
General Wright devotes one fifth
of his report of the battle, dated
November 27, 1865, to an explana-
tion of, and apology for, the surprise
of that morning, and tries to trace it
to the extreme feeling of secvirit)^
resulting from the reconnoissauce
from this corps of the day before,
which, he intimates, was not car-
ried to a proper distance to the front,
the reconnoitering party reporting
that the rebel army had retreated
up the valley. But such a defense
could not exonerate ; it could only
confirm existing suspicions.
The suspicion that all was not
right on the picket line of the Eighth
Corps has led to romantic and weird
stories of pickets silently seized after
stealthy and cat-like approaches in
the dark, of the relief of pickets by
rebels in Union garb, of mysterious
consciousness of invisible human
presence beyond the lines, and the
muffled tramping of marching hosts
near the pickets in the impenetrable
gloom, all of which may be passed
by as idle imaginings in view of the
fact that the night was so bright that
at 3:30 Early and Kershaw could see
the Union camps in the moonlight.
Besides, at the hour of the alleged
mysterious sounds the rebels were
not within a mile of the Union pick-
ets. What happened to the pickets
will be told in another place.
The fact that Early succeeded in
his purpose of surprising the First
division cannot be seriously ques-
tioned, but the extent of that sur-
prise, and the manner of it, and how
it was met, and its real consequences
are worthy of investigation.
But it is not amiss to commence
this part of the discussion with a
reference to the completeness of the
agreement of historical writers in the
statement that the men of the Eighth
Corps were caught in their beds and
captured in their blankets, or com-
VINDICATION OF THE ARMY OF WEST VIRGINIA. 281
pelled to flee undressed, or half
■dressed, a swarm of harmless fugi-
tives, less dangerous than a dis-
organized mob. 1)1 all researches
made, the icriter has failed to find one
histoiian who does not revel in the idea
that the Eighth Coi'ps icas asleep ivhen
the Rebels went in over the breastivorks
of the First division .
Charles Carleton Cofhu, in "Free-
dom Triumphant," page 49, says,
"It was five o'clock. Gordon had
crossed the Shenandoah, seized the
Union pickets, formed his brigades
by Mr. Bowman's house, and had
crossed the fields to the breastworks
thrown up by Thoburn's division.
They swarmed over it with exultant
yells. The soldiers in their tents
thus suddenly awakened found them-
selves prisoners. Some, half dressed,
seized their guns. Before the regi-
ments of Thoburn's division could
form, the Confederates were upon
them."
The following histories convey
substantially the same idea, — George
E. Pond, Lossing's Civil War, Pol-
lard's lyost Cause, Harper's History
of the Great Rebellion, Greeley's
American Conflict, Nicolay and
Hay's Abraham L/incoln, and many
accounts by military writers.
General Horatio G. Wright, who
was in command of the army that
morning, but who was not within a
mile of the spot, says in his report :
"The surprise was complete, for the
pickets did not fire a shot, and the
first indication of the enemy's pres-
ence was a volley into the main line,
when the men were at reveille roll
call, without arms."
We learn from this report that the
general did not credit the story of
the firing into the tents of the sleep-
ing men. But he alone introduces
the idea of reveille roll call. General
Wright does not agree with the offi-
cers of Thoburn's division in any
particular as to details. As partici-
pants in the affair, these officers are
entitled to greater credence.
General Crook, commander of the
Eighth Corps, in his report, dated
November 7, 1864, page 365 of part
I, volume 43, Rebellion Records,
who was no nearer to this part of his
lines that morning than the position
of the Second division, omits the
idea of slumbering camps, but says
candidly and justly, "At about 4:30
A. M., another force of the enemy
crossed the creek in front of the First
division, and soon after the enemy
came rushing in solid lines of battle,
without skirmishers, on my pickets,
coming to the works with those of
the pickets they had not captured, in
overwhelming numbers, entered that
portion of the works not occupied by
our troops, and soon were on the
flanks and in the rear of the First
division and the two batteries, com-
pelling them either to retreat or be
captured."
Having given ample proof from so
many historical writers, civil and
military, to show that for one third
of a century writers of popular litera-
ture have permitted their powerful
influence to fasten a species of oblo-
quy upon the brave men of the
Eighth Corps, both officers and rank
and file, making them serve as a foil
to draw attention away from the
shortcomings, if any there were, of
the rest of the army, the writer pro-
poses to ask you to go, in imagina-
tion, into the camp of Thoburn's
division at about four o'clock of that
eventful morning and with him ob-
282 VINDICATION OF THE ARMY OF WEST JFRGINIA.
serve the state of affairs, and whether
at five o'clock the men were asleep
in their tents and were awakened by
a "ringing volley" fired into their
camps, and their arliller}- all cap-
tured without firing a shot.
We find here encamped in rear of
the works, which faced Cedar Creek
to the south, seven regiments and
one battalion of infantry, constitu-
ting the First and Third brigades of
the division, with two six-gun bat-
teries and one four-gun battery.
The First brigade consists of the
Thirty-fourth Massachusetts regi-
ment, Fifth New York Heavy Ar-
tillery battalion, ii6th Ohio regi-
ment, 123d Ohio regiment.
The Third brigade consists of
the Fifty-fourth Pennsylvania regi-
ment, Tenth West Virginia regiment.
Eleventh West Virginia regiment.
Fifteenth West Virginia regiment.
The artillery consists of First Ohio
Light Battery L,, four guns ; First
Pennsylvania Light Battery D, six
guns; Fifth United States Battery B,
six guns.
It is dark yet, a fog having envel-
oped everything since Early and
Kershaw were looking at the Union
camps at 3 : 30, in the moonlight.
Objects are not distinguishable at a
distance of more than thirty paces.
There is a strip of woods in front of
the left and some woods in the rear.
The Pennsylvania battery is en-
trenched near the left of the line.
The United States battery is on the
right and the Ohio battery of four
guns farther to the right, command-
ing the Cedar Creek bridge at the
pike. There is a ravine or hollow in
rear of the camp, running down to
Cedar Creek, and then a hill to the
north, on a part of which the Second
division is located. The battalion of
the Fifth New York Heavy Artillery
is on picket down by Cedar Creek.
Some of the officers are astir, as
Major Withers of the Tenth West
Virginia, Lieutenant-Colonel Wildes
of the ii6th Ohio, and Captain Du-
pont, chief of artillery, and probably
others.
They hear picket-firing, some say
on the right, some say on the left,
some say in front.
Some say it is four o'clock, some
say it is about half-past four, and one
says it is between five and six. Some
say " early in the morning." They
all mean the same thing, and just put
the time in their reports as it seemed
to them when their reports were writ-
ten, within a week's time.
Skirmishing with a foe by the pick-
ets in the dark is heard. The divi-
sion officer of the day reports the
advance of a heavy force from the
direction of Cedar Creek, in front.
Captain Dupont orders the reveille
sounded. There is a quick seizing
of weapons, brief commands, hasty
forming of companies and regiments
and manning of breastworks, and the
cannoneers stand by their guns.
Col. T. M. Harris, who commanded
the Third brigade, tells the story in
his report, as follows :
"At about 4:30 A. M. the enemy
advanced in heavy force against the
works of the Finst division, pushing
in rapidly whatever of the picket line
he failed to capture. The division
having been aroused by the firing
along the picket line and subsequent
skirmishing of the pickets with the
advancing foe, as also by the division
officer of the day, who reported the
advance of a heavy force, was quickly
formed behind the works, and put iu
VINDICATION OF THE ARMY Oh WEST \TRGINIA. 283
position for defense as far as practica- was in line of battle fully three fourths
ble. Very soon the enemy's line ad- of an hour before the attack was made,
vanced close up to the works, and were and the information was sent to divi-
greetedby a volley from our whole line, sion headquarters a half hour before
The action here was sharp and brief, the attack was made on my right."
the greatly superior force of the enemy The report of Capt. Andrew Potter,
enabling him not only to turn our left in command of the Thirty- fourth Mas-
but also to effect an entrance between sachusetts, of the First brigade, says :
the First and Third brigades. Being "About 4 a. m. the regiment was
thus subject to enfilading fires as also drawn up in line, and soon after picket-
to a direct fire from the front, these firing was heard in the direction of the
two brigades were driven from the line occupied by the Fifth New York
works." Heavy Artillery. In a very short time
The report of Lieutenant-Colonel after the enemy was seen in front of
Thomas F. Wildes, ii6th Ohio, com- the line of breastworks occupied by
manding the First brigade, says : the First division. Department of
"About four o'clock in the morning West Virginia, the regiment imme-
of the 19th of October, 1864, I heard diately engaged in action with the
brisk picket-firing on the right and enemy, who delivered a heavy fire
left of the position occupied by my into our front and on our right flank,
command. I immediately ordered the opposite the position occupied by the
brigade under arms behind the forti- Fifty-fourth Pennsylvania. We con-
fications. In a few minutes I heard tinned our firing until the enemy
a volley of perhaps twenty rifle shots, were seen inside the breastworks of
and a yell as though a charge was be- the Fifty-iourth Pennsylvania, and
ing made in the direction of a picket also over the breastworks of the
post in front of ray left. I at once di- Fifth New York Heavy Artillery,
rected Captain Karr, of my staff, to vacated by the regiment being on
inform Colonel Thoburn that there picket duty. Thus surrounded on
was considerable firing along the our right and left, receiving a fire
picket line. I then went to the from the right, left, and front, and
right of my command, to a position the force on our right having retired,
occupied by the Third brigade. First the order was given to retire, and the
division, when I. discovered that some regiment became scattered and bro-
pickets were coming in." ken."
He then details movements before Major H. Kellogg, commanding the
the command was forced out of the 123d Ohio, in his report, says:
works, says he formed a line of his "We were alarmed about 4:30
brigade on the hill overlooking the o'clock in the morning by picket-fir-
ravine in the rear ; moved his com- ing in our immediate front. The
mand to the pike, fighting to the right regiment was immediately formed be-
and front, and formed his brigade with hind the breastworks. After remain-
the Nineteenth Corps, and fought till ing a short time in line we were or-
that corps and the Second division of dered to move by the right flank
the Army of West Virginia withdrew, and occupy the works built by the
He further says: "My command Fifth New York Heavy Artillery.
284 VINDICATION OF THE ARMY OF WEST VIRGINIA.
We had hardl}' got into position be-
fore the regiments on our right were
heavily engaged, and men being
driven back. After firing a few
rounds, we were ordered to move
by left flank and occupy our own
works." They formed with the bri-
gade in the rear, as related by Colo-
nel Wildes.
Captain John Suter, commanding
the Fifty-fourth Pennsylvania, Third
brigade, in his report, says :
"On the morning of the rgtli, be-
fore daylight, when I was first ap-
prised of picket-firing on our front, I
ordered the regiment to turn out un-
der arms, which was done by the
companies forming in their quarters
and afterward marching to the breast-
works in front. Before the line could
be properly formed, the enem}^ ap-
parently in a mass, were observed
advancing along the whole front, and
already at the abatis. My regiment
opened and maintained a fire until,
the enemy getting in our rear from
the extreme left of the line of works,
we were compelled to fall back.'' He
says a portion of the regiment rallied
in the skirt of woods in the camp, and
disputed the advance of the enemy for
a time.
Major Henry H. Withers, in com-
mand of the Tenth West Virginia,
Third brigade, says in his report:
"On the morning of the 19th, I
was, for some reason, very restless,
and rose much earlier than usual ;
had taken my seat in my tent and
commenced eating my breakfast when
I heard several shots fired in tolerably
quick succession ; thought, however,
the pickets were disturbed by some
unimportant event until I heard a
vollej^ fired apparently from the left,
where the vSecond division was forti-
fied ; then almost immediately I heard
a volley from our part of the fortifica-
tions, when, leaving my breakfast, I
ran to the extreme right of the line,
where I encountered an enfilading fire
from the left, and found the men
from my regiment throwing them-
selves down in the trenches, and hur-
rying into the works. . . . The
regiment then marched double-quick
to the foot of the hill below fortifi-
cations, where it was formed, etc."
Captain Van H. Bukey, command-
ing Kleventh West Virginia, in his
report says :
" Near 5 a. m. the firing on the left
alarmed my camp, and the men were
quickly in line under arms at the
works, immediately to the left of the
battery on the extreme right of the
line. When I arrived at the works I
found some of my men firing to the
front. ... I ordered them to cease
firing. ... I had not passed from
left to right of my regiment, however,
before the Fifteenth West Virginia,
on my left, fell back from the works,
and my flank received a pretty severe,
but, owing to the fog and darkness,
not accurate, fire. My regiment then
gave way by companies from the
left obliquing to the right and rear
down the hill. Moved ' by right of
companies to rear,' having formed a
perfect line (across ravine toward
pike), formed column, and filed to
rear of left of Nineteenth Corps."
His organization disappeared when
the Nineteenth Corps fell back.
I^ieutenant William Munk, of Bat-
tery D, First Pennsylvania, in his
report says :
"On the morning of the 19th of
October, 1864, at reveille, as was then
the custom, my cannoneers went to
their posts at the guns, and presently
I'INDICATION OF THE ARMY OF WEST VIRGINL4. 285
several musket shots were heard in
the direction of my front. This was
the only intimation of an enemy near
at hand until they were discovered
advancing in line of battle not twenty
yards from my battery. I immedi-
ately opened fire on them with can-
uister, firing some fifteen rounds,
when, the infantry supports on my
left offering but little resistance, the
enemy were enabled to reach the in-
side of the works, and, after firing a
volley, charged the battery with
fixed bayonets, and with clubbed
muskets drove the cannoneers from
their pieces."
Captain Henry A. Dupont, chief of
artillery for Battery B, Fifth United
States Artillery, reported as follows :
' ' Upon the sudden attack of the
enemy before daylight on the morn-
ing of the 19th, First lyieutenant
Henry F. Brewerton, Fifth United
States Artillery, who was in com-
mand of the battery, had the men on
the alert, and immediately ordered
the guns to be loaded with cannister.
. . . He succeeded in getting in a
few shots in that direction (the left)
from the two pieces of his centre sec-
tion. The infantry on the left then
breaking and abandoning their works
(which were at once occupied by the
enemy). Lieutenant Brewerton turned
the two pieces of his left section
upon them now within the works,
and fired at them with cannister
until they had advanced to within
twenty-five paces of his guns, when
he ceased firing, and ran the pieces
by hand down the hill to the cais-
sons." One piece was lost.
Captain Frank Gibbs, of Batter}^ I,
First Ohio Battery, reports taking
position, and opening fire upon the
enemy. He was farther from the
parapet, and had no difficulty in get-
ting away with all his guns to do
good service throughout the day.
Captain F. C. Wilkie, commanding
battalion New York Heavy Artillery,
of the First brigade, in his report tells
the fate of the pickets •
" The battalion was on picket in
front of the First division. About
one hour before daylight some rebel
cavalry appeared in front of the left
of the lines, but, being fired upon, re-
tired. That portion of the line then
deployed as skirmishers. Shortly
after, a column of the enemy crossed
the creek on the right of the line,
was fired upon by the pickets posted
there, also by the small reserve, but
they did not return the fire. The re-
serve fell back in skirmishing order,
but were unable to check in the
slightest degree the advance of the
enemy. With the exception of about
forty men capable of bearing arms,
the whole battalion was captured."
Thus embraced in this paper are
extracts from the reports of the two
brigade commanders, of six out of
eight regimental commanders, of the
officer in command of the pickets,
and of every battery commander.
The report of the other regimental
commander is of the same tenor, sub-
stantially, as those given, but is
omitted for want of space.
At the risk of tediousness these ex-
tended quotations have been given,
so that the condition of things behind
that parapet just before the attack
and during the struggle may be told
by eye witnesses, as well as the
events upon the picket line.
From these witnesses, who can say
with the hero of the siege of Troy,
"All of which I saw, and part of
which I was," we learn that the
286 VINDICATION OF THE ARMY OF WEST VIRGINIA.
pickets were on the alert and did
their duty, and were nearly all cap-
tured ; that the firing of the pickets
alarmed the division ; that every regi-
ment and battery was under arms ;
the infantry at the works and the
cannoneers at their guns ; that a
short but heroic resistance was main-
tained, until the men at the breast-
works were outflanked, right and left,
and the centre was penetrated ; that
every gun (but two) was in action
and well served ; that only seven
guns out of sixteen were lost ; that
the left battery was fought until the
cannoneers were bayoneted at their
guns ; that many of the regiments
retired in good order, and so re-
mained and fought until they were
broken in the retiring of the Nine-
teenth Corps from the position at the
pike under Gordon's assault ; that
the statements of the historians, civil
and military, are false to facts, unjust
and misleading, and especially that
the pickets were not overcome by
stratagem or deceit, but retired fight-
ing manfully ; and that the rebel
advance was not first announced by
volleys fired into the slumbering
camps of the Eighth Corps, but that
this division was under arms to re-
ceive them.
This testimony, as a whole, shows
that the division was surprised and
overpowered under circumstances en-
tirely to their honor.
By wa}^ of corroboration, a quota-
tion is now offered from Captain J. P.
Sims, commanding the advance bri-
gade of Kershaw's assaulting col-
umn. He says, narrating events
from a point on the road between
Strasburg and the ford :
"Here a halt was ordered until
nearly five o'clock, when I was or-
dered to move down the road until
the brigade had crossed over, and
then turn down the creek and form
in line of battle parallel to the creek,
and to advance immediately to the
front ... to drive the enemy's
pickets in without firing upon them,
and not fire until the enemy's line
was reached, all of which was strictly
complied with, . . . receiving the
shots from the enemy's picket line
without replying, but continuing to
move forward with unbroken front
through the volleys of musketry and
cannon which they were now^ exposed
to until they reached the enemy's
works. The enemy made a stubborn
resistance. Some of them were shot
down while firing upon our men at
the distance of a few feet."
If their enemy in arms is thus gene-
rous in his tribute to their valor, the
friends of the Eighth Corps cannot
afford to perpetuate an iniustice.
Note. — This compilation of authorities and argument thereon is furnished bj' E. D. Hadley,
of the Fourteenth regiment, New Hampshire Volunteers, who was in the first brigade of the
Second division of the Nineteenth Corps, and shared the vicissitudes of the day at Cedar Creek.
OUR BANNER.
By Fyede)-ick ilfyroit Colbv.
All hail ! our starry banner,
The ensign of the free ;
The standard of our gallant sires,
The flag of I^iberty.
Long shall it wave from I^ake to Gulf,
From shining sea to sea ;
Its blazoned bars for Union,
Its stars for Constancy.
Beneath this flag our fathers
Fought gallantly and well ;
Its snowy field was crimsoned
Where many a hero fell.
It led our hosts at Stony Point,
Monmouth, and Brandy wine ;
It gleamed o'er Yorktown's tented field,
In Eutaw's groves of pine.
Unfurl the glorious standard
That waved at Queenstown's fight ;
That through the waves with Perry
Gleamed like a meteor bright.
Through Southern swamp and everglade
It led our boys in blue ;
By cactus groves of Mexico
Its stars were drenched with dew.
Upon its starry folds of silk
Has streamed the Afric sun,
When on the battered walls of Derne
It showed a victory won.
In lands of olive and the palm.
In sunny Southern seas.
This flag has cheered a thousand hearts
Amid the battle's breeze.
xxvii— 20
288 A PIONEER FAMILY.
Aye, mauy a heart has beat with pride
To see it float on high,
Its stripes and stars, all radiant
Against the sunlit sky.
Borne on by conquering freemen
It never shall be furled,
Till with its blazoned splendor
It floats o'er half the world.
Aye, far and wide its folds shall stream.
O'er pleasant sunset lands,
From sparkling islands of the sea
To Klondike's golden sands.
And nations yet unborn shall greet
The flag our fathers bore,
The flag that led our heroes on
In the storied days of yore.
Then hail ! our starry banner.
The ensign of the free ;
The standard of our gallant sires.
The flag of Liberty.
lyong shall it wave from Lake to Gulf,
From shining sea to sea ;
Its blazoned bars for Union,
Its stars for Constancy.
A PIONEER FAMILY.
By C. F. Biirge.
N 1818 Illinois was admitted several locations. The Wethersfield
as a state in the Union. Its (Conn.) colony, of which Rev. Caleb
southern portion was settled Jevvett Tenney (a native of Hollis,
gradually, but the Indians N. H.) was a prominent member,
roamed over the northern half up to selected land in Henry county,
the end of the "Black Hawk" war Abner Bailey Little, a native of
so called — 1832-'34. About 1835 Salem, N. H., and a grandson of
colonies were organized throughout Rev. Abner Bailey, married Nancy
New England and New York, whose Tenney of Hollis, a sister of Rev. Dr.
agents visited Illinois, and made Tenney. This couple lived in Salem,
-^ PIONEER FAMILY.
289
Goffstown, and Hollis for fully thirty
years. In 1836 the parents with ten
children migrated to Henry county,
111., and assisted in the laying out of
Wethersfield. The father was the
first moderator, cast the first vote,
and spaded the first ground for
garden seeds in that township. He
was then sixty-two years of age.
Two of the sons were present at
the first county election, June 19,
1837, Henry being a voter. Caro-
line W., a daughter, and her partner
were the first couple married in
this new county. The mother, an
earnest Christian woman, led her
family to her Saviour, and into
many and varied Christian activities,
through the hardships endured b}'
first settlers, for eleven years, and
then passed to the eternal home.
The father (died 1863) saw many
changes in population, buildings,
the incoming of railways, telegraph,
the printing press, etc. Each of
the children lived earnest, busy lives.
Five of them enjoyed golden wed-
dings. Eight of them scored 610
years, and the father ninety years.
The youngest of the six sons died
August 29, 1899.
Ralph Augustus Little was born
in Hollis, N. H., September 16, 1825,
being nearly seventy-four years of
age. He assisted his father in build-
ing their log house (one room) in
1837. It is standing to-day, being
one of the oldest dwellings in the
county. It has been lately encased
to better preserve it to the future.
The deceased was a live farmer and
managed a large dairying interest.
He was a master in music, having
for almost thirty years been a leader
of sacred and glee clubs, and chor-
ister in several churches (without
pay). He is survived by a wife and
eight children, who were privileged
to be with him in his last hours.
He had a home orchestra of seven
members, all of the family circle.
One of them has become noted for
her magnificent voice in song. The
funeral was very largely attended
from many parts of the county, the
deceased being known as an old
settler and worthy citizen. He is
also survived by one brother, Hon.
Henry G. Little of Grinnell, la.,
author of "Hollis, N. H., Seventy
Years Ago," also " Reminiscences of
Newington, Conn.," and two sisters,
Caroline, a partner in one of the
five golden weddings, and Sarah F.,
the youngest of the pioneers.
In the lineage of this family we
find ministers, doctors, professors,
teachers, and honored citizens. New
and true honors have been built by
them. Scores have been encouraged
to useful and belter lives by them
and their example. New Hampshire
has had many such Christian pio-
neers go out from her borders to aid
in moulding new communities into
the ways of virture and honor. May
our old Granite state continue to be
a contributing power to develop the
paths and fruits of righteousness and
prosperity.
MOUNT WASHINGTON.
By Adelbert Clark.
T is one thing to read an illus-
trated article of Mount Wash-
ington, but quite another to
get a view of its matchless
beauty with the natural eye, as it
towers far above the others, white as
the lily's inmost leaf, or the snowy
clouds at morning. But as there are
many who cannot, for various rea-
sons, visit the mountains, I will en-
deavor to give a brief sketch of some
of its principal points of interest. I
say brief, for it would require a vol-
ume to express all that could be said
of this marvelous elevation which is
6,291 feet above the sea.
There are manj^ beautiful and
strange places to visit on the moun-
tain, and there are several ways of
getting to the summit. By the way
of the bridle path which starts from
the Crawford House, is one of the
most delightful tramps for the pedes-
trian — a distance of about nine miles.
This path was opened in 1840, and
up to 1849, when the Mount Wash-
ington Railway was built, it was the
most accessible path to the summit
from the west side of the mountain.
The carriage road was begun in
1855 and finished to what is known
as " The Ledges," half way, in 1857.
On the eighth of August, 1861, it
was finished to the summit, and
until the opening of the railroad in
1866, as far as Jacob's Ladder, the
travel over it was large and sufficient
to make the enterprise self-sustain-
ing. The views from this road are
exceedingly fine, and in pleasant
weather the ride, either up or down
the mountain, is very enjoyable. Its
length from the Glen House, which
is on the east side of the mountain,
is eight miles, and it has an average
grade of twelve feet in one hundred,
the maximum being sixteen feet in
one hundred. It is said to be about
twice the length of an air-line be-
tween the starting point and the ter-
minus on the mountain. There is a
toll of sixteen cents for the pedes-
trian, eighty cents for a single horse
team, and two dollars for a four-
horse team. The cost of this road
was not far from $150,000. It is one
of the most beautiful carriage roads
ever built, and is always kept in
splendid condition.
The railroad, which was finished
in 1869, is on the west side, is three
miles long, and has an average rise
of one foot in four, the steepest being
thirteen and one half inches to the
yard. The running time is one and
one fourth hours, and only one car
is run with each engine. It is the
first cog-railroad built in this or any
other country and was the invention
of Sylvester Marsh of Littleton. The
engines now in use on this road have
the ordiuarj' t3'pe of locomotive boil-
er, but are somewhat shorter, ownng
to the steepness of the track. The
boilers ar-e set in the frame with the
front end eighteen inches lower than
292
MO UN T WA SHING TON.
the back, so as to strike a medium
between the flat and sharp grades.
On each locomotive are two pairs of
cylinders, eight inches in diameter
and twelve inches stroke, called re-
spectively the back and forward pair.
Each pair is connected together by a
toughened steel crankshaft, on which
is a steel pinion of twelve teeth that
engages with a phosphor bronze gear
Engine, Mt. Washington Railway.
of sixty-four teeth on the main or
driving axle. On this axle is the
main cog-wheel which meshes in the
cog-rail in the center of the track.
This wheel has nineteen teeth, four
inches from center to center, and at
each revolution the engine is pro-
pelled six feet and four inches ; but
the cranks have made five and one
third revolutions, and have sacrificed
speed for power.
Most people do not realize the
work these engines perform. For
illustration, imagine a building 3,700
feet high, and a block of granite on
the ground that weighs eighteen
tons. To lift this block to the top
of the building in seventy minutes
would be called a great feat. This
is practically what these engines are
doing every trip.
In coming down the mountain no
steam whatever is used, gravity alone
doing the work and the machinery
holding back. As soon as the gears
commence to revolve, each end of the
cylinders is alternately open to the
atmosphere. At the end of the
stroke the openings are automati-
cally closed, and as the c\dinders are
filled with air, unless there is a
chance for it to escape the engine
would remain stationar}-, but with
suitable valves under the control of
the engineer the air is released and
the .speed regulated. There is a
very fine stream of water admitted
to the cylinders as a lubricant, and
as compressing air generates heat,
this water coming in contact with
the hot walls of the cylinders flashes
into steam and gives one the impres-
sion that steam is used.
The first hotel on the mountain
was built in 1852. The Tip-Top
House was built in 1S53. The sig-
nal station was established in 1870.
From 1870 to 1892 the United States
government maintained a station for
weather observations at the summit,
and for seventeen years of that period
the observers remained on the moun-
tain top, winter and summer. The
present Summit House was built in
1872, and is a fine, large building, as
can be seen from the illustration,
having, at least, one hundred rooms
for the accommodation of guests. It
is the highest elevation occupied by
any summer resort hotel in the coun-
try. From the broad platform the
views are fine, and in clear weather
the ocean is visible from the Isles of
Shoals down to Mount Desert. The
extent of view from the extreme east
to west, is nearly three hundred
miles.
In all, there are nine buildings on
MO UNT J J \4SHING TON.
293
the summit, comprisiug the old Tip-
Top House, the Summit House, the
observatory, the old signal station,
the round-house lor sheltering the
trains when prevented by heavy
storms from descending, the printing
office, where Avio71q- the Clouds is
published, the stage office, and two
stables.
Just below the Summit House,
near the railroad, is the monument
to lyizzie Bourne, who perished there
September 14, 1855. She started in
the afternoon to walk from the Glen
House with her vmcle and his daugh-
ter, up the carriage road, then built
only half way up the mountain.
The fair weather led them to keep on
toward the top, but a sudden and
violent storm soon overtook them.
About ten o'clock at night, when
within onl}' forty rods of the summit.
Miss Bourne sank exhaused and died
almost instantly. Her friends re-
mained with her during the fearful
gale until morning, when they dis-
covered how nearly they had reached
their destination. Assistance was
obtained at the old Summit House,
to which they were going, and her
body was tenderly carried down the
mountain to the Glen House and
afterwards taken to Kennebunk, Me.,
her home, where she was buried.
One evening not long ago. Prof.
George H. Barton, of the Massachu-
setts Institute of Technolog5^ gave
an interesting talk on the geology of
the White Mountains with special
reference to Mount Washington. He
explained the processes of mountain
formation — the intense heat of the in-
terior, with the cold exterior, and
the consequent folding and cracking
of the surface. After the mountains
had risen above the waters with
which the surface of the earth was
covered, millions of years ago, there
were two forces at work upon them —
one force from the interior, upheav-
ing them, and the other, exterior, in
the .shape of storms — the rain, melt-
ing the snows, etc. The torrents
that rushed down their sides formed
gorges, and ridges overhung these
cuttings from above. The storms
The Old Tip-Top House.
washed the latter away, and valleys
and canons were formed, a process,
which, after millions of j^ears, had
whollj' transformed their appearance.
There was a constant contest be-
tween the forces that elevated the
mass and those that wore them away.
The forces from the center acted at
irregular intervals of time, and the
mountain ranges were being forced
upward as they were washed down-
ward.
Professor Barton gave a descrip-
tion of the rocks of Mount Washing-
ton, w-hicli are familiarlj^ known as
the mica schist and gneiss. vSome
idea of the age of the rocks on this
elevation may be gained from the
fact that the sand stones in which
fossils are found are estimated to be
seventy-five million years old, and
the Mount Washington rocks are
294
MO UNT \ I 'A SHING TON.
The Lake of the Clouds.
Copyright, iSqr, by C. P. Hibbard, Lisbon, A'. H.
thought to be older than that, as
they do not contain fossils. He said
the White Mountains were once one
great dome-like mass, much larger
and higher than now. The mass
has been cut and washed away dur-
ing the millions of years, until we
see the results around us. He de-
scribed the formation of the moun-
tain as a succession of layers of
partly stratified rock. The summit
of Mount Washington was once in a
basin surrounded by higher eleva-
tions, produced by the shrinking and
crumbling of the earth's surface as it
cooled. These have been washed
away, leaving the lowest point of
the basin very near what is now the
summit of the mountain.
He referred to Professor Hitch-
cock's conclusion, some years since,
that the cone of Mount Washington
was above the ice cap, as he found
there were no glacial marks until he
had descended about five hundred
feet. Professor Hitchcock has since,
he said, come to a different conclu-
sion. He found a certain kind of
stone on the mountain which could
have come from nowhere else than
Cherry mountain. Ice action alone
could have brought these rocks to the
mountain. Therefore, the accepted
idea is that the cone of Mount Wash-
ington did not form an island that
protruded through the great ice cap,
about ten thousand years ago, but ice
covered all — to what tremendous
thickness can only be conjectured.
One young man asked the profes-
sor how the top of the mountain be-
came so broken up, and he answered
that it was mainly due to the action
of frost. He illustrated by citing the
presence of water from rains in the
crevices of the rocks, and then the
action of the rocks, and then the
action of the frost, with its great ex-
pansive power, which split and broke
them apart.
MO VNT WA SHING TON.
295
On the west side of the niovmtain,
a short distant from the summit, is
the lyake of the Clouds, which from
the summit appears to be only a few
feet in diameter, but which covers
nearly an acre. Its water is clear as
crystal, and it is here that the Am-
monoosuc river takes its rise, and for
the first three miles of its course it
has a fall of over 2,000 feet.
The cloud scenes from the sum-
mit are very beautiful, as the clouds
are seen floating around the distant
peaks, or scudding along the side of
Mount Washington itself. Most of
the time the mountain is capped with
clouds, and it would be useless to
attempt to describe the splendor of
that vast heaving sea, with its snowy
whiteness, glinting and glittering be-
neath the rays of the noonday sun
like the surging billows of the
mighty deep ; or at the hour of sun-
set, when bathed with the most deli-
cate pink, slowly deepening to the
rich glowing crimson of a budding
rose. One might remain on the
mountain a lifetime and never see
the scene repeated. But each day
brings forth new beauties. Some-
thing similar is often observed, but
in its details the effect or combina-
tion is never twice alike.
While at the Summit House last
summer, a young man told me of a
most magnificent cloud effect he had
witnessed during his stay there. One
morning, quite early, he when out to
see the sun rise. Far off in the east
the heavens were banked with heavy
clouds like mountains of snow, and
as he stood gazing upon the marvel-
ous splendor, it seemed to grow even
more beautiful in the delicate tints of
pink, pearl, and opal. And lo ! as
the sun steadily mounted upward
(though not yet visible), there was
every appearance of a city in perfect
whiteness, with numerous domes and
spires, sparkling and flashing, ablaze
with fires of gold. By and by the
clouds parted, revealing the great
ball of fire veiled with soft gossamer.
Then swift, yea swifter than one can
Sunrise on Mt. Washington.
Copyright, i8qi, by C. P. Hibbard.
?96
MO UN T WA SHING TON.
Crystal Cascade.
think, a shaft of gold pierced the
mass and the whole was ablaze. It
was beautiful, but that does not half
express it. This is only one of the
cloud effects viewed from the summit
of this grand old mountain, and each
day reveals glories not seen before.
It is surprising to many who visit
the mountain when they learn the
divisions of vegetation from the base
to the summit. First, the lower for-
est of hardwood trees, with firs, pine,
mountain ash, etc. ; then the upper
forest of birches, balsam and moun-
tain fir. These trees are dwarfed
and very tough, made so
by the heavy winds. Next,
the Alpine region, present-
ing the Labrador tea, the
Ijilberry, the mountain sand-
wort, and the evergreen cow-
berry. Beyonc^his, farther
up the mountain, are many
plants peculiar to Labrador
and Greenland, such as lich-
ens, the reindeer moss, etc.
Many of the varieties are
very beautiful and are very
numerous in the Great Gulf,
on the north side of the
mountain, or Tuckerman's
Ravine on the east. Near
the base of the mountain is
a group of pines, once beau-
tiful, but now bare and gray,
made so by the hand of
Time and the fierce blasts
of the mighty winds. They
are known and spoken of
as "The Skeleton Forest."
Long years ago, ttiy woodland dim
Was clothed with living green,
And sweet wild flowers and tangled
vines
Were thriving there between.
But now, thy long, slim, bare, gray
arms
Are all that 's left behind
To mark the land of days gone by
Where waved the whisp'ring pine.
Yet, 'mid thy creaking branches bare.
The squirrel skips along.
And in the purple dusk at eve.
The night-bird dings his song.
And when the moon mounts up the sky
And on thy branches shines,
We see the ghosts of bygone years—
The skeletons of the pines.
Probably there is no other place of
so much interest on the mountain,
and so frequently visited as Tucker-
man's Ravine. It was named for
Prof. Edward Tuckerman of Am-
MO UNT J VA SHING TON.
297
lierst college, who speut many years
visiting it in search of the many
Alpine plants which grow there in
profusion. Last summer a friend,
Daniel Champion, and myself, took
a trip up through this beautiful
"Mountain Coliseum." When we
left Darby Field Cottage, in the
Pinkham Notch, it was a fine, clear
morning; not a cloud was visible.
The summit was just tipped with the
flame of the rising sun. The path,
which led the way through the forest,
was in good condition, and either
side was richl}^ banked wMth wild
flowers, and to walk beneath those
giant trees at the base, was like a
dream of delight. The path followed
closely the banks of a brook that
went laughing and dancing merrily
on its way. After we had tramped
perhaps a couple of miles we came
in view of Crystal Cascade, the most
beautiful waterfall I ever beheld,
which had a fall of about forty feet.
About half a mile beyond the falls
we came to Hermit lake. Of course
this was ver}^ small, but it went to
make up a part of the beautiful scene
that lay before us. We were now in
the ravine, which is very much in
the form of a horseshoe. On either
side, the great walls of the ravine
towered above us more than a thou-
sand feet, and stood boldly up against
the deep blue sky. The head wall
of the ravine is very precipitous, and
the various little streams which go
dashing over the rocky ledges have
been appropriately named the " Fall
of a Thousand Streams."
At the foot of these falls the snow
piles to a great depth during the
winter months, and, as it begins to
melt in the spring, an arch is formed
several hundred feet in length, and
twenty or more feet in width, and of
sufficient height to admit of persons
walking through it. But this is
rather dangerous. In 18S6 a young
man was killed by the falling of the
arch, and. several others badly in-
jured. The snow usually remains
till the middle of August, and has
Head Wall of T „.„.,:;,„,. . Ra.,:,,, :.:;. ,■,'.,-
Copyright, iSqr, hy C. P. Hihhard.
298
MOUNT WASHINGTON.
been known to stand until the first of
September. It is delightful to stand
and look up the great ravine, but
much more so to stand on the head
wall and look back. Here and there,
in the distance, are seen lakes and
ponds, like mirrors, reflecting back
the heavens. And rivers like silver
ribbons winding their way through
fields and meadows to the distant
seas. Were it accessible by car-
riages, thousands would visit it,
where hundreds now go. The storm
clouds gather about the mountain
sometimes in a very short time, and
the pedestrian, when enveloped in
them, should take great care and
not mistake the white rocks for the
painted ones. There are many who
have thus been deceived and lost
their way.
Last February two young men left
the Iron Mountain House, Jackson,
directly after breakfast, and drove up
to Darby Field Cottage, at the be-
ginning of the " new Jackson road "
up Mount Washington. Taking to
their snow-shoes they made a rather
rapid climb to the Halfway House.
The weather by this time had be-
come quite cloudy and the tempera-
ture had risen to some thirty- eight
degrees, with absolutely no wind.
P'rom here they pushed on, more
slowly, to the five-mile post, and at
this point encountered a strong, cold
wind. Just above the road became
completely lost in a vast snowdrift
for a considerable distance. At the
six-mile post it commenced to snow,
and, from many previous winter ex-
periences on the mountain, they well
knew it would be most dangerous to
proceed any farther. But one was
determined to keep on, so the other
followed, and together they struggled
on upward in the face of the wind,
which had now become a gale. As
the}^ neared the summit they were
enwrapped in a dense "frost-cloud,"
and made the last few hundred feet
in an almost blinded condition.
They succeeded in removing a
shutter from the stage office and
opening the window, climbed
through and found a supply of wood
and were not long starting a fire, as
they were very cold, and would have
to spend the night there, which cer-
tainly seemed safer than to attempt
to make the descent while the dense
cloud and high wind continued.
They barricaded the window by
means of a board platform, probably
used for entering the stage ; against
this they braced their alpenstocks,
and held them in place by means of
a table. As the night progressed
the wind blew more and more furi-
ously ; the velocity was probably, at
least, a hundred miles an hour, and
while the roar was most continuous,
it would, at times, reach even fiercer
maximum, while the heavy chains-
pounded on the roof like sledge ham-
mers, and the house trembled in
every fibre.
About 2 A. M. the wind became so
terrific that it seemed as if the house
must go, and they made a desperate
attempt to reach the Summit House.
From this time on, however, the
wind sensibly decreased, and by 7
A. M. they decided it would be safe
to make the descent by the side of
the railroad, where, for the first half-
mile they would be partly protected
from the full force of the wind. So
they started out, and, though for a
short time the wind made a fierce at-
tack on them, it was not long before
they were below the danger zone,.
MO UNT WA SHL\ ^G TON
299
and soon came out of the cloud and
reached the timber line. From here
down they had no more wind, and in
place of the frost a warm mist gath-
ered, which made snow-shoeing ex-
tremely difficult.
Another interesting feature are the
slideboards, used by the workmen on
the Mount Washington Railway to
make the descent of the mountain
after each day's work. Some of the
best riders have made the descent
from the summit to the base, a
distance of three miles in three
minutes. About i o'clock each da}',
one man goes down to examine the
track and see that it is in good con-
dition.
The board is constructed so as to
fit the top of the cog rail. It has two
guiding arms, one on each side. A
piece of iron projects from these arms
to a point underneath the rail, which
slightly projects from the timber on
which it rests. By pulling up on the
handles, or arms, the speed of the
slideboard can be checked, and thus
prevent it and its rider from flying
off into space. No one except the
workmen is permitted to use them,
as it requires experience to manage
them without danger to the rider.
Not long after the road was con-
structed, an experienced person con-
nected with the signal station, while
making the descent, ran into a de-
scending train and was instantly
killed.
The workmen come up the moun-
tain with their boards in the morn-
ing, on the train, and are left at dif-
ferent points along the road, where
they are engaged in making repairs
on the track. At night, at the close
of work, they get on their boards
and slide to the base station, and they
can be usually seen by those on the
last train for the summit. As they
come dashing down the track at fear-
ful speed it would seem impossible to
stop them, but that is easily done by
applying the brakes, though it would
be dangerous for an inexperienced
person to attempt to manage them.
Jacob's Ladder, Mt. Washington Railway.
ADMIRAI^ DEWEY WELCOMED TO NORWICH.
By Col. Henry O. Kent.
October 13, i8gg, Admiral George Dewey, the hero of Manila Bay, visited Northfield, Vt., the
present site of Norwich university, from which institution he graduated in the same class with
Col. Henry O. Kent of Lancaster, and there laid the corner stone of the new university building —
Dewey Hall. Upon his arrival at Northfield the admiral was accorded a royal greeting by the
assembled facult5', alumni, students, and a vast concourse of citizens. The formal address of
welcome on behalf of the institution was given by his old friend and classmate, Colonel Kent,
the senior member of the board of trustees, and is here presented as of special interest to New
Hampshire people, not only because of the nativity and residence of the speaker in the state, but
also because of the intimate relations of Admiral Dewey, himself, with the old Granite state,
both bj' marriage and early associations.
T is an honor, greatly esteemed,
to speak in this presence for
our venerable university in
welcoming her most famous
son — he whom the nations applaud,
who has accomplished grand results
for the country and won deserved
honor for his native state, his alma
mater, and himself — Cadet George
Dewey of the olden time ; admiral-
in-chief of the navies of the Union.
Vermont properly enjoys the dis-
tinction of this illustrious career, but
it may not be amiss that on this gala
day of hers, our president assigns to
a son of New Hampshire this gra-
cious privilege of extending wel-
come. New Hampshire was closely
connected with the earlier history of
Norwich university. it was a gal-
lant gentleman of that state, after-
wards president of the United States,
and long a potential metuber of our
board of trustees, who led the brigade
of the chivalrous Ransom in Mexico.
It was Col. James Miller of New
Hampshire, who, at Chippewa, made
the hi.storic response to the doubting
question of the commanding general
— " Colonel Miller, can you take
that battery?" "I'll try ! " — a
promise that was redeemed in vic-
tory and has since been borne upon
our escutcheon and seal.
We have passed the day of experi-
ment. We accomplish ! Should the
doubter or skeptic ask, "Do we?"
the response is ready : •' We do ! "
To you, our guest, the state has
associations, that for a generation
have been a benediction and to some
of us, your friends, a cluster of gra-
cious memories.
Many years ago we said farewell
to the Old South Barracks ; we
meet under conditions marvelously
changed and with physical surround-
ings no less unwonted to you.
No more beside the river, on beauteous Nor-
wich Plain,
Near sacred dust, 'mid early scenes, might she
repose again ;
But on the hills of Northfield, robed in im-
perial green.
Dowered with the love of honored sons, she
sits, our peerless cjueen.
The hopes of a century approach
fruition and we rejoice in the prom-
ise of an honored, useful, and pros-
perous future.
We welcome you among us. In
ADMIRAL DEWEY WELCOMED TO NORWICH. 301
the name of two thousand gallant dulge the fond belief, that these
gentlemen, living and dead ; soldiers faithful mentors, with others of the
and sailors who have followed the century who have joined the great
flag in honor by land and sea in majority, unite with those who re-
ever}^ war of the republic, and main, in the resounding acclaim of
who have illustrated in science, rejoicing and proper pride that as-
commerce, the professions and arts, cends from ocean to ocean,
the wisdom of our study and discip- While we may not call the roll of
line — the chivalric honor that has our heroes, we may properly remem-
ever been to her the breath of life, — ber, in this connection, the services
I welcome you to alma mater, her of Rear Admirals Boggs, Paulding,
traditions, her memories, her glories, and Carpenter, cadets of the univer-
and the enduring love of her sons. sity, in Mediterranean and Asiatic
It is not alone we, the diminishing waters, and the historic deed of gal-
guard of the olden time, who remain ; lant Commodore Tatnall, later rear
not alone the chivalric youth of to- admiral Confederate states navy, also
day, w^ho greet you. It is the greet- a cadet of the university, when he
ing of stern Alden Partridge, founder came to the rescue of British seamen
and builder; of the superb Ransom, from the murderous fire of the Chi-
dead beneath his country's flag on nese forts on the Pei-ho river, with
foreign soil; the welcome of brave the memorable words: "Blood is
men, your associates and mine, men thicker than water," an utterance
gone to their reward — who join us that, perhaps, prompted, many 3'ears
in the glad acclaim: "Well done, later, responsive British sympathy
good and faithful servant. Welcome for American seamen in Manila bay.
home!" Shall we not add a new Time passes, and the crowding
stanza to the old song : thoughts and emotions of the hour,
,p ., ,, ,., ^, . ^ .^ 1,- f ^ t, ^ struggling for utterance, must give
To the Navy of the Union; to its chiefest, best °° ^ ' *=
hero, place.
Who went from out among us and fought his We here lay deep the foundations
coun rj s oe, of a Stately structure that shall en-
He has won a crown of laurels ; he has felt ■'
fame's breezes blow, dure to testify for patriotism and
And has stood amid the battle's blast, for the sound education tO recurring genera-
Old South Barracks, Oh ! ,. TT7- U 4-
tions. We bestow your name upon
There is no chance. Was it not it and enrich it with the lustre of
the discipline of Norwich university, your achievements,
the Christian devotion of President When we who are here shall have
Edward Bournes, the iron will of accomplished the work given us to
Professor Alonzo Jackman, your in- do, and when, in after time, the
structors, as exemplified in their story of Manila shall be sung, a
teaching, that bore ripe fruitage in glorious epic, throughout a happy
the grand design evolved at Hong and contented Christian land, Dewey
Kong and executed at Manila ? Hall shall stand, testifying to the
Verily, he who returneth to-day, continued usefulness of our beloved
beareth his sheaves with him. alma mater, and the fraternal loyalty
Surely in this presence we may in- of her children. It shall endure a
302 THE OLD NEW ENGLAND HILLS.
witness to her love for the illustrious May all good things encompass
son, who, on the day of trial, remem- and go with you ; the love of
bered the legend on her proud es- the sons of Norwich university goes
cutcheon, and, trying, did service to out to meet and accompany you,
his country, winning fame for her while under all are the Everlasting
and for himself. Arms.
THE OLD NEW ENGLAND HILLS.
By D. H. IValkcr.
As I watch the golden tinges all along the sunset sky
And I listen to the music of the nightbird's minstrels}^
Southland breezes fan my forehead, southland odors fill the air.
While with rapt'rous visions round me, I am held enchanted there.
And as now the shadows deepen and the Day-god homeward hies,
Love and mem'ry, arms entwining, join me in my reveries ;
And they breathe a song so tender, that my soul with gladness fills,
And I seem to hear an echo from the old New England hills.
Once again I roam the wildwood, where the sweet arbutus grows,
Peering out in fragrant beauty from beneath the wintry snows.
And I linger near the hemlock, where the creeping ivies cling.
There, to greet the red-breast robin, welcome harbinger of spring.
Ah ! the poet ne'er sang truer, and his lines I now recall,
" Men are only boj'S grown taller, hearts don't change much after all."
Hark ! my mother's voice is calling ! how that voice my spirit thrills,
And I seem to hear an echo from the old New England hills.
And again I press the threshold, — pass the homestead's open door ;
And I long to clasp the dear ones I shall meet on earth no more.
Love and mem'ry with me linger in my far off Southern home.
Bringing to my fireside ever, cheer and comfort as I roam.
Loyal are thy sons, New England, reaching out from sea to sea !
For thy grandeur, strength and freedom, honor will we give to thee.
Till this fitful life is ended, and the throbbing pulse is still ;
Till our ears are shut to echoes from the old New England hills.
Ah ! the wand'rers heart is turning
To the meadow, lakes and rills ;
And he longs to hear an echo
From the old New England hills.
^
THE ElvAS IN NEW HAMPSHIRE.
By James H. Eia.
MONG the first of the name
in New Hampshire was
Enoch Ela, born at Hav^er-
hill, Mass., who resided at
Sanbornton in 1770 ; was a soldier in
the Revolutionary War, and died in
the service. Samuel Ela, also born
at Haverhill, Mass., married Mary
Holman, April 21, 1748, removed to
what was then Londonderry (now
probably Derry) about 1755. He
was in the Revolutionary army in
1775. They had nine children, five
daughters and four sons. Edward
Ela, born at Haverhill, Mass., June
13, 1752; married, April 29, 1773,
Hannah Colby ; settled in London-
derry, and died in 181 2. • He was a
selectman of Londonderry in 1794
and 1796. Capt. Clark Ela, a de-
scendant of the above-named Samuel,
born in what is now Derry, August
7, 1780; married Mary Waterman,
and settled and died at Derry. His
brother, Dea. William Ela, born at
Derry, January 7, 1783 ; married
October 29, 1812, Mary Moore of
that town. He died June 6, 1865.
He was selectman of Derr}^ in 1828,
i830-'36, and i843-'44, and repre-
sentative in the state legislature in
i845-'47. They had four children.
Some of the descendants of the above-
mentioned Elas now live in Derry
and Londonderry, but only a few
bearing the Ela name.
Nathaniel Whittier Ela and John
Whittier Ela, twins, were born at
xxvii — 21
Haverhill, Mass., February 5, 1766.
Nathaniel W. Ela married, Novem-
ber 7, 1790, Esther Emerson, also
of Haverhill, Mass. He settled in
Dover between 1790 and 1800. He
was the popular proprietor of the
" Ela Tavern" for about fifty years,
in the old stage times. Its location
was on land near the river, now
owned and occupied by the Cocheco
corporation. They had six sons and
five daughters. Some of their de-
scendants now live in Dover, but not
of the name of Ela. Two of the
daughters of Nathaniel W. and
Esther, namely Susanna, born June
i9> ^795i and Ruth, born January 4,
1809, both unmarried, died at Dover
in 1875. Esther, wife of Nathaniel
W. Ela, died February 28, 1826,
and Nathaniel W. Ela died at Dover,
February 22, 1843.
John W. Ela married, January 7,
1793, Mehitable Dame. He became
a farmer, and lived in Durham and
Lee. They had three children, Ed-
nah, Joseph, and John. He died
June 15, 1801. Joseph Ela, son of
the above-named John W., was born
in Lee, July 20, 1797. He married
Sallie Miller Moulton, and settled at
Meredith Village in 1822. He was
deputy sheriff from i826-'56; was
for seven years selectman, and was
in the state legislature in i840-'4i.
He died at Meredith Village, P^ebru-
ary, 1890. They had eight children.
The second child, John Whittier Ela,
304
THE EL AS IN NEW HAMPSHIRE.
named for his grandfather, born Sep-
tember 26, 1837, was captain of Co.
B, Fifteenth N. H. Vols. He be-
came a lawyer at Plymouth, and is
now a prominent lawyer at Chicago,
111. For a more extensive history of
Joseph Ela and familj^ of Meredith,
see " History of Merrimack and Bel-
knap Counties," published in 1885.
Benjamin Ela, son of John and
Ruth Whittier Ela, born at Haver-
hill, Mass., December 23, 1768, a
younger brother of Nathaniel W.
and John \V.; married, December
22, 1796, Abigail Emerson of Haver-
hill, Mass., who was the youngest
sister of the before-mentioned Esther
Emerson. They settled in Eebanon.
Abigail, the wife, died March 22,
1836. Benjamin died November 4,
1841. They had seven children, two
daughters and five sons. The oldest
child, Susan S., born December 12,
1797 ; married vSeptember 28, 1825,
Benjamin Gallup, M. D., a physi-
cian of Lebanon, and both lived to
great age, she surviving her hus-
band for several years. The third
child, John, born July 6, 1802 ; mar-
ried. May, 1827, Julia Demarry. He
was a farmer in Lebanon, and had
nine children, two daughters and
seven sons. He died at Lebanon,
April 6, 1870. The fifth child of Ben-
jamin and Abigail, William Stick-
ney Ela, born June 19, 1807, mar-
ried, in 1832, Louisa R. Greenough,
who died in 1868. He married, sec-
ond, in 1 87 1, Elizabeth Kendrick.
They have no children living. He
was first selectman of Lebanon dur-
ing the War of the Rebellion, and
attended to the filling of the town's
quota of soldiers and managing the
finances of the town. He was presi-
dent of the Lebanon National bank
for many years. He was an hon-
ored resident of Lebanon for ninety-
two 3'ears, and died in that town in
July, 1899. His younger brother.
Rev. Benjamin Ela, born August 4,
1809; married in April, 1848, Ange-
line McConihie of Merrimack, He
graduated at Dartmouth college in
1831, and at Andover Theological
seminary in 1835, and finally settled
at Merrimack. He was a represen-
tative in the state legislature, 1869-
'70. They had two children, one
son and one daughter. He died at
Merrimack, April 30, 1881. She
died June 15, 1898. The married
daughter is now^ living at the old
homestead in Merrimack.
Israel Ela, born at Haverhill,
Mass., April 12, 1748; married
Betsey Colby and settled at Hook-
sett. He was in the Battle of Bun-
ker Hill. They had six children,
five sons and one daughter. His
eldest son, Israel Ela, born at
Haverhill, Mass., in 1770 ; married
Zebiah Martin of Hooksett, where
he settled. They had seven chil-
dren. He died May 21, 1853. The
second son, Jonathan Ela, born at
Pelham, married Jerusha Martin of
Goffstown, and settled in Conway.
They had two sons and four daugh-
ters. The third son of Israel and
Betsey, Seth Ela, born at Goffstown
(now a part of Hooksett), in 1776,
married Rebecca Dutton. He set-
tled in 181 1, at Weld, Me. He
died in 1836. They had five chil-
dren. The fourth child was Enos
Ela, born at Goffstown, who married
Betsey Martin and settled in Goffs-
town (now a part of Hooksett).
They had three daughters and five
sons. The fifth son of Israel and
Betsej^ Jacob Ela, born at Goffs-
THE ELAS IN NEW HAMPSHIRE.
305
town, January, 1784, married Rachel
Button in 1807, and settled in Stark,
Me. They had six daughters and
two sons. He died July 27, 1853,
and his widow died December 31,
1868. The youngest child, Betsej^
Kla, married Samuel Martin and
lived in Hooksett. They had six
children, Rufus, Oilman, Jacob,
Hannah, Sarah, and Susan. Of the
children of the before-mentioned
Israel and Zebiah, the second child,
Susan Ela, born January 7, 1797,
married Isaac Abbot of Concord.
They had thirteen children, includ-
ing two pairs of twins. Their sixth
child, Enoch N. Ela, born March,
1807, at Hooksett, married Widow
Jane B. (Hall) Poor. He died Janu-
ary 19. 1892. They had only one
child, Jennie M. Ela, who married
Harvey A. Clements of Rollinsford.
They now reside at the old home-
stead on the west side of the Mer-
rimack river in Hooksett. The
youngest child of Israel and Zebiah,
James P. Ela, born at Hooksett,
married Arvilla Mann, and had four
children, all now dead except the
youngest daughter ; married. He
died at Hooksett, February 23, 1S81.
His widow died at Manchester, Feb-
ruar}^ 25, 1889.
John H. Ela, son of the before-
mentioned Enos, born at Hooksett
in 1808, married Martha J. Cleasby,
and lived in Hooksett. He died in
1866. They had seven children,
some of whom reside in Hooksett at
the present time.
Of another branch of the Ela
family in New Hampshire was
Jacob Ela, son of Jacob Ela and
Elizabeth Ayer, daughter of Samuel
and Anna (Hazen) Ayer, who was
born at Haverhill, Mass., May 10,
1769, and married Eucinda Hough,
daughter of Hon. David and Abigail
Huntington Hough, David Hough
was in the Colonial service, and af-
terwards settled in Lebanon, and
represented New Hampshire in the
eighth and ninth congresses. Jacob
Ela was a shoemaker and settled in
Lebanon, where he held town office.
He died at West Lebanon, April 19,
1848. His widow, Lucinda Hough
Ela, died November, 1854, at Lis-
bon. They had seven children,
three daughters and four sons, all
born at Lebanon.
Joseph Ela, a younger brother of
the above-named Jacob, born at
Haverhill, Mass., Ma}^ 14, 1771,
married, March i, 1795, Sarah Em-
erson, a sister of the before-men-
tioned Esther and Abigail Emerson.
They lived for a time after marriage
at Lebanon, and two of their chil-
dren were born there, viz., Richard
Ela, late of Washington, D. C, and
Sarah Ela Oray, wife of Robert
Gray of Portsmouth. They after-
ward settled at Portsmouth (Christian
Shore), and the other children were
born there. They had nine children,
four daughters and five sons, the
youngest being twin boys. James
Ela, brother of above Jacob and
Joseph, born at Haverhill, Mass.,
January 24, 1776, married, Septem-
ber II, 1796, Sophia Spofford, also
of Haverhill. They settled at Leba-
non, where he died in November,
1829. The}' had ten children, three
sons and seven daughters.
Enoch Ela, another son of Jacob
Ela and Elizabeth Aj^er, born at
Haverhill, Mass., September 6, 1782,
married, September, 1813, Mar)'
Hart. They settled in Rochester.
They had only one son, Hon. Jacob
3o6
THE EL AS IN NEW HAMPSHIRE.
Hart Ela, who was born July iS,
1820, in Rochester. He married,
May 10, 1845, while living at Con-
cord, Mrs. Abigail (Moore) Kelley,
daughter of Enoch Moore of Lou-
don. They had three sons. She died
at Washington, D. C, in Septem-
ber, 1879. He married, second, in
October, 18S0, at Washington, D. C,
Mary Henderson, daughter of Hon.
Phineas Henderson of Keene. She
had been a clerk in the treasury de-
partment previous to her marriage,
and Mr. Ela had been an auditor of
the United States treasury from
January, 1872, to his death, which
occurred at Washington, August 27,
1884. He was an early Abolitionist
and belonged to anti-slavery societies
as far back as i834-'35, in the days
of mobs and riots in New Hampshire
and Massachusetts, when it was
very unpopular to be in favor of
the abolition of slavery. In 1844
he became connected with the Her-
ald of Freedom, published at Con-
cord. In 1857 and 1858 he repre-
sented his native town of Rochester
in the state legislature, and when
the famous Dred Scott decision was
made public he introduced a resolu-
tion in the legislature against it.
In 1 86 1 he was appointed United
States marshal for the district of
New Hampshire by President Lin-
coln, and held the office until he was
removed by President Johnson in 1 866.
He was nominated for congress in the
First New Hampshire Congressional
District in 1867. His opponent was
Capt. Daniel Marcy of Portsmouth,
whom he defeated, having about one
thousand majority. He was re-
nominated in 1869, and this time his
opponent was Ellery A. Hibbard of
Laconia, whom he defeated, having
about seventeen hundred majority.
While in congress he stood straight
against the Union Pacific railroad
steal, and was a candidate for an-
other term, but was defeated for re-
nomination in the Republican con-
vention, as his friends alleged, b}^
the use of money from the Union
Pacific railroad. He was appointed
auditor in the United States treasury
in January, 1872, hy President Grant,
and held the office till his death.
He was so ardent an Abolitionist
and Free Soiler, that before the Re-
publican party was born he named
his three sons after noted Abolition-
ists, Frederic Pillsbur}^ (from Fred-
erick Douglas and Parker Pillsbury),
born Ma)' 30, 1S48, a lieutenant in
the United States nav3^ drowned in
the Pacific Ocean on a homeward
voyage from Japan in 1873; Wen-
dell Philips, born August 20, 1849;
Charles Sumner, born May 2, 1853,
died at Denver, Col., October 21,
1883 — all born at Rochester. Wen-
dell Philips Ela, the only son living,
married, October 22, 1881, Lucy A.
Drake, only daughter of Dr. J. R.
Drake of Dover. He was the first
mayor of Grand Junction, Col.,
where they have resided for several
years, and have had several chil-
dren. For a more extended account
of Hon. Jacob H. Ela, see " History
of Rochester," published in 1892.
Among the seven children of Jacob
Ela and Eucinda Hough, who settled
in New Hampshire, was Cyrus Ela ;
born at Lebanon, August 25, 1798,
married Elizabeth Ela, daughter of
Joseph Ela of Portsmouth, born at
Portsmouth, February 8, 1800. They
settled in Lisbon, and first lived in
the first house north of the bridge
across the Ammonoosuc river at
THE EL AS IN NEW HAMPSHIRE.
307
North Ivisbon on the west side of
the river, where their eldest son was
born. The}^ moved to Franconia
and kept the hotel there in the pros-
perous daj'S of the Franconia Iron
Works. One of their children was
born there February 26, 1834. They
returned to L,isbon and built a house
in the northwest part of the town,
near the Littleton line, and lived
there the remainder of their lives.
They had ten children, including
seven sons who grew to be men.
Elizabeth Kla died at lyisbon, No-
vember 22, 1867. Cyrus Ela died
there July 29, 1881. Four of the
sons then living were in the War of
the Rebellion from i86i-'65, viz.,
Charles B., George P., Richard, and
Jacob. James H. Ela, the youngest
son, is now residing in Manchester.
Of the children of Joseph Ela and
Sarah Emerson, both born at Haver-
hill, Mass. (the before-mentioned
Esther, Sarah,' and Abigail Emerson
were sisters, and were descendants
of the father of Hannah [Emerson]
Dustin of Colonial fame, who has a
monument at Penacook, and were
sisters of Capt. Nehemiah Emerson
of Revolutionary War fame), their
eldest son, Richard Ela, born at
Lebanon, February 21, 1796,
studied law at Portsmouth with
William M. Richardson, afterwards
chief justice. He was admitted to
the bar in 1819; was in practice at
Durham, and when the Hon. Levi
Woodbury, who was a neighbor of
his father, was appointed secretary
of the navy, he was given a clerk-
ship in the navy department. When
Levi Woodbury was appointed sec-
retary of the treasury, he gave him
a position in the treasury depart-
ment, and he continued there until
he died, during Lincoln's adminis-
tration, January 8, 1863. He was
married, August i, 1844, to Lucia
King of Saco, Me. They had one
daughter and three sons. He was
buried at Portsmouth.
Sarah Ela, daughter of Joseph and
Sarah, born at Lebanon, December
21, 1797, married, April 25, 1822,
Robert Gray, who, for many years,
kept a jewelry store on Congress
street in Portsmouth, near the
Parade. He owned and lived in the
house where the great statesman,
Daniel Webster, first went to house-
keeping after marriage, on Vaughan
street. Robert Gray died June 11,
1S60. His widow, Sarah Ela, died
at the family homestead on Vaughan
street, March 27, 1883. They had
six children, three sons and three
daughters. Some of them now live
in Portsmouth. Elizabeth Ela, sis-
ter of the above, born February 8,
1800, at Portsmouth, married Cyrus
Ela, and settled in Lisbon, where
she lived and died. Hannah Ela, a
younger sister, born at Portsmouth,
April 4, 1S02, married, May 12,
183 1 (second wife). Col. Gardner
Towle of Lee. They had two sons.
He died at Exeter, Ma}', 1880, aged
89. She died at Tenafly, N. J.,
June 6, 1889. Joseph Ela, son of
Joseph and Sarah Emerson, born at
Portsmouth, November 18, 1804,
was a merchant at Mobile, Ala., for
about thirty years, where he died
February 21, 1861, unmarried.
Another son, George W. Ela, born
at Portsmouth, January 18, 1807,
married Mary Adelaide Lane, daugh-
ter of Robert Lane, M. D., of Sutton.
They had three children, two sons
and one daughter, all born at Con-
cord. The latter died in infancy.
3o8
THE EL AS IN NEW HAMPSHIRE.
The mother died at Concord, April,
1843. His second marriage was
with Widow Georgiana P. (Batchel-
der) Clark. George W. Ela learned
the printer's trade when a boy. Af-
ter Merrimack county was formed,
in 1823, he was appointed register
of deeds, and continued in that office
for several years. He was editor
and proprietor of the New Hampshire
Statesmaji, now Independent States-
man, at Concord, from i83i-'44,
and then retired to his extensive
farm at Allenstown, where he died,
February 16, 1893, aged 86 years.
Of his two sons by his first wife, the
eldest, Robert L,ane, was born at
Concord, April 17, 1838, and mar-
ried Sarah J. (Rollins) Whitcher,
February 15, 1S71, at Quincy, 111.
He served as captain and major in
the Sixth regiment, N. H. Vols.,
in the War of the Rebellion. He
was severely wounded at the Second
Bull Run battle, and again wounded
in the crater, at Petersburg. He
was at the capture of Petersburg
and the surrender of Lee. He was
mustered out with his regiment in
June, 1865. He afterwards studied
medicine and surgery with Dr. Al-
bert H. Crosby at Concord, and at
the Dartmouth Medical college and
Bellevue Hospital Medical college,
taking degrees from both. He was
several years in California and is
now stopping in the town of Epsom.
Richard, the second son, was born
at Concord, February 12, 1840. His
mother died when he was three years
old, and his childhood was spent
partly with his aunt, Siisan vS. Ela,
in Concord, and partly with his
grandfather. Dr. Robert Dane, in
Sutton. He received his education
in Concord and Portsmouth, and at
the academies in New Eondon and
Meriden. He studied law with
George & Foster at Concord, and
was admitted to the bar. He was
captain of Co. E, Third regiment,
N. H. Vols. ; was in the campaign
in South Carolina, and returned
with his regiment to Virginia, and
was killed in battle at Drury's Bluff,
May 13, 1864, while leading a charge
on the enemy's works. He was un-
married. For more extended notice
see " History of Merrimack and Bel-
knap Counties," published in 1885.
Susan Stickney Ela, daughter of
Joseph and Sarah Emerson, born at
Portsmouth, Jul}^ 8, 181 1, was a
teacher for many years, and at last
established a home boarding school
for young ladies on Pleasant street,
Concord, on the grounds now occu-
pied by the Centennial Home. She
made quite a fortune in her school
and in real estate. She married,
1854, Thomas Edwards of Boston.
They afterwards went to Europe and
were absent two or three j^ears.
When they returned she purchased
a home at Westboro, Mass., her hus-
band having a studio in Worcester.
She was fatally injured by being
thrown from a carriage at Westboro,
and died there July 19, 1S59. She
was buried at Portsmouth.
James Madison and Thomas Jeffer-
son Kla, twin sons of Joseph and
Sarah (Emerson) Ela, were born at
Portsmouth, in December, 1808.
Thomas J. died at Portsmouth, July
19, 181 7. James M. resided in Buenos
Ayres, S. A., for twenty-five years and
afterwards in California, then with
his brother Joseph at Mobile, Ala.
While on a business trip he died,
July 30, 1S60, at Atlanta, Ga.
Some of the descendants of the
FIRS 7' RELIGIOUS SERVICE IN CONCORD.
309
LrOndonderry Elas, Edward and
Hannah (Colby) Ela, settled in War-
ner and now live there. Some of
the descendants of the Hooksett and
Goffstown Elas, Israel and Betsey
(Colb)') Ela, settled in Conway, some
in Maine, and some in Massachu-
setts. The descendants of the Elas
in New Hampshire are in every
northern state, from Maine to Cali-
fornia, more largely in Maine,
Massachusetts, Wisconsin, Kansas,
and Illinois.
George P. Ela, who died February
5, 1898, at Bloomington, 111., was
born at Eisbon, July 13, 1832. He
was an officer in the Thirty-third
regiment, 111. Vols, His younger
brother, Richard, born also at Lis-
bon, ser\-ed in the Eighth 111. Vols.,
in the War of the Rebellion, and died
at Eisbon August 20, 1863. His older
brother, Charles B., born in Lisbon,
F'ebruary 6, 1830, served in the Fif-
teenth regiment, N. H. Vols., and
died of wounds at Carrolton, Ea.,
January 19, 1863. Jacob Ela, an-
other brother, served in Co. G,
Eleventh N. H. Vols., and is now
living in North Dakota.
Of the many Elas in New Hamp-
shire in the past there are but few
of their descendants under that
name in the state at the present
time. The daughters have married
into other names, and the sons, it
seems, have acted upon the thought
that New Hampshire was a good
state to emigrate from, provided they
emigrated early in life, and their de-
scendants, either under the name of
Ela or other names, are now in
nearly every state in the Union, and
some in foreign countries.
FIRST RELIGIOUS SERVICE IN CONCORD.
By Joseph B. Walker.
An important and interesting feature incident to the annual meeting of the Concord Congrega-
tional Union with the church in East Concord, October 26, was the dedication of an appropriate
memorial, erected by the Union, near the site of the first religious service holden within the limits
of the present city of Concord, as far as known. Following brief appropriate exercises at the
site, this interestitig historical address was delivered at the church. — Ed.
N the 17th day of January,
1726, the general court of
the province of Massachu-
setts bay granted to one
hundred prospective settlers, who
were to be selected, after careftil in-
quir}^ and personal examination by a
committee of the court, a tract of
land seven miles square, lying on
both sides of Merrimack river, within
and near the northeastern boundary
of this province, as then claimed by
the Massachusetts government.
Far in the wilderness was this
tract, twenty-five miles beyond the
newly-made abodes of the Scotch-
Irish settlers of Londonderry. It
had been, until a time then recent,
more than any other, the headquar-
ters of Passaconawa}^ the great sa-
chem of the Penacook Indians.
Here, within the distance of a mile
and a half, the river staggered
through the fertile interval which
lined its banks, in no less than six
sharp bends, and, by these meander-
3IO
FIRST RELIGIOUS SERVICE IN CONCORD.
ings, made significant the name of
"Penny Cook," the crooked place,
given b)^ the Indians to this lo-
cality.
Peuacook had been long known to
the inhabitants of the coast towns,
and since 1659 had been repeatedly
granted to parties, who, for differ-
ent reasons, failing to make good
the conditions in their patents, had
forfeited the privileges conferred
thereby.
The boundary line between the
provinces of New Hampshire and
Massachusetts bay was, as yet, unde-
termined, and both claimed the terri-
tory embraced in this grant. One
object, therefore, of the extreme care
exercised by Massachusetts in the
selection of its grantees \vas the plac-
ing, upon this disputed locality, a
colony of intelligent and stalwart
persons, friendly to her interests.
Had New Hampshire done the same,
our early history might have been
unlike what it is, but she simply pro-
tested while Massachusetts acted, as
said Chief Justice Mansfield, nearly
forty years after the settlement we
are now considering.
THE FIRST GRANT.
The story of the course pursued
by Massachusetts is generally inter-
esting, and to us particularly so. I
will, therefore, recall to your remem-
brance a little of it which is germane
to this occasion. The grant of " the
Plantation of Penny Cook," as be-
fore stated, was made to one hun-
dred prospective settlers,, who were
to be carefull}' selected by a commit-
tee appointed by the genex'al court
of Massachusetts bay, consisting of
Hon, William Tailer, Elisha Cooke,
Esq., vSpencer Phipps, Esq., William
Dudley, Esq., John Wainwright, Esq..
Capt. John Shepley, Mr. John Saund-
ers, Eleazer Tyng, Esq., of Chelms-
ford, and Mr. Joseph Wilder.
By this committee the territory em-
braced in the grant before mentioned
was "to be allotted and divided into
one hundred and three equal parts
and shares as to quantity and qual-
ity," one part or share to each ad-
mitted settler, one to the first settled
minister, one for the support of the
ministry, and one for the use of "the
school forever." The committee
were also directed to secure the exe-
cution of other important conditions
relative to the erection of a block
house for protection against the
French and Indian enemy, the clear-
ing of land, the building of houses,
and the adoption by the settlers of
" such necessar}-^ rules and orders as
to them shall be thought most con-
ducible for the carrying forward and
effecting the aforesaid settlement."
In discharge of these duties, the
committee assembled at the inn of
Ebenezer Eastman, in Haverhill, on
the second day of February, 1726,
and at repeated sessions covering six
days, carefully examined and admit-
ted to settlement one hundred men,
mostly from the three towns of An-
dover, Bradford, and Haverhill ; a
few being from Newbury and Wo-
burn. They approved of a code of
rules for the regulation of the civil
and industrial interests of the plan-
tation w^hich had been previously
adopted with unanimity by the mem-
bers of the new communit}'. They
also made provision for the location
and surve}^ of the plantation, to be
prosecuted under their supervision
by two surveyors, four chainmen,
and such assistants as should be
FIRST RELIGIOUS SERVICE IN CONCORD.
,11
deemed necessary, and ordered that
this work should be commenced on
the fifth day of the following April.
But a meeting of the general court,
of which several of the committee
were members, subsequently caused
its postponement to the tenth day of
May.
On the day following this last date,
six of the committee, attended by
their chaplain, the Rev. Enoch Cof-
fin of Newbury, their surveyors,
chainmen, and attendants, together
with several of the admitted settlers,
numbering in all thirty-two, set out
from the inn of Ebenezer Eastman,
before mentioned, on their journey
to "Penny Cook," two days distant
in the primeval woods of the Indian
country. John Wainwright, Esq.,
the clerk of the committee, kept an
accurate, daily record of their pro-
ceedings from the beginning to the
end of the expedition. Fortunately,
his journal has been preserved, and
by it we can accurately trace the
itinerarj- and action of its members.
To some of the entries in this journal
I now ask your attention.
JOURNAL OF THE TRIP.
"Thursday, May 12th. Early
this morning, the Committee above
named, with Mr. John Saunders,
one other of the Committee, began
their journey from Haverhill, in or-
der for Penny Cook, being attended
by twenty-six persons, including the
Surveyors, Chainmen and such of
the intended Settlers as were dis-
posed to take a view of the lands.
About half ways between Nuffield
and Haverhill, at a place called
Providence Brook, we bated ; about
eleven or twelve of the Clock, we ar-
rived at Nutfield, alias Londonderry,
and refreshed Our Selves and Horses
with our provision, at the House
of one John Barr, an Irish Tavern
Keeper, as we were informed ; but
we had nothing of him but Small
Beer. Expenses for our Trouble at
ye House, 5\ About one or two we
proceeded on our Journej'. This
afternoon we forded two Brooks or
Rivulets, call Great and little, which
proceeded from Great Massa Beseck
and little Massabeseck Ponds and
Empty themselves into Merrimack ;
and about Five a Clock we arrived
at place called Amoskeeg Falls, on
Merrimack River and there En-
camped that night."
What part of the five shillings ex-
pended at Nutfield went for "small
beer," and what part for "trouble,"
the journalist has omitted to say.
"At Amoskeeg Falls we found sev-
eral Irish people catching fish which
that place affords in great abundance.
We traveled in a Cart path from Nut-
field to Amoskeeg, but it was ver}- in-
different traveling. Cloudy weather."
"Friday, May 13th. — This morn-
ing we proceeded on our Journey.
Very Hilly and Mountainous Eand.
About Eight a Clock we pass'd by a
Fall called Onnahookline, in Merri-
mack river, which is taken from a
Hill of the same name. About Nine
a' Clock we forded a pretty deep
Brook or Rivulet, called , and
soon after we came upon a Large
Tract of Intervale Land joining to
Suncook River, where we baited and
refreshed our Selves and Horses.
About ten or eleven a' Clock we
forded Suncook River, which is a
rapped Stream, and many loose
stones of Considerable Bigness in it,
making it difficult to pass. One of
our men going over, having a heav}^
312
FIRST RELIGIOUS SERVICE IX CONCORD.
load on his Horse, was thrown off
into the River, and lost one of the
Baggs of provisions, which we lost,
not having time to look after it. An-
other of our men fell into ye River.
Here we met with two men Colonel
Tyng sent up before us with some
stores, (Benjn. Niccolls and Ebenr.
Virgin, two of y" Settlers;) and
about one a' Clock we passed Penny-
Cook River (alias Shew Brook or
Sow Cook ; ) pretty deep and very
rocky. Here one our Men tumbled
into the River. In a short time
after we came up as far as Penny
Cook Falls, on Merrimack River,
and then steered our course North,
and travelled over a large pitch pine
plain, (indifferent Land,) about three
miles at least in Length, and pro-
ceeded on our Journey ; and about
five a' Clock, afternoon, we arrived
at Penny Cook, and Encamped on a
piece of Intervale Land or plain
called Sugar Ball plain, which takes
its name from a very high Head or
Hill, called Sugar Ball Hill, whereon
was the first Indian Eort, as we were
informed, which the Indians in old
times built to defend themselves from
the Maqois and others their Ene-
mies. — Just as we were making up
our Camp, there came up a smart
Thunder Shower, and we had
enough to do to save our Bread
from the Rain. This Sugar Ball
plain is a pretty large Tract of Land,
as steep as the Roof of an House or-
dinarily ; only where the River runs
round it which encompasses the
other parts of it. It is altogether
impracticable for a Team, or indeed
a Horse Cart to get on y" plains, the
land is so mountainous round it, and
there is no Spring on it, as we could
find."
" Saturday, May 14th. — This Morn-
ing Early we got together the Sur-
veyors and Chainmen, and set them-
to Survey the Township according
to the General Court's order." Af-
ter these had been "Sworn truly
and faithfully to discharge their re-
vSpective Duty and Trust in taking
the Survey," they entered upon
their work. Farther on the journal
says :
THE BOW CONTROVERSY.
"About Twelve of the Clock this
day, Messrs. Nathl Weare, Richd
Waldron, Junr, and Theodore At-
kinson, a Committee appointed by
the Lt. Govr. and Council of New
Hampshire, came up to our camp
(being attended by about half a score
of Irishmen, who kept some Distance
from the Camp,) and acquainted us
that the Governm'. of New Hamp-
shire, being informed of our Busi-
ness here, had sent them to desire us
that we would not proceed in appro-
priating the Lands to any private or
particular persons, for that they lay
in their Government ; and our Gov-
ernment making a Grant might be
attended with Very 111 Consequences
to the Settlers, when it appeared that
the Lands fell in New Hampshire
Government — and then they deliv-
ered a Copy of an order passd by th''
Honour, the Lt. Govr, and Council
of New Hampshire, respecting the
Settling of the Land at Penny Cook,
to which we refer. — We made them
answer. That the Government of the
Massachusetts Bay had sent us to
lay the Lands here into a Township ;
that they had made a Grant of it to
some particular men, and that we
should proceed to do the Business we
were come upon, and made no doubt
FIRST RELIGIOUS SERVICE IN CONCORD.
313
but our Government would be al-
waj'S read}^ to Support and Justifie
their own Grants and that it was the
Bisness of the public and not ours
to Engage in, in order to determine
an}' Controversy about the Lauds.
We sent our Salutes to the Lt. Govr.
of New Hampshire and the Gent'"
took their leave of us and w' home-
ward this afternoon. The Survey-
ors and Chainmen returned to us
in Safety about Sun down. Fair
weather."
This visit was the beginning of the
celebrated Bow Controversy, waged
by a company of land speculators
of commanding influence over the
provincial courts against the Penny
Cook settlers, in order to dispossess
them of their township. The contest
lasted forty-eight years. Wealth and
local influence, on the one side, con-
tended with consciousness of right,
and stalwart courage on the other.
It is a remarkable fact that the ter-
mination of this contest synchronized
with the termination of British rule
in New Hampshire.
The day succeeding this visit of
the New Hampshire committee was
Sunday. The work of the survey
was suspended. The company re-
mained in camp and devoted its
hours to religious services, the first
ever held in the central part of this
state. The clerk's record of the
day's observances is brief, but it is
satisfactory :
FIRST RELIGIOUS SERVICE.
"Sabbath day, May 15th.— This
day Mr. Enoch Coffin, our chaplain,
performed divine service both parts
of the day. Fair and cool."
But I should not prolong my
speaking. Yet, I cannot forbear ask-
ing you to transport yourselves in
imagination back to that fifteenth
day of May, 1726, and to the top
of Sugar Ball hill, the site of the
earliest Indian fort in this vicinity,
and there to look down through the
clear, crisp atmosphere of that Sab-
bath day, upon that tent in the
wilderness, vocal with God's praises,
and note :
First, the character of the locality
below and around, once the home of
Passaconaway and his people, and
Second, the character of the men
and women who were to succeed
these in the fair land whose re-
sources the Indian race had failed
to develop.
I. The tortuous Merrimack flowed
majestically through its fertile mead-
ows then as now. The interval, here
a mile wide, save for a few patches
cleared by Indian fires, was covered
by the same wilderness which hid
the surrounding uplands. Rattle-
snake hill, monster companion of the
river, then, as now, paralleled the
latter's course, along which various
falls and rapids gave noisy utterance
of its joy at escaping from the con-
straints of the wilderness to the
boundless freedom of the sea. More
then than now, the streams abounded
in fish, and the woods were full of
game, some of which was of species
undesirable ; whose destruction was
subsequently sought by annual offers
by the community of ten shillings for
each wolf, and six pence for each
rattlesnake killed within the town-
ship.
But then, not as now, the rich soil
had never known the plow, and was
hidden by primeval forests. In short.
Penny Cook, as seen on the fifteenth
da}' of May, 1726, in the heart of the
314
FIRST RELIGIOUS SERVICE IN CO ACCORD.
Indian country, was simplj^ in the
words of an ancient Massachusetts
puritan, "a goodly place to plant a
company of God's people on."
2. Such was the land. Who and
what were the colonists whom the
province of Massachusetts Bay had
selected with so much care and was
planting here with so much pains ?
Were they like the first settlers
of Jamestown, in Virginia, decayed
gentlemen and idle servants, willing
to live luxuriously every day upon
the labor of some one else? No.
Were they needy redemptioners, self
imported from Europe, who had
temporarily mortgaged their libert}^
as security for the payment of their
transportation ? Far from it.
None such were the planters of
Penny Cook. Massachusetts Puri-
tans rather, were they ; trained from
childhood in the ways of that people ;
men aud women who held that God
was to be revered ; that a church
might exist without a bishop ; that
the will of the majority was the will
of the whole ; that intelligent labor
was honorable, and that every mem-
ber of a town should contribute to
his own and to that town's support,
in proportion to his or her ability.
Men and women were they of strong
arms and willing hearts, placed upon
a remote frontier, to found a Chris-
tian community in the wilderness,
where peril was constant, and in
case of assault, all friendly aid was
twenty-five miles away.
WORK OF SURVEYORS.
The work of the surve^^ors, which
had been suspended on Saturday,
was renewed on the following Mon-
day and prosecuted until the town-
ship lines had been established, and
one hundred and three house lots, of
an acre and a half each, mostl}' along
our present Main street, together
with a like number of home lots, of
some six acres each, near by upon
the interval, had been laid out and
bounded. As these sufficed for a
commencement of the settlement, the
survey was again suspended.
As the plantation thus laid out was
as yet inaccessible by teams, the first
action of the proprietors was to make
provision for the construction of a
sufficient highway from Haverhill
thereto. This was done at a meet-
ing held by them in Ipswich, at
the house of Mr. Francis Crumpton,
where, on the seventh day of Sep-
tember, 1726, they :
"Agreed and voted. That there
shall be three men chosen a com-
mittee to go and clear a sufficient
cart way to Penny Cook, the nigh-
est and best way they can from
Haverhill. For said committee was
chosen Ensn. John Chandler, of An-
dover; John Ayer, of Haverhill, and
Mr. William Barker, of Andover."
On the seventh of February of the
next year (1727), the committee of
the general court again met at An-
dover, and on that and the following
day assigned by lot to each admitted
settler the house and home lots to
which he was entitled.
From this time on, for the next
three years, the work of felling trees,
ploughing and fencing land, erecting
houses, making roads, and otherwise
fitting the settlement for family oc-
cupancy, went vigorously on during
the working months. When the
winter interrupted their labors they
retired, until the succeeding spring,
to their old homes. As one recalls
their operations, he is reminded of
FIRST RELIGIOUS SERVICE IX CONCORD.
315
the building of old Carthage, as wit-
nessed by the pious and tempest-
tossed ^-Eneas, graphically described
by the bard of Mantua.
PRUDENT SETTLERS.
In 1730, most of the proprietors
of Penny Cook had removed their
families to their new homes. To
perfect their enterprise it only re-
mained to establish the school, or-
ganize a church of Christ and settle
''a learned, orthodox minister." In-
troductory to the accomplishment of
the last purpose and in accordance
with an order of the committee of the
general court, they met in the block
house, which answered the tripple
purpose of fortress, town house, and
church, on the fourteenth day of
October, 1730, and there " Voted by
the admitted settlers that they will
have a minister. . . . That the
Rev. Mr. Timothy Walker shall be
the minister of the town,"
and that he " shall have one hundred
pounds for the year ensuing, and
then rise forty shillings per annum
till it comes to one hundred and
twenty pounds, . . . provided,
and it is hereby understood, any
thing to the contrary above men-
tioned notwithstanding that if Mr.
Walker, b}^ extreme old age, shall
be disenabled from carrying on the
whole work of the ministry, that he
shall abate so much of his salary as
shall be rational."
Prudent and farseeing were these
early settlers. The Rev. Mr. Tim-
othy Walker was then but twenty-
five years old.
In pursuance of this action, the
people of Penny Cook, on the eight-
eenth day of November, assembled
in their block house and there formed
the first church of Christ in Concord,
with a membership of eight men and
one woman, over which godly men
from their old homes, having first
ordained, installed the pastor of their
choice. The Rev. John Barnard, of
Andover, preached the ordination
sermon ; the Rev. Samuel Phillips,
also of Andover (South church), gave
to the young pastor the right hand
of fellowship ; and the Rev. John
Brown the charge.
If it be asked, why send for help
so far away, the reply will be, partly,
because these reverend fathers were
the old pastors of most of the mem-
bers of this new community, and
partly, because the only minister
nearer at hand was the Rev. Matthew
Clarke, who was then supplying the
pulpit of the Presbyterian church at
Londonderry. In that day of de-
nominational asperity, his aid would
have been as reluctantly given,
doubtless, as it would have been un-
willingly received.
To the simple services held be-
neath that tent in the wilderness,
on the fifteenth day of May, 1726, we
trace the beginning of the religious
history of our cit}'. From this first
formed church of Christ have come,
in direct descent, the five affiliated
churches which compose our Union,
to whose companionship have been
gathered, from time to time, twice
that number, of other denominations,
whose friendship we cherish, and in
whose prosperity we rejoice. Upon
the enduring foundations of an intel-
ligent religious faith, and a general
diffusion of knowledge among its
people, the little plantation of Penny
Cook has risen to a flourishing city,
and become the capital of a sov-
ereign American state.
JOHN H. PEARSON.
John Harris Pearson, for many years prominently identified with mercantile
and railroad interests in Concord, died at his home on Court street in this city,
on the evening of October 3, 1899.
Mr Pearson was born in the town of Sutton, March 17, 18 15, being the son of
Thomas and Abigail (Ambrose) Pearson. Thomas Pearson had removed to Sut-
ton from Newburyport, Mass. ; his wife, Abigail Andrews, was a daughter of the
noted Baptist clergyman, Elder Samuel Ambrose, who was for several years settled
in Sutton. Subsequently the family removed to Corinth, Me., where John H. was
reared, but he returned to Sutton before attaining manhood, and lived for some
time with a relative, Mrs. Sarah Leach, and afterward entered the employ of Col.
Nathaniel A. Davis, where he remained about three years, and then, for some time,
attended the academies at Henniker and Hopkinton, securing the basis of a good
business education, to which he had long aspired. Subsequently, he was for a
few months engaged in the store of Colonel Davis, at Wilmot Flat, and then, in
compan)'^ with the Jate Carlos G. Pressey, also a Sutton boy, he purchased the
store, the firm conducting business for about a year, when Mr. Pressy left, and
Mr. Pearson was for a time in business alone at Andover Center, thence removing
to Warner, and subsequently to Potter Place. Later he was in business at Frank-
lin Falls, then several years in Boston, but ultimately settling in Concord, more
than fifty years ago. Here he engaged in the wholesale flour business, being one
of the pioneers in that line of trade. He built the flouring mill at Penacook, and
developed an extensive business. He had partners in this business at dift'erent
times, the late John N. Barron and Edward L. Knowlton being among the more
prominent.
Thirty years ago, or more, he became interested in the old Concord railroad,
bought largely of its stock, and was soon engaged in a determined contest, with
others, for the control of the road, against the then existing management, in which
the late Josiah Minot and Col. John H. George were controling spirits, and ulti-
mately with success. Then came the protracted and exciting contest between the
Concord and Boston & Maine, the latter seeking the absorption of the former,
which was continued many' years, and in which the Boston & Maine was success-
ful, but not until after numerous repulses and defeats at the hands of the Concord
forces, led by Mr. Pearson. It was in Jiis railroad contests, indeed, that Mr. Pear-
son mainly gained his reputation as a sturdy fighter for what he believed to be
right. Although active in politics at times and well-known as a member of the
Democratic party, his political battles were all incidental to his railroad contests.
NEW HAMPSHIRE NECROEOGY. 317
Mr. Pearson was actively connected with the Episcopal church, and a generous
■contributor to its cause. He was also a member of the Masonic fraternity, but
not prominent therein. He married, in 1839, Mary Anne, daughter of Judge
Samuel Butterfield of Andover, who died forty years later, and four years previous
to the decease of their son and only child, the late Col. Charles C. Pearson.
Ten years ago he married, as a second wife, Miss Jessie R., daughter of the
late Col. Jesse A. Gove, who survives him.
ALONZO BOWMAN.
Alonzo Bowman, chief of police of Brookline, Mass., died at his home on
School street in Brookline, October 18, 1899.
Mr. Bowman was born in the town of Springfield, in this state, July 17, 1838,
l)eing a son of Walter Bowman of that town. He received his early education in
the district schools, and when about eighteen years of age went to Massachusetts
and secured a situation in Boston as clerk in a grocery store. He was engaged in
that business for a number of years, and subsequently entered the express busi-
ness in Brookline. At the outbreak of the Civil War, in 186 1, he enlisted with
the Twenty-sixth Massachusetts volunteer infantry, Co. F, and went South with
the Nineteenth army corps. He was at once detailed to duty in the ofifice of the
provost marshal in Louisiana, being stationed at New Orleans for some time. He
afterward went with his regiment to Virginia, and, joining Sheridan in the Shenan-
doah valley, was an active participant in some of the most hotly-contested battles
of the entire war, and had several narrow escapes from death. His term expired
in 1864, and he returned to Brookline. From i865-'7i he was employed in the
weighing department of the Boston Custom House. In the latter year he was
appointed a patrolman in the Brookline police department, and five years later
was made chief of the force, an office which he had since filled with commendable
ability. When he assumed charge of the department the force numbered only
seven men, now the number has increased to forty-three. He married Miss Ann
E. Russell in 1858, and leaves one son, Walter H. Bowman.
REV. AUGUSTUS BERRY.
Rev. Augustus Berry, for nearly thirty-eight years pastor of the Congregational
■church in the town of Pelham, died in that town October 4, 1899.
Mr. Berry was a son of Washington and Maria (Dole) Berry, and was born in
Concord, October 7, 1824, removing to Henniker with his parents when nine years
■of age. He fitted for college at Henniker academy and graduated from Amherst
in the class of 1851, teaching the fall term in Henniker academy, while pursuing
his studies. He was engaged in teaching after graduation for a number of years,
being five years principal of the academy at Mont Vernon. Subsequently he
studied theology at Andover, Mass., and, October 30, 186 1, was settled as pastor
of the church at Pelham, over which he remained until death. He married,
March 24, 1853, Dora R. Snow of Peterborough, who died March 15, 1873, '^^^
he married, for his second wife, Mary Richardson of Pelham, Jnue 30, 1877, who
survives him, as does one biother, Horace Berry of Windham, and one sister,
Caroline E.
3i8 NEW HAMPSHIRE NECROLOGY.
THOMAS C. BEATTIE.
Thomas Carlisle Beattie, sheriff of the county of Coos, a native of Maidstone,
Vt., born December 8, 1855, died in Lancaster, October 14, 1899.
Mr. Beattie was a son of Hon. David H. and Harriet (Carlisle) Beattie. He
received a good practical education and was associated with his father in extensive
lumber operations until his removal to Lancaster, in 1892, where he ever after
resided. He entered actively into local politics and was elected sheriff of the
county by the Republicans in 1896, and reelected in 1898. He was a very promi-
nent member of the Masonic fraternity, and North Star Lodge of Lancaster, of
which he was a member, attended his funeral in a body, with a large escort of
Knights Templar. Mr. Beattie was twice married. His first wife was Sophia, a
daughter of John D. French of Brunswick, Vt., who died three years ago. His
second wife, who survives him, was Mrs. Jennie Reynolds.
FREEMAN CUTTING.
Freeman Cutting, the most extensive farmer in the town of Newport, died at
his home on the Unity road, in that town, September 25. He was a son of the
late Francis Cutting of Croydon, born July 19, 1824.
September 10, 1844, he was united in marriage with Miss Emily A. Hibbard,
of Barnard, Vt. For a number of years after his marriage he remained in Croy-
don, but removed to Newport in 1857. After residing there about eight years he
removed to Claremont, where he lived seven years. He then returned to New-
port and ever after resided on the place where he died — a period of twenty-seven
years. He was a farmer all his life, and one of the most successful in the coun-
ty, owning a splendid farm of from seven hundred to eight hundred acres, and
keeping a large stock of cattle. He was one of a family of ten children, and is
himself survived by nine children. His wife died five years since.
WILLIAM W. COLBURN.
William Wallace Colburn, a well-known educator, born at New Boston, October
I, 1832, died at Springfield, Mass., October 17, [899.
He was a graduate of Dartmouth college in the class of 186 1, taught in Gro-
ton and Belmont, Mass., in 186 1 and 1862, and during the latter year became
principal of the High school at Manchester, where he remained many years and
established a reputation as a thorough and successful teacher, which has never
been surpassed in the state. Subsequently he removed to Springfield, Mass., and
was for a long time principal of the High school in that city, maintaining and
enhancing his high reputation. He married, July 13, 1865, Mary E., daughter of
the late Hon. James U. Parker of Manchester.
REV. JOHN R. HORNE, JR.
Rev. John R. Home, son of John R. and Sarah (Wheeler) Home of Berlin,
bom in that town September 6, 1866, died at VVaverly, Mass., October i, 1899.
Mr. Home fitted for college in the public schools of Berlin, graduating from
the High school in the class of 1887, a member of the first class to graduate from
NEW HAMPSHIRE NECROLOGY. 319
this institution. The following autumn he entered Bowdoin college, from which
he was graduated in the class of 1891. After a three years' course at Andover
Theological seminary, he entered upon the work of the ministry in the town of
Bartlett, where he labored faithfully and with great success for four years. Greatly
overworked, he was attacked by la grippe last winter, and never recovered from
the effects of the disease, dying at last in a private sanitarium at Waverly.
GEORGE ABBOTT.
George Abbott, one of the oldest and best known citizens of Littleton, died in
that town, October 7, at the age of ^t, years, having been born in Bath, August 11,
18 16. He was a descendant of George Abbott who settled in Andover, Mass.,
in 1640. He went to Littleton in early life, and was long engaged in agriculture
but, subsequently, for many years in mercantile life. He was an earnest Demo-
crat in politics, served several years on the board of selectmen hi Littleton, and
represented the town in the legislature in i867-'68. He was associated with both
the Odd Fellows and Masons, and prominently identified with the Methodist
church. He leaves a widow, three sons, and a daughter. The eldest son is Dr.
George F. Abbott of Littleton.
DANIEL E. HILL.
Daniel Emery Hill, born in Northfield, September 8, 1833, died in that town,
October 2, 1899. He was a son of John and Mahala (Rollins) Hill, and was
reared in the old homestead where his father was born, being the place now
owned by F. B. Shedd of Lowell. He was a Republican in politics and quite
active in party affairs, and one of the trusted lieutenants of the late Hon. Edward
H. Rollins. He was for three years one of the commissioners of Merrimack
county, served eight years as postmaster at Tilton, and represented the town of
Northfield in the legislature of 1897. He was a member of Doric Lodge, A. F.
and A. M., of Tilton.
WALTER O. ASHLEY.
Walter O. Ashley, born in Claremont, October 26, 1835, died in Detroit, Mich.,
September 27, 1899.
Mr. Ashley went to Michigan at the age of twenty-one years, and soon became
actively engaged in the work of developing navigation on the great lakes. At the
time of his death he was managing owner of several fine steamers. He had long
been noted in Detroit for his liberality and public spirit. He is survived by a
wife, a daughter of the late John P. Clark of Detroit, with whom he was long asso-
ciated in business.
DR. ALLEN B. CLEMENT.
Allen B. Clement. M. D., born in Moultonborough, October 18, i86g, died in
Arlington, Vt., September 17, 1899.
Dr. Clement graduated from the Burlington, Vt., Medical college in the class
of 1898, later taking a post graduate course, in New York city, and commenced
practice at Arlington the first of the present year. He had already established a
fine practice with every prospect of the highest success, but, when exhausted with
overwork, was attacked by pneumonia and succumbed to the disease.
320 NEW HAMPSHIRE NECROLOGY,
GEORGE W. BARNARD.
George W. Barnard, born in Enfield, March 29, 1844, died in Claremont, Sep-
tember 26, 1899.
Mr. Barnard had been a resident of Claremont for over thirty years, and had
been for a long time a representative of the Balcom Oil Co., of Boston. He was a
prominent Odd Fellow, and also actively identified with the Prohibition cause, hav-
ing been chairman of the state committee of that party, and its candidate for gov-
ernor in 1894.
MISS FANNY E. LANGDON.
Fanny E. Langdon, born in Plymouth, July 15, 1864; died in Ann Arbor,
Mich., October 21, 1899.
Miss Langdon received her early education in the schools of Plymouth, and
graduated from the State Normal school in the class of 1886. After teaching in
this state three years she took up the study of biology in the University of Michi-
gan at Ann Arbor, in 1891, pursuing original work under V. M. Spaulding, pro-
fessor of botany, and Jacob Reighard, professor of zoology, and at the time of her
death she had accomplished work of more value than any other woman investiga-
tor in that particular line. Her published monograph entitled " The Sense Organs
of Lumbricus Agricola," attracted widespread attention from scientific people here,
and favorable mention from those of Europe. At the time of her death she was
engaged in correcting the proofsheets of another work entitled " Peripheral Ner-
vous System of Neveis Vivens."
At the University of Michigan she received her degree of B. S. in 1896, and
M. S. in 1897. She was also a student at the Woods HoU Biological Laboratory
at Woods HoU, Mass. Her special work as an instructor in the university was as
follows : two years as an assistant instructor in botany and one year as full instruc-
tor in zoology, and at the time of her death she had entered upon her second year
in that position.
« r»
Tnn CiRANITE AVonTMl5^I.
Vol. XXVIL
DECEMBER, 1899.
No. 6.
Across Hampton Marshes.
ON ROCKINGHAM EI.ECTRICS.
By J. Walton Mc Miller.
HIS century began with the
stage-coach ; it ends with
the automobile. Interme-
diates in the process of evo-
hitiou are the steam locomotive and
the electric car. And the greatest of
these is the electric car.
Swifter and more comfortable than
the stage, it still allows that intimacy
of association, that near knowledge
of the people and places met on the
journey, which was the chief charm
of the old coaching days. The elec-
tric road goes where the steam rail-
road cannot profitably go, and when
the necessity arises it equals the
speed and strength of its elder
brother. The electric car, too, is
the poor man's automobile. Where
the owner of an automobile pays
hundreds of dollars the less wealthy
man can, for as many nickels, own
324
OX ROCKINGHAM ELECTRICS.
The Exeter Road.
SO much of an electric car as will suf-
fice for his journeyings whither he
may desire to go.
There is a poetry, a picturesque
quality, about travels by trolley such
as no other mode of locomotion
possesses. Mr. William Dean How-
ells, as usual a pioneer, has trans-
ferred something of this quality to
paper of late in his descriptions of
rides on the York electric road. Dr.
Oliver Wendell Holmes prophesied it
years ago in that oft-quoted poem,
' ' The Broomstick Train. ' '
" When the Boss of the Beldams found
That without his leave they were ramping
round,
He called, — they could hear him twenty miles
]'"rom Chelsea beach to the Misery isles ;
The deafest old granny knew his tone
Without the trick of the telephone.
" ' Come here ! you witches, come here ! ' said
he —
' At your games of old without asking me !
I '11 give you a little job to do.
That will keep you stirring, you Godless
crew ! '
They came, of course, at their master's call
The witches, the broomsticks, the cats and
all.
" He led the hags to a railroad train
The horses were trying to drag in vain.
' Now then,' says he, ' you 've had your fun.
And here are the cars you 've got to run.
The driver may just unhitch his team.
We do n't want horses, we do n't want steam ;
You may keep your old black cats to hug,
But the loaded train you 've got to lug.'
" Since then on many a car you '11 see
A broomstick plain as plain can be ;
On every stick there 's a witch astride, —
The string you see to her leg is tied.
She will do a mischief if she can,
But the string is held bj- a careful man,
And whenever the evil-minded witch
Would cut some caper, he gives a twitch.
As for the hag you can't see her,
But, hark ! you can hear her black cat's purr.
And now and then, as car goes by,
You may catch a gleam from her wicked eye.
" Often j'ou' ve looked on a rushing train.
But just what moved it was not so plain.
It could n't be those wires above.
For they could neither pull nor shove ;
Where was the motor that made it go
You could n't guess, but now you know.
" Remember my rhymes when 5'ou ride again
On the rattling rail by the broomstick train !"
Apart from the comfort, pleasure,
and profit which the electric car af-
fords to the individual passenger it
has a direct and indirect value, both
ethical and material, for the commu-
nities through which it passes, and
for the state and nation whose devel-
opment it is hastening with such
giant strides.
When the stage-coach gave way
to the steam locomotive and the iron
horse forsook the old turnpikes for
more direct roads of steel between
important business centers, many
towns that had prospered and flour-
ished mightily under the old regime
drooped and faded because the steam
One of the Winter Cars.
ON ROCKINGHAM ELECTRICS.
325
road had declined to come their way.
The attraction was all to the centers,
to the accumulation of people and
property in large cities. Gradually
the farming districts, here in New
England, at least, were deserted ;
the era of abandoned farms came
in. The population was practically
obliged to concentrate itself along
lines of travel and traffic. No indus-
district surrounding it. In this I am
speaking of the electric road that
connects city with city or town with
town, and oj^ens up to the possibili-
ties of rapid transit a section that the
steam roads could not or would not
touch.
Of the vexed question of competi-
tion between steam and electric
roads, of paralleling and rate cutting,
Some Hampton Cottages.
try, not even that of farming, could
profitably be carried on at a distance
from a railroad line.
Now the electric railroad has come
to give back to the country' that
which the steam railroad took from
it ; and to make more permanent and
abiding the prosperity of the cities,
because no city, unless it be a rail-
road or maritime center, can be long
prosperous without a rich country
this is not the place to speak. Nor
is it necessary to call attention to
the problem of city congestion which
electric transportation has done so
much to solve. This article was be-
gun with the idea of calling attention
to the great good which electric roads
can do and have done as auxiliaries
in giving quick and cheap transporta-
tion across country between points
not so reached by steam railroads.
;26
ON ROCKINGHAM ELECTRICS.
The old General Moulton House
With this as a subject
and text, illustrations were
easy to find in every New England
state, but no better one can be dis-
covered, I think, than the Exeter,
Hampton & Amesbury railroad af-
ords. This road, with its twenty-
eight miles of track, connects the
scholastic town of Exeter in New
Hampshire with the bright little city
of Amesbury in Massachusetts, pass-
ing on the way through the New
Hampshire towns of Hampton,
Hampton Falls, and Seabrook.
A lively imagination always makes
this railroad figure in my mind as a
good fairy, rousing to life
fair Hampton, slumbering
by the sea, and bringing
to her twain suitors, hand-
some and rich, Exeter
and Amesbury.
A trip from one termi-
nus to the other in one
of the company's thirty
passenger cars is an ex-
perience not readily to be-
forgotten, so rich is it in
interest and information,
in the beautiful scenes of
the present and the redo-
lent memories of the
past. And it is quite
as much of a revela-
tion, perhaps, to a
lifelong dweller in
New Hampshire as
to a visitor from
abroad.
Eet us suppose
that we are in Exe-
ter on a glorious
June day — in his-
toric Exeter with its
famous schools, its
busy factories, its
fine old residences, its handsome
streets and buildings. We will wait
at the electric car station for a car
that will take us south down Ein-
coln street (Robert T. Lincoln was
educated at Exeter) . Then we will
go through Arbor street and just as
the car turns down Front street a
glimpse can be caught on the right,
down Arbor street, of a great granite
boulder surmounted by a bronze sol-
dier. There, our Exeter guide would
tell us, is the monument of a fearless
soldier, an honest, rugged statesman,
a great lawyer. Gen. Oilman Marston.
Further down Front street, still on
'■-'---IB-'
'^- i ..^
-^
On the Rocks — Hampton Beach.
ON ROCKINGHAM ELECTRICS.
327
the rig
and between
the car track
and the side-
walk is seen
another granite boulder
with the inscription,
"George Whitefield
Here Preached His last
Sermon September 29, 1770." The
wonderful Whitefield had first come
to Exeter twenty-five years before,
and though warned by the Rev.
John Odlin of the established First
church not to poach on his (Od-
lin's) preserves had so prevailed up-
on many of the people that they
withdrew from the First church and
formed the Second, now known as
the Phillips, church. On this 29th
of September, 1770, Whitefield stood
on the site marked by this boulder
and preached to a congregation too
large for any church. That after-
noon he rode to Newburyport, and
next morning he died.
Near by, but across the street, is
the recently completed new Phillips
church, the seventh of the town's
houses of worship. Adjoining it are
the buildings and grounds of one of
the best preparatory schools in the
world, and one of the be.st known in
America, Phillips Exeter academy.
After these are passed the public
library comes into view, a handsome
Methodist Church. Congregational Church.
Baptist Cnurch and Parsonage. Grammar School.
Town Hall.
SOME PUBLIC BUILDINGS IN HAMPTON,
structure of cream colored brick,
erected by the town as a fitting me-
morial to its sons who gave their
lives for the nation. Then the Baptist
church and the famous Oilman house
with its gambrel roof and its 150
years of history.
As the car turns to the left down
Court square the town's principal
hotel, the Squamscott house, is seen,
while opposite stands the fine old
First church, an example of the Colo-
I
Hampton Beach Hotel
;28
ON ROCKINGHAM ELECTRICS.
Surf Batning at Hampton Beach.
nial style at its best. The First
church was founded in 1638 and re-
organized in 1698, while the present
building was erected in 1798, more
than a century ago. Close to this
antiquity is the newness of the re-
cently erected court-house. Then
come the town hall and the building
devoted to the court and register of
probate where there are still many
ancient records stored in spite of the
recent shipment of a carload to the
state library at Concord.
Now we turn to the east, into
Water street, and are told that Presi-
dent George Washington was once
entertained in the brick building on
the right, then kept as an inn by Col.
Old Gariison House.
Samuel Folsom. Even older is a
brown house on the right just as the
road turns to cross the river bridge.
This w^as built, they say, in 1658,
and Daniel Webster boarded there
in 1796, while studying at the acad-
emy.
Along Water street, up Town hill
and down Main street to the railroad
station we go, seeing more old resi-
dences, each with a history, and
noticing, especially, a little way off
Main street, the house where Gen.
lycwis Cass was born. And now we
are across the river, up High street
and off for Hampton. We have not
seen Exeter's famous school for girls,
Robinson seminary, nor have we
been near the busy factories and
shops. So the impression of Exeter
which we carry away with us is that
of a dignified and richly dressed old
lady regarding with fond pride and a
caution born of experience a lively
boy whose cap bears the monogram,
"P. E. A."
The journey to Hampton is through
a rich farming country whose quiet
beauty and calm prosperity are a joy
to behold. Off to the south and
southwest are the hills of Reusing-
ON ROCKINGHAM ELECTRICS.
329
ton aud Kingston. To the south-
east we look over the valley of Tay-
lor's river towards Hampton Falls.
Ass brook and Bride hill are pecu-
liarly-named landmarks along the
way, the latter so called because of a
romantic marriage that once took
place there in the open air. The
reason for the nomenclature of Ass
brook local tradition does not state,
but it may have been the expression
of feeling of one of the parties to the
marriage when the reaction set in.
From Bride hill to Hampton sta-
tion the car sails along over four miles
of level farm land, part of a plateau
that separates the ' ' great swamp ' '
in North Hampton from Taylor's
river to the south. Here are a score
of splendid New Hampshire homes,
substantial buildings on estates cen-
turies old.
Crossing the Boston & Maine rail-
road at Hampton the rails over which
our car passes turn to the south on
the old post road and soon we come
to the junction with the electric car
line from Amesbury to Hampton
beach. The electric railway over
which we have been traveling was
commenced May 19, 1897, and com-
pleted July 3, 1S97. It has already
One of the Small Cars— E., H. & A. St. Ry. Co.
done much for the mutual welfare of
the towns which it connects.
Hampton, where we now are, is a
farming community with a consider-
able shore line but no harbor. It
has a factory or two, a famous
promontor3^ Great Boar's Head, and
a splendid bathing beach. Rev.
Stephen Bachiler, under whose di-
rection it was settled in 1638, was a
clergyman who sought a different
kind of religious libertj^ from that
dispensed in Massachusetts ; just
like Rev. John Wheelwright, who
had settled Exeter a few months be-
fore. It is sad to say that much of
Hampton's fame in song and ■sX.oxy
has been derived from her early per-
secutions of witches and whipping of
Quakers as told in Whittier's stirring
verse.
I
I
Surf Bathing at Hampton Beach.
330
OiV ROCKINGHAM ELECTRICS.
Leavitt s — North Beach.
If we are inclined to rest for a mo-
ment at Hampton, before going on to
the beach, there is at the junction,
ready for our purpose, one of the
most notable wayside inns in all New
England, " Whittier's," founded in
1755- Just across the road is the
Toppan house where lived Col.
Christopher Toppan, dignitary of the
French and Indian war times, mer-
chant, shipbuilder, and ship-owner.
Taking the cars from the junction
for the beach we see on the right a
half mile of meadow and tilled fields,
once the "meeting-house green,"
because directly across it stood
Stephen Bachiler's first church, built
of logs. We go by the church of
to-day, the old burial-ground, the
town hall, and the "cow common"
before we come upon the caiiseway
that crosses the narrowest part of the
great salt marsh and brings us to the
beach.
Hampton beach is divided into two
fairly equal parts, the north beach
and the south beach, by Great Boar's
Head, one of the noted promontories
of the New England coast. This is
what the geologist calls a ' ' true len-
ticular moraine or mound of glacial
drift." It is of pyramidal shape,
50 feet high and 1,300 long, thrust
out into the ocean like the charging
Looking up North Beach.
ON ROCKINGHAM ELECTRICS.
331
'w ^W
.^g<o~
- ''"^if^ *
The Casino.
head of a Corbin park boar. In its
hardness and bluffness and resisting
power it bears no Httle resemblance,
too, to another kind of boar's head.
The head is owned by Col. S. H.
Dumas, who successfully managed a
hotel there until it was destroyed by
fire, and now manages the Hampton
Beach hotel not far away. Cutler's
Sea View^ house is another prosper-
ous hostelry of the beach.
From Great Boar's Head, North
beach stretches away two miles to
lyittle Boar's Head in North Hamp-
ton. The new life-saving station is
its principal attraction. South beach
is nearly as long, extending from the
Head to Hampton river. It is one
of the finest bathing beaches in New
England, as safe as it is beautiful.
For a mile and a half in length the
clean sand bottom gently slopes out
for 550 feet with no undertow, and
consequently no need for life lines.
'-- '.;<c;' --
The Leonia.
332
ON ROCKINGHAM ELECTRICS.
The Casino on a Sunday Afternoon.
As for its beauty it was here Whit-
tier saug :
" And fair are the sunny isles in view,
East of the grisly head of the boar.
And Agamenticus lifts its blue
Disk of a cloud the woodlands o'er.
" And southerly, when the tide is down,
'Twixt white sea waves and sand hills brown
The sea birds dance and the gray gulls wheel
Over a floor of burnished steel."
All along the line, from Little
Boar's Head to Hampton river, run
He goes with the Co.
the rails of the electric road, and
their coming has meant more here
than anywhere else, from terminus to
terminus. They have popularized
the beach, "resurrected it," one
writer says. Where no visitor came
before a hundred come now ; and
the enjoyment is as innocent and as
wholesome as ever.
Before another summer comes con-
nection will have been made at Little
Boar's Head with the line of the
Portsmouth & Dover electric rail-
road, allowing a trip to be continued
through beautiful North Hampton
and Rye to the city of Portsmouth.
The electric railroad management
have chosen for especial develop-
ment at Hampton a large tract of
laud near the center of South beach,
below the cottages. Here has been
built a large, commodious, and well-
appointed casino, two stories high,
with facilities for everything from a
temperance convention to a clam-
bake, from a fashionable dance to a
farmers' field meeting. There is a
ON ROCKINGHAM ELECTRICS.
o 1 ->
kiosk for baud concerts, a large
bathing house, and a fine baseball
ground. From the broad piazzas of
the casino a marine view is obtain-
able seldom surpassed anywhere.
The erection on land adjoining the
casino of a large hotel of the first
class is a probability of the near
future.
Thousands will have the electric
car to thank for their opportunity to
echo Whittier's words in his poem to
Hampton Beach :
" Ha ! Like a kind hand on mj- brow.
Comes this fresh breeze,
Cooling its dull and feverish glow-
While through my being seems to flow
The breath of a new life,
The healing of the seas.
" Good-by to pain and care !
I take
Mine ease to-day :
Here where these sunny waters break
And ripples this keen breeze,
I shake
All burdens from the heart.
All weary thoughts away."
But our wonderful electric car trip
is little more than half over yet.
We must go back to Whittier's and
start anew for Amesbury. The elec-
tric cars follow the old post road
One of the Fcur Snow Plows.
through Hampton Falls and Sea-
brook to the state line. The first
object of interest is the old mansion
of Gen. Jonathan Moulton, a wealthy
contemporary of Meshech Weare and
John lyangdon, but not of equally
blessed memory with them. By a
tollgate house, once the scene of
great controversy, and in a few min-
utes we are at the village of Hamp-
ton Falls, chiefly interesting at pres-
ff?^
Ball Grounds, rear of the Casino.
334
ON ROCKINGHAM ELECTRICS.
^^ -■!
Looking South, from the Casino.
ent as being the birthplace of Miss
Alice Brown, the author of "Meadow
Grass."
Once, at least, however, on August
lo. i737i it was a gay and festive
place when Governor Belcher came
up from Boston with a numerous
cavalcade, met here the assembly of
New Hampshire and made a speech
concerning the much disputed bound-
ary line. Having discharged this
duty the governor made himself the
first of a long line of distinguished
men to go a junketing "at the falls
of Ammuskeag." And the dispute
over the boundar}^ which had raged
John Locke's Store — Seabrook,
for two hundred 3^ears, went right on
raging for nearly two hundred more.
The most striking object in Hamp-
ton Falls is the monument to Meshech
Weare, a tall granite shaft flanked by
ship carronades, and bearing an in-
scription succinctly descriptive of the
great man's services to his nation
when she needed strong men most.
Here is another house where Gen-
eral Washington once slept, being
this time on a visit to Governor
Weare, and having ridden up from
Cambridge. Equally worthy of rev-
erent attention is the house where
John G. Whittier, "the good gray
poet," died.
From Hampton Falls the
road runs south through the
center of the town of Sea-
brook. At Seabrook Center
is a typical country store
which is also a street rail-
way waiting-room. A mile
and a half further on we come
to Smithtown, a pretty hamlet
with a neat church. Here
the Hampton and Amesbury
ON ROCKINGHAM ELECTRICS.
335
electric road meets a branch
that runs up from Newbury-
port and adds another to the
numerous possibilities in the
way of divergent trips which
our road furnishes by its con-
nections. Here, too, is the re- **• -
cently established boundary line '~'^ '
between New Hampshire and
Massachusetts.
Over the line we go into the
old Bay state at the township of
Salisbury, traversing Salisbury Plains
to Frost's Corner, where the township
of Amesbury begins ; south for half
a mile, then west along Clinton street
for half a mile more to Market street ;
down Market street past the fair
grounds, and we are at our journey's
end ; Market square in the city of
Amesbury.
There is much to tempt us to lin-
ger here where Whittier lived his
pure, sweet life, and sang the songs of
New England ; and where, to view
the place from an entirely different
point of view, the Pow-wow river,
with a daily flow of 180,000,000 gal-
lons, falls 70 feet in 50 rods.
;.,: 11 1 ii
\\\
if \
m\\\i\\ "
JH
1
rm
I
,
'~vma&<%JiL.
' ^1 ill
L! ,"1
TJS&l-i ■r- -«-
Tr^\.r: z.
With such a water power there
has, of course, always been manufac-
turing here. "The first establish-
ments were saw mills and grist mills
in 1640, followed in later years by
snuff mills, linseed oil mills, fulling
mills, a starch mill, and a century
ago a smelting furnace, where one
thousand tons of iron were wrought
in a year ; anchors, scythes, axes,
and other edge tools were manufac-
tured." Now, to mention just one
industry, there are here fifty firms
that make 25,000 carriages a year.
Then there are car shops and
machine shops, woolen mills and
other mills, an assessed valuation of
Looking North, frorr: the Casino.
9V ^
rr
¥"'/
I-'
,# /\
3
. -v. *
O
J ;/ ^
<
<
I
ON ROCKINGHAM ELECTRICS.
33:
proper!}' reaching five niillions of
dollars, aud a savings bank with de-
posits of two millions. It is on the
Boston & Maine railroad, and be-
sides the electric road over which we
have just traveled, it has others that
would take us to Merrimack and
Haverhill on the w^est, or to Salis-
bury beach and Newburyport on the
east.
Most of the historic scenes in and
beauty is altogether out of propor-
tion to the height of the elevation,
332 feet above the level of the sea.
Then, if we are not awearied of anti-
quities, there is to be seen the resi-
dence of Thomas Macy, first town
clerk, driven to Nantucket in 1659,
for harboring Quakers. And we can
drink from the famous Bagley well
(now prosaically filled by the city
water works) of which Harriet Pres-
about Amesbury are connected wnth
Whittier, whose unpretentious resi-
dence stands at the corner of Friend
and Pleasant streets, not far from the
Friends' meeting-house. To us, visi-
tors from New Hampshire, there is
pride as well as interest in the sight
of the bronze statue to Josiah Bart-
lett, who was born in Amesbury, but
signed the Declaration of Indepen-
dence from New Hampshire. From
the top of Pow-wow hill can be
obtained a view whose breadth and
Mai
cott Spofford sang :
" Driving along the Amesbury road,
We have flung the rein loose many a day,
And paused for a draught from the mossy
depths
Of a gray old well by the public waj-.
A well of water by the public waj',
Where the springs make their dark and m5S-
terious plaj'.
" Valentine Baglej' sank that well,
A hundred years since, out of hand,
When he came back from the Indian seas
And his wreck on the fierce Arabian strand,
Where the airs like flames about him fanned.
And the ashes of hell was the burning strand."
338
ON ROCKINGHAM ELECTRICS.
And now, having enjoyed a day
packed full of varied interest and
pleasure, let us search out the cour-
teous and capable superintendent of
the road, Mr. McReel, at his office in
Exeter, and learn from him of the
plant which has carried us in its cars
so swiftly, so safely, and so comfort-
ably on our long jaunt.
In the boiler room are four 72-inch
by 18 feet tubular boilers of the best
construction. All the feed water
connections are so arranged that any
one boiler can be fed independently
of the others with either heated or
cold water. Two of these boilers
are in daily use for the railway, and
one is added when the lights are put
A. E. McReel, Gen. iVigi. and Supt. E., H. & A. St. Ry. Co.
Mr. McReel might say something
like this : The power station and
plant is centrally located in Hamp-
ton about two and a lialf miles from
the junction on the line to Exeter.
The lower building is of brick and is
100 feet by 80 on the ground. It is
divided by fire-proof walls into the
boiler room, the power room, and the
pump and condenser room.
on. The fourth is an auxiliary to be
used in case of need.
In the power room are three 1S5
horse power, high speed, Buckeye
engines, of i5j4.'-incli cylinder and
24-inch stroke. When doing regular
service they are run at 160 revolu-
tions per minute. Two of these are
used for the car service ; the third
one for lighting service, and is run
ON ROCKINGHAM ELECTRICS.
339
Power House and Car Barn at Harrpton.
from 4 p. M. to 12 midnight. The
car service engines run two Key-
stone generators, each of 125 kilo-
watts and 550 volts. The Hght
service engine has a generator of
2,300 volts for the incandescent
lights, and one of 4,000 volts for
the arc lights, of which 80 are used
in Exeter.
There is, also, a new Cross com-
pound condensing engine of 400
horse power. The high pressure
C3'linder is 16% inches in diameter
with a 30-inch stroke, and the low"
Annesbury Car Barn.
xxvil— 23
ON ROCKINGHAM ELECTRICS.
341
pressure cylinder is 30J2 inches in
diameter with a 30-inch stroke. The
engine is directly connected with its
generator. That is to say, no belts
are used as in the other engines.
This generator is of 250 kilowats and
550 volts. This compact and power-
ful engine and generator, practically
one machine, is so constructed that it
can be run by either of the cylinders,
all of the engines, adds some live
steam and with it heats the feed
water for the boilers. After doing
this work the exhaust steam goes to
the condenser, where, in a 26 inch
vacuum, it is condensed to water.
This rapid condensation of the ex-
haust, in theory, will relieve each
cylinder of 14 7-10 pounds per square
inch of back pressure. In actual use,
The Pump Room, Power House, Hampton.
if, from any cause, the other becomes
disabled. This engine was put in as
an auxiliary power to the two service
engines, and is intended for use in
case of accident or on heavy traffic
days to assist the two regular engines.
The compound condensing system
of Mr. Iv. C. Lamphear of Boston,
capable of caring for the exhaust
steam of 1,400 horse power, has been
installed. It takes the exhaust from
day by day, it will certainly save, at
least, 12 pounds per inch, and by the
consequent gain in the engine service
will save from 20 to 25 per cent, in
the fuel consumed. All of the con-
nections for this condensing system
are in duplicate, so that in case any
valve or pipe is disabled, it can be
"cut out" and repairs made while
the condenser is still doing its work.
The heater for the feed water, the
Boiler Room.
A Unit of the Power Plant.
ON ROCKINGHAM ELECTRICS.
0-+v>
A Cui
condenser, the duplicate feed pumps,
and the fire pump of one thousand
gallons per minute capacit}', are in
the fire proof pump room.
In the power room there is a steam
gauge that registers the pressure for
every hour the boilers are in use, and
t n e R e |j a 1 1 S n u p .
another showing the present pressure.
By meters the engineer knows how
much power his machines are pro-
ducing, and by ammeters he can tell
how much is being used on any one
of his three circuits.
The car barn is of wood and is 215
One of tne Eight-Wheel Cars— E., H. & A. St. Ry. Co.
344
OX ROCKINGHAM ELECTRICS.
vVarren Brown, President, E , H. & A. St. Ry. Co.
feet long by 50 feet wide. It can
shelter twenty-four cars at one time
on its four tracks. It has six pits
with cemented bottoms and brick
sides for use in cleaning the running
gear under the car floors, and forty-
eight feet of floor in front is of
cement, where the cars are w'ashed.
At the rear, and separated from the
rest of the building by a fire proof
wall, is the completely equipped re-
pair shop and the stock room with its
powerful motor and stock of lathes,
drills, and other machiner}'.
The whole building is covered with
metal shingles and fitted with the
dr}' air, automatic sprinkler system.
Water is supplied from an artesian
well 154 feet deep, 140 feet of which
is in rock.
The car barn at Amesbur}- is of
brick, and in size and arrangement a
duplicate of that at Hampton, except
that there is no repair shop attached.
At this writing the road owns twenty-
six passenger cars, with three more
building ; two flat cars, and one box
car for freight, and four powerful
Taunton snow plows. Among the
passenger cars are six fourteen seat,
eight-wheel summer cars, equipped
with powerful air brakes. At each
side, by each seat, is an electric push
button, by which the passenger can
notify the conductor to stop the car.
These cars move with the speed and
steadiness of a passenger car on a
steam railroad, and it is of this model
that the three new ones are being
built. Another style is a combined
How tney got there before the railway was built.
THE SNOWFALL. 345
summer aud winter vestibuled car, offices, at the terminals, and at every
especially adapted for the use of turnout. The line is a regular mail
clubs and trolley parties. All the carrier.
compan3''s cars were built by the In short, the Exeter, Hampton &
Briggs Car Company, of Amesbury. Amesbury Street railway is a model.
The company's twenty-eight miles Its location, its equipment, its man-
of track are laid with the heaviest agement are beyond criticism, and
steel rails, and so well ballasted as the man who deserves the praise and
to be able to carry any railroad train is the principal owner of the com-
in the country. The best materials pany, is Mr. Wallace D. Lovell of
and latest fittings have been used in Boston, who planned all this and
every part of the equipment. Tele- pnt the right men in the right places
phones have been placed in all of the to carry out his plans.
Note. — For most of the facts and some of the phraseology in this article, credit is due to an
exceedingly interesting and 'comprehensive guide book issued by the company and published
by the Rumford Printing Company.
THE SNOWFALL.
By Ethel F. Comerford.
The hills are bleak and brown and bare ;
The meadows shiver with the cold ;
No sign of summer glory there.
With moan and sob the wind sweeps by,
And flakes of snow upon yon street,
Fall from the chill December sky.
A whirr of wings outside the door !
A merry flock of bonny birds
Is hurried on the blast before.
From leaden depths of angry clouds,
Now fast and faster falls the snow
And wraps the hills in fleecy shrouds.
To wake no more at sunshine's call,
The weary children of the spring
It covers 'neath a silvery pall.
In semblance of a mother's care,
It wraps from sight the new-made grave
With tenderness exceeding rare.
O pearly flakes of purest snow !
Could you beneath j^our mantle hide
The world's dark curse of want and woe ;
Could you but bury deep the sin
That blights the beauty of the soul ;
You might immortal glory win.
BARN OWL.
AfUr Fisher, Hulli-ti'ji I '. S. D,i>t. . l^r.
THE FOOD HABITS OF THE OWLS.
By Clarence Mcwres Weed.
EW birds make a stronger ap-
peal to the imagination than
do the owls. Their nocturnal
habits, their grotesque ap-
pearance, their weird and unearthly
voices, and their secluded haunts all
combine to render them birds of note
to the human mind. Our literature
is full of allusions to the owl, such
allusions, especially in the older writ-
ings, being chiefly due to the barn
owl, which in Europe commonly in-
habits the belfries and towers of
churches and castles. It is a bird
of remarkable appearance, even for
an owl, as the reader may judge
from the accompanying picture.
In America this barn owl does not
range, as a rule, to the more North-
ern states, so that to New England-
ers it is not a familiar bird. It
belongs to a family — Strigidce —
distinct from that of the other owls.
In most regions of the United States
it is not an abundant species, al-
though in California it is said to be
the commonest of the owls. It nests
in towers or hollow trees, depositing
there three to six yellowish-white
eggs on the mass of regurgitated pel-
lets which have accumulated in its
abode.
The barn owl is a crepuscular or
nocturnal bird, hiding during the
day, and sallying forth in search of
prey during the evening. The rec-
ord of its food is unusually complete
and shows that on the whole it is a
very useful species. Of thirty-nine
stomachs examined by Dr. A. K.
Fisher of the United States Depart-
ment of Agriculture, one contained a
pigeon ; three, other birds ; seven-
teen, mice; seventeen, other mam-
mals ; four, insects, apd seven were
empty. These stomachs were col-
lected from Delaware to California,
and contained specimens of the fol-
lowing small mammals : meadow mice,
jumping mice, harvest and house mice,
white-footed mice, shrews, cotton rats,
pocket rats, kangaroo rats, wood rats,
and pouched gophers. Two hundred
pellets from beneath a nest of these
birds in Washington, D. C, contained
454 skulls, of which "225 were mead-
ow mice; 2, pine mice; 179, house
mice; 20, rats; 6, jumping mice; 20,
shrews; i, star-nosed mole, and i,
vesper sparrow."
A German ornithologist thirty years
ago examined 703 pellets regurgitated
by barn owls. Of the 2,551 skulls,
1,579 belonged to shrews, 930 to mice.
16 to bats, I to a mole, 19 to English
sparrows, and 3 to other birds.
In the Southern states the barn owl
feeds very largely upon the destruc-
tive cotton rat, and in California the
main staple of its diet is the pouched
gopher, an abundant and vexatious
rodent, and the ground squirrel, a
related pest. All accounts agree in
showing that it is a rare and excep-
tional trait for the barn owl to feed
on small birds.
348
THE FOOD HABITS OF THE OWLS.
THE SHORT-EARED OWL.
The short-eared owl is said to have
the greatest geographical range of
an}' land bird. It is found in all
the principal divisions of the globe
Short-Eared Owl.
After Fisher, Bulletin U. S. Dept. Agr.
except Australia, and is common
throughout most of North America,
going northward to breed in summer,
and returning southward for the win-
ter. It prefers open to wooded coun-
try, and in many regions is the most
abundant of the owls. Its food con-
sists principally of field mice, but
moles, shrews, gophers, small rab-
bits, crickets, grasshoppers, beetles,
and rarely small birds are eaten.
Fully ninety per cent, of the stom-
achs of about fifty specimens exam-
ined in the Department of Agricul-
ture contained nothing but meadow
mice. In England this species is
noted as being one of the chief agen-
cies in subduing the uprisings of field'
mice that periodically occur.
THE BARRED OWE.
The barred owl is a larger bird
than either of the preceding species.
The typical form is found in eastern
North America, while closely related
representatives inhabit the west and
southwest. It is generally credited
with being a serious enemy to poul-
try, and in southern regions where
fowls roost in trees it probably does
considerable damage ; but of 109
stomachs examined by Dr. Fisher
only three contained domestic fowls,
while one contained a pigeon, and
another a ruffed grouse ; thirteen
contained smaller birds, including
screech owls, sparrows, and a red-
bellied woodpecker. Mice were
found in 46 stomachs ; rats, red
squirrels, and chipmunks in 18 ; in-
sects and spiders in 16 ; crawfish in
9, frogs in 4, fish in 2, a lizard in
I, while twenty of the stomachs were
empty. Audubon records the fact that
these owls are very fond of a brown
wood frog found in Louisiana. " Dr.
C. Hart Merriam took the remains of
at least a dozen red-backed mice from
a single specimen killed near Moose
river in northern New York."
" In summing up the facts relating
to the food habits of this owl," writes
Dr. Fisher, " it appears that while the
general statements of certain authors,
especially the earlier ones, charge the
bird with destruction of poultry, game,
and small birds, such destructive
habits are comparatively uncommon.
That it does occasionally make in-
roads upon the poultry-yards, and
does more or less damage among
game birds, is true ; but the system-
atic collection and examination of a
THE FOOD HABITS OF THE OWLS.
349
large number of stomachs show the
exceptional character of such acts
and reveal the fact that a large part
of its food consists of mammals. And
it is to be noted that among the list
are some of the more destructive
rodents that the farmer has to con-
tend with. If a fair balance be
struck, therefore, it must be consid-
ered that on the whole this owl is
beneficial, and hence should occupy
a place on the list of birds to be pro-
tected."
The barred owl makes its nest in
hollow trees or among the upper
branches. It often uses the deserted
nest of a crow or hawk for the pur-
pose, remodeling it slightly to suit
the new occupant. The complement
of whitish eggs is usually two or
three, but four or five are sometimes
found. These owls prefer heav}^
^^
T
Young Barred Owl — Side View.
Young Barred Owi — Front View.
woodlands or wooded swamps, such
as the cypress swamps of our south
Atlantic regions, where they may be
found much oftener than in more
open regions.
THE SCREECH OWL.
The screech owl is one of the best
known and most abundant of the
group. It inhabits all parts of the
United States, and is found through-
out southern Canada. It is one of
the most beneficial birds of prey and
deserves the encouragement and pro-
tection of farmers everywhere. Its
food is varied, consisting of insects,
crawfish, frogs, fish, lizards, small
birds, and especially of mice, of which
it destroys enormous numbers.
In warm winter weather it stores up
in its hiding-place, mice, moles, and
similar creatures, to serve as food dur-
ing more inclement periods. The only
bad habit attributed to it is that of
350
THE FOOD HABITS OF THE OWES.
occasionally catching small birds, but
since the introduction of the English
sparrow this trait is favorable to the
owl's usefulness, since it is known to
prey to a considerable extent upon
these unwelcome immigrants.
THE LONG-EARED OWI^.'
The long-eared owl is a common
and widely - distributed species in
North America. In some parts of
the Southwest it is considered the
most abundant of the owls, and the
testimony of all competent observ-
ers points to the fact that it is one of
the most beneficial members of its
family. That its food consists very
largely of mice is shown by the fact
that out of 176 skulls taken by Dr.
Fisher from beneath the roosting site
of one of these owls, 137 were of mice
of various species, while 26 were of
shrews, the remaining 13 consisting
of 1 1 sparrows, one warbler, and one
bluebird. The same observer found
that out of 107 stomachs, from many
parts of the country', 84 contained
mice; 5, other small mammals; 16,
small birds, one being a quail, while
one contained insects, and fifteen
were empty. Dr. B. H. Warren
found that twenty-two out of twenty-
three Pennsylvania long-eared owls
had eaten only mice, while the twen-
ty-third had taken beetles and a small
bird. The remains of eight field mice
were taken from the stomach of one
specimen by Mr. Townend Glover ;
while in Oregon Capt. C. E. Ben-
dire found their food to consist prin-
«<*>■«*.:
The Screech Owl or Mottled Owi.
A/t,->- Fisher, Bnlhtin U. S. D<-/>t. Agr.
Head of Long-Eared Owl.
cipally of mice and the smaller
rodents.
The long-eared owl commonl}^
breeds in trees, using the deserted
nest of a hawk or crow for the pur-
pose. Three to six eggs are de-
posited. It is a nocturnal bird, hid-
ing in groves of evergreens, or other
sheltered retreats during the day.
The largest of our owls is the
great-horned owl, which is found not
very rai'ely in New England. It is
a powerful bird and preys upon the
larger members of the feathered race,
such as grouse, ducks, turkeys, guin-
ea hens and domestic fowls, as well
NOTE THE C7OOD.
351
Head of Great Horned Owl
as upon rabbits, squirrels, and even
skunks. It is to be ranked as one
of the injurious species in its rela-
tion to man.
In the Arctic regions of North
America the beautiful snowy owl is
a rather common species. It is one
of the largest members of its family,
often being more than two feet long.
In winter it is occasionally found in
the Northern states, especially in
New England, but during the sum-
mer it remains in the far north.
The summer food of this bird con-
sists very largely of the small rodents
known as Lemmings, which abound
in most Arctic regions. These and
other related rodents seem to be the
favorite food, except in winter, when
a variety of animals, including the
ptarmigan and Arctic hare, are eaten.
During its winter visits to southern
Canada and the northern United
States, it lives upon rabbits, rats,
mice, and various birds. It is expert
in catching fish, which form a favor-
ite article of food.
The snowy owl is so rare in our
country that it has little economic
importance, but probably it deserves
to be unmolested when it visits us.
NOTE THE GOOD.
By C. E. Carr.
If we would only note the good
That others do, we surely would
Far happier be ; and others, too,
Would they but note the good we do.
If we would let life's ills pass by
And with our hearts and minds would try
To see the love that Nature gives,
The care and work she lavishes,
To make this world a fairy land
And spread abroad on every hand
Her blessings, — how she flings them free
With bounteous hand for you and me.
We 'd quickly learn how we could make
On earth, would we this lesson take,
A happy and a heavenly state
By loving love and shunning hate.
No limitations then would bound us
For heaven itself would be around us.
{^i.ac<er<5.
IV.
By H. W. Brown, M. Sc
T was ill the
early dawn
of the pres-
ent or Quar-
ternary Age
that the region now included within
the "Granite State" was uniformly
covered by one vast, continuous sheet
of snow and ice, thousands of feet
thick.
Of the fact itself there can be no
reason for doubt, but to conceive of
the phenomenon, in its entirety,
easily transcends the reach of human
imagination.
That ancient continental glacier
must have submerged an area em-
bracing more than seventy degrees of
longtitude. From the North pole
extending southward, it enveloped
all of New England, all of Canada,
nearly all of New York, the middle
territory of the United States as far
down as the Ohio and Missouri rivers,
save a small area in Wisconsin, and
traced its southern limit' westwardly,
close along the upper border of our
northwest territory, to the Pacific
ocean.
While there are a thousand con-
vincing and highly interesting evi-
dences of all this, the limits of the
present article will permit neither
formal argument nor detailed dis-
cussion. Having made some slight
observations upon the subject of gla-
cial action at home, as well as among
the mountains of the West and North,
the present writer would now re-
fer, briefly, to a very few plain corre-
spondences, such as the most casual
observer could not fail to notice, be-
tween the every-day workings of a
recent glacier and certain suggestive
features to be seen close by our doors.
V.
How often, to begin at home, the
New Hampshire farmer boy, with,
perhaps, no anxious thought for the
trousers of to-morrow, has joyed to
shoot the steep, smooth, northern
face of some great ledge ! How
often, too, with some concern for
vertebrae, he has buckled himself to
the thankless task of gathering stones,
where four have sprung to mourn a
comrade's loss. How often, again,
with maximum expense of patience
and perspiration, he has pried with
pick and bar at incorrigible boulders,
guided the refractory plow, or mowed
by hand over rocky and treacherous
fields. Surely the New Hampshire
STOSS AND LEE.
353
■farmer needs only theorj- in order to
become a connoisseur in many of the
visible effects of glacial action.
The hardy mountaineer of the
northern Rockies, to whom the val-
Ic}' glacier is to-day an ever pres-
ent, although not altogether agree-
able, reality, would find in our sturdy
3^eomanry "hale fellows well met."
He, too, is no stranger to boulders,
moraines, and rounded outcrops.
Boulders ! he has seen huge ones,
torn from upland ledges, and borne
away by moving ice. The surface
of an}' mountain glacier will show
them in large numbers. Often mas-
sive stones held high upon pedestals
of ice appear like Titan tables from
which the surrounding surface has
been reduced by heat and evapora-
tion. He has seen them, boulders
large and boulders small, dropped
en masse during the rapid melting of
approaching summer.
Now New Hampshire's boulders
were also sown broadcast by ice, al-
though by a stronger and farther-
reaching arm. The rock shown in
the accompanying cut is not of very
unusual size, although it must weigh
upwards of five hundred tons. No
force, other than that of moving ice,
could possibly have stirred it from its
place ; yet its source can be recog-
nized in a rugged outcrop some dis-
tance to the north of its present po-
sition.
How apt is the German name for
all such stones — filndlinge^ found-
lings — for boulders have always
strayed from some parent ledge.
The roundness of most of our
boulders is good evidence of their
history. Such stones, more or less
It must weigh upwa'^ds of 500 tons.
354
STOSS AND LEE.
Such stones must needs have beconrie worn, scratched, and rounded.
securely frozen into the under part
of a glacier, or upon its sides, must
needs have become worn, scratched,
and rounded, as the glacier forced
along, either through movement
among the rocks themselves or
through contact with the ledges over
which they passed. Our field walls
and stone heaps and the material of
most of our gravel beds afford excel-
lent opportunity for any amount of
profitable and pleasurable contem-
plation and conjecture. In spite of
everything, however, I suppose friend
Hobblethwaite will always insist that
boulders grow !
VI.
Rocks thus transported would, of
course, leave clear evidence of their
passage upon the underlying ledges
themselves. Roundish rocks would
roll, angular ones scratch, flattish
ones scour ; and so glaciated hills
tell as plain a story as do the scat-
tered boulders of valleys and plains.
A most convincing mark of glacial
action anywhere is to be recognized
in this rounded, planed, and scoured
appearance of exposed ledges which
by nature should be angular, uneven,
and rough. It would be difficult to
overestimate the amount of such plan-
ation. Outcrops in our own section
are mostly of a hard granitic sort,
and yet they often evidence with ex-
ceptional clearness the harsh and
long-continued abrasion to which
they must have been at some time
subjected.
The tendency of a moist atmos-
phere is to render exposed ledges
always more and more irregular,
chiefly through a weathering pro-
STOSS AND LEE.
355
cess which removes softer compon-
ent parts, sucli as the feldspar of
granite ; hence many stone surfaces
have now lost nearly all trace of for-
mer glacial action. A layer of soil
material, even a thin one, is, how-
ever, a great means of protection
against such influences. Very little
experience will enable one to distin-
guish at once ice-worn from water-
worn and weather-etched surfaces.
The idea of a glacier carries with
it that of movement. A very little
thought will show that that portion
of a ledge which originally received
the prodigious onslaught of the ad-
vancing ice — the sh-iick side — must
especially have had all its angular,
rasping projections planed off, its
surface smoothed, and its general
contour rounded. This characteris-
tic appearance whether of ledge or of
mountain has been called stoss and
its opposite lee; and these phases
where plainly seen are, as we have
said, very conclusive evidence of
glacial action. Evidently upon the
farther or lee side of an outcrop, the
unstruck side we might call it, the
original roughness and the angles of
accidental fracture would be largely
retained. It is interesting to note
that it is this action of old-time
glaciers that has chiefly determined
the general configuration of most of
our granite hills, for they certainly
have a general figure, and one can
easily distinguish both their stoss and
their lee.
With the assistance of pupils, the
writer has often removed the soil
from the crest of some not inconsid-
erable elevations in the neighbor-
hood of New Hampton. There we
have been pleased to read the clearly
preserved record of a few of those
truly wonderful processes of that
most wonderful age.
But the ledge is not rounded
merely. Little flinty pebbles, which
are always frozen into the under side
of an ice mass, each acting like an
engraver's tool, chisel the already
rounded rock with little parallel and
continuous grooves. Sometimes, up-
on our hillsides, such a groove may
be traced for yards or until, as it
appears, the ponderous weight of the
mass above had crushed the pebble,
when its grooving suddenly ceased.
To the student of glacial striae there
is no mistaking the especial charac-
ter of all such markings as these
whether of ancient or of recent origin.
It is easy to distinguish where mas-
sive boulders have hollowed out their
steady grooves, pebbles have left their
narrow traces, small, flinty points
have drawn their finer lines, or sand
has smoothed and minuter particles
have polished.
" This characteristic appearance of a ledge nas been called
stoss, its opposite, lee."
By observing the stoss side of a
ledge, the direction of the original
ice flow can be approximately deter-
mined. In New Hampshire we find
it invariably to have been the north-
ern face that was struck and rounded
xxvn— 24
356
STOSS AND LEE.
and scratched. Observations in other
states, as well, convince us that the
general direction of flow for New
England must have been southerly
with slight deviations to west and
east.
Where then was the geographic
center from which flowed this all-
comprehending ice sheet of our re-
gion ? This is an interesting ques-
tion. I submit the opinion of others
and say that it was probably upon or
near the great plateau of lyabrador,
north of the St. Lawrence river. A
glacier flows in the direction of the
slope of its upper surface ; accord-
ingly it is believed that at that point
there was accumulated the deepest
snow ; and there, even to-day, I am
told, is the region of the greatest an-
nual fall for this portion of North
America. In support of this view it
appears that from that point striae
upon rocks radiate in all diiections —
southerly to us. Thus while a con-
tinental glacier covered everything
hereabouts, save, perhaps, our high-
est peaks, ^ there may have been more
than one local center of flow.
VII.
A great glacier several thousand
feet thick moving slowly down over
such a ledgy mountainous region as
ours would necessarily drag along
with it all those rocky fragments
with which it possessed itself, and
eventually they would all be depos-
ited somewhere. The ocean, for a
long period, was a common dump-
ing ground. Those fragments (i)
cemented into the sides where the
plastic ice crowded down the valleys,
or (2) into the bottom where the
1 Some geologists believe Mt. Washington to have
beeu covered.
mass moved over the land, or (3)
piled up in front where the glacier
pushed its way to the plain, formed
what are called moraines: lateral,
ground, and frontal, in the order
given. Such moraines are now very
apparent in connection with any val-
ley glacier and there it is interesting
to study them. But they are chiefly
an ancient feature with us.
Our state affords undoubted illus-
trations of them, often upon a vast
scale, in the gravelly ridges, "In-
dian mounds," kames or "horse-
backs," and drumlins, which seem
almost everywhere to abound.
When that great continental glacier
finally melted back from the shore
after its thousands of years of undis-
puted occupanc3^ and when, at last,
it reluctantly retreated both to higher
altitudes among our mountains and
to higher latitudes far to the north of
us, all such rock rubbish as was held
/;/ transitu appears to have been
unceremoniously dumped, certainly
with no tendency to uniformity,
over plains and valleys, plateaus and
hills, and there we find the most of it
to-day.
These gravel deposits are exceed-
ingl}^ variable in shape, in size, and
in their lines of trend. Often they
appear as little rounded hills with no
skeleton of ledge. Frequently, how-
ever, they are ranged in the form of
irregular curves extending across
sloping valleys. Each such terminal
moraine now marks the former halt-
ing place of some flank of that great
glacier during the season of its last
retreat. In the state of Maine a
somewhat different form of glacial
embankment ma}' be readily traced
for nearly twelve miles. For a larger
part of the way one finds it serving
STOSS AND LEE.
357
the admirable purpose of an elevated
carriage road. Of course no river
could ever have left such ridges as
these. No river is known thus to
have dammed itself.
The grinding action upon the mass
of under-transported debris itself,
caused b}^ the heavy moving ice
above and the unyielding ledge be-
low, is, in its effect, of the very high-
est importance. The process goes on
continually beneath a moving glacier.
By means of it, in the past, has been
formed very much of our soil ma-
terial. Deposits of surprising depth
are found in our state. Com-
pacted deposits of clay have been
derived from thoroughly disinte-
grated feldspars, sand beds from
finely pulverized quartz, certain
marls from degraded limestones, and
so on. Railroad cuts and river
gulches sometimes show forty or
fifty feet of stratified drift.
A dense, blue, somewhat stratified
clay bed, called hard pan or boulder
clay, commonly underlies our soil.
This was formed and compressed by
the glacier. Upon this rock-paste,
as the final melting of the great mass
went on, or during some recession
of the glacier in its later stages,
was spread all that looser material
which so often shows stratification
and the rounding action of water.
Upon these later deposits, at length,
through a modification of the ma-
terial, has finall}^ appeared the car-
bon-enriched surface loam or vege-
table mold from which we yearly
glean our crops.
That little brook from which I
drank while resting at the foot of
Mt. Sir Donald, high among the
Rockies, was simply a sub- glacial
stream ; but, like its counterparts,
comprising the sources of the Rhine,
the Rhone, and the Danube, it gave
rise to quite a river below — the Ille-
cillewaet. The brook had cut its
way through the rocky debris of a
terminal moraine ; and, as it merrily
coursed along, it played with the lit-
tle pebbles of its clean-kept bed,
while carrying all the finer silt away
for deposition in a delta below.
All over the northern part of our
Winter in New Hampshire.
State to-day, likewise, we see the
same behavior of rapid mountain
streams. But those floods of the
past which were made by the final
melting of that great continental
glacier must have been in the form
of mighty torrents channeling the
till-filled valleys or widening into
extensive lake systems. Within the
latter the}^ sifted their silt to form
the levels of what are now our pleas-
ant stream-coursed meadows.
358
STOSS AND LEE.
VIII.
What was the cause of it all, and
why has it ceased to be ? We do not
know with certainty. Several theo-
ries furnish probable explanations.
Aside from purely astronomical rea-
sons, which are somewhat abstruse,
it may be said that a moderate in-
crease in elevation of a large mass of
already elevated land will always
make quite a difference in the mean
annual temperature of the summit
region. An increase of elevation
amounting to one thousand feet must
make an average reduction of more
than three degrees Fahrenheit. Our
mean annual rainfall is upwards of
three feet. Water freezes at thirt}^-
two degrees, hence no great eleva-
tion would be necessary in order to
retain all this moisture in crystal
form. Among our mountains we
sometimes see heavy snows falling
upon the peaks while it is raining in
the valleys. Thus, as it is, our
mountains take on their caps quite
early in the fall, and, like English
Commoners, are slow to take them off.
Now suppose this entire northern
area to be raised considerably higher
than it is. Snow caps would in-
crease. Raise it higher and they
could not possibly be melted awa}^,
even under the heat of our warmest
summers. Valley glaciers would ap-
pear. They would spread, unite,
deepen. Raise it higher, a conti-
nental glacier would form. It, too,
would deepen and spread. Increase
of snow would increase the fall of
snow. Greater elevation of the land
would tend to divert warm equatorial
currents farther from our shores.
Moist warm air currents would come
but only to increase the fall, while
melting would only further reduce
the normal temperature. Accumu-
lation would go on and on even to
the depth of thousands of feet. Our
highest hills would gradually dis-
appear. Mount Washington, alone,
possibly, might be tall enough to
peer around upon a level reach of
snow and ice. Then all the mighty
processes of the world's stupendous
leveler would go on again, round-
ing the mountains, transporting the
boulders, smoothing the ledges, fill-
ing the valleys, and leaving an un-
mistakable mark in stoss and lee.
What brought it all to a close ?
Centuries had witnessed the birth of
the age, centuries had watched its
work go on, and centuries saw it
die. A gradual lowering of the land
masses, such as is now going on in
different parts of the world, probably
occurred. There was a consequent
rising in mean annual temperature
which was augmented by a nearer
approach of the Gulf Stream to our
.shores, and, finally, a concluding for
another eon of time of those pro-
found astronomical causes — causes
which, however, must as surely
come again. It is significant that
New England at the present time
is probabl}^ rising. Will there be
another reign of ice ?
.,'^v^'
THE EXPECTED GUEST.
By C. Jennie Siuaiiie.
Where silent shadows rest,
Night-wreathed and dark upon the purple sea,
The earth awaits, in sweet expectancy,
The coming of a guest.
The old year breathes his last ;
He holds for us no longer gift or quest.
And so we lay white roses on his breast.
And give him to the past.
From thy dead moorings drift,
O barque ; in wake for summery seas of blue.
And dear old haunts, where roses wet with dew
Their radiant blooms uplift.
Lo, now the sweet guest stands
Upon the threshold, and we joy to meet
This gracious presence, with rare gifts and sweet
Eading his bounteous hands.
Give us the dream, the rose
That blossoms in the tryst-land of the blest ;
Eead us to harvest fields and bowers of rest.
Where love seeks sweet repose.
Eet thy sweet violets woo
Our laggard feet into the broader ways.
Where from the glimmering heights the beacon's blaze
Through vistas grand and new.
Kissing thy lilies white,
May we grow pure and beautiful as they ;
Gaining new sweetness every passing day.
Dear Father, in thy sight.
Above the midnight bell
Hear thou our greetings, O expected guest ;
We take thee to our hearts in trust and rest,
Whatever is, is well.
HOSEA BALLOU.'
By Rei'. S. H. McCollester, D. D.
Y particular request of this tification by faith ; Calvin brought
Historical Library Associa- forth predestination and election ;
tion, I am to present to you Channing emphasized the Oneness of
at this time a word-picture God ; and Ballou taught the Father-
of Rev. Hosea Ballou, a native and hood of God, and, therefore, the ulti-
gifted son of New Hampshire. mate rescue of all souls.
A great soul is the noblest pro- As each plant has its own lichens
duction in the earth-life. It is in- and parasites, so does each truly
finitely more than land, sea, or star, great man have his own adherents
Nature's refined material is wrought and disciples. Just in proportion as
into such a creation. In him there he embodies the truth and unfolds it,
is little dross or cheat. does he live and conduct into the
We are grateful to the past for fos- fairest fields, beneath balmiest skies,
sils of plants, animals, ruined cities, to the richest treasures.
and works of art; still we can but Hosea Ballou was born in Rich-
be more thankful for the men who mond, April 30, 1771. His natal
live, though their mortality has long town had been settled at his birth
since dissolved to dust. So far as only fourteen years. Its inhabitants
man is great and good he lives, then were sparse. Its surface was
Time does not dim his light ; he has greatly diversified with hills and
risen into a sphere to which others vales, thickly wooded and strewn
can attain only by severest toil and with boulders, and watered by three
struggle. small ponds and numerous books.
The beauty reflected from some Then the growl of the bear, the cry
masterpiece of statuary, or painting, of the hyena, and the bark of the
is of great value, yet what is this wolf, were no uncommon sounds,
worth compared to the portraiture of Only here and there were clearings
a sterling soul, reflecting the glory of and log houses, surrounded in the
heaven ? summer with patches of potatoes and
As corn converts mineral sub- corn, which constituted their main
stance into food, so moral genius living. Their clothing was home-
turns rarest material into human use. made of material gleaned from the
Linnseus extracts from flowers men- flax field and cut from the sheep's
tal aliment ; the fall of Newton's back.
apple discloses gravitation ; the eye At this period preparations were
of Copernicus discovers planets cir- waxing warm for the Revolutionary
cling suns ; Luther opened up jus- War. These were the times that
1 An address delivered before the New Hampshire Historical Societj-, May ii, 1898.
HOSE A BALLOU.
361
tried men's souls ; not the most pro-
pitious period for one to open his
eyes upon mortal affairs. At first
sight it would appear somewhat sin-
gular that Maturin Ballon, a Baptist
clergyman with. his wife, Lydia, and
eight children, should move from the
Bay state, which was beiug fairly
well settled, into the wilds of south-
ern New Hampshire. Before his
removal near relatives had gone
thither, which, no doubt, had a
strong attraction to him and his wife.
Land was cheap, and with his large
family he felt that by their emi-
gration thitherward in due time his
children would have a much better
opportunity for a good living. In
addition to this, Mr. Ballon was
moved by the missionarj^ spirit,
which induced him to carry the Gos-
pel into the wilderness ; probably
this was the mainspring urging him
on to Richmond. He was a devoutly
consecrated Calvinist Baptist, and his
relatives, who had preceded him in
settling in Richmond, were of the
same religious faith.
Their first journey from Massa-
chusetts to Richmond, in 1768, was
largely through the wilderness, be-
ing conveyed a part of the way in a
cart drawn by oxen, fording .streams,
descending into valleys, and climb-
ing hills, camping out nights, and
living upon the plainest food. Their
destination w^as at length reached,
and they found themselves soon set-
tled in a rude home, tru.sting and
hopeful. They at once felled trees,
caught trout from the brooks, hunted
wild game for meat, and in the sea-
son planted corn and potatoes among
the stumps.
Mr. Ballon, the first Sunday after
his arrival, preached in a grove to
a score of happy souls, and he was
more delighted, if possible, than were
they. His efforts in this direction
for a considerable time were labors
of love. In the course of two years
he was successful in organizing and
establishing the second Baptist soci-
ety in New Hampshire. In the same
j^ear of their removal his family was
increased by the addition of another
son that was named Stephen, and in
1 77 1 still another son greeted them
that was christened Hosea, signify-
ing salvation, now making in all
eleven children in their family. One
daughter, Amy, had departed this
life before they settled in the Granite
state. Hosea was a robust child,
sedate and thoughtful. Being the
youngest in the large group of chil-
dren, he was the favorite. His bright
blue eyes, ruddy cheeks, and flaxen
hair were much admired. When but
two years old his affectionate mother
sickened and died. This was a terri-
ble blight to the family. Husband
and children found it hard to submit
to the irreparable loss. Hosea was
not old enough to sense his great
misfortune. But his father was ten-
der and kind ; his sisters and broth-
ers were loving and faithful. They
watched over Hosea w-ith a love next
to that of a mother's. As he ad-
vanced in years, he grew strong and
noble. Father, sisters, and brothers
would frequentl}' speak of him as a
precocious and original boy. He
early learned to read. The only
books in the home were the Bible, a
small English dictionary antedating
Johnson's, an old almanac, and a
pamphlet treating of the tower of
Babel. No newspaper came into
that home. No voices of poets,
scholars, scientists, or philosophers
?62
HOSE A BALLOU.
addressed its inmates. How meacjjre
then was the opportunitj' for learn-
ing. Minds and hearts were thirst-
ing for knowledge. As yet no pub-
lic school had been started in Rich-
mond. Hosea was exceedingly fond
of nature. He delighted in going
barefoot summers, in chasing the
butterflies, in sporting with squirrels
and rabbits, in watching the flight
of birds and listening to their songs.
He made many friends in the woods.
He observed the trees and soon ac-
quired the names of them all. He
was extremely kind to domestic ani-
mals, and they were very fond of
him. He early became charmed
with the notes of the water-thrush
night and morning, and the chorus
of the whippoorvvill in the twilight
and the evening. The drumming of
the partridge, the hooting of the owl,
the whistle of the hawk, and the
cawing of the crow were music to his
ear. He seemed bound to seek and
know, and so he early formed the
habit of reading the Bible. In this
volume he did find the narrative, the
practical, the didactic, the allegori-
cal, and historical. He was naturally
of a religious turn of mind. When
he was advanced in his teens, he
prided himself in doing a man's
work ; yet after laboring from sun-
rise to sunset, he was accustomed to
spend hours in reading the Scrip-
tures by a light from the pine knot.
Tallow candles could not be afforded
at that period in the average home.
All children then- were being
brought up after the strictest notions
of Calvinism. Hosea was made to
feel that he was chief of sinners in
as much as he was so fond of nature,
and did enjoy many things in this
world, which had been corrupted as
he had come to think through the
fall of Adam.
Trouble had arisen in his father's
church, causing so much of a divi-
sion as to call into existence another
Baptist organization, forcing Mr.
Ballon to resign his pastorate. Bit-
terest feeling rankled in the hearts
of these factions. It was not long
before the more considerate felt that
something must be done to remedy
the animosities which were raging
throughout the town, and so a re-
vival was inaugurated. The church
members after this was underway
ceased to snarl at one another and
united in a raid upon the uncon-
verted. Hosea was now eighteen
years of age, and his training had
been such as to lead him to look
upon himself as a child of wrath,
and, therefore, he was led to join
in the crusade against satan, and
through the blood of Christ get
washed clean of sin and its conse-
quences. In this experience he
afterwards said that "what troubled
him most at the time of the excite-
ment was that he could not realize
the thrills and throes which many
of the converted claimed to expe-
rience ; " some fell to the floor, others
jumped over chairs, and underwent
all manner of contortions. But Hosea
felt it his duty to become a professor,
and was immersed in January, 1789,
by cutting away ice in the river.
He had already become noted as one
who wanted to know the why and
wherefore of things. He now felt
that his trouble hitherto in not un-
derstanding religious matters had
been due to his unregenerate heart.
Now he thought that he should be
greatly relieved, that the clouds
would be dispelled, and that clear-
HO SEA BALLOU.
363
ness of apprehension would take the
place of obfuscation. He had been
taught that reason was carnal, and
the heart had become totally de-
praved through Adam's fall. Pre-
vious to his regeneration, he had
lived a strictly moral and upright
life, and now he found little chance
to improve on his previous conduct.
After his mind and heart had been
renewed, he still wished to know
whereof he believed. Accordingly
he was wont to ask his father to
explain predestination, particular re-
demption, total depravity, the effec-
tual calling, the final judgment, and
endless punishment ; but he would
repl3% "My son, you must accept
these doctrines without allowing
yourself to question or speculate in
the least; reason is carnal." With
all deference to his good father, he
would subside for the time being,
feeling the trouble was within him-
self ; yet in spite of himself he felt
that he must know^ and so to his
Bible he would go and read and
pray, and by and by light began to
dawn on him.
In the spring following his con-
version, he went with his older
brother, Stephen, who was a church
member, to Westfield, N. Y., to
work on a farm. Here was a Bap-
tist society presided over by Elder
Brown. Here Hosea continued in
his leisure hours to search the Scrip-
tures, and soon began to discover
that some of the dogmas of Calvin-
ism were not supported by the Word
of God as he read it. He mentioned
some of his perplexities to his broth-
er Stephen, who immediately sought
an interview with Elder Brown, un-
beknown to his brother, and opened
the way for the minister to question
Hosea somewhat minutely and so
find out where he stood. He did so,
inviting the young man to his house,
who, very frankly, as he was ques-
tioned, stated his difficulties in find-
ing support for all of Calvinism in
the Bible. Upon this the elder said,
"Find one passage, or as many as
you please, and I will refute them in
no time." Hosea opened to the fif-
teenth chapter of Romans and eigh-
teenth verse, saying that "he was
unable to understand that passage
if it taught the eternal reprobation of
any of the human family." The
reverend immediately began to expa-
tiate very loud, making strong asser-
tions, spreading himself over much
ground, without once hitting the nail
on the head. This confused and dis-
appointed young Ballou, and he was
forced to leave Mr. Brown without
the least satisfaction, yea, more in
trouble than ever. This caused
Stephen to regret that he had been
instrumental in bringing about the
intercourse. This led Hosea to ap-
ply himself with more diligence and
assiduity to the study of the Scrip-
tures.
After the summer was ended and
the harvest was past, Hosea and his
brother returned to Richmond. Joy
was experienced upon their arrival,
for Ballou Dell was the dearest spot
on earth to all the Ballou children.
Here he met his brother David,
twelve years his senior, now married
and settled on a farm. During the
absence of the former, the latter had
avowed himself to have been born into
the light of Universalism, as he had
heard it preached by Rev. M. Rich.
David had investigated the doctrine
and found it to his joy supported by
the Bible. This was a great disap-
364
HOSE A BALLOU.
pointment to the noble father. As
Hosea was now assisted by his broth-
er, they both studied the Scriptures
from beginning to end, and found
them to teach the fatherhood of God
and the ultimate salvation of all men
through Christ as they felt. Now
the father was in anguish of soul as
he learned that Hosea, the most
talented and promising of any of his
sons had fallen from grace, and as he
then believed, would be forever lost,
should he continue in his present
condition.
But Hosea persisted in his investi-
gation, taking his Bible into the
fields as he went out to work, read-
ing it in the spare moments as they
should occur. Various questions, ac-
cording to his own testimony, would
force themselves upon his mind, as
he would be at work, as " Why has
God made me to desire the salvation
of all souls? " " Can Nature contra-
dict the word of God? " " Can elec-
tion and reprobation be true?"
"Did God foreknow and foreordain
the condition of his children before
they w^ere born ? " These and num-
erous other questions kept haunting
him day and night, and as he would
talk with his father and other Calvin-
ists, he could get no satisfaction and
needed help in his straightened cir-
cumstances.
At length, after long investigation
and prayerful study, the light burst
upon him, in the fact, taught by the
Bible, nature and reason, that God is
Father of all souls. As this radiance
fell upon him, the way in which he
should walk was made clear. Hence-
forth he felt that he must not keep
his belief to himself, and that in a
humble way he must make it known
to others. He now cherished kindlier
feelings for his father, sisters, and
brothers. The infinite love of God
had taken possession of his heart.
He was moved with the highest
sense of duty to do all in his power
to save souls, believing that God
thus constantly works.
The ensuing fall he was enabled to
attend a school in Richmond which
had been opened by the Quakers.
He made great progress in pursuing
critically the English branches. He
boarded at home, working night and
morning to help his father. At one
time, it is related that he was chop-
ping wood at the door, and he
chanced to take his Bible from his
pocket and place it in the end of the
woodpile that it might be readily at
hand, which his father saw him do,
and at once asked him " What is
that book?" To which the son re-
plied, "A Universalist book." Up-
on this the father stepped along and
picked up the book, and lo, it was
the Bible. The father laid it down,
and walking away, said not a word.
But the son did enjoy the jest exceed-
ingly, all to himself.
Not Ions: after he finished this term
of school, an opportunity presented
itself for him to attend the academy
at Chesterfield, which, at that time,
was a popular institution. Here he
pursued some of* the higher branches
of learning. With his natural abil-
ity, aptitude, and application, he
ranked high in his studies, leading
his class in some branches. As he
left that school. Principal Logan, in
charge of it, gave him a good recom-
mend to teach school. Returning
to Richmond, he labored for some
months farming for his brother
David. About this date he was
excommunicated from the Baptist
HOSE A BALLOU.
365
church there, not because of any
misdemeanor, but for the reason that
he had come to believe in the ulti-
mate rescue of all men. He found
no fault with this treatment. He
had become accustomed to speak and
pray in lay meetings ; and after his
expulsion, he continued in the even
tenor of his way. He already had a
few sympathizers in his own faith,
and so he started some meetings,
holding them in certain homes. One
of the Baptist deacons became inter-
ested in these gatherings and soon
declared himself a Universalist. He
had a meeting appointed at his house
and invited Hosea Ballou to preach.
It is reported that he had a good text,
but he was considerably embarrassed
and did not make a success of it.
Some of the hearers, after the
meeting, were heard to remark that
" Hosea better stick to farming, or
the trade of his father, making spin-
ning wheels." Of course this was
not a break down, neither was it sat-
isfactory. Not long afterwards he
was in Brattleboro, Vt., and friends
there beset him to preach the follow-
ing Sunday, which he finally con-
sented to do. After this meeting his
friends were disappointed, conclud-
ing that the young man was not cut
out to be a preacher. Still it would
seem that he was resolved upon it
himself, and so he made the third
attempt, which was a decided im-
provement over the other two. lyike
Demosthenes, Sherideu, and Patrick
Henry he was bound to succeed.
In the fall of 1790 Hosea and his
brother David attended at Oxford,
Mass., the New England General
Convention of Universalists. Iso-
lated as they had been, this was a
remarkable event, for here they saw
Rev. John Murray, Rev. George
Richards, and other Universalist
clergyman. In 1791, they were in a
convention at the same place, and
again three years later, which was a
memorable meeting for its adoption
of articles of faith and form of church
government, recommended by the
Philadelphia convention. These
were adopted and put into practice
so far as possible. The Ballous at
this meeting heard, for the first time,
Revs. Elhanan Winchester and Joab
Young. At one service young Hosea
was induced to preach, and on this
occasion he related his religious ex-
perience and captivated all hearts
present. The effect was such that
when Mr. Winchester was preaching
the last sermon of the convention,
the young evangelist being in the
pulpit, who had preached, while he
was teaching, a few times in Rhode
Island, Vermont, New Hampshire,
and Massachusetts to the gratifica-
tion of all hearing him, refers to
these facts, saying that we are per-
suaded this young man, as a teacher
and preacher, is called to the office of
the ministry by the Lord, and so I
press this Bible, taking it from the
desk, to your heart as the written
Jehovah." Upon which Joab Young
rose and said, " I charge you preach
the Word.' vSo at the close of this
meeting, Hosea Ballou found him-
self unexpectedly ordained to the
ministry of the gospel.
Two years later, 1796, we find in
the records of Hardwick the follow-
ing : Mr. Hosea Ballou of Hardwick,
Mass., and Miss Ruth Washburn of
Williamsburg. We can readily im-
agine the .significance of this which
was the initiatory step to the marriage
of the young man and woman. It
^66
HOSE A BALLOU.
proved a happy and fortunate union ;
two truer souls were never wedded ;
they were one in hand and heart.
A few months later they were settled
in Hardwick, where they remained
for seven years, during which time
the young minister made remarkable
progress in theology and spiritual at-
tainment.
In these earl}^ years of his ministry
his fame, unconsciously to himself,
was spreading abroad. Somehow the
people were being drawn to him, not
that he was emotional and dogmatic,
but earnest, considerate, and true to
his convictions, intensely desirous for
the truth, and a careful reader and
student of the Bible. He never gave
the impression that he was going to
stand by his doctrine, right or wrong.
He craved a religion that satisfied
head and heart, and could be proved
true by revelation and reason. He
was derided and bitterly opposed by
many who differed from him in reli-
gious belief. He was not naturally
polemical and disposed to combat and
criticise unkindl}^ views which dif-
fered from his own, yet religious tac-
tics so confronted him that he was
obliged to parry and ward off the
thrusts and blows which were turned
upon him. He had already become
so familiar with the Scriptures and
their teachings that he feared not
any more than did David opposing
Goliahs, and was ready to meet them
wherever Providence appeared to call
him to battle. The young expounder
was remarkable in hurling proof-texts
at the Philistine giants, knocking the
flooring from iinder their feet. He
never lost his temper, or was thrown
from his base when treating religious
matters. P'requently the calls were
made upon him to go here and
there, summer and winter, and so he
traveled long distances in wagon, or
sleigh, or on horseback through vales
and over hills to carry good news to
waiting and perishing souls. He
preached on Sundays and very fre-
quently week days.
He had now developed into a noble
looking man, six feet tall, weighing
two hundred pounds, straight as an
arrow, with a well-balanced head,
having large perceptive and reflec-
tive faculties, his eyes blue, and hair
abundant. His presence was digni-
fied and impressive. His stated com-
pensation was five dollars a Sunday.
During his stay of seven years in
Hardwick, he had a friendly-written
discussion with Rev. Joel Foster,
A. M., of New Salem, pitting Calvin-
ism against Universalism. In this
contest Mr. Ballon said, "I am sat-
isfied in the idea of a future state of
discipline in which the impenitent
are miserable." I know that it has
often been said that Mr. Ballon be-
lieved that the sinner received all his
punishment in this life, but the above
statement is from Mr. Ballou's own
pen. I am aware that Dr. Thomas
Whitemore, in his history of Mr.
Ballon, has stated that Hosea Ballon
did not believe in future retribution.
We know that Mr. Whitemore, at
the time he wrote the history of Uni-
versalism, did not himself believe in
any discipline after death, and was
so tenacious of this idea that he did
not wish to admit that anyone did,
who believed in the ultimate salva-
tion of all. Some men are given to
strong and sweeping statements when
treating of religious themes. Possi-
bly Mr. Ballon did not feel to class
himself with the early restorationists
of the Elhanan Winchester school,
HO SEA BALLOU.
367
but lie was always most emphatic in
quoting St. Paul's assertion: "As a
man sows, so shall he reap." I
recollect distinctly of hearing Rev.
Hosea Faxon Ballou, the son of the
elder Hosea Ballou, who preached
Universalism for many years, saj^
that his good father always preached
the certainty of punishment, saying,
" That if we did not get it here, we
would hereafter." His son believed
in future discipline, or retribution ;
so Hosea Ballou should never be
classed with those few who at one
time gained the appellation of "Death
and Glory Universalists." It is true
in the earlj^ history of the Universal-
ist church this notion of future disci-
pline was not made a controversial
question, but all were classed as Uni-
versalists who believed in the ulti-
mate safety of all souls. This was
especially true of Drs. Williamson,
Hosea Ballou, 2d, Thayer, Chapin,
Sawyer, Ryder, and Miner. So far
as I know this is the case with the
whole church to-day.
In 1803 Mr. Ballou and family
removed to Barnard, Vt., as a centre,
preaching more or less in Woodstock,
Bethel, Bridgewater, and Hartland.
He found many warm friends of Uni-
versalism in these towns, and many
others through his ministry were led
to embrace it. This year he attended
the United States Convention of Uni-
versalists held in Winchester, N. H.,
at which a confession of faith was
adopted, which remained intact up to
1897, when some verbal changes in it
were made. This confession was
written by Rev. Mr. Ferris and sup-
ported by Mr. Ballou and others, and
was finally adopted by a unanimous
vote.
About this period Mr. Ballou wrote
his "Notes on the Parables," and
published them. The parables had
been usually explained literally, and
Mr. Ballou knew this to be a sad
mistake, resulting in keeping minds
in ignorance and forcing upon them
irreparable loss. Why he was .so
anxious to place minds in the way
of acquiring knowledge and knowing
the truth, it was to the end that they
might not lose opportunity for the
growth of mind. He believed that
repentance and the greatest endeavor
could never make up in this world
or the world to come for a lost day or
lost opportunity, and so henceforth
must remain so much behind what
it might have been, provided it had
continually advanced in the exercise
of its fullest power. As God is un-
changeable and impartial, he could
not be induced to prevaricate in the
least from his law of just compensa-
tion, alvv^ays rewarding according to
deserts.
In his " Treatise on the Parables,"
he could not have the assistance of
modern travels and investigation, but
nevertheless he did get at the pith
of them as interpreted by modern
scholarship. This work was widely
circulated and read.
Mr. Ballou was not all this while
unmindful of his aged father, how-
ever pressing his cares and duties.
Being the youngest child, and the
father had mothered him so tenderly
through his early years, that their
hearts were so interwoven that they
could not be separated in spirit, and
letters frequently passed between
them, and the son visited the father
whenever it was possible. The Bal-
lou Dell and the old home there were
very precious to Hosea. He could
seem to hear, when far off, the calls
368
HOSE A BALLOU.
there of the wood thrush, the bobo-
link, and the purling brook bidding
him come hither. From the Win-
chester convention he went to see
his noble sire, preaching the suc-
ceeding Sunday in the pulpit that
had been occupied by his father for
many years, but now the son had
the father and three brothers as hear-
ers. Hosea was somewhat confused
at first, but soon became lost in his
subject, which was the " lyove of
God." The springs of the mind
were stirred and they poured tears
fast down the sire's cheeks, as elo-
quent and forceful words fell upon the
ear, as thoughts flashed and burned,
setting afire all listening hearts.
Not long after this experience, the
venerated father departed this life
and his remains were tenderly laid
beside those of his beloved wife and
the sainted mother. Throughout
New England at this period Univer-
salisni, as defined by Rev. John Mur-
ray and his assistant. Rev. Edward
Mitchel, rested on the basis of the
Calvinistic "Scheme." At this date
most Universalists were Trinitarian
Calvinists. Mr. Ballon was sur-
prised at this fact ; he felt it was
not Scriptural and very far from
being founded upon Christ's testi-
mony, and so he was induced to
write his "Treatise on Atonement."
The prevailing belief then was,
Mr. Ballon felt, that God created
man and placed him in Eden, and
because Adam fell, he involved all
his posterity in guilt and unending
gloom, exciting the implacable anger
of God. vSo here were God and man
involved in furious warfare with each
other. What was to be done? What
could be done? A scheme was de-
vised and thought to be supported
by the Bible that the Almighty was
led to become reconciled to some
men by the death of the second
person in the Godhead on the cross.
All men were actually deserving of
endless torment, but through the
atoning blood of Christ, God had
been induced to save all for whom
Christ died, thereby making sin
and virtue commodities of traffic.
Now, Mr. Ballon had discovered
that there was not a passage of Scrip-
ture which spoke of reconciling God
to man, for he never had been unrec-
onciled. This he felt was an impos-
sibility, for God is unchangeable ; he
is, always has been, and always will
be the Father of all. He had dis-
covered that man was the runaway,
and, therefore, had become the un-
reconciled one, and that Christ so
loved God and man that he was
ready and, therefore, did sacrifice
himself to call man back and make
him at one with God. Mr. Ballon
believed that Christ did suffer in the
flesh for all men, that thereb}' the}^
might be led to God, somewhat simi-
lar, though in an infinitely higher
degree, as a mother suffers and even
dies to save her children. There is
no buying and selling here, Mr.
Ballou felt, but doing right on the
ground of right and duty.
This treatise is a remarkable work,
especially when we consider the age
in which it was written. It is as
strong and logical, if not as classical,
as " Butler's Analogy." " His meth-
od of expression is very similar to
that of the great Eincoln in his home-
1}^ talk," of whom Lowell quaintly
said, "After hearing him the Ameri-
can people heard themselves think-
ing aloud."
In this work he treats of the unity
HO SEA BALLOU.
369
of God and the lordship of Christ
long before the cultured Channing
treated of the Oneness of God, or the
Unitarian sect had a being. He ex-
plained vicarious sacrifice a quarter
of a century before Horace Bushnell
produced his work on the same sub-
ject and ver3' much after the same
manner, but in a more erudite style ;
or still later, Henry Ward Beecher
preached with tremendous emphasis
the same doctrine ; and still later
Dr. Lyman Abbott has declared the
same teaching, as if it were some-
thing just revealed to gifted minds.
Mr. Ballou's treatise was as a beacon
set on the mountain to throw its light
far over the landscape, or as a flame
from the lighthouse to flare far out over
the sea. It is Scriptural and loyal to
the testimony of prophet and apostle.
Its teachings are being widely inter-
woven into the theology of the pres-
ent age. In a few years after its
publication the whole Universalist
church came to accept its views, hav-
ing declared them true without let
or abatement.
After a settlement of six years in
Barnard, Mr. Ballon settled in Ports-
mouth. Portsmouth was then a
large and promising village. He
was pledged $800 a year, being a
large salary for those days. He soon
found that his lines had not fallen
upon a bed of roses. As he held
forth wdiat he believed to be the
truth, he was attacked on every
hand, and represented by religious
teachers and in public gatherings, as
being akin to the satanic majesty.
He was forced by request and cir-
cumstances to discuss and treat exe-
getically biblical questions, but he
was always courteous and lenient
towards those who differed from him.
He never indulged in any slang or
sarcasm, but was remarkable for sup-
porting his arguments by Scripture
quotations. It was frequently said
of him that he knew the Bible by
heart. If any passage or text was
quoted, he could tell at once its au-
thor, book, and chapter. Hitherto
he had been required to prepare but
one sermon a Sunday, as he could
use the same in his itinerary, but in
Portsmouth it was two discourses
each Sabbath, and as he preached
without notes, but never extempora-
neously, he found it necessary to
apply himself, without stint, for he
aimed to give his people something
new at every service. He had many
funerals to attend, and opponents
would watch him, trying to pick
some flaw with what he said, and
would often ask him to explain pub-
licly, or by letter, what he had taught.
In this settlement he was challenged
to public discussion with the leading
clergymen of the village, but he was
equal to the emergency and lost no
ground, when it appeared as though
the odds were against him. He was
here during the War of 18 12, and
proved himself a true patriot and de-
fender of his country. He came to
be regarded a gifted man, natural in
speech, fluent, idiomatic, not book-
ish, but far from being classic.
In 1815, being forty-five years of
age, he left Portsmouth to settle in
Salem, Mass. There was great de-
pression of business after the war,
and Mr. Ballou's efforts were in the
direction of good cheer and hope,
demonstrating that if earthly treas-
ures failed, spiritual riches would
not take to themselves wings and- fly
away, and therefore the great strife
should be for the latter, thereby
37°
HOSE A BALLOU.
growing soul-capacity and character.
Salem, at this period, was a weird
cit}^ and had been from its early his-
tory, being given to superstition and
witchcraft. Not a few were inclined
to regard Mr. Ballou as from the
fiery pit, harboring many evil spirits.
So pamphlets were published under
pseudonyms and circulated exten-
sively, representing him as an im-
poster and deceiver. One minister
made a public attack upon him
whom Mr. Ballou so met as to cause
him at once to subside and hold his
peace ever after.
Here he was called upon to defend
the authenticity of divine revelation,
which had been denied by one Mr.
Abner Kneeland, who had been a
popular preacher in various parts
of the country. Mr. Ballou gained
many laurels in this defence. This
victory, with the previous honors, w^on
by persistent and Christian endeavor,
placed him now at the front of the
Universalist ministry. He was prov-
ing himself the doctrinal defender
of his church. He won many new
converts to his faith while in Salem.
With deep regret on the part of his
people and himself, from a sense of
duty, he removed from Salem to
Boston, to commence work there on
the first Sunday in January, 1818.
Forty-four years before John Murray
was stoned in an old meeting-house,
occupying the site of the one in which
Mr. Ballou was preaching. As Mr.
Murray picked up the stone which
had lodged in his pulpit, he said,
"We confess the argument is solid
and weighty, but it is neither Script-
ural nor convincing."
Mr. Murray was a Trinitarian Uni-
versalist and believed in the expia-
tory sacrifice of Christ, while Mr.
Ballou was a Unitarian Universalist
and believed the vicarious suffering
of Christ to be the means by which
to exhibit the great love of God for
his children. He was warmly wel-
comed to Boston by his own people,
but was stared at and scoffed by the
masses. He w^as considered gener-
ally as a w^olf in sheep's clothing.
Still there was a popular tide from
the first Sunday he preached there,
which kept setting towards his
church. To accommodate the
throngs that desired to hear him, he
usually preached three times each
Sabbath. His ministry in Boston
commenced with vigor and con-
tinued thus for more than a score
and half years.
As he began his work in Boston
there were sixteen Universalist so-
cieties in the state and some twelve
ministers, but he lived to see more
than a hundred preachers settled in
the Bay state, and a larger number
of societies. It was not long before
he came to be looked upon in Boston
as a man of strength. While he was
discreet, he w^as fearless ; while he
was ready to speak, he was a dili-
gent student ; he made every day tell
to his advancement and growth in
knowledge. He never gloried in
himself, or was puffed up by any
achievement of his own. All praise
for human success, he felt, was due
to God. After he had preached
what others called a great sermon,
he never could regard it such ; how-
ever, every speech he made and
every discourse he delivered had
some special point to them. He sel-
dom failed hitting the mark aimed
at. After he was settled in Boston
every week one of his sermons was
published and freely distributed.
HOSE A BALLOV.
371
In 1 8 19, with Mr. Henry Bowen,
he started the Wet'.kly Magazhie and
Ladies^ Miscellany^ which was soon
changed into a Universalist maga-
zine, edited by Mr. Ballon. This
was the first Universalist newspaper
published in America. From this
date till his death, he was either as-
sistant editor or contributor to some
periodical. He never wrote unless
he had something to say, and as we
look over his published sermons it
becomes evident that they were the
outcome of study and careful prepa-
ration ; they are direct, positive, de-
vout, and strictly Christian, arrayed
in plain English. While the}- have
not the classic touch of a Blair, or a
Swing, or Farrar, they are not to be
surpassed in genius and profound
thought. For sixty years he stood
upon the walls of Ziou, proclaining
what he believed from the depths of
his soul, to be the truth of God. Fie
was sent, it does seem, to be a special
interpreter of the fatherhood of God
and the brotherhood of man. The
Bible was his textbook, commentary,
and authority on all questions of doc-
trine ; his sole object was to teach
the truth. That he was largely suc-
cessful is made plain from the fact
that he sustained himself for so long
a period, as a devout Christian man
amidst the bitterest opposition and
during the intensest religious war-
fare in the history of our country.
Horace Bushnell said of him, just
after his death, "No other man has
done so much to change and soften
New England theology as Hosea
Ballou." Wherever he preached
after he became famous, the people
pressed to hear him, and they were
certain to understand his thought.
His off-hand manner of preaching
xxvii— 25
just met the demands of the age.
His theme was sure to be the gospel
of Christ. He never made any at-
tempt to invent a new gospel. He
was too wise to tear down the Old
or New Testament. On their foun-
dation he built his faith. Christ w'as
the chief corner-stone of his religion.
All who heard him could but feel he
is true to his conviction. In spirit
he was genial, tender, and loving as
a child.
In his preparation for the pulpit
he was careful, studious, and thor-
ough ; in delivery he was thoughtful,
self-possessed, dignified, and calmly
eloquent ; intellect, not emotion, con-
trolled him ; he was logical, positive,
and convincing ; he felt responsible
to God, not to man ; he dared to pre-
sent the truth. This quality of soul
is what especially perpetuates his
name. This feature is what makes
him, like Latimer and Knox, live.
Such characters always move the age
in which they exist.
The ground principles of Univer-
salism, as developed by Hosea Bal-
lou, remain unchanged, which are
that God will finally have all men
saved from sin through Christ, w^ho
will reign till every soul, having been
disciplined and punished for everj^
sin committed, either in this life Or
the life to come, shall return to God.
Of course the main points of his
theology have been explained, illus-
trated, and seemingly somewhat mod-
ified by Drs. Hosea Ballou, 2d, T. J.
Sawyer, T. B. Thayer, E- Fisher, E- H.
Chapin, A. A. Miner, and others.
At the beginning of his ministry
he was timid and original ; at its me-
ridian he was sound and strong ; and
at eight}' he was wise and profound.
He was pastor of the School Street
372
HO SEA BALLOU.
Church for thirty-four years. After
he had crossed the line of seventy,
many of his people felt that he
should have an assistant, and Rev.
T. C. Adams was secured for a sea-
son, and afterwards Rev. H. B. Soule
was junior pastor for a while, but in
1846 Rev. E- H. Chapin was duly set-
tled as a colleague. He was gladly
welcomed by the senior pastor as well
as by the laymen. Mr. Chapin had
come to be regarded one of the most
eloquent preachers in New England.
Large numbers flocked to hear him,
but in two years he was called to a
pulpit in New York which soon be-
came renowned throughout the na-
tion. In 1848 Rev. A. A. Miner was
Mr. Chapin 's successor, who was
equal to the demands. Mr. Ballon
soon camtf to regard him a preacher
after his own mind and heart. The
relation between them was soon that
of father and son. It was not long
before Dr. Miner came to be con-
sidered a preacher of strength in
Boston. A great leader is certain to
multiply his stock. This was par-
ticularly true of Hosea Ballon. In
his trail followed Dr. Thomas White-
more, for many years the famous
editor of the Trumpet ; Dr. Lucius
Page, a scholar and Biblical com-
mentator ; Dr. Hosea Ballon 2d, the
editor of the Universalist Expositor^
which afterwards was merged into
the Universalist Quarterly, and later
president of Tufts college up to his
death ; Rev. John Boyden, who was
for thirty years minister and pastor
in Woonsocket, R. I.
These, as well as other preachers,
were virtually spiritual sons of Hosea
Ballon, all having been born into the
light of the Gospel through his life
and teaching.
His own sons, born of his bone
and flesh, were equally his spiritual
sons. Hosea Faxon proclaimed the
faith of the father for some forty
years in Whitingham and Wilming-
ton, A^ermont ; Massena Berthier
preached Universalism for a quarter
of a century in Stoughton, Massa-
chusetts ; Maturin Murray devoted
himself to literary pursuits, writing
up his travels of nearly all parts of
the world. He was always filial and
loyal to his parentage, as he fully
illustrates in the biography of his
father and his family.
Hosea Ballou was a leader in his
home as well as abroad. His spirit
especially expressed itself in his
family. He and his companion were
always one in act and spirit, being
tender and affectionate to each other.
To them were born eleven children ;
two of these passed up higher in
infancy, while six daughters and
three sons lived to grow up and be-
come useful members of society. All
revered father and mother up to
the very last. As their parents be-
came advanced in years, the chil-
dren watched over them and guarded
them most lovingly. It is not strange
that it should have been thus, when
we know the spirit which actuated
the father in his home, and which he
imparted to other friends for the gov-
ernment of children, as expressed in
the following :
" When giving 3'our children com-
mands, be careful that you speak
with becoming dignity as if not only
the right, but the wisdom also, to
command was with you. Be cautious
that you never give your commands
in a loud voice, or in haste. When
you have occasion to rebuke, be
careful to do it with manifest kind-
HOSE A BALLOU.
373
ness. When you are obliged to deny
the request that your child may
make, do uot allow yourself to do it
with severity. It is enough for the
dear little ones to be denied what
they want, without being nearly
knocked down with a sharp voice
ringing in their tender ears. You
will find that they will imbibe your
spirit and manners. They will treat
one another as 3'ou treat them. If
you speak harshly, they will, when
they have formed their habits, treat
you with tinkind and unbecoming
replies. If you treat your little ones
with tenderness, )^ou will fix love in
their hearts ; they will love one an-
other ; they will imitate the conver-
sation they hear from the tenderest
friends that children have on earth."
In 1850, near the close of his eight-
ieth year, Mr. Ballou preached his
valedictory discourse to his church ;
however, it was not intended to be
his last sermon, but it was the last
one he committed to writing. His
text was from 2 Peter i : 15, "I will
endeavor that ye ma}^ be able after
ni}^ decease to have these things con-
stantly in remembrance." This ser-
mon was a review of the past and the
progress made in religious and social
affairs during his ministry. He em-
phasized the Divine Sovereignty and
Fatherhood of God as the sure helps
and support in all trials and condi-
tions of human life.
In the fall of 1851 he made a
journey by rail and carriage to his
old home. It was in October when
nature had donned her most brilliant
colors ; the air was loaded with ex-
hilarating tonics. Leaving the rail-
road at Fitzwilliam he rode in open
carriage. The roadsides were bor-
dered with goldenrod, and as he
came to the woods the spruces and
hemlocks dropped their boughs of
balsam close about him; beeches and
maples waved their branches of gold
and scarlet. From each hilltop
gained, the descending sun was
throwing floods of light upon the
heights and into the vales, casting
reflections down and up to him of
almost celestial hues, making his
heart to leap for joy and thanks-
giving. As he came in sight of the
scenes of his boyhood, resplendent
with the sunset glow, he could ex-
press his gladness and joy only by
keeping silence and communing with
God. Now he was old, then and
there he was young ; now God was
very close unto him, then he was afar
off ; now God is the Father of all,
then he loved the few and hated, as
he felt, the many. Ballou Dell still
continued to be the dearest spot to
him on earth. Here were the graves
of his beloved father and mother.
Here were a few friends left of his
boyhood ; his heart yearned to see
them all.
He reached his destination in
safety, and in the course of a few
days saw all his old friends remain-
ing in the flesh ; visited the graves
of his parents and those of many
old acquaintances ; made many new
friends, and on Sunday he preached,
not as a boy, "but such a man as
Paul the aged," and was like the
great apostle in word and demonstra-
tion ; minds were enlightened, hearts
were fed ; the crowd present blest
God for the day, the occasion and
the preached word. That day will
never be forgotten, and many a re-
port of it has. no doubt, been borne
to heaven, as souls have passed into
the beautiful light.
374
HO SEA BALLOU.
Mr. Ballou expressed himself at
the time, as glad that he had been
born in Richmond, a town upon
which nature had poured from her
cornucopia unsurpassed beauties and
bounties. He was thankful, more-
over, that he was a son of New
Hampshire, noted for its men and
Avomen, its schools and churches.
As he returned to Boston from this
visit, bearing good tidings to wife,
children, and friends, he made them
feel that they would return to heaven
in due time, the happier and the bet-
ter, because of the added joys to the
heart of their cherished friend from
his visit to Richmond.
In Ma5^ 1852, it was my privilege
to be in Boston Anniversary Week
and at the Uuiversalist Festival in
Boylston Hall, which was elegantly
adorned with flowers, plants, and
flags. Prof. Benjamin F. Tweed,
of Tufts college, was in the chair.
After a feast upon the good and
abundant things for the body, the
president announced a toast in be-
half of the clergy, calling upon Rev.
Starr King to respond. As the
slender man rose, with his boy face
and flaxen hair, it seemed as though
we should not get much from that
call. But at once scintillations of
fire began to drop from his lips, clear
cut, rhetorical sentences, logic with
a hammer to drive it home ; pro-
found, electrifying thoughts fell thick
and fast upon the audience. As Mr.
King sat down he was no longer a
little man, but a giant in intellect
and heart.
The next toast was " Our country
and the Empire state in particular."
Dr. E. H. Chapin of New York was
called to respond. A flood of elo-
quence was all at once dashed upon
the vast congregation. Oh, such a
speech, pathetic, dramatic, convinc-
ing, soul-piercing and uplifting, fell
from his lips. The vast audience
drew a long breath as the speaker
attained his climax and period.
The next toast was, " Our denomi-
national fathers, we honor them for
what they were, are, and for what
their life-power shall be in the strife
and progress of the future." The
veteran, Hosea Ballou, was asked for
a response. A man tall, slim, and
straight, with a face as fair as
a child's, head high and frontal,
crowned with hair white as snow, be-
gan to speak by quoting from the
Scriptures, how "A handful of corn
fell in the earth on the tops of the
mountains, the fruit thereof shall
shake like Lebanon and fill the val-
leys." The speaker continued, say-
ing, "I have lived to see this ful-
filled. The few kernels of spiritual
corn which were scattered into the
soil of our Mount Zion, took root,
blossomed, and are yielding sixty
and a hundredfold. Fifty years ago,
I little dreamed that I should be
permitted to see such a sight as vay
eyes now behold. From a few be-
lieving souls in the great salvation,
we have grown to a respectable
Christian body. The Fatherhood of
God, the Sonship of Christ, and the
Brotherhood of man, are bringing
minds out of darkness into marvel-
ous light ; are converting the king-
doms of this world into the kingdom
of our Lord. Our chief concern
should be, brethren, to live our faith
so as to let our light shine before
men and to glorify our Father in
heaven." For twenty minutes this
venerable man spoke after this man-
ner, causing hearts to burn and re-
HO SKA BALLOU.
375
spond ameu. All who enjoyed that
festive occasion could not refrain
from thanking God that it had been
their privilege to see and hear once
more Father Ballon, who had fought
the good fight and gained the vic-
tory. His thought was clear, his
sentences complete, his expression
eloquent, and his mein graceful. No
one after hearing him could question
his sincerity or profoundness, and
would not admit that he was quick to
perceive, keen to analyze, cogent in
reasoning, honest in purpose, and al-
together consecrated to the work of
the Gospel.
The following month he was pre-
paring to attend the Massachusetts
State Convention of Universalists at
Plymouth on the second of June, and
while doing so he was taken ill and
soon took his bed. His devoted wife
was an invalid at the time, and on
the, morning of June the seventh,
Hosea Ballon passed from the mortal
to the immortal. On the ninth his
burial service took place at the
School Street church, Dr. A. A.
Miner preaching the sermon. The
procession from the church following
his remains to Mount Auburn was
immense.
So in triumph Hosea Ballon de-
parted this life. Into his labors we
have entered. He planted for others
to harvest. His was the toil, ours
the inheritance. While we rejoice
in the heritage, let us freshen the
memory of his virtues and honor him
as a worthy and gifted son of New
Hampshire, realizing that the secret
of his power lay in his ever seeking
for the truth and ever dispensing
what he believed to be the truth.
Others surpassed him in eloquence ;
many were ahead of him in scholar-
ship ; but none excelled him in intui-
tive perception of the truth and a
conscientious regard for justice and
the right. His emphatic questions
were. Is this right ? Is it just ?
When these were affirmatively an-
swered his Puritanic sense of duty
pushed him onward. He was op-
timistic, never failing to see the good
and to appreciate it ; and was pessi-
mistic so far as to see the evil and
despise it, always believing that right,
however, would triumph in the end
over wrong. God to him was the
only Almightiness in the universe.
He so wrought this idea into the
nerve and fiber of his long life of in-
tellectual and spiritual labor as to
render him famous as a religious
builder.
Lamartine has said: "There are
certain men nature has endowed with
distinct privileges. Their ambition,
instead of being the offspring of a
passion, is the emanation of mental
power. They do not aspire, but they
mount b}^ an irresistible force, as the
aerostatic globe rises above the ele-
ment higher than itself, by the sole
superiority of specific ascendenc3^"
Thus among the favored few Hosea
Ballou stands preeminent. Star after
star may dim ; stone after stone may
crumble into dust ; the names of
kings and warriors may be forgotten,
but as long as human hearts shall
anywhere pant, or human tongues
shall anywhere plead for the love of
God and the salvation of man, minds
will enshrine the memory of Ho.sea
Ballou with freshest wreaths of love
and gratitude.
Men are pleased to stand by the
small stone inserted in the pavement
of the Parliament square, near St.
Giles's church in Edinburgh, for it
376
ON A HILLSIDE.
marks the grave of John Kuox who
dared, in spite of queen and high
majesty, to preach and live what he
felt to be right in the sight of God.
Men are delighted to look upon the
tomb of Martin Luther at Witten-
burg, Gerraan}^ who was brave
enough to tear off the monkish cowl
and go to the Diet of Worms, though
' ' Every tile on the roof-top were a
devil." Men are glad to bend over
the grave of John Wesley near City
Road Chapel cemetery, marked by a
marble slab, who always acted on the
principle which he laid down for
others : " Make all you can by indus-
try ; save all you can by economy ;
give all you can by liberality ; " and
who passed behind the veil, sur-
rounded by friends, exclaiming,
" The best of all is, God is with us."
Men esteem it a great privilege to
visit the grave of Frederick W. Rob-
ertson in the Extra-Mural cemetery
at Brighton, Eng., who preached so
many great sermons to a small con-
gregation, marvelous for their intel-
lectuality, philosophy, and spiritual-
ity ; and on whose monument have
been placed by his friends, his own
words, spoken at the burial of a noble
man, " We have lost him as a man,
gained him as a spirit ; for just where
the human ends, the divine begins."
Men are gratified to visit the grave
of Hosea Ballou at Mount Auburn,
who lived and died endeavoring to
show that God is the Father of all
souls and Christ the ultimate Saviour
of all men.
While walking the sacred retreats
where rest the mortality of gifted
men, we find naught that is perma-
nent and satisfying ; still, as we
take a backward and forward look
through the vista of the centuries, by
some irresistible instinct and soul
power we behold these men still liv-
ing, working out honor and glory in
the temple of the Most High. Some-
how, through Christianity, their in-
dividuality and identity are brought
to light and immortalized as co-work-
ers with the Father and Son, bidding
us and all, "Come up higher," in
thought, spirit, culture, and life.
ON A. HIELSIDE.
By Laura Garland Carr.
Come, sit on this bowlder, the warn sun is shining,
The woods are in autumn array,
The woodbines, with scarlet, the elm trees are twining
And barberry clusters are gaj'.
Ripe apples, like cannon balls heaped, are all read}'
To bombard the cold winter days.
From out ghostly corn-fields the pumpkins beam stead}-
With comforting hints in their rays.
[Eook there — down the highway ! What cumbersome wain !
Oh, thrashers are coming to thrash out the grain !]
ON A HILLSIDE.
The haws of the wild rose are gleaming like cherries —
They huddle close down in the dell,
The bayberrj' bushes are blue with ripe berries,
How spicy their spiky leaves smell I
The beeches are dropping their nuts in good measure —
All bristling with burs — to the ground,
The wild vines no longer are guarding their treasure,
Its purple may quickly be found.
[The thrashers are turning. They take the barn lane.
What clanking and rattle of tackle and chain !]
The old pasture carpet looks threadbare and faded
But juniper mats spread their green.
Where sunflowers gail}- — a proud troop, — paraded
Now round shouldered veterans are seen.
Three crows fly across cawing loud in derision.
The chicadees giggle in glee.
The squirrels are after their winter provision
And scamper from stone heap to tree.
[The thrashers ! The thrashers I What racket they make !
Their loud, strident voices the wild echoes wake.
There is stirring and whirring of shafting and wheel.
The snorting of horses, the flashing of steel.]
Hark ! The crack of a gun ! There's a stir in the bushes !
A smoke puff creeps up from the dell.
Now out from the alders the brindle cow pushes
Her broad horns and jangles her bell.
What can Jack have found ? There is furious barking !
A woodchuck ? He makes the air hum.
There's sure to be fun when he goes out a larking —
For Jack — that is — woodchucks are dumb.
[That 's a clear, happy laugh ! Oh, the thrashers are gay !
More chaff than from wheat will be scattered to-day.]
The barn cat is stealing away through the clover —
The din jars his sensitive ear.
The pens of the turkeys and hens have run over
And scattered their flocks far and near.
Across, o'er the ridges, just see pony scurr}^ !
No harness, no bridle to tease !
The joy of a gallop alone bids him hurry
And fling out his mane to the breeze.
oil
*&
[The thrasher is quiet. The horses are stalled.
That means it is noon and that dinner is called.]
MISS CAMPBELL'S CHRISTMAS.
Ih' Laura Harlan.
OPE CAMPBELL came out
upon the piazza of the Lodge
into the wondrous glor}- of
Christmas morning in the
mountains. The valley beneath her,
the hills on her own level, the tower-
ing peaks in the distance, all were
arrayed in the spotless white of new-
fallen snow. For twenty-four hours
the storm had whirled and beaten
and dashed through all the North
Country, but now, upon the year's
most tender anniversary, Nature was
again calm and serene. From grand
old Lafayette the brilliant sun was
reflected in dazzling splendor, and a
thousand other points within the cir-
cle of view gleamed like the facets of
a living jewel. The crisp air made
the blood dance in the veins, though
it was so still that the smoke from
the village chimneys, far below, rose
straight towards the cloudless sky.
" Isn't it grand, aunt? " said the
girl, as the door behind her opened
once more and a much befurred and
bewrapped personage ventured out.
" Grand enough, I suppose," was the
reply, " but how fearfully cold ! I do
wish we were snug at home in Boston.
And this storm has blockaded us so
that we cannot even hear from there
for days. Hope ! Hope ! What
po.ssessed you to drag me off up
here in the dead of winter ? Your
freaks will be the death of me yet."
The girl laughed gaily. "Why,
this experience is doing you a world
of good, auntie," she said. "A week
in the mountains now is worth a
whole winter of symphony concerts
and Harvard lectures ; or a w^hole
summer of life here in a crowded
hotel. Now we have the whole
panorama to ourselves. It is like a
performance of grand opera for just
two royal auditors."
The older woman smiled remini-
scently. " Last summer you did not
seem so anxious to be alone," she
said. "Or, at least those college
boys did not allow 5'ou to be. I
wonder — "
The girl interrupted her with some-
thing of relief in her tones. "Oh,
auntie!" she cried. "Some one is
coming up the hill. He must be on
snowshoes. I '11 run and get the
glass."
With the aid of a field-glass a man
could be seen plainly toiling labori-
ously up the long incline. He had
on snowshoes, as Hope had surmised,
and wnth their aid he was able to
make his way, after a fashion, along
the drifted opening where lay the
deep-buried highway. A good-sized
pack was strapped upon his back.
" It 's Mr. Russell, the expressman
at the village," Hope announced,
after careful scrutiny. " He must be
bringing our Christmas presents up
to us. Isn't it good of him ? "
" Well, I never supposed we should
get any presents way up here in the
woods," commented her aunt, "but
if we are really to have .some I hope
there will be a lively novel and a box
of Huyler's for me. I need some-
thing to counteract the high think-
ing and plain living you have been
enforcing upon me of late."
J//SS CAMPBELVS CHRISTMAS.
379
They had uot long to wait before
the young giant from the valley
reached the foot of the long steps
that led down from the Lodge. His
beard was white with frost and his
blue e3'es twinkled above cheeks that
had been stung red b}^ the biting cold.
"Merry Christmas, ladies!" he
cried. " Here 's a few of your pres-
ents. Most of 'em are too heavy to
bring until the team can get through,
but I picked out a dozen that I could
pack up here so 's you wouldn't for-
get what day it was."
Before Hope and her aunt were
half through their expressions of
thanks he had turned and was off on
the return, proceeding much faster,
though more carefully, than on the
ascent. Then the ladies hastened in-
doors, unfastened the bulky package
with impatient haste, and soon had
its contents sorted out. Happily the
novel and the candy for auntie were
speedily discovered, and with a sigh
of content she settled down in an
easy chair before the brisk flames
that crackled in the huge fireplace.
The larger number of the pack-
ages were addressed to Hope and
she looked them all over leisurely
before opening any of them, prolong-
ing the pleasure like a child with a
box of bonbons. When, at last, she
removed the wrappings from one she
uttered an exclamation of such un-
feigned pleasure that her aunt looked
up with interest.
The girl held in her hands a framed
photograph. It was a picture of a
sullen sea, breaking in surf upon a
long, wide beach which ran back to
wooded hills and bluffs. A little city
of tents skirted the land side of the
beach. Here and there upon the
sand were scattered men, singly and
in groups, busily engaged in turning
the beach, literally, upside down. In
the foreground of the picture was a
young man in high boots, shovel in
hand, principally prominent because
of his once white sweater with a col-
lege initial upon it.
The frame was of wood, evidently
whittled out with a jackknife from a
pine board. In each of its corners
was glued a little bottle filled with
sparkling grains of gold dust. En-
closed in the package was a note
which Hope read, while her aunt ex-
amined the picture.
"Dear Miss Hope," ran the note.
' ' This is the most suitable holiday
remembrance that I can devise up
here in the wilderness. If it will
keep me a tiny lodging somewhere in
a far corner of your heart, that is all
I could wish. For, you must know,
in spite of what you said last sum-
mer, I still have hope that some day
Hope will have me. And I have one
hope now, the Hope claim, back in
Boston gulch. Your Jack."
" That present is just like Jack
Hall," said Aunt Mary, as she
handed back the picture, a "clever
idea with Jack Hall very prominent
in it. What else have you got,
Hope?"
Hope was busy finding out.
The smallest package in the pile
was her next choice, and the removal
of the outer wrappings disclosed a
monogrammed jewel case. Hope
touched the spring, and as the lid
flew back looked down — at herself.
A miniature on ivory, framed with
brilliants, formed as striking a con-
trast to her first present as could be
imagined.
" Miss K. has painted two of
these," said the note. " I am send-
38o
MISS CAMPBELL'S CHRISTMAS.
ing you one as a bribe to allow me to
keep the other. lu Wall street, you
know, we need Hope more than any-
where else in the world ; and I must
have you in spite of what you said
last summer."
"Well, Harry Greeley must be
making money," was Aunt Mary's
comment on this gift. "That cost
him a thousand dollars at the least."
One by one the other "returns of
the seasons" were disclosed until
but a single package remained, and
that when opened revealed a won-
drous fan made from the feathers of
some strange bird. The handle was
of scent-bearing wood, polished and
carved and weighted so as to stand
upright when the glory of the fan
was outspread. The manner of this
was explained in the accompanying
note :
" You may be interested to know,"
it said, " that the weight in the han-
dle of the fan is a bullet that the
surgeon dug out just over my heart a
month or so ago. The wound sent
me off my head at the time and I
fancy I said some inexcusable things.
At any rate the surgeon delights in
reminding me that I can never be
shot in the heart, because, he says, I
confided in him that I gave my heart
away last summer. Well, that 's true.
As my old namesake said somewhere
in his Psalms, ' Hope possesseth my
heart.'— David."
"Didn't you get anything from
Nathan Jenks?" asked auntie, hav-
ing arrived at a conveni-ent stopping
place in her novel, and having com-
pleted a mental inventory of her
niece's gifts.
" No, aunt, " replied the girl with
an unnecessary flush, "but there is
probabl)' something from him down
at the village. Mr. Russell brought
only a few of the things, you know."
"Hump! Any present a country
parson could give you would n't be
so heavy but what the expressman
could bring it. I do n't believe you
will get a thing from him and I hope
to gracious you '11 not. I verily be-
lieve you dragged me up here so as
to be somewhere near him, and he
hasn't so much as called. Girls are
such fools about men ! "
"It is very foolish of j^ou to talk
like that, aunt," replied Rose sharply.
But the rift had come in the lute,
and there was little of the true
Christmas peace in the girl's heart as
she sat by the window and watched
the score of men and horses break
out the drifted highway.
Hardly had the long road up the
hill been cleared when a covered
sleigh, drawn by a span of powerful
horses, made the ascent and drew up
at the lyodge entrance. The driver
fastened his horses, accepted the in-
vitation to enter and warm himself,
and then stated his errand.
" I am Dr. Hunter of L,incoln," he
said. " In the hospital at the lumber
camp there is a very sick man who
calls night and day for ' Hope.' Un-
less he can be quieted and get natu-
ral sleep I fear he will die. Miss
Campbell, I think his life is in your
hands."
"In my hands? Oh, no!" cried
the girl in protest, "Who is the
man .''
" Nathan Jeuks," replied the doc-
tor.
Hope turned pale and grasped at a
chair for support ; then, in an in-
stant, rallied. "I will go with you,
doctor, of course," she said. ''I will
be ready in five minutes."
MISS CAMPBELL'S CHRISTMAS.
^8i
Doctor Hunter bowed her from the
room and turned to meet the flood
of questions on the elder lady's lips.
The story he told was this :
Nathan Jenks, minister of a strug-
gling church in a nearby town, came
often to the lumber camp to hold
simple services and to help the men
in whatsoever way he could. His
last visit was just at the beginning
of the great storm which speedily
imprisoned him at the camp. After
the blizzard had raged for hours, and
all the scattered crews had fought
their way to the cabins, it was dis-
covered that one man was missing.
All who were able turned out to
search for the wanderer, Nathan
Jenks among the number. The quest
was long and perilous, and one af-
ter the other all the little knots of
searchers returned empty handed.
All but the minister, and he, at last,
.staggered into hailing distance of the
•camp, carrying the insensible and
half-frozen body of the lumberman
in his arms. The rescuer was al-
most as exhausted as the rescued.
Both were put in the hospital, and
there they had remained on the
verge between life and death.
Aunt Mary listened attentively to
the doctor's recital. "It was he-
roic," she said, when the story was
ended. "Mr. Jenks must be a brave
and good man. But I do wish he
had called for some one but my niece
in his delirium. You cannot appre-
ciate my position, but — "
"Pardon me," interrupted Dr.
Hunter, "but perhaps I can. When
I was at the Harvard Medical school
I saw not infrequently at Cambridge
Mrs. Mary Bradford Standish of
Brookline, and her beautiful niece.
Miss Campbell. They came, you
will remember, to visit Miss Camp-
bell's cousin and your son, Miles
Standish, '96."
At the name the woman started
violently, then bit her lips till the
blood came. " Yes," she said faintly.
" So I came to know from college
gossip," continued the doctor, "that
Mrs. Standi.sh planned for her rich
and lovely niece a brilliant interna-
tional match. Then, up here in the
wilderness, I lost sight of you until
last summer when I heard of Miss
Campbell as the belle of the moun-
tains, and Nathan Jenks as one
of her admirers. That explains my
action to-day."
He paused, cast a sharp side-
glance at Mrs. Standish and went
on : "I would like to tell you, Mrs.
Standish, a little more about the
man Mr. Jenks rescued. He is not
a common lumberman. He is a col-
lege graduate and a gifted man.
But drink found the weak place in
his armor and dragged him down un-
til he had lost position, friends, even,
as he believed, a mother's love.
" When he was almost at the bot-
tom some God-sent impulse brought
him into the woods to straighten out.
He did it. For three months he has
not touched liquor. But the mental
and physical reaction has caused in
him what we physicians would call
acute melancholia. I am afraid that
he intended to be lost in the storm ;
that he sought death in the blizzard."
The questioning anquish in the
woman's eyes checked the doctor
hastily. "We found this about the
man's neck," he said, and handed
her a tiny gold locket. She scarcely
needed to touch the spring to know-
that within were pictures of herself
and of Hope.
382 W SIRE OF THE OLDEN TIME.
The sight broke down all the miniature, the fan, and the photo-
barriers of her pride, and the flood graph from his old mates at college,
of her tears washed away her idle But Hope remarked demurely :
vanities. The}' left her, the New " I like the two you gave me, Na-
England mother, .sobbing with joy, than, better than all the rest."
' ' Thank God ! My boy ! " " What do you mean ? ' ' queried
Nathan in meek astonishment. "I
A week later Nathan Jenks, ad- couldn't give you one even."
miring Hope's Christmas presents "Oh, yes, you could and did,"
spread out for his inspection on his said Hope, close to his ear. "One
bed, was especially pleased with the v/as Miles, and one was — yourself."'
A SIRE OF THE OEDEN TIME.
By Clara B. Heath.
I did not think the task would e'er be mine
To draw from out the dim and shadowy past,
Such fragments of his life as intertwine
With mine ; and from these scattered memories cast
Into the mold of verse, with pure intent,
Build to his name a simple monument.
Yet it is even so, for there are few
Now left who loved him as a cherished friend ;
When fortune frowned they vanished like the dew
Blown from the roses which the rough winds bend.
A loving tribute, humble though it be.
And long time due, I bring in memor3^
He had a fund of stories that he told.
Some humorous and quaint — a few w^ere sad :
A part had been long gathered — legends old, —
Of some he was the hero, good, or bad.
He told these noted stories far and near,
Wherever he could gain a list'ning ear.
And he had told them o'er and o'er till now.
When threescore years and ten of life were passed,
He fancied them all true — that truth, somehow,
Had won them over to her side at last.
Perhaps his fancies, long in story trim.
Had restive grown and danced away from him.
NEW HAMPSHIRE NECROLOGY.
We thiuk his spirit saw beyond the bound
The world has set around her children here,
The wall that closes in the narrow round
Of ways and customs, followed year by year.
He made of life what it should, ever be, —
The simple prelude of eternity.
So strong his faith (I think his prayer for years
Had been for its increase) that day by day
He saw his substance wasted, yet no fears
Disturbed his peace. God was a God alwa}' ;
And those who called him Father strong should stand
Sure of the help of His almighty hand.
We saw him last when fourscore years and more
Had passed beside him with their noiseless tread ;
And some of them had scattered o'er and o'er
Their shining silver on his unbowed head.
His smile still lingered, fainter than of yore.
But full of peace, as if on sunshine fed ; —
Nor did the color of his cheek quite fail.
There still were roses though they had grown pale.
No marble marks his resting-place, I ween,
I wonder if the briers and weeds grow tall,
Or, if the mound is fair with waving green,
When summer dews at early twilight fall ?
Perhaps the sparrow twitters there unseen,
And robin to his mate will softly call.
I would a rose might blos.som at his head, —
One of the olden type — so sweet and red.
383
GEN. CHARLEvS WILLIAMS.
Gen. Charles Williams, long prominent in Manchester's social, political, and
business circles, died at his home in that city, on Monday morning, November 6.
General Williams was born near Oxford, Eng., but came to this country with
his father when a boy of ten. settling at Blackstone, R. I., where he learned the
384 NEW HAMPSHIRE NECROLOGY.
trade of a weaver. When sixteen years old he went to Manchester, where he re-
mained two years apprenticed at the trade of a tinsmith, when he went to Peace-
dale, R. I., and finished learning his trade, his father living and dying there. He
returned to Manchester in 1859, where he married Ann Augusta Jackson, daugh-
ter of Artemas and Sally (Young) Jackson, who survives him, with three children,
Arthur H., and Charles A. Williams, and Mrs. Mabel Pickering, wife of Herbert
D. Pickering of Lowell.
He opened a stove store in Smyth's block, where he continued in business un-
til after 1870, acquiring meanwhile an interest in the block itself, which he held
till death. About the time he discontinued the stove business he became inter-
ested in the quarrying and manufacture of soapstone. and, in company with Harri-
son Eaton, bought the plant at Nashua Junction, and, soon after, the Francestown
quarry, developing an extensive business, which came entirely into his hands in
1 88 1, through the purchase of his partner's interest. In 1889 he commenced ac-
quiring interest in the Manchester Street railway, and continued until he secured
full control thereof, developed the system extensively, and introduced electricity as
a motive power. In April, 1898, he sold the same to the present operating syn-
dicate.
General Williams was prominent in Republican politics, though not himself an
aspirant for office. He was several times a delegate to national conventions, was
quartermaster-general on the staft" of Governor Currier, and a member of the
executive council during the administration of Gov. Charles H. Sawyer.
COMMODORE GEORGE H. PERKINS.
Commodore George Hamilton Perkins, U. S. N., retired, died at his residence
at 123 Commonwealth avenue, Boston, on the evening of October 28.
Commodore Perkins, a son of the late Judge Hamilton E. Perkins of the Mer-
rimack County Probate Court, though born in Hopkinton, October 20, 1835, was
reared in Concord, and was regarded as essentially a son of the capital city.
Educated at the Naval academy he became an acting midshipman in 1851; a
lieutenant, February 2, 1861 ; a lieutenant-commander, December 13, 1862 ; a
commander, January 19, 187 1; a captain, March 10. 1882, and a commodore in
1896, by special act of congress, five years after his retirement as a captain.
He was in active service in the navy throughout the War of the Rebellion ;
was executive officer of the Cayuga at the passage of P'orts Jackson and St. Philip,^
and the capture of New Orleans under Farragut in 1862, accompanying Captain
Bailey when sent ashore to receive the surrender of the city. He commanded the
ironclad, Chickasaw, in the battle of Mobile Bay ; was mainly instrumental in the
capture of the big rebel ram, 7^ennessee\ subsequently bombarded Fort Powell,
which was evacuated and blown up, and later shelled Fort Gaines, compelling its
surrender with the entire garrrison. For his conspicuous gallantry here he was
specially commended by Farragut.
Commodore Perkins left a widow, who was a daughter of the millionaire mer-
chant of Boston, the late William F. Weld, and a daughter, Isabel, the wife of
Larz Anderson. He owned an extensive summer establishment in the town of
Webster, M'here he had spent much money for various improvements, and where
he passed considerable time during the warm weather. His attachment for his
native state remained firm through life.
DR. THOMAS L. JENKS.
Dr. Thomas L. Jenks, for many years prominent in political and public life in
the city of Boston, died October 31, while in attendance upon the session of the
Superior Court, in Pemberton Square.
Dr. Jenks was born in the year 1830, in the town of Conway. In 1843 he
NEW HAMPSHIRE NECROLOGY. 385
went to Boston and entered the drug store of Andrew Geyer at the corner of
Causeway and Lowell streets, where he remained until the breaking out of the
Mexican War in 1846, when he shipped in the navy as a hospital steward, which
position he retained through the war until February, 1849, when he returned to
Boston and went into business himself as a druggist, at the corner of Merrimac
and Portland streets, which stand he occupied for thirty-three successive years,
when he retired from active business to take a position on the board of police
commissioners. In the course of business as a druggist he studied medicine and
received his diploma from the Harvard Medical school in 1854.
In politics Dr. Jenks was at first allied with the Whigs, casting the first vote
for General Scott for president in 1852, but on the demise of the Whig party he
united with the Democrats and became prominent in the party councils, serving
fourteen years as a member of the state committee, and ten years as its treasurer.
He served in both branches of the Boston city government, and in the state legis-
lature. He was appointed chairman of the board of police commissioners in 1882.
and served two terms or six years. In 1889, he was made commissioner of public
institutions by Mayor Hart, reappointed by Mayor Matthews, and held the office
till 1895. He was president of the North End Savings bank of Boston; was
trustee of many large estates, and enjoyed in the fullest measure the confidence of
his fellow-citizens.
HON. WALTER vS. DAVIS.
Walter Scott Davis, born in Warner, July 29, 1834, died at Contoocook, Oc-
tober 31, 1899.
He was a son of Nathaniel and Mary (Clough) Davis, and one of the historic
family which gave the name to Davisville in Warner. He attended school at the
academies in Washington and New London in this state, and at Thetford, Vt.,
and after teaching for some time engaged in lumbering, being for some time in
partnership with the late Samuel H. Dow, and, later, with Paine Davis. He sub-
sequently engaged extensively in the manufacture of straw-board. In 1874 he re-
moved to Contoocook, and was mainly instrumental in the development of the
water power at that point and did a large amount of building, aside from the erec-
tion of an elegant residence.
In politics Mr. Davis was an active Republican. He represented Hopkinton
in the legislature in 1878; was a state senator in 1885, and a member of the
executive council during the administration of Governor Ramsdell in i897-'98.
At the time of his decease he was moderator for the town of Hopkinton. He was
an active Free Mason and a Patron of Husbandry, and had been a leading spirit
in the Swedenborgian church at Contoocook, in which he was for a long time a
reader duly authorized to conduct services in the absence of a clergyman. He
married, in 1857, Dollie, daughter of Daniel and Judith (Trussell) Jones of War-
ner, who survives him, with two children, Horace J. and Mary A. Davis of Con-
toocook.
REV. DANIEL L. FURBER, D. D.
Rev. Daniel L. Furber, D. D., pastor emeritus of the First Congregational
church in Newton Center, Mass., died there November 19, 1899.
Dr. Furber was born in the town of Sandwich, October 14, 1820. He fitted
for college at Portland and Fryeburg, Me., and graduated from Dartmouth college
in 1843, being a classmate of Hon. Harry Bingham of Littleton. He studied
four years at the Andover, (Mass.) Theological seminnry, and was ordained pastor
of the First church in Newton, December i, 1847, continuing actively in the pas-
torate for thirty-five years, until 1882, when he resigned and became pastor
emeritus.
Dr. Furber was a great lover of music, having taught the same in his college
386 NEW HAMPSHIRE NECROLOGY.
days to aid in meeting his expenses. He was also a liymnologist of no little merit
and published a volume of hymns in connection with Professors Parks and Phelps.
He was a close friend of the late Samuel F. Smith, author of "America," and the
last call which the latter made before his death was one of congratulation upon
Dr. Furber, on the occasion of the sevent3r-fifth birthday of the latter. In 187 1,
on the occasion of the inauguration of Governor Long, Dr. Furber preached the
"election sermon" before the Massachusetts legislature. He married, in 1850,
Mrs. Maria Peabody of Hanover, a sister of the late Chief Justice Brigham of
Massachusetts, who died in 1882, leaving no children.
HON. THOMAS DINSMORE.
Thomas Dinsmore, born in Alstead, March 4, 1821, died in that town Novem-
ber 14, 1899.
Mr. Dinsmore received a common school education and remained in Alstead
until 1848, when he went to Boston and engaged in business in the Quincy mar-
ket, continuing with good financial success for thirty-three years, when he retired
from business and returned to his native town, where he subsequently resided up
to the time of his death. He purchased a farm in Alstead, erected thereon a
splendid set of buildings, and engaged extensively in agricultural operations.
In politics he was a staunch Democrat, and while in Boston served eight years
in the common council. After his return to Alstead he took a strong interest in
public and political affairs, and was a member of the state senate for the term
1883-85.
WALTER H. vSTEWART.
Walter H. Stewart, postmaster at Franklin, died at his home in that city, No-
vember 10.
Mr. Stewart was a native of Enfield, born March 22, 1863, and removed with
his parents to Franklin at the age of five years, where he subsequently resided the
most of his life. He learned the machinist's trade and perfected and patented a
knitting machine, which he sold to Norristown, Pa., parties. He subsequently in-
vented other machines and disposed of his patents for the same. He ^¥as active
in politics ; was president of the Republican City club ; was for four years one of
the town supervisors; was a representative in the legislature from Ward i, in
1896, and was appointed postmaster upon the coming in of the Republican ad-
ministration in 1897.
HON. WILLIAM D. KNAPP.
William D. Knapp, a son of Daniel Knapp, born in Parsonsfield, Me., October
17, 1831, died at Somersworth, November 23, 1899.
Mr. Knapp graduated from Dartmouth college in the class of 1855, studied
law at Great Falls, now Somersworth, was admitted to the bar in 1858, and settled
in practice there. He received an appointment as judge of the police court in
1868, which he held up to the time of his death. He also represented the town in
the legislature in i87o-'7i. He married, in 1866, a daughter of Dea. Thomas
Hussey, a lady of fine literary and scholastic attainments, who survives him.
i'
V
N
""X,
IV
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